Richard Stazesky ’52 B.D. honored with Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service

By Kelsey Dallas ’14 M.A.R.

As the text accompanying the 2012 Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service puts it, Richard “Dick” Stazesky  ’52 B.D., ‘53 S.T.M., ‘55 M.A.  began serving his class before the ink was fully dry on his diploma.

Stazesky and SterlingThe year he graduated with a B.D., Stazesky became class secretary, and since then he has built a lasting legacy that includes not only multiple terms on both the YDS Alumni Board and Board of Advisors and a scholarship in his name, but also 59 consecutive annual letters written for and with his classmates to commemorate and carry on their sense of community throughout the six decades that have passed since their time on campus.  It was his generosity that inspired the Class of 1952 to establish its own named scholarship in 1994, followed by an International Students Scholarship in 2002, in honor of the class’s 50th Reunion.

“I’ve been coming to convocations for years,” said Stazesky at the 2012 Convocation and Reunions reunions dinner night, seeming right at home among the familiar faces of his 1952 classmates and other YDS friends made throughout the years. He calls his own class’s commitment to having a reunion every five years an important part of what has kept them closely bonded.

Stazesky, who has served as both class secretary and class agent, was the driving force behind this year’s sixtieth class reunion— the first sixtieth reunion to be celebrated at convocation ceremonies—and his tireless spirit earned him and his 1952 classmates special recognition at the reunion dinners event. Stazesky was surprised with the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Service, as alumni, staff, faculty, and students applauded his unwavering commitment to the Class of 1952 and to the wider Yale Divinity School community.

The citation presented to him by Dean Gregory Sterling calls him “a legend among Yale Divinity School volunteers” and says, “You continue to dutifully serve YDS as class secretary and will soon publish your 60th edition of the 1952 Annual Class Letter.  You are the model of dependability in producing this colorful 20-plus page piece each fall, and we are struck by your unwavering commitment to keeping your class connected for over 60 years.”

Noting the numerous changes that have taken place at YDS since his time here—which includes the removal of dormitory space from Sterling Divinity Quadrangle—Stazesky said his only worry is that current students might miss out on the sense of community that has kept him dedicated to serving his class for all these years.

“The talent here seems even higher than when I came in,” observed Stazesky, who has also served as class reunion committee chair for the past 55 years.  “You’re all dedicated to your work and take it all very seriously. But you have to have fun together, building connections that will last for years.”

He concluded, “It’s that loyalty to each other that will inspire you to give back to YDS for the rest of your life.”

November 4, 2012
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