Photo by Christina VanHorn

Another woman deserving some recognition this month, especially because of her role in riot prevention and judicial support for students, is Martha "Anne" Lawing who is the Senior Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs.

Lawing, who has been at UNH since 1982, attended Radford College in Virginia. "As a girl growing up in the South during the 60's," said Lawing, "we were really on the cusp of women's liberation movements. Most girls I knew were still going to college to become teachers and marrying engineers or architects from Virginia Tech."

While attending college, Lawing worked a job similar to an R.A. and "fell in love" with the student affairs field and residential life. After Radford, Lawing taught middle school history for a while and then decided to go back to grad school because she wasn't entirely sure what she wanted to do.

"I actually took a huge leap by moving out of state," said Lawing of her decision to go to Penn State for her Doctorate, "I also worked in residential life there for about six and half years."

When she heard of the job position available at UNH, Lawing laughed and said, "I thought, 'Well it's near the ocean.' And I've been here ever since. I really fell in love with the variety of things to do here."

Lawing's mother supported her decisions to follow her chosen career path even if it meant moving away from home. Her mother, who went to college and obtained a teaching degree, worked in the war department during World War II.

"After she married my dad, she didn't work anymore," said Lawing. "I had two sisters, so she was a full-time mom. After she died, I came to understand, like many women of my generation, how very frustrated she was not to be able to pursue what she wanted to do outside the home."

Before some administration changes allowed Lawing to join the Student Affairs department, she also worked with Residential Life and also in the MUB. When asked about the journey she made to get to her current position, Lawing replied, "It was a lot of hard, hard work. There were definitely 60 or 70-hour weeks." When Lawing described her job, she said she doesn't like staying in one place all the time and likes exploring in different areas.

"I really have to stay focused on what's important, no matter what," she said. "Throughout the years, I really try and stay focused on why I'm in this field; why I get up in the morning; because I think when you have a core sense of yourself and a very strong sense of values, nothing can shake you. Over time, it's really about stability."

In her 12th year as supervisor of the staff of Judicial and Mediation Programs, issues like the Patriot's Super Bowl riot back in 2002 and Red Sox disturbance in 2003 have become conquerable problems of the past.

"We were really taken off guard when [the riot] took place," said Lawing, "But we have really come a long way with it though. I'd like to say we have our response down to a science. I have spent the past two years working closely with Durham and University Police, Residential Life, and other University staff to get a message out to the student body that it's just not worth risking your education to be a part of any public disturbance. I am cautiously optimistic that we have turned a corner."

Lawing's office in Thompson Hall continues to have a lot of walk in traffic from students who feel that they might have been "victimized" or have experienced something that seems unfair within the university.

"I'm here to help students who feel like something isn't right. Sometimes it's a matter of understanding university policy and conduct. We really don't want students feeling like something is keeping them from having a positive experience here."

Lawing, who said she loves exercise and everything outdoors, has a 19-year-old daughter serving in the Army. She also advises students to really take advantage of everything they can, like going out of state and taking road trips. "Get off campus and enjoy everything."

As a mother herself now, Lawing said, "I am still grateful for what my mother and her generation did to raise daughters who became hungry for more, so that all of their frustration wasn't in vain."