Alumni News

A Gift of Heart
In the Spotlight
Two Ways for Alumni to Mentor a Student

Bayley and Paige Archinal and their grandfather, Tom Tracy '55, hold one of the framed panels that are now on permanent display at the Elliott Alumni Center.

Tom Tracy estimates that it took him about 1,500 hours to complete the pencil drawing he recently gave to UNH in honor of his 50th Reunion, but it is impossible to calculate how much heart went into it.

The drawing is a triptych, comprised of three large panels. He began the work three years ago, after class secretary Evie Suutari Baker '55 suggested the idea. Tracy has sold drawings of buildings for years—his Great American Landscape series is comprised of cityscapes—but the UNH drawing posed some challenges.

"I've dealt with a lot of skyscrapers," Tracy explains, "but at UNH, 95 percent of the buildings are three stories. I worked with the buildings realistically, and used foliage, walkways and stairways abstractly to unify the composition." Tracy made several trips to UNH to sketch and photograph the campus, and spent a lot of time in the university archives. "I found the student work in yearbooks to be really artistic, and very helpful," he says.

Tracy was born in Portland, Maine, and his love for boats and the sea is evident in his artwork—besides pencil drawings, he works with pastels, acrylics and mixed media. For 30 years, Tracy had a dual career as an art educator and a practicing artist. He taught in Gorham, N.H., and Schuylerville, N.Y., and was the art director for the Winchester, Mass., public schools for 20 years. He and his wife, Marilyn Todd Tracy '58, maintained a gallery in Rockport, Mass., as well as studio space at their home in Greenfield, N.Y., while he taught full-time.

Tracy retired from teaching in 1988, and he and Marilyn recently closed their gallery. Now semi-retired, they play bridge and golf, and Tracy paints mostly by commission. When asked why he wanted to donate so much of his time and talent to UNH, he sounds nostalgic. "It was quite a close-knit community back then, when Marilyn and I were at UNH. I know it's different now—there are twice as many students!—but I still get the same feeling when I'm on campus."

The entire triptych.

Henry "Hank" Sanders '50 jokes that he has a lot of blue and white blood flowing through his veins.

After all, his mother was a housemother at the former East-West Hall, he and his brother, Waldo '51, graduated from UNH, and his youngest daughter, Nancy, graduated with the Class of 1979. "I came to UNH in 1946 after I got out of the Navy," Sanders says. "It's been a love affair ever since."

Sanders has been active in the former UNH 100 Club, served as president of the Alumni Association's board of directors, was inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame and received the Alumni Meritorious Service Award. But his focus these days has been on his work as an advocate lobbying UNH's lawmakers, some of whom are former students. "It's not an every day or every week or every month thing, but whenever they call me, I'm hot to trot," Sanders says. "Especially during election time, we want people who are supportive of the university and supportive of education to be elected."

"I've been called upon to make a lot of phone calls to state senators and legislators for sundry reasons," he said. "Because of the number of people I know, I do what I can with the people that I know. I kind of like to think that because of my contacts, some of them have worked out." The former UNH football and baseball player makes this analogy. "It's kind of like a batting average," Sanders says. "If I make three hits out of 10, that's .300, and that's pretty good."

Sanders has been active in the former UNH 100 Club, served as president of the Alumni Association's board of directors, was inducted into the UNH Athletics Hall of Fame and received the Alumni Meritorious Service Award. But his focus these days has been on his work as an advocate lobbying UNH's lawmakers, some of whom are former students. "It's not an every day or every week or every month thing, but whenever they call me, I'm hot to trot," Sanders says. "Especially during election time, we want people who are supportive of the university and supportive of education to be elected."

"UNH did a lot for me," he says. "I wouldn't have had the career I had without my background from UNH. That's pretty much the same statement you'll hear from other people."

For information on joining the UNH Advocates, visit http://alumni.unh.edu/advocates.

Two Ways for Alumni to Mentor a Student

Most people have a fond memory from their youth of a relationship with an older person who provided good advice.

UNH is launching a new program that will give alumni and students a similar opportunity to work together on career and networking skills in a year-long, one-on-one partnership. UNH Pathways is a joint project of the Alumni Association, faculty members and deans and the University Advising and Career Center. Starting in September, alumni in business, engineering and science who apply will be assigned to a student in a similar major. Students will be able to ask alumni questions and gain first-hand knowledge of what to expect in the professional world after graduation. They'll also practice networking and communication skills. In future years, the program will roll out to include more fields. Sign up at http://www.unh.edu/uacc/unhpathways.html.

At the 2005-06 Diversity Networking Luncheons, students of color and GLBT students will be introduced to representatives from companies that are dedicated to diversity in the workforce. Employers will provide advice on the process of searching for internships and jobs, and insight into potential careers. The students, who will range from freshmen to seniors, will be coached prior to the event on career networking skills and then will try these skills out in the luncheon's supportive environment.

While the luncheons—sponsored by UACC, the Alumni Association, the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs and UNH's Connect—are not intended to provide students with a position, students will be encouraged to build connections that can lead to employment. Sign up online to attend at http://www.unh.edu/uacc/formpages/diversitylunch.htm.