Hold your horses (or dogs, in this case), Lynn Gunter has retired!
Lynn, the driving force behind Pet Therapy at the Health Sciences Library (HSL), retired earlier this month. Lynn worked for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for 30 years.
Lynn started out in the University Cashiers Office, then moved on to the Office of Research Services, Department of Sociology, the Sheps Center, Department of Statistics & Operations Research, and eventually the Health Sciences Library, where she spent the last 12 years of her career.
In her time at the HSL, Lynn wore many hats. She was the queen of room reservations, and graciously adapted to the frequent changes in systems to ease the burden on patrons and co-workers. While staffing the front desk, she helped students, faculty and members of the public navigate the building to ensure they got where and what they needed. However, perhaps the most memorable hat Lynn wore was that of a passionate advocate for Pet Therapy at the HSL. Over the years, thousands of faculty, students, and staff across campus benefitted from Lynn’s love of animals. And although Lynn is a dog person, she didn’t discriminate; she also arranged for cats and ponies (yes, ponies) to take the elevator up to the fifth floor where hundreds of students had gathered to escape the stress of exams. Before she retired, Lynn ensured everything was in order for HSL staff to carry on this tradition. We promise to do our best…
Co-workers will miss Lynn’s enthusiasm for her job and for helping people. Supervisor, Liza Cahoon, says, “She is one of those people who goes above and beyond in her job and often does things for her coworkers and the library that are not included in her job description.” One such example is the time she wanted to bring doughnuts to work, and fell and suffered a concussion in the process. Liza continues, “Lynn just shrugged it off, got the doughnuts and brought them into work the next day – black eye, stiches, lacerations and all.”
When asked what she looks forward to about retiring, Lynn admits she’s thankful she’ll have more time to process her cancer diagnosis and recovery from surgery and radiation. She’s looking forward to spending time with her mom and four dogs. That being said, Lynn underlines she has no intentions of slowing down anytime soon. As to what’s next on her agenda, Lynn says, “Vegas, Baby! My beau, Mike and I, are heading to Las Vegas later this month. Who knows, I might decide to go zip lining. I also look forward to spending time with family on Pawley’s Island.” Lynn, from all of us at UNC: Enjoy your retirement!
