Photo by Jessica Maloney,
UNH Human Resources

Growing up in Corinna, Maine, Tina Sawtelle witnessed first hand the work and dedication involved in making a small business succeed. Her family owned a restaurant and allowed Tina to be involved from an early age. Alongside her grandmother, mother and father, all of whom she considers to be great cooks, she helped with the operations of the restaurant. From these early experiences, Tina derived not only a love of cooking, but also a keen business sense. As a result of having provided her with a great undergraduate experience, the university is the current beneficiary of her strong business acumen.

Tina's experiences with UNH began as an undergraduate, where she pursued a degree in Health Management and Policy. Later, as she was working towards her MBA at the Whittemore School of Business, her current position became available. Her motivation for applying to it can be largely attributed to her desire to "give back to the school that had given [her] such a great undergraduate experience." For the past four years now, Tina has been the Business Manager for Telecom. Her responsibilities have been expanded to include management of Telecom's Computer Operations staff and, most recently, the UNH Computer Store.

Tina's management style may have been influenced by her experiences working in a family environment. She seeks to understand the individual, professional goals of her staff by way of an ongoing dialogue. With an understanding that "as we go through life changes, our goals often change," she is committed to maintaining open communication with the individuals who comprise her staff. It is through this method that she feels best able to synthesize their needs with the needs of the organization. In fact, when asked what she most enjoys about working at UNH, Tina replied, "Hands down, the people! My staff are amazing. I am also very fortunate to be working with an excellent group of managers within Telecom and Client Services."

Working in such a rapidly changing industry, Tina is constantly looking to implement new technologies that provide the most convenience for members of the university community. When asked what skills were needed for her position, Tina responded "analytical, organizational, communication, time management, background in customer service, understanding of cost recovery models, people skills, an understanding of databases and the systems they run on." She appears exceptionally well suited to the position; "I love analyzing spreadsheets! The powerful information that can be compiled is incredible, and I find it satisfying to consolidate and simplify that information in a way that is easy to read and understandable."

Tina's time away from work is often spent cooking, or perusing cookbooks - "I'm a cookbook junky!" Tina's husband, Andrew, a former music teacher, is a full-time touring musician with the Aaron Katz band. They have recently constructed a home recording studio, which allows Andrew to produce and record others music, and gives Tina the occasion to pursue her interest in singing, "I love to sing…I occasionally get to sing on music that Andrew and his band mates are working on."