Photo by Christina VanHorn,
UNH Human Resources

When Gary Sears first became involved with security on the University campus 28 years ago, the position he held had only recently been created. In the years prior, the security of the campus at night had focused almost exclusively on campus buildings and had been the responsibility of the Night Watchman, a maintenance position. When Gary began, the position was still focused on the security of the physical aspects of the campus. In hard hat and J.C. Penney work clothes, the security officers would patrol the interiors of campus buildings, walking ten to twelve miles each night through hallways, attics, and in some cases, duct work. In sharp contrast, today's Security Services are very much focused on the people who comprise the University community - students, faculty and staff.

One result of this shift in focus, and assisted by technological advancements such as automated access to closed buildings through the card-swipe system, is that Security Officers are now more visible members of the campus community; "we want to be outside, visible, and interacting with the students. We want them to know we're there to assist them," states Gary. Another primary goal has been to maintain the University as a safe work environment; "we want people to feel comfortable in their workplace." His concern for the safety of the University community is magnified by the many personal connections he has across the campus. In fact, when asked what he enjoys most about his position, Gary responded "the interactions with people, many of whom have become friends over the years; meeting new employees, answering their questions that hopefully make their process of working at UNH easier." Considering the fact that the responsibility for securing over 250 buildings lay with Gary and a staff of seven, their ability to focus on positive interactions with community members is impressive.

Never one to fall into complacency with routine, Gary, who lives by the statement "the correct answer is never 'because that's the way we've always done it,'" has played an integral role in the continual process review that feeds the evolution of Security Services. With a degree in Environmental Conservation and an option in Community Development from UNH, Gary's focus on community building is not surprising. Gary largely attributes his comfort with developing, delivering and assessing appropriate programs and services to meet specific needs to the experiences he had working with Jessie James and Cal Schroder from Cooperative Extension. Despite his lack of applied experience at the time, they gave Gary the responsibility of developing and delivering community programs throughout New Hampshire. For instance, he developed and delivered bike safety programs in many NH communities. Giving him little time to question his abilities, he was told "Go and do it, you'll figure it out." Figuring it out in the moment has been an invaluable experience for Gary, and has served him well in his years with Security Services. Gary's hobbies include golf (where he maintains a 15 handicap and "too many" sets of clubs) and collecting antique toy trains from the 1920s and 1930s.