Nine staff members celebrate 45-year anniversaries at Yale

This content was originally published in the 2019 Long-Service Recognition Yearbook, which is presented to honorees at the Long-Service Recognition Dinner. This year the commemorative event was held on March 26, 2019. Watch the long service recognition video, shown at the dinner, to honor the 45-and-50-year honorees.

Denise Castellano, Marketing & Trademark Licensing

Born at Yale New Haven Hospital, Denise likes to joke that her cradle rolled across the street to Yale School of Medicine for her first job working for a Noble Prize winner. She eventually moved to the Office of the Secretary and Vice President where she managed the conferral of degrees and the issuing of diplomas, and organized major ceremonial and special university events that were attended by thousands of students, parents, and guests. Currently, Denise manages the use of Yale logos to protect and promote Yale’s name and trademarks. She has met people from all walks of life, including world leaders, educators, scientists, artists, and movie stars. Known to have an engaging personality, Denise combines her wealth of institutional knowledge with an ability to make things happen. She holds the life-long friendships that she’s made at Yale very close to her heart. The common thread throughout Denise’s career is her reputation for excellence. “I can do nothing less than put my whole self into my work,” she says. “Hard work and dedication run deep in my core and the end results are evident.”

Trish Cawley, Timothy Dwight College

If ever there was a staff member who has dedicated her career to Yale students, it is Trish. She began working at Yale Health in 1974, moved to Internal Medicine, and was then recommended for an assistant position in the Timothy Dwight College Dean’s Office. It was 1979, and in the ensuing 40 years, she has supported two generations of Yalies, many of whom have been guided, comforted, listened to, and always loved by this “college mom.” Trish has been invited to students’ weddings, their christenings, and then welcomed their own children as Timothy Dwight undergraduates. She has assisted four deans in four decades and describes them as “fabulous people, wonderful to work with and get to know and see every day.” But the students have been the highlight. “They are the big joy of the job,” says Trish. “They share so much; they are bright, considerate, lovely human beings.”

William Dobie, Physical Plant

Bill’s supervisor is quick to say that Bill is the “elder statesman” of Yale’s plumbing shop. Bill began his career in the dining halls and was one of the first eight staff members to go through the “new” plumbing apprentice program in the mid-1970s. In fact, he is the last of the original plumbing apprentices that is currently working “with the tools” at the university. A self-directed expert in his field, Bill knows the campus buildings and their plumbing and heating systems like the back of his hand. His colleagues, especially the newer tradesmen, continually tap into his deep institutional knowledge. Bill always takes a task and “runs it to ground” until he finds a solution to the problem, says his supervisor, “and his customers’ needs are always fulfilled.”

Debra Falvey, Library, Technical Services

Debra has wanted to be a librarian ever since she was a little girl. It was a high school librarian who introduced her to the idea of working with books. She has been in Yale’s library system for her entire 45-year career, beginning in the Science Library stacks and then moving on to other libraries. About 20 years into this work, Debra decided to go back to school to fulfill her dream of becoming a librarian. As a single mother of three, she began undergraduate studies, eventually earning undergraduate and Master of Library Science degrees, and is today a Collections Procurement Librarian. A long career is packed with memories, and Debra spoke of a “fun moment” when she was helping patrons with research: “The document center was closed, but we were still cataloging items to be moved, and this researcher I recognized was banging on the door. I opened it and told him the place was closed, but he was looking for me, and opened his recently published book to show my name listed in his dedication.”

Edith Fortes, Library, Preservation

Edith’s hands have graced the pages of centuries-old books, newspapers, periodicals, letters, and theses in the years she has worked preserving Yale’s printed treasures. She began her library career in photographic services before the advent of personal computers; moved to microfilming scholarly documents; and now prepares these items for digitization using the tools of her trade—rulers, measuring cradles, tape measures, craft knives. Born in North Carolina, but raised in New Haven, Edith has grown up at Yale and fondly recalls sharing life’s many ups and downs with library colleagues who were also steadfast friends. She has enjoyed discovering Yale beyond the library’s walls on Nooks and Crannies tours, most notably the furniture collection at the Yale Art Gallery. A quote Edith lives by? “Have fun wherever you are,” which includes riding a zipline on a recent vacation to Haiti, and faithfully attending every Patti Labelle concert in the tri-state area.

Howard Gilbert, Information Technology Services

Howard’s eyes light up when he recalls early years at the Yale Computer Center with its IBM 158 mainframe, which housed two megabytes of memory and one Gigabyte of disk space. “It occupied an entire room and cost about $2 million,” he smiles. “I think my watch is more powerful today.” What interested Howard then, fresh out of Trinity College, and keeps him interested now, 45 years later, is work that has been intellectually challenging—“You give me a set of symptoms,” he says, “and I have to figure out what could possibly have gone wrong to produce that set of symptoms.” His work has included writing computer programs that were the first of their kind, and today helping engineer new university-wide systems. “Yale has been willing,” says Howard, “to respect what my capabilities are and give me an opportunity to pursue my interests and contribute to the university.”

Lucille Houde, Library, Area Studies & Humanities Research Support

Lucille believes in the inscription to the right of the entrance to Sterling Memorial Library: “The library is the heart of the university.” It is also very dear to her heart, in a career that has embraced providing excellent resources to students and patrons. When Lucille joined the library after college, her father had been working there for years in the budget office, and she grew up going to Yale football games, the art galleries—anything new at Yale was a family outing. In her early career, Lucille drove into work every day with her father. Family is also what she found with a group of library friends who still get together as the “Over-40 Club”—each member has 40-plus years at Yale. Lucille says she is most inspired by Yale librarians’ mission: “We all put a lot of drive, ambition, and pride into delivering the knowledge patrons need for their research.”


Kathryn Mansi, Music Library

When you are a music lover, particularly of musicals and piano scores, it is fitting to have spent your entire Yale career in the Music Library. Kathryn is knowledgeable in the library’s collections and has been inspired by the students and professors she helps with their research. “What’s really a lot of fun,” she says, “is getting to know the different personalities and their passions.” While praising colleagues she works with daily, Kathryn holds a special place in her heart for former director Harold Samuel. “He was dynamic and a great storyteller,” she recalls. “He is responsible for obtaining the collections of Benny Goodman, Vladimir Horowitz, and Leroy Anderson, among others.” Stand-out memories also include shaking Benny Goodman’s hand at the library shortly before his death, and taking a ride with an assistant librarian to Virgil Thomson’s New York apartment to pick up some materials he was donating.

Paul B. Thorn, Information Technology Services

Paul, who recently retired as Senior Systems Specialist from InformationTechnology Services (ITS), was the youngest Data Center staff member when he joined Yale in 1974. He and his brother Jeff, who celebrated 45 years at Yale in 2018, started working part-time in ITS before graduating from high school and transitioned into full-time right after receiving their diplomas. Wisdom he has acquired over the decades? “Learn to listen to what others are saying and take note,” he says. “Everyone has something they want to bring to the table, but to be effective you must be able to determine the correct course of action.” Yale is Paul’s family, figuratively and literally. Eight other close family members who currently work, have worked, or have retired from the university have been “a great source of unity” for him. He says what inspires him most about Yale is the opportunity “to work with others to create and physically implement new designs and configurations with successful validation.” Words Paul lives by? “Failure is a prerequisite for success.”