金博娛樂城 held its 45th Retirement Recognition event May 6 to honor employees for their dedication and achievements. The retirees鈥 commitment to 金博娛樂城 amounts to 240 years of service.
Notably, Hong-Yee (Randy) Shih retires in June after 41 years of service to 金博娛樂城, leaving as a full Professor in the Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MMET) department and receiving emeritus faculty honors this week.
Shih鈥檚 college teaching career began in September 1984, when he was hired at 金博娛樂城 to develop courses in computer-aided engineering for emerging computer technology needs.
What followed was a career dedicated to student development and program growth.
In 1985, after just one year at 金博娛樂城, Shih developed and offered the first computer-aided design (CAD) course. Five years later, he received the Outstanding Teacher Award in 1990. Since then, Shih says the 金博娛樂城 MMET department has become well known for being one of the leaders in computer-aided engineering/CAD/finite element analysis education.
In 2010, Shih also developed and offered a new course which integrated the leading-edge technologies of Laser Cutting and 3D Printing into the 金博娛樂城 MMET curriculums.
鈥淚 have spent most of my career with 金博娛樂城, and it has been quite a journey,鈥 Shih shared. 鈥淚 am a strong believer in teaching knowledge that is practical and leading edge for students, the future engineers of our world. I also try my best to create curiosity in my students, which I hope will help them to continue the learning process as long as they live.鈥
Shih says three of his recent achievements are the publication of 15 CAD/CAE textbooks, which are used by high schools, community colleges, and universities across North America; developing and teaching online courses during the COVID pandemic; and continuing to work on learning and developing new lecture material in leading-edge technologies.
鈥淭he success of my students is also measured through the Official Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) Examination,鈥 Shih said. 鈥淚n the last few years, most of our students took and passed the examination with flying colors. Currently in Oregon, there are around 730 Certified SolidWorks Associates and 253 of them are from the 金博娛樂城 MMET department. The national average of the first-time passing rate is only around 50%, whereas the first-time passing rate for our students is around 90%. No other school in the U.S. comes close to this type of success.鈥
Shih鈥檚 retirement is not the end of his commitment to education. Along with Computer Systems Engineering Technology Professor Gang Hee Jang, he submitted a grant proposal to integrate AI-learning into a solar tracker system. The result of this grant proposal application is expected to be announced in June.
鈥淚 am thankful that I had the opportunity to contribute to our commitment to higher education for future engineers. Faculty of the MMET department has made this journey feel more like a passion project.鈥
In order of their years of service, the retirement honorees are:
40 years of service
- Hong Yee 鈥淩andy鈥 Shih, Professor, Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology, received emeritus status
30 years of service
- Janelle Knaggs, Information Technology Consultant 3, Information Technology Services
- Janette Isaacson, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Medical Imaging Technology/Online Learning
20+ years of service
- Douglas Lynn, Ph.D., Professor, Computer Systems Engineering Technology, received emeritus status
- Maria Lynn Kessler, Ph.D., Professor, Humanities and Social Sciences, received emeritus status
- Kimberly Thompson, Custodian, Residence Life
15+ years of service
- Iris Godwin, Associate Professor, Head of Special Collection and University Archives in Library Services
10+ years of service
- Marlene Blevins, Reservations Assistant, Student Affairs
- Sydney Spradley, Administrative Program Specialist, Admissions
5+ years of service
- William Dowling, Counselor, Integrated Student Health Center
- Correne Cleland, Administrative Program Assistant, Student Involvement and Belonging
- Connie Atchley, Associate Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Information Technology Services
- Joanna Mott, Ph.D., Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Strategic Enrollment Management
Fifty-six employees who have been at 金博娛樂城 for five-year incremental anniversaries were also celebrated at April and May Length of Service and Retirement events. Combined, the 56 employees were recognized for more than 845 years of service.
