Croswell's service to the College spans 45 years -- and counting
Good buddies Betsy Croswell (left) and Marilyn Carlin have a combined 75 years of work experience at the College. Croswell has surpassed 45 years. Jim Ducibella
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This is how Betsy Croswell remembers her career at the College of William & Mary, a career for which she can’t envision an end.
“I’m planning on 46, 47 years, two or three more,” she says. “I might slow down a little, cut back a bit. But you never know.”
What is known is that Croswell, who now works verifying student records for the Registrar’s Office, is closer to having completed 46 years than 45. But for book-keeping purposes (Anniversary 46 is in August), she will be honored for 45 years of loyal, gracious, and valuable service on Employee Appreciation Day on June 10.
“Charlie Quittmeyer, Dr. (Davis) Paschall, Dr. (Thomas A.) Graves, Larry Ring, Larry Pulley – we’ve had dynamic deans, terrific associate deans, tremendous presidents,” she said.
“With the Business School, I worked in James, Blair, the Bryan Complex, then Jones Hall, then Chancellor’s, then Blow Hall. It’s amazing to me to see that fantastic building they have now.”
Croswell highlights a substantial class of dedicated long-term workers being honored. Including the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, 24 people have put in 30 or more years at the College. Also receiving plaudits on a day that starts at 11 under the canopy of trees next to the Wren Courtyard are all employees who have contributed between 5 and 45 years of service.
“At last count, I have worked for five Presidents, four Chancellors, 12 Rectors, five Assistants to the President, and two Secretaries to the Board, not to mention over 150 current and former Board members,” said Sandy Wilms, executive assistant to the Board of Visitors, who will be honored for 30 years at the College. “This job has changed over the years, my responsibilities have grown, the use of technology has increased, but I still look forward to coming to work each day. The people are the most important part of any job and my co-workers are absolutely the best people I have ever had the privilege to work beside.”
Marilyn F. Carlin, another 30-year-plus employee and a close friend of Croswell’s, was in her 40s when she applied for a part-time job in the Publications Office.
“There is great satisfaction in beginning with a blank page and creating a finished product,” she said. “But the part of the job that I loved the most has been the interaction with the great people who work at William & Mary. It was not work helping them create publications that furthered the missions of their offices. It was pleasure. And the people in my office - they are my second family and the relationships will continue after retirement.”
Croswell’s eyes twinkle a little brighter when she talks about her relationship to the Business School. She left Colonial Williamsburg to take a part-time job with the College’s Bureau of Business Research. Then in 1966, the Department of Business established an MBA program, she applied for a fulltime position, and put down roots for the next 36 years. Some of that time was spent in the pain-staking, vital work as the registrar for Business.
“It’s been wonderful watching the success of the Business School,” she said. “We’ve developed new MBA programs, kept challenging the faculty to do better, the students to do better.
“We have alumni who are among the best. I have such fond memories of them, starting in 1967.”
The College has a winning formula, Croswell said, that separates it from its peers.
“It has a fine reputation in education, among the very best,” she said. “I think that’s important. The students they recruit are top of the line, whether it’s graduate programs or undergraduate programs. I think it’s so important to recruit quality students, plus you get top-of-the-line faculty.
“We also have wonderful staff on this campus, people who do not get the just due they deserve. Without some of those people working year-round when faculty is away in the summer or on sabbatical . . . the staff is the cement that keeps the buildings and programs together.”
Her supervisors in the Registrar’s Office certainly view her that way.
“Kim Momballou (the associate registrar) and I agree that Betsy shows incredible dedication to the institution, is an invaluable member of our department, possesses and shares an amazing wealth of institutional history,” said Sallie Marchello. “She works well with colleagues of all ‘ages and stages,’ and has an ‘eagle eye’ for details and processes.
“We're fortunate to have her as a member of our team.”
