I am writing this in the lull between commencement, when we saw some 3,100 new graduates off into the world, and reunion, when we will welcome nearly 1,000 alumni back to campus. Growing up in Durham, I dreaded graduation: the town became so quiet when all the students left. But now, it’s my favorite time of year — the excitement and nostalgia of our graduating students, the beauty of the campus in full bloom just in time for our biggest celebration, the easy parking — and I can very nearly see this familiar place through the eyes of those alums who have been away for many years and are astonished at how the university has transformed since they left.
Transformation is something of a theme for this issue; in different ways, all three of our features touch on the concept. Samm Holmes ’00 played a role in the transformation of women’s professional hockey, especially in Canada. The New Hampshire Indigenous Collaborative Collective is helping to transform a longstanding — and not necessarily accurate — narrative around the relationships between Colonial settlers and local native American tribes. And the university’s Undergraduate Research Conference, which just celebrated its 20th year, is a transformative experience for students — many of whom do research that is itself transformative.
And you’ve perhaps noticed that UNH Magazine is undergoing its own transformation. In addition to some design refinements we’ve already made — different paper, slightly larger format, an increased emphasis on big, beautiful visuals — there are some changes we’re considering to the content of the magazine as well as the timing and frequency of publication. Before we make these larger changes, however, we want to know what you think about UNH Magazine, and to that end, we’re working on a reader survey that we hope to have out before the end of summer. Please keep an eye out for it, and plan to participate. We want to continue publishing the highest-quality magazine we can, telling great stories about our university and its exceptional people, and we need your help to do so.
Kristin Waterfield Duisberg
Editor-in-chief
