Many of you have probably heard that UNH Manchester has a new Interim Dean and his name is Michael Hickey. My first interaction with Dean Hickey was at a weekly meeting held for the members of the Peer Assistant Leader team, otherwise known as PALs.
Dean Hickey wanted to get a feel for what we do for the campus and took time out of his schedule to do so, an idea that was foreign to me at the time. I felt drawn to this seemingly passionate Dean and wanted to know more. When I asked him if I could interview him for the Student Perspectives blog, he agreed without hesitation.
As some may know, Dean Hickey was not always involved in the school system. Prior to joining UNH Manchester, he was retired from a twenty-four year career with Verizon where he held many different positions. During his last 13 years with the company, he served as President of Verizon New Hampshire and Vice President of National Security Policy in Washington.
When I asked him how he enjoyed his assignments, he told me, “These positions afforded me an opportunity to work at state and national levels with a broad range of government, business and non-profit leaders. I had an opportunity to work for a great company and to provide leadership on a range of important policy matters."
Before his time with Verizon, he explained, “I began my career as a regional land use planner. I then served as Executive Director of the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce and subsequently appointed Director of Economic Development for the State of New Hampshire.” With such impressive resume, we were fortunate he decided on UNH Manchester as his next step.
Dean Hickey was not chosen at random but instead has associated with the University System of New Hampshire for many years. “My wife and I have had a very long association as volunteers and supporters of the University. I graduated in 1973 and remained in touch,” he said. “I am especially supportive of UNH President Mark Huddleston’s vision for UNH and his focus on positive change for the university. When President Huddleston approached me to serve as Interim Dean, I thought it would be a great fit as I had been an advocate for UNH Manchester for many years.”
Dean Hickey, who met his wife at the University of New Hampshire, has never forgotten the education he had received. He continued, “I grew up in Goffstown and was appreciative of the opportunity to attend UNH in Durham. UNH Manchester provides a great learning environment at a different scale – one that’s very focused on the student experience – both in the classroom and in real-world settings through internships and research.”
His reasons for wanting to be a part of UNH Manchester are the same reasons that many of us attend this school. He sees through the misnomers of a commuter school and focuses on its relationship to the city of Manchester. He wants to continue our traditions of an urban campus and take it a step further.
“It has been said that Manchester is our campus. Beyond the words, we live the experience. So many of our students work and live in the Manchester community and contribute through work, study and volunteerism,” he added. “UNH Manchester is integral to economic and social vibrancy of Manchester and the surrounding towns. We have an opportunity to further refine the work we have done and step it up further. In a time when measurement outcomes are becoming more important, UNH Manchester has a great opportunity to grow academic programs in smart ways and to increase the number of internships, not just in industry but in the nonprofit sector. We have a greater opportunity to further integrate ourselves in the community, through our deeds.”
In his short time here, Dean Hickey has already put measures in place to ensure the success of UNH Manchester. When I asked him about these initiatives, he replied, “We have formed a team to better define the future competitive positioning of UNH Manchester. We have leadership support from faculty and staff, and have enjoyed great collaboration between our college and UNH Durham. We are going to prioritize and focus our energies on programs that will make a difference.”
If there is anything that could be definitely said about Dean Hickey, it is his commitment to this school. Since he has been here, he has already observed many great attributes that set UNH Manchester apart from other schools.
While discussing these unique features, he added, “Faculty and staff make an extraordinary effort to connect with students. Our UNH Manchester experience is student focused. It is a team environment with faculty and staff working closely together to support students. Our collective goal is to find the right niche for students as they go through their years of UNH Manchester. It’s an environment that is genuine and with a low student- faculty ratio that distinguishes us. Our campus community relationships are robust and very important.”
Dean Michael Hickey has shown, in just a short time, how much he cares about UNH Manchester and the relationship to the city of Manchester. He left me with these last few words, “We have at UNH Manchester an exceptional student body. I’ve learned about the CAE (Center for Academic Enrichment), PALs, first year experience and senior capstone projects. I’m very proud of how we strive to support our students -- each of them. Year after year, UNH Manchester proves its success through the quality and success of our graduates.”
