As many of you have heard, Richard Smith is retiring after 15 years of invaluable service to Fresno State and 9 of those years spent in our Library. His last day is December 31, 2020.

Richard has been the key source of all building operations and facilities management. He has kept our building functional, beautiful and all systems going. Richard has been that daily hidden gem, tirelessly making himself available, a Johnny-on-the-spot and the most immediate problem-solver I have experienced as an administrator. I have truly appreciated Richard’s care of our library space and the entire building. He works with library staff so much that many may not realize that he also supports campus administration on the 4th floor and our building neighbors.

Richard’s skills and expert knowledge of the building have kept us safe and made spaces functional and accessible. He has always been just a phone call away and so responsive to almost any request. If he didn’t have the solution, he’d find it and was always willing to go the extra mile.  It’s been a comfort knowing that we had a dedicated person to handle issues from routine requests to building emergencies.

I reached out to Christine Evans to share her reflections on working very closely with Richard for many years and I think she summed up our sentiment on Richard’s service to Fresno State and the legacy he is leaving:

“I haven’t found anything that Richard can’t do yet (and believe me, I have asked him to do a lot of different things!).  

Along with all of Richard’s day-to-day work, he has also been involved in many projects and crises. He has done things like help coordinate the installation of the study pods, the upgrade of equipment in all of the study rooms, helped with the Innovation Center as well as countless other things.

Richard has also saved us from many things…such as when the area outside of 1220 flooded when a pipe burst.  Without him, there would have been a lot more damage and we are forever grateful for his quick response time on that.

Richard has always been a quick phone call away and I, for one, will miss that greatly.  He is not only beyond competent and wonderful at whatever he does but he’s also always a smiling face and comforting voice.“

Richard, we will miss you and how will we fill the big shoes that you are leaving us! Our best wishes in your next chapter and please stay in touch with your HML family.

With sincere gratitude,

Del Hornbuckle, dean of library services.

We welcome friends and colleagues of Richard to leave messages in the comments to wish him well!