Shirley Panico leaves her campus family

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Shirley Panico dedicated 27 years of her 40-year university service to the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism. Panico shared her last official day of work with student assistant Megan Carrasco (left).

by April Schulthies

Honored at the Staff Awards Luncheon May 25 for her 40 years of service, Shirley Panico thinks of her workspace as a home instead of an office.

At age 15 Panico was already working as a bookkeeper in Avenal. She came to what was then the Fresno State Placement Office at age 22. That August of 1958 marked the beginning of Panico's long university service.

Panico originally took the Fresno State job at $295 per month to support her first husband while he was getting an education. "Harold Jones, the placement director at that time, was reluctant to hire me because student wives don't usually stay very long," Panico said, laughing.

After a three-month leave to have her daughter, Panico took a job in Evaluations until Dr. Don Albright recruited her to work as his secretary in the Dean of Students Office.

"One of the best lessons I learned on campus was when I was working for Dr. Albright," said Panico. "It was during the campus unrest and we were in the hot spot. But being in the Dean of Students Office gave me the opportunity to bond with several minority students. One in particular would come in and chat with me for about an hour at a time. I was concerned that Dr. Albright might think I was spending too much time with the student, but he told me it was the most important thing I could do."

After 12 years with the Dean of Students Office, Panico accepted the 10-month department secretary position in the Department of Journalism (now Department of Mass Communication and Journalism), where she worked from 1971 until her retirement last year.

"There's something about being in a department that makes it a very special place," Panico said. "When I started out, the department was small, with maybe 150 students. I got to know each one of them. Now we have over 400."

After a year in the Journalism Department, Panico lost her first husband to cancer. Nine years later she married Victor Panico, a professor of business management at the university.

Panico has a strong work philosophy. "I try to give my best and then some," she said. "No matter what office you're in, you can always have a positive influence just by smiling and not making the students feel as if they're imposing."

Panico's approach to finding answers to student questions spawned a list of "Where to Go for Answers" over 30 years ago - a list still found in modified form in the Schedule of Courses under "Answers to Your Questions."

Panico's talents did not stop there, as Jim Tucker can attest. For ten years - 1980 to 1990 - Tucker worked closely with Panico during his time as chair of the department.

"Shirley kept our sometimes chaotic office running smoothly," Tucker said. "Her commitment to everything we did was beyond normal expectations. She treated the department as if it were her family."

Panico said that working in the MCJ Department brought out her penchant for details. Tucker agrees. "She has an editing eye that would rival the eye of the best professionals," he said. "She can spot a typographical error in a headline literally from across the room. I credit her for much of our success over the years."

Both Tucker and Panico measure the department's success by the number of alumni who realize their dreams. "The reward of being in a department is you can help students achieve their goals," said Panico.

Tucker believes part of the reason MCJ alumni feel so close to the department is Panico's efforts. "She kept track of students after they graduated and many of them would come to see her after they left because of the family environment she provided," said Tucker.

Panico summed up her experience with MCJ students: "You feel like they're your own kids. You feel like a mom."

Panico's exceptional performance earned her the university's Outstanding Employee of the Year Award in 1993. She also received honorary membership in the Kappa Tau Alpha Journalism Honor Society in 1998 and earned the 1998 Service to Journalism Education Award from the Journalism Association of Community Colleges.

Sally Anshutz, the current department administrative assistant, took over the MCJ front line last fall. Although Panico has retired, she still helps with such MCJ projects as the alumni newsletter.

Continuing the family relationship with Fresno State, Panico's granddaughter plans to attend the university next year.