By Karen Kruger

Newmarket

Article Date: Thursday, November 22, 2007

I read the recent interview with the new University of New Hampshire president, Mark Huddleston. Frankly, I am less than impressed.

President Huddleston referenced the low alumni support. I am among the non-supporters. I still owe on my student loan. I have, ever since I graduated as a non-traditional student, lost ground in my financial and career aspirations. I am, in fact, working with no benefits. I have 15 years of employment at Dartmouth College and a miserable, negligible, employment engagement at UNH, post graduation, at less than when I left to undertake my studies at UNH. So much for an education! And, so much for an education from UNH when they hired me for less than when I left Dartmouth. UNH does not reward its own educational achievements. Pardon my cynicism. Education does not pay. And, this is a fallacy that we have got to confront.

Education today is much about marketing. Unless you are of a certain age, your investment is just money in the coffers. One hopes that a late-achieved undergraduate degree might be a boost. A liberal arts degree is worthless. Especially so when UNH hires with a degraded salary scale. Administrative management at UNH is quite secure – at taxpayers' largesse.

As an alumna, I have another peeve. The UNH websites, over all, are outdated and, as such, meaningless. This is a university that has prepared astronauts. This university boasts a collaborator on the Nobel Prize for the environment. The university is unable to keep its on-line information current. Random sampling renders the following delinquencies:

The Office of Affirmative Action and Equity headlines October as Cyber Security Month. I do not need to point out that we are, well, into the month of November.

OMSA has activities as of September. Incidentally, OMSA offers "free printing." Should I be envisioning a line out of the door to accommodate the entire student body availing themselves of this boon? Why bother with paying at the computer hubs? Or, is this targeted at select student groups, i.e., GLSTB and minorities? This troubles me.

The last time I checked, the Italian Foreign Program, still, listed in its paperwork, "Pat Gormley, Special Assistant to the president." Pat Gormley resigned from UNH in April 2005.

UNH has to do better. It does not need more money. These are basic functions.

Dr. Huddleston might engage in outreach as I have contacted him before on the issue of outdated UNH websites, with no response. This is in stark contrast to Joan Leitzel who, personally, replied to my concern, an academic issue, while I was a student.

UNH is bloated. I know. I resigned from an abusive employment situation from which I am still trying to recover. I have a paper trail of student theft and inflated travel benefits for a supervisor.

UNH has to do better. President Huddleston has to do better. Sadly, my UNH degree is worthless. I had a wonderful educational experience, but I am very disillusioned by the promise of it. I am one of the food pantry habitués. With a UNH degree, something is not right. The state of New Hampshire needs more accountability rather than buckling into appeals for more funding.