U-M honors staff for service milestones

Updated 10:45 AM January 4, 2007

U-M honors staff for service milestones

Staff members who have made an enduring career commitment to the University are honored each year through a series of celebrations. The Service Award Program, which recognizes those who have achieved career milestones, involved three events this year to honor nearly 1,300 staff members with 10 years or more years of service. The Record annually lists those with 10, 20, 30 and 40 years of service and profiles staff members who have dedicated 45 or more years to the University. The list of honorees was provided by Human Resources & Affirmative Action .

For a complete list of all awardees go to www.umich.edu/~hraa/serviceawards.htm>.

45 Years of Service

Gloria Edwards,
administrative director, program for multicultural health, U-M Health System

Gloria Edwards received her undergraduate degree from the School of Social Work and doctoral degree from the School of Education in 1985. She enjoyed her educational experience so much that she decided to stay and work at the University.

Prior to her current position, Edwards was acting director of the Department of Medical Social Work. Before that she was one of the managers for the Department of Social Work.

Edwards also has been a field instructor for the School of Social Work and a guest lecturer at the schools of Social Work, Pharmacy and Dentistry and the Medical School.

Because she has spent quite a bit of her time on the Medical Campus, she has been able to observe some of the changes in the hospital over the years.

"I was here during the era that we had the old hospital, and I was certainly impressed with it then, although it had areas that were inconvenient for patient use," Edwards says. "Patients certainly still seemed to want to come here because of the excellent care. Now that the hospital is more user-friendly, the staff still puts continuous investment in showing sensitivity to patients and meeting their needs."

The multicultural health program developed in 1993 out of a need to enhance the understanding between staff and patients in terms of diversity. Edwards says she really enjoys "having an opportunity to represent the U-M Health System as it relates to the importance it places now in enhancing the health of all residents in the area, and including a perception of them as a person from a community with values and characteristics that are important to them."

Edwards resides in Ann Arbor with her family. Even though she has worked for the past 45 years, she enjoys her work so much that she has no plans at the moment to retire.

"The work I'm doing has really allowed me to meet a need that is important to me," Edwards says. "I feel that as long as I have the support from UMHS to promote the health of diverse groups, I certainly will continue to do so."

Sharad Khanderia, U-M Hospital staff pharmacist and instructor at the School of Pharmacy

Sharad Khanderia set foot in Ann Arbor 50 years ago and has treasured his time here ever since.

"When you attend a school you enjoy, you become emotionally attached to the place and the city in which you live," he says. "Ever since moving here, I have felt that Ann Arbor is my home. I loved it so much that I decided to stay here."

Khanderia moved from India to Ann Arbor in 1956 to attend the U-M Pharmacy School. After graduating he moved to Boston for a year, but soon realized Ann Arbor was where he belonged.

In 1961, Khanderia returned to begin working as a research associate at the Kresge Medical Research Center. Since then, he has transferred to the pharmacy department, where he has been a supervisor for 20 years. He also has been an instructor for the last 25 years, supervising students at the hospital as they begin their preceptorships, which are periods of practical experience supervised by a specialist in the field.

The University has brought so much to Khanderia, he says, providing him with a number of opportunities he would not have had anywhere else. He notes how his most memorable times have occurred during his time here.

"I remember meeting President (John) Kennedy on campus during his campaign in the 1960s," says Khanderia. "I met him and shook his hand at the Michigan Union. It was an abnormal but very exciting experience!"

Khanderia also looks fondly upon his U-M career as the time when he met his wife. Together they raised two children, who both attended pharmacy school and now work as physicians in Denver and New York.

Jayant Patel, supervisor, Drug Analysis Laboratory, Department of Pathology, U-M Health System

When Jayant Patel started working at the University coffee was 10 cents a cup. And while it costs much more today, the 45-year employee now has a little more time to sip one since retiring June 30.

Patel came to the University in 1959 as a graduate student from Saugor University in India, where he earned a bachelor's degree.

"I have lived in Ann Arbor ever since," he says. "I love Ann Arbor and the University.

Patel received a master's degree in pharmacy from U-M in 1961 and started working as a pharmacist tech in the old University Hospital, on the site where the new cardiac center is under construction. While working he received a doctoral degree in pharmacy from the University.

During the early 1970s there were no drug testing services at the hospital. In 1974 Patel was given the charge of implementing a drug testing laboratory, which got its start in the pharmacy laboratory where he worked on the third level of the old hospital. In 1994 the drug analysis lab was merged with the Department of Pathology, where it grew into a successes, he says.

Patel gives a lecture once a year to undergraduate students about drug analysis and toxicology.

"I have asked to give the same lecture on Dec. 12," he says. "I have enjoyed living and working among young people, which never makes me feel like I'm getting old. At 71 I still think I can work for another 10 years."

Memorable colleagues include Elvin Curtis, former assistant director of pharmacy and the late Dr. Ken McClatchey, associate chair of the Pathology Department. He has met six University presidents, three pathology chairs and "six or seven" University Hospital directors. Patel is proud of the improved automation in the pathology labs.

He kept working past the 40-year mark after some encouragement from one of his bosses at that year's service award dinner, but now believes it's time to put the mortar and pestle on the shelf for good. "My loyalty to the 'Great University' kept me going."

Patel and his wife raised four children, including a son who graduated from the School of Pharmacy and the Dental School and another who graduated from the College of Engineering. His grandchildren now are attending U-M.

U-M honors staff for service milestones

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