Dick Cannon

The man, the myth, the legend. One email from him could make or break your day. As he prepares to retire, help us say goodbye to our favorite weatherman, Dick Cannon. Read on to hear from this week’s Campus Celeb about those oh-so-anticipated emails we receive (or unfortunately don’t receive) every time there is a snow storm. 

How do you make the call for snow days? The leadership in Facilities ,  UNH Police/Emergency Preparedness and a consulting meteorologist and I track storms well in advance and exchange information frequently regarding any decision that the weather will significantly interfere with having the campus ready to open or stay open as planned . If we need time to remove snow or additional time to treat conditions we may open late or close early or close for the whole day. We try to balance a strong desire to remain open as so many people are depending on the university to do its work of education, research and service day in and day out with the need to make the campus reasonably accessible for a NE town.   

What do you do on snow days? I usually work on-line

Have you received any backlash for not having a snow day? I do from time to time; we do not make perfect decisions in the eyes of every single person all the time

What do you plan on doing after retirement? Rest, read, relax, travel, time with my family ( wife , six kids in our “brady bunch” and two grand children so far) part-time consulting in Higher Education and Health Care

What has been your favorite (and least favorite) part of your job? Favorite has been being involved in all aspects of UNH work because all require financial and other support systems

Least favorite –you guessed it- managing the anxiety and logistical realities around weather events, loss of electrical power or loss of network connectivity have been difficult  

What is your favorite memory at UNH?  Having two former US Presidents ( George Bush 1 and Bill Clinton) as speakers at the 2007 Commencement