Tennessee Tech Director of Grant Accounting Gail Ligon retiring from the university after a career spanning more than 42 years.
Ligon said she began her tenure in 1984 working in internal audit, a department where she remained for over three decades.
“Being young in my career, I thought I might be here for two or three or four years and then perhaps maybe even secure a job back in my hometown in Bristol, Virginia,” Ligon said. “I got here, I liked it, and I stayed 42 and a half years later, here I am.”
Ligon said the most significant changes she witnessed on campus involved the evolution of technology and the increase in construction. The first computers used in her office were hand-me-downs from the information technology department.
“When I first came to Tennessee Tech, I started in internal audit and I was in internal audit for 33 and a half years before I moved to the business office to work in grant accounting,” Ligon said. “When I first came to Tech, we didn’t even have computers in our office.”
Ligon said the grant accounting office grew from three staff members in 2017 to four positions last fall to keep pace with rising research activity. A new finance system implemented in January also changed how the office manages its workload.
“Research has grown drastically and we’re thankful for that,” Ligon said. “The work has increased greatly and of course Tennessee Tech implemented a new finance system in January of this year.”
Ligon said her career included working under the leadership of five different university presidents. She said the quality of the people she worked with and for served as the primary reason she remained at the institution for her entire career.
“I have worked for the best and with the best and that’s what kept me at Tennessee Tech,” Ligon said. “I feel very blessed to have worked at Tech for 42 and a half years and I’m very thankful for my career here.”
Ligon said she plans to spend her retirement with her three grandchildren and her sister in Bristol, Virginia.