25-Year Employees Will Receive Harvard Chairs, More Vacations

Almost 300 employees of the University, each with 25 or more years of service, will receive Harvard chairs and certificates at a special ceremony in Sanders Theatre on June 1. President Pusey will preside and deliver the tribute.

The ceremony will be the first of an annual series honoring "long and faithful service to the University," the Office of Personnel announced yesterday. In addition to the chairs and certificates, those employees with 25 years of continuous work will also receive extra vacations. The departments will have to stagger the vacations, however.

After the ceremony in Sanders, the 294 honored employees are scheduled to attend a reception in Memorial Hall, where some will have the opportunity to chat with President Pusey.

The idea of awarding Harvard chairs is crystallized long-held opinion in various University departments that long-term employees should receive some form of recognition.

Conventional gifts, such as pens or watches, were rejected as uninteresting, the office pointed out. Pressure from several sources to confer tribute for long service had been mounting for several years, until "the selection of Harvard chairs provided the missing link," Nicholai F. Wessell, Assistant Director of Personnel, said yesterday.

Final approval of the ceremony and awards came after consultation between Edward Reynolds, Administrative vice-President, and the Deans of the University.