Lee Melvin, UConn’s vice president for enrollment management and planning, appears to be a mild-mannered suit-and-tie executive. But beneath his business-like demeanor is the soul of an opera singer.

Melvin, who earned a bachelor of music education degree from Houston Baptist University and a master of music degree from the University of Michigan, no longer sings for audiences – although the staff in Enrollment Management may beg to differ. He sings when the opportunity presents itself, which is almost always: while working in his office in the Wilbur Cross building, performing household tasks, or driving. And if he isn’t singing opera, he’s listening to it.

Now he is sharing his joy with students in the School of Fine Arts, where he has created the Lee H. Melvin Opera Fund to provide student and program support. His career in admissions work, as the coordinator of minority recruitment programs at the University of Georgia, a financial aid officer at the University of Michigan, assistant director of admissions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and associate director of admissions at Wayne State University, is not at all at odds with his passion for opera, he says. In fact, it is in lockstep with it.

“The training I received early on in opera helped me,” he says. “Being able to stand in front of groups and perform, using data and information to create a performance or a policy presentation, learning how to work as a team – all of these skills I learned in opera relate to what I do in admissions.” He does not discount the satisfaction of having an audience treasure his signature either – his signature for the past five years graced UConn admissions letters.

Now that he is vice president, that job is no longer his, but, “I might sneak that back in,” he says. “I always wanted people clamoring for my autograph.”

Why did he create a fund to support the School of Fine Arts? “It’s nice to be in the position where I can help students study what they love,” he says. “I’m very grateful for those who helped me through my education, and now it’s my turn, to have the spotlight on me in a different way. It’s the human thing to do, when I see people in need.”

For more information about supporting scholarships and programs, please contact the Foundation’s development department.