EVERETT — Rich Haldi attended his 37th consecutive Everett Community College graduation Friday, but this one was different than the others.
The longtime EvCC vice president of student services was chosen to give the commencement address, telling tales of students and alumni who have made something of themselves. There were many, such as the mother on welfare who earned a bachelor’s degree and now supervises a drug court, and a young man who was the first in his family to attend college and is now entering medical school.
Three-quarters of Haldi’s speech was spent describing students, both past and present.
“I’ve not missed one (graduation) and I’ve never desired to miss any,” he told the audience at the Everett Events Center. “It warms my heart as I observe our graduates celebrate their accomplishments at the college, rejoicing with each other, enjoying each others’ company, celebrating their walk across the stage with their family, friends and others cheering them on.”
In a sense, Haldi, 67, was graduating too. He will retire July 1.
By then, he will have worked for 10 of the college’s 16 presidents while watching the campus grow both in size and enrollment.
His colleagues say he has been an effective leader who looked out for students.
He has worked with student leaders, some in their teens, others in their 60s.
“It’s like being a father to 4,000 kids,” said Stu Barger, interim dean and nursing and health sciences.
“He is forever a student advocate and has always treated students with respect and dignity as he truly cares about our students,” said Joann Ashlock, director of student activities.
In 2006, the student body made Haldi an honorary student senator for life. In his office are a baseball bat and a basketball signed by student leaders.
Those who work for him don’t look at Haldi as a boss or a supervisor, “but as a leader, a mentor, an advisor and a guide,” said Ashlock, who has spent 23 years in the same department.
Haldi taught math and coached sports at Snohomish Junior High School in the 1960s. At one point, he met Jeannette Poore, then dean of students at Everett Community College, at a social gathering. Poore later became the college’s president.
That chance meeting sparked an interest in working with student programs that would grow in Haldi during the next five years he served in the Air Force, including two stints in Vietnam.
When he left the military in 1971, Haldi called on Poore again to let her know he was planning to go to Oregon State University to earn a graduate degree in student personnel services in higher education.
He never made it to Corvallis. Poore hired him.
At first, he split time between teaching math and organizing student services, including intramural sports and student clubs.
Over the years, he has had several titles: director of student activities, registrar, dean of students and vice president of student services.
Haldi faced plenty of challenges along the way, including student protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War, and the formation of a student gay rights alliance that filled meeting rooms with opposing sides. There have been discipline decisions to enforce and personnel decisions to make.
Haldi has emerged with the respect of the faculty.
“He has always been even tempered and fair minded,” said Al Friedman, dean of math and science. “It’s a rare person that is that well respected everywhere.”
Haldi was in no hurry to retire.
He began thinking about it in early 2007.
It was difficult decision. He wanted his life to continue to have meaning.
Eventually, he realized it was time to move on.
“I decided it was not a retirement; it was a redirection of my time and energy,” he said.
He will look for ways to contribute some time after a vacation with his wife, Barbara. A former Washington State University baseball player, Haldi plans to visit Yankee and Shea stadiums in New York, Fenway Park in Boston, the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., and the Little League World Series in Pennsylvania.
His parting thought to EvCC students was simple.
“I told them I wish they could have a career that’s as meaningful to them as I have found mine for the last 37 years.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@hearldnet.com.
Retirement party
A retirement party is planned from 1 to 3 p.m. Wednesday in the Parks Student Union Building at Everett Community College for Rich Haldi, the retiring vice president of student services. Haldi has worked for the college for 37 years.
The event will be in the Parks central multipurpose room.
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