Forty-eight years ago, before the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources came into being and before the University of Nebraska campus in Lincoln became part of a four-campus University of Nebraska system , Diana Kirkendoll joined the bindery crew in the Department of Information on East Campus.
She helped assemble publications and worked with printing in the old red brick building built in 1899 as the Experiment Station, now known as the Ag Communications Building.
Through the years Diana has seen her department name, duties, and ways of working change. From the bindery she moved to typesetting, then to secretarial duties in the news area, and from there to publications distribution, where as an office associate she has worked with people both on campus and at the county extension offices and R&E centers throughout Nebraska.
And whether it was as a member of the Department of Information, then renamed Agricultural Communications, then Information Communications and Computing Services, then Communications and Information Technology, now Educational Media, Diana says she has enjoyed both the work and the people she has worked with over the years. With a smile she adds, “I guess that’s why it has been 48 years.”
Diana has seen growth in technology change how work is done in ways few imagined 48 years ago, and been adept with the new technology.
“It has been a nice journey,” she says of the last 48 years. And while she says she will miss the people she has come to know over the years, she adds she is “ready to start the next phase of the journey.”
She’s “looking forward to doing things on my time,” she says, to working on her house, and to confusing her dog a bit as her schedule changes and she’s no longer out the door first thing in the morning.
Diana is retiring May 30. An open house in her honor is scheduled in the classroom in the Agricultural Communications Building from 9:30-11 a.m. Thursday, May 24, with a short presentation at 9:30 a.m. Everyone is invited to come wish Diana well during the open house, or to send her an email at dkirkendoll2@unl.edu, or a note at Diana Kirkendoll, 105 ACB, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, P.O. Box 830918, Lincoln, NE 68583-0918.
-- Janet Owens