Photo and Story by Maraya H. Richards / Contributing Writer
The MTSU Service Award Luncheon, hosted by Human Resources Services, was held Thursday in the James Union Building at MTSU.
Nearly 250 faculty and staff members were honored for their hard work and contributions toward creating an outstanding learning environment for over 10 years.
Colleagues were able to interact outside of the classrooms while enjoying lunch provided by MTSU. There were also guest speakers who showed their appreciation to those being honored.
Speaking alongside the notable guests was MTSU President Sydney A. McPhee, who encouraged faculty and staff to continue preparing children to become successful, saying that it starts with the professors who provide the best knowledge to students today. He explained that MTSU has many resources, and all students need to do is ask for the skills they need to become productive citizens.
Among the people being honored was Thomas Tang, who has been a professor at MTSU for nearly 36 years. He was presented with an “Appreciation and Recognition” plaque in honor of his lengthy service. The plaque was signed by Gov. Bill Haslam, symbolizing that the hard work of professors is noticed far beyond MTSU.
Tang has received many awards while teaching at MTSU, including The Outstanding Research Award in 1991 and the Career Achievement Award in 2008.
He explained that MTSU has expanded tremendously over the time that he has taught here. The student body at MTSU has doubled, according to Tang, increasing from 11,000 to 23,000 between 1983 and 2018.
Kurt Faulkner was also honored at the event with an “Appreciation and Recognition” plaque. He has served as the inventory supervisor in Health and Human Performance for 30 years. Faulkner was very motivated and inspired by the Service Award Luncheon.
“We can continue to improve society by improving the youth,” Faulkner said.
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