Alumni News

• Betty Kilgore Hoadley '57, '71G on the alumni board's plans
• Polly Daniels '64 retires

In the few months since I've started working here at the Alumni Association, I've had the pleasure of observing the operations of the Alumni Office up close. And in my first opportunity to write to you in the UNH Magazine, I'd like to talk about what the association does—and what it doesn't do.

In a series of focus groups organized by the Alumni Association a couple of years ago, most alumni thought that the role of the UNH Alumni Association was to raise money. This feedback caused considerable surprise here in the alumni office, because the Alumni Association's job is people: "To inform, serve and engage all UNH alumni." We do this in a number of ways: through alumni events, this magazine, our alumni Web site, alumni trips and many other services.

So who raises money for UNH, if not the Alumni Association? Fundraising is done by the UNH Foundation, and they have an important task, since New Hampshire is last in the nation in state support of higher education. Consequently, the university has to rely more heavily on tuition, research grants and private donations than other state universities. The money raised from private gifts is earmarked for academic purposes, including financial need scholarships.

You may wonder why, then, the Alumni Association asks for your participation in programs like the alumni dues program. The answer has to do with the Alumni Association's quasi-independent relationship with the university. Our funding is a reflection of that relationship: The university pays for approximately 50 percent of the total operating costs of the Alumni Association, but the association is expected to be self-supporting for the other half.

As a result, the Alumni Association runs a number of programs that support association activities and provide a service to alumni at the same time. You may have received mailings from us about these offers, which we call affinity partners. Two of our newest partnerships are with Yankee magazine (see Page 12) and with Dan Parkhurst '93, who offers UNH clothing with secure online shopping through the Alumni Marketplace. A number of alumni-owned businesses sponsor alumni events, such as men's hockey receptions. A new effort is to increase the number of these sponsored events.

The biggest revenue source for the Alumni Association is the membership dues program. Now 10 years old, the dues program has almost 10,000 dues-paying members. Membership dues and voluntary subscriptions to this magazine are the most direct way that alumni can support what the Alumni Association does: in other words, helping us help alumni.

I'm happy to report that the services we offer are well received. Alumni let us know that they look forward to the chance to attend hockey games or network with friends at alumni events; appreciate career advice; have fun on alumni trips; and enjoy reading about UNH in this magazine. The Alumni Association is your organization, and with your continued help and support, we'll continue to be here for you.

Ever since I learned to play cribbage back in my primary school years, I have been interested in numbers. My first UNH degree was in economics and my second in education. You can guess where I spent most of my career years: the classroom. I have taught every grade from 3 to 12, often in math-related areas. Ten years ago I retired from teaching at Concord (N.H.) High School, where I taught economics, geopolitics and history.

Working in a nonprofit organization like the UNH Alumni Association involves examining the prime numbers. Many of this year's goals are number-related: expanding our membership; increasing and diversifying our revenue sources; enlarging our circle of friends both in Durham and beyond; pressing for greater funding from the New Hampshire General Court; using the kindly donated dollars to make the wildcat sculpture a reality; supporting the efforts of the University Foundation; expanding our services to alums of all ages; and becoming a real influence in the lives of students, our next crop of alumni. These are our goals; these are our significant numbers.

Like many of you, my life can be divided into segments. After schooling, parenting and juggling a career, I find that now I can spend more substantial time in volunteering. What a joy it is to choose to work for causes that interest me and to be able to "do good works."

Through the Leadership New Hampshire program and my service as an elected representative to the General Court, I have met and worked with people from all over the state. It's given me a great perspective on the quality of education offered to students at UNH as well as the quality of life of this state. It has given me an appreciation of the many roles at which this university excels. But, most of all, it has given me sharper focus on the important numbers.

UNH has been good to me and my family. Two of our three adult children are grads, and now our eldest granddaughter is a sophomore majoring in math—what else?—at UNH. Like many of you, I am ready to give back to the institution that does so much good for alums worldwide and citizens in the state of New Hampshire. I look forward to working with Gregg Sanborn '66, '77G, who has agreed to become our permanent executive director. Please join us in supporting the Alumni Association. Consider volunteering in any of the many parts of our mission. Join us for the fun events, work with advocacy, utilize the many services offered, shop in the Alumni Marketplace, become a member, write a letter to the editor, or, at the very least, stay in touch. I invite you to pick your number one interest in our number one university and play along with us.

(To find out more about volunteer possibilities, contact the Alumni Office at (800) 891-1195, alumni@unh.edu or www.alumni.unh.edu. Contact Betty Hoadley at ehoad@csd.k12.nh.us or at (603) 224-7345.)

Good Golly, Ms. Polly, We'll Miss You

Polly Ashton Daniels '64, who has devoted 26 years to UNH, most recently as the director of alumni activities, will retire at the end of December. "Polly's tireless dedication and commitment to the UNH Alumni Association has been extraordinary," says Gregg Sanborn '66, '77G, executive director of the Alumni Association. "She is the person who can call Reunion Weekend, Homecoming, Pettee Medal ceremonies and Senior Week her own, and she has touched the lives of thousands of alumni during her tenure. UNH has truly been the beneficiary of her work."

Daniels, who earned a bachelor's degree in theater from UNH and an associate's degree in criminology, worked for UNH Admissions from 1979 to 1984 and then moved to the Alumni Association. In addition to her responsibilities for on-campus alumni events, she created the UNH Elders Program, which was recently featured in the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education magazine, Currents.

As an alumni volunteer, she has been the secretary and treasurer for her class for 35 years, served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1971 to 1977 and was a member of the Executive Council from 1976-77. She received the UNH Alumni Meritorious Service Award in 1976.

"Every alum who has celebrated a reunion on campus in the last two decades saw her, heard her or caught her contrail as she 'flew' from one part of campus to another," says Diana Koski, vice president and director of Planned Giving for the UNH Foundation. "She has made a lasting contribution to UNH."