UNH Today

If there is a theme to this issue of UNH Magazine, I’d imagine it’s “transitions.” Two of our major features are about very visible transitions: the retirement of President Mark Huddleston, who has served as the university’s leader for more than a decade, and that of Dick Umile ’72, who has been the head coach of the men’s ice hockey team since 1990. But the other two features touch on the idea of change as well. For the first time in several years, we’re sharing images from our Global Education Center’s annual photo contest for students studying abroad — an experience many undergraduates discover truly transforms their college experience. And this issue’s update about CELEBRATE 150: The Campaign for UNH will be the last of its kind, as the campaign draws to a close at the end of June after seven successful years.

For many of us, transitions — even the ones we’ve been eagerly anticipating — can be daunting. A new house, a new job, a new relationship — we face the unfamiliar with both excitement for what is novel and a touch of reluctance to let go of what we know. Here in Durham, it’s hard to imagine the campus without President Huddleston and Coach Umile, who both have put their own distinct stamp on UNH. As the longest-serving president in UNH’s history, Huddleston has overseen a broad array of advances aimed at bettering the university for both current and future students, faculty, staff, alumni, community members and the state of New Hampshire. It would take a book to fully catalog the achievements of his 11 years here, but Jim Graham’s story on pages 24 – 32 is an excellent start. Dave Moore’s story about Umile, pages 36 – 41, likewise highlights a tenure that has elevated the university’s national profile, if on a different scale.

Our next magazine — the fall issue — will focus primarily on CELEBRATE 150 results, highlighting the power of philanthropy, and the many ways in which our donors’ investments shape UNH’s future. It will also introduce UNH’s next president, who remains to be named as of press time but is expected to be in place as of July 1. In other words, more transitions ahead, bearing out that piece of ancient wisdom credited to the Greek philosopher Heraclitus: “The only thing that is constant in life is change.”

Kristin Waterfield Duisberg
Editor-in-chief