A fond adieu to one of our own

20 August 2003

Lyn Hunter, on her last day of work at the Berkeleyan, bestowed upon her co-workers several drawers full of meticulously researched and labeled files on numerous campus subjects — a trove destined for repeated pillaging. Jonathan King photo

Starting next week, readers of the Berkeleyan will notice the absence of a familiar, nay ubiquitous byline. D. Lyn Hunter, a Public Affairs staff member for more than a decade, has moved up the hill to the Office of Planning and Communication at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Hunter began her UC career in October 1991 as a receptionist in Public Affairs’ Sproul Hall office.
“Lyn’s a perfect example of someone who took advantage of all there is to offer at the university,” says Media Relations Director Marie Felde. “Working closely with writers and editors in the office, she saw the possibility for a career in news, went back to school, got her degree, used the Staff Internship Program to get her feet wet as a writer, and began a new professional career.”

In recent years, as a Berkeleyan reporter and writer, Hunter lent her distinctive touch to the calendar pages (where, in addition to coordinating the flow of information about campus events, she penned weekly highlights). She also carved out something of a specialty in staff and faculty profiles and — undaunted by the acronyms endemic to a large and complex bureaucracy — won plaudits for her careful reporting on the work of campus administrative units, such as OHR, PPCS, UCPD, and EH&S (that is, Human Resources, Physical Plant–Campus Services, UC Police Department, and Environment, Health & Safety), among many others.

She also made her mark as an enthusiastic advocate for UC staff, through her voluntary service on the Chancellor’s Staff Advisory Committee (CSAC) and Berkeley Staff Assembly. Director of Residential and Family Living Jerlena Griffin, who helped select Hunter to serve on CSAC, says her “thoughtfulness and willingness to ask the tough questions … brought us to a deeper level of discussion. She helped us to have conversations that we might not have had.”

Lyn’s colleagues in Public Affairs — especially the staff of the Berkeleyan — will miss her enthusiasm, humor, and professionalism, but look forward to following her work as a writer and editor for “Currents,” “Today at Berkeley Lab,” “Science on the Hill,” and other LBNL communications.