47 Years of Service

In 1961, Jeanette returned to Anchorage after a nine year absence. An employment service referred her to Alaska Methodist University and a position as secretary to the academic dean, because she had previous experience serving as assistant to the dean at the College of Guam. Jeanette remembers, "It was a brilliant, cold day, with at least three feet of new snow surrounding Grant Hall. I walked into the building and an almost reverent ambiance of quiet excitement and promise fell over me. I fell in love! March 21, 1961 was my first day at work and I inherited a desk of uncompleted tasks. Unfortunately, over the years I have not been successful in clearing my desk entirely of tasks to be completed."

Jeanette was blessed with a supportive husband, who understood her loyalty to AMU and later APU, and a son who, she knew, sometimes viewed AMU as a sibling rivalry - they were after all the same age, being born in 1959.

There have been so many changes during Jeannette's tenure through the many generations of students, faculty, staff, and administrators. The first few years were exceedingly formal. No one was addressed by their first name. Dress was very work day formal - women did not wear slacks unless they worked on a weekend.

A brand new IBM electric typewriter sat on her desk when she first arrived. Now, 45 years later, she has been involved with several generations of computers and systems, ranging from a unit record machine to the latest technology with Internet and email. Now, Jeanette completes almost all federal reports as well as college surveys "on-line" rather than filling out a hard copy and mailing it. She does admit, however, she has a special fondness for the university's "first real computer system that utilized punch cards."

Events, too many to go into detail here remain in her memory bank: Graduations; faculty achievements; fall registrations; new students; accreditations; various meetings that have determined both the institution's health and future; the affects of outside events on the AMU/APU community - the assassination of John Kennedy, the 1964 Good Friday earthquake, the death of a student or faculty member, the Vietnam war, and September 11.

Jeanette has often been asked, especially in recent years, how she could stand to do the same job for so many years. Her response has been that the job requirements have changed from year to year to meet changing needs and expectations of students, faculty, and administration. She says, "most of the time, I have the sense that I've found my place in the world of work and, in a very small way, am making a worthwhile contribution. I have been forever grateful for the privilege of working in a uniquely beautiful natural setting."

Jeanette will spend the next year wrapping up loose ends (such as cleaning off her desk), and putting together a chronological history of AMU/APU that can be added to as the years go by. Then, she will give serious thought to new adventures in her years of retirement.

Contact is published by Alaska Pacific University
Office of Development, 4101 University Drive
Anchorage, Alaska 99508-4672 · Phone: 907.564.8250
Editor Jayna Combs