UNH Today

Evening of Distinction 2023 Celebrates Service and Philanthropy

The University of New Hampshire held its annual Evening of Distinction celebration Oct. 12, honoring service and philanthropy by handing out four awards.

Morgan ’84 and Tara Rutman received the Hubbard Award for Service to Philanthropy, Margaret (Peggy) Ann Shea ’58, ’61G, ’18H was awarded the Charles Holmes Pettee Medal, Nancy Kinner ’80G, ’83G received the Profile of Service Award and Vivian Pham ’14 received the Outstanding Recent Graduate Award.

Hubbard Award for Service to Philanthropy – Morgan ’84 and Tara Rutman

Becoming Paul College

There was a lot of excitement around campus in the spring of 2013 when the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics opened its doors and forever changed the University of New Hampshire’s business program.

While the new building immediately expanded the capacity of the school’s business and economics programs from 1,700 to 2,800 students and provided a significant technological upgrade, it also meant leaving behind the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, known as WSBE and housed at the McConnell Hall, which already had a strong and established reputation.

Ted and Christine Ristaino recall mentor, professor with Paul College scholarship

In the early 1970s, Ted Ristaino was an English major at Holy Cross about to graduate, with “no clue,” he says, of what his future held (aside from plans to marry his girlfriend Christine the week after graduation).

So just about to head out into the “real world,” he went into the Holy Cross placement office, looking for some direction. There he met Professor Bill Wetzel, visiting from UNH to talk to prospective students about going to the Graduate School here in Durham.

UNH Prioritizes Student Mental Health Through New Initiatives

Ranae Reardon ’24 doesn’t need to read any fancy reports to tell her that student mental health is a significant challenge on college campuses.

Those reports certainly exist, and they’re fairly convincing – according to one Healthy Minds Study cited by the American Psychological Association, more than 60% of college students met the criteria for at least one mental health problem during the 2020-2021 school year, and in another national survey, nearly three-out-of-four students reported moderate or severe psychological distress.