ENMU's Natural History Museum was re-named the "Dr. Anthony ‘Tony' Gennaro Natural History Museum" in honor of Gennaro, who died in August of 2015.
"Tony meant so much to the institution — he was here 32 years — that we thought that the renaming of this museum was — this is the closest I'll get to a pun all day — the natural thing to do," said ENMU President Steven Gamble.
Gamble said Gennaro was an invaluable asset to ENMU, in part due to his outreach on behalf of the university.
"As a university, when we look out at the outreach for the institution — by that I'm talking about people that can really take our message out to the community — probably in the top five, top maybe ever that I'm aware of, Tony would rank at the top of that," he said. "I mean, he did his own television show; he did articles in the newspaper; he was consulted as an expert when something in natural science would come up."
Two of Gennaro's former colleagues, ENMU Department of Physical Sciences Chair Jim Constantopoulos and Department of Biology Chair Kenwyn Cradock, also spoke on the profound impact he made on them.
"As the director of the Miles Mineral Museum, Tony and I worked and fought hard together to make these museums what they are today. He taught me to appreciate how important these museums are, not only for ENMU, but for Portales and New Mexico," Constantopoulos said. "Our friendship went beyond our love of the natural world, and in all of the day-to-day interactions we had in this building. We celebrated our ethnic heritages together. Here's a little-known fact: Tony was Italian, and sometimes he would play Italian music; and he made me feel proud of my Greek heritage."
Cradock recalled Gennaro's ability to spark an interest of the natural world in other people.
"For me, two amazing qualities of Tony was his passion for engaging people with nature, and in particular, students; and students of all ages and all stripes," said Cradock. "This wasn't just something that he did and said, ‘Hey, look what I've done.' He actively engaged students in all levels with setting up the museum, maintaining it, and that continues to this day."
After a ribbon-cutting ceremony to inaugurate the museum's new title, Gennaro's wife Marjorie observed a lasting legacy that he established at ENMU.
"With God's blessings, I'm certain Tony's watching over us. I think I can almost hear him saying, ‘Marjorie, my work at Eastern is complete, and my love for my students, enduring,'" she said. "I thank you so much for honoring Tony, and the many, many students that helped to create the Dr. Antonio ‘Tony' Gennaro Natural History Museum.' And let me tell you what: Tony thanks you too."
According to a program for the dedication, Gennaro designed and opened the Natural History Museum's educational exhibit in 1967. He also helped launch the Wildlife and Fisheries program at ENMU and started the university's wildlife club. He retired in 1998 as a distinguished emeritus professor of biology.
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