Custer retires after 36 years of service to HU

Huntington, Ind.-After 36 years of serving Huntington University in a variety of capacities, Sharon Custer retired at the end of the 2008-2009 academic year.

"The university community is grateful for the loyal and faithful service that Sharon has given the university during all those years and for the many roles she was willing to take on as programs changed and institutional needs moved in various directions," said Dr. Steve Holtrop, associate dean of graduate and adult studies.

Hired in 1973 as an instructor of business education and promoted to assistant professor of business education several years later, Custer's initial focus was teaching in the associate degree programs in secretarial science. She served as chair of the Business and Economics Department during the late 1980s and early 1990s. As personal computing and business software applications developed, Custer addressed this new need, creating and offering courses in Microsoft Word, Excel, Access and PowerPoint while also moving into the role of coordinator of prior learning assessment and eventually assistant director of HU's new EXCEL degree-completion program for working adult students.

In 1997, Custer filled in as the interim director of the EXCEL program during the search for a director. She then continued on as assistant director again and also used her knowledge of academic program requirements and her skills with the administrative database as an assistant to the registrar. Custer continued to teach part-time in the business department and served as the advisor for business education majors.

"I appreciated Sharon's quiet support for me when I was an administrator and for her willing spirit to take on whatever task we asked of her," said Dr. Gerald Smith, dean emeritus and professor emeritus.