Comments of Librarian Marj Grossman
Upon Presenting Will Baty
with the
SRJC Employee of the Month Award

SRJC Board of Trustees Meeting
November 14, 2006

It’s a great pleasure for me to present the Employee of the Month award to Will Baty, Dean of Learning Resources and Educational Technology. Will has worn many hats in an outstanding career at the College and would have been deserving of this award before but is particularly appropriate that he is receiving it in the semester in which the Frank P. Doyle Library has opened since we are all aware of the immense amount of work Will has dedicated to the planning and building of the College’s new library.

Before talking about Will’s involvement with the new library I’d like to give a bit of history on his career at the college. Will arrived at Plover library in 1978 shortly after finishing his library degree at UC Berkeley. He began  as a part-time reference librarian working about 14 hours a week (and he has parlayed that position into one where he works 100 hours a week) and he quickly became an outstanding member of the staff, teaching orientation classes, working at the reference desk and serving on campus committees. After becoming a full-time faculty member in 1983 he taught LIR courses, developed new curriculum and became more active on campus, serving both on committees and as a member of the Academic Senate. In 1990 Will was selected to be the Director of the Library and Media Services and in the years since then his administrative duties have been expanded to include Academic Computing, and Online Education attesting to his skills as an administrator and supervisor.

Shortly after becoming director Will initiated a project to automate the library’s card catalog and behind the scenes activities. When this project was successfully completed Will became involved with introducing the then new internet technology to the campus. Within a year the librarians were training faculty and students to use the technology and were soon teaching the first credit course in the California community college system on using the Internet. Will then addressed himself to the need for a new college library, which had first been raised by his predecessor Bill Pettas. Will worked with the college’s Board of Trustees and administrators to bring in a consultant who helped lay out a needs plan in line with the requirements for State funding. He then arranged planning meetings with the many groups on campus who would be working in and on the proposed new building. All this took several years as did the process of getting the library project to move up the list of buildings that the State would agree to fund. As the wait for State funding continued the college mounted its Measure A bond campaign that included the promise of a new library building. When Measure A passed the project got the go-ahead and Will’s work really began.

I don’t think enough can be said about Will’s contribution to the successful completion of our wonderful new library. As he guided so many of us through tours of the structure from it’s early beginnings to its recent completion it has been clear to all that Will has dedicated a large number of his waking hours to this project for several years.

One staff member who wrote in support of Will’s nomination for Employee of the Month put it this way:

"Will had a vision of what an excellent college library could and should be and the perseverance to make it happen. He developed wonderful ideas for the aesthetic, functional and green aspects of the building and investigated every detail no matter how small to make sure that everything would be of high quality. The College owes him a debt of gratitude for all the time and effort he has devoted to planning and outfitting our fabulous new building."

Another wrote:

"Will should receive an Employee of the Decade award because of his tremendous commitment to giving our students an extraordinary centerpiece for the campus. The new library immediately became the focal point of campus and a happy, happy place for students to congregate, research and study. The overall respect shown to the building is the respect that Will Baty deserves."

Of course there is more to Will’s contribution to campus life than the work he has devoted to the Doyle Library. There are his extraordinary qualities as a human being. His wonderful sense of humor which has managed to survive intact despite  severe challenges during the building project, his wide ranging intellect which makes him a  great conversationalist on just about any topic, his integrity and commitment to high standards in all areas of endeavor and his support for the staff with whom he works.

In closing I’d like to read two quotes from staff members that I think speak eloquently to the reason while Will deserves the honor he receives today.

A new staff member writes:

"Will’s leadership is inspiring. I have wanted to work for SRJC for fifteen years and when I met Will, as a student worker nine years ago, I knew that I wanted to work for and with him. Will has a refreshing, straightforward way of making his point. He has all the qualities I am looking for in a mentor: strength, humility, an active listener and he is comfortable and confident making tough decisions."

And I think this statement from a longtime staff member is a perfect way to close my remarks:

"If you drew up a list of all the most desirable qualities to have in a Dean of Learning Resources you would be describing Will Baty. Where would you find a candidate with more well rounded ability in all the important areas: technical expertise, administrative chutzpah, practical know-how, aesthetic sensibility, academic accomplishment, fiscal finesse and motivational leadership? This campus has been very fortunate to enjoy the energy, good humor and humanity of this Renaissance man."

On that note, I am pleased to present Will Baty with the richly deserved award of Employee of the Month.

Comments of Dr. Mary Kay Rudolph,
Vice President, Academic Affairs
on the Occasion of Will's Employee of the Month Award

SRJC Board of Trustees Meeting
November 14, 2006