Jo Ann Duron, NOVA Printing Services Manager, to Retire

Imagine it’s September 1, 1980. NOVA was starting its thirteenth official year and with only its second president. Jimmy Carter was the President of the United States (Ronald Reagan would be elected in November); Kramer vs Kramer received the Oscar for Best Picture over Apocalypse Now and Breaking Away (among others); Mount St. Helens erupted; the Pac-Man video game was released; the television channel CNN went on-air for the first time and The Far Side comic strip appeared in print newspapers.

More importantly, in NOVA news, Jo Ann Duron started her career working the various manual printing presses in the College’s Print Shop. Now, forty-two extraordinary years and millions of prints later, Jo Ann has decided to put away the, now-digital, ink and retire!

Jo Ann’s tenure has spanned five NOVA Presidents and the College’s expansion to six campuses. She has managed the transition from those all-manual printing processes to a state-of-the-art digital print production shop, including moving the entire Print Shop multiple times.

Over the course of her career, her attention to detail ensured that any product distributed or displayed by the College was of the highest quality. From individual mailers to College catalogs to on-campus marketing graphics, Jo Ann provided a consistent, professional and clear approach to evaluating everything that left the Print Shop.

She was instrumental in the installation of a variety of types of equipment, ensuring the College received the most up to date versions, and she was always looking for opportunities to upgrade the Print Shop’s equipment and materials to provide more services to the College. In the last few years, she added internal production of business cards for the College, the stand-up banners now displayed throughout the campuses, and she created a one-stop-shop for graphics sign mounts and other products.

Always willing to go above and beyond what was in her job description, Jo Ann instituted a process to re-use and recycle the pop-up banners in-house (saving customers and the College money), provided institutional knowledge for mail handling and ensured that the customer was always satisfied with the products delivered.

Her exceptional leadership, get-it-done attitude and sage wisdom will be greatly missed at NOVA. Jo Ann’s last day in the office is October 14. Please stop by the Print Shop (Annandale Campus – CW-106) or send her a note at joduron@nvcc.edu to wish her well!

Submitted by:
Rob Johnson, Director of Sustainability and Auxiliary Services, ROJohnson@nvcc.edu