Dorothy Pierson Hubeny, (Ph.D. ‘84) passed away in August after losing a courageous battle to cancer, but her legacy with the Neag School of Education lives on.

Dorothy, more commonly known as “Dot” by her friends and loved ones, was the quiet heart and soul of the Neag Alumni Society from its inception. She was instrumental in developing and launching the society and the annual Neag Alumni Awards Dinner. She spent years helping to build the group, including serving on the board for six years and two terms as president.

Dot first became connected to the Neag School as a graduate student in the doctoral program. She had selected the program due to the impressive curriculum, along with cost and location. Her research focus was on teacher stress and burnout, which contrasted with her calm, quiet demeanor. She collaborated with Dr. Richard Schwab (MA ’79, Ph.D. ’81), then a fellow doctoral student (now dean emeritus of the Neag School), publishing a paper on job stress and burnout. After graduation, Schwab went on to UNH to teach but they stayed in touch.

Dot connected with fellow graduate students, including Dr. Barbara Helms (MA ’79, Ph.D. ’85).  Their friendship grew into a lifelong bond, filled with studying, giving back to the Neag School through the Neag Alumni Society, numerous lunches at the Whispering Swan restaurant in Sturbridge and frequent chats about books over coffee at the Manchester Barnes & Noble.

Helms first met Dot in July of 1980, while attending the doctoral defense of a classmate of theirs. “She was starting her residency year, I was moving up to campus, we were both going to be in the same department and we connected,” Helms recalled.

Dot was taking a lot of classes that Helms had already taken – statistics courses mostly – so they had a lot to talk about. Helms described Dot as always being “very warm, and friendly; always happy to see me, but private too.”

Dot came to Storrs with her young daughter, Anne, having recently lost her first husband to cancer. Dot could always be found with her daughter in tow, either in class or in study sessions, where Anne sat quietly reading a book. The love of reading was something passed from mother to daughter, as Dot loved books, and the Manchester Barnes & Noble was her second home.

“My mom had many interests and hobbies, including being an avid reader,” said Anne (Miller). “She loved reading books about historical events, as well as biographies.”

After retirement, Dot joined several book clubs, and particularly enjoyed her association with a group that studied the Great Books. “She always wanted to expand her knowledge, learn more, and share ideas with others. She loved the give and take of an active book discussion and enjoyed learning what other people thought about issues raised in literature,” noted Miller.

“She was also a wonderful quilter, and loved to sew and work on her needlework. There was also a period where she learned to paint, and we are fortunate to have some of her wonderful paintings to remember her by,” recalled Miller.

Miller followed her mother’s lead in pursuing educational interests by earning a Bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University, followed by a Master’s degree from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. She’s currently a TV news writer and producer in New York.

Dot’s classmates and professors became her extended family. In addition to Barbara, she met fellow doctoral student Dr. Larry Fenn (MA ’70, Ph.D. ’83). Together they later became quite the dynamic Neag group. She also stayed in touch with Schwab, along with being close one of her advisors, Dr. Fran Archambault (MA ’69, Ph.D. ’70), who fondly recalled Dot.

“Dot had the courage and tenacity to fulfill her dreams despite facing significant setbacks. She was gentle, considerate, and dedicated to her family and work,” said Archambault.

Archambault continued, “She was very professional and she was principled as well, but didn’t impose her view on others. She was very much a lady, but also a woman who was tough when she needed to be.” He had first met Dot when she applied to graduate school, and was impressed with her commitment to her family and to advancing her career.

He also knew she was going to have an impact. “Dot was a very caring and kind person, but she was focused as well,” he said. “I knew from the moment I met her that she was special. Dot didn’t sit on the sidelines; she rolled up her sleeves and dug in.”

“She knew UConn provided an opportunity for her to make significant contributions to education, and she seized that opportunity.  I think she made many friends at UConn, and she felt that the faculty cared about her and wanted what was best for her,” he continued.

Schwab was equally impressed with Dot’s quiet, but strong-willed demeanor. “She was kind and would do anything to help. She was an excellent educator.” During her career, Dot worked with students of all ages, from elementary school to the college level. Most notably, she was the dean of students at Naugatuck Valley Community College.

In addition to working on the job stress and burnout paper, they presented together at national conferences and published a journal article. Schwab noticed the connection she had with her fellow students. “We supported each other and these relationships greatly enhanced our personal and professional lives.”

During his tenure as dean of the newly named Neag School of Education, Dean Schwab envisioned the need for an alumni group focused on the Neag School. “I wanted to build an association that reconnected our alums back to our school and to each other.  We wanted to build a community not for fund raising but for ‘friend raising’ and support.”

He called on his favorite fellow students, Helms and Dot, a colleague Archambault, to meet one Saturday morning on campus to discuss starting an alumni society. The group had stayed friends since their days of books and late-night study sessions and they all had an equal passion for the Neag School and giving back. He had also invited Jerry Spears (MA ’71, Ph.D. ’82) and Tom Gillung (Ph.D. ’75) to the meeting.

The group was thrilled to learn Schwab returned from Drake University to the Neag School as dean, so when he came calling to get them involved with starting an alumni group, they were thrilled and responded, “Of course!”

After the Saturday meeting, Dr. Schwab invited the group, along with Fenn and Ann Rash (Sixth-Year Diploma ’02), to become members of the “founding board.” Schwab would later describe the group as taking the concept and making the society into what it is today. For the next year, they attended meetings to plan and strategize on what the alumni society was going to look like. Fenn took the reins as president (along with being the main organizer of the successful golf tournaments), Dot was vice president and the rest were founding board members.

Fenn recalled the founding board with Dot in the role as vice president; “(With her in the role) it certainly made my job easier. Dot, Lynne Allen (the alumni society coordinator) and I organized our first annual alumni awards ceremony and golf tournament. Dot kept me on task and worked like crazy knowing our future students would benefit from our efforts.”

Fenn also fondly recalled her warm, accepting demeanor and empathy for everyone she worked with and noted how she was integrally involved in all major events. He described her as, “Kind, warm and extremely intelligent. She was perhaps one of the best collaborators and team-oriented women I ever had the privilege of working with.”

According to Helms, “Dot worked so hard. She really put her energy into it and was the second person to serve as president. She served for two years and even after her term, she was still an active board member.”

Helms would always come down to Storrs for the alumni awards dinner – another major project that Dot helped launch – and admired how Dot was “busy making sure everything was just so.”

“The alumni society was an extension of that whole School of Education experience that Dot was so passionate about,” she recalled.

As much energy and passion as Dot put into the Alumni Society, she also put into being a mom. Helms described Dot as being an “extraordinary mother” a phrase about Dot, but also directed towards her daughter, Anne Miller. “I said that in a message to Anne and I think she totally understood what I was saying. Dot not only loved and cared about her daughter, she admired her and supported her and would do anything for her.”

“She wasn’t a pushover – but she didn’t have to be one with a daughter like Anne. Both Dot and her husband Andy (her second husband) adored Anne and are very proud of the young woman she is – so much like her mom,” said Helms.

“(My mother) set a wonderful example in everything she did,” said Miller. “She was loving, supportive, and always put her family first. She instilled the values of hard work and perseverance, as well as kindness and compassion.”

“I can’t imagine a better role model,” continued Miller.

Schwab also admired the mother/daughter relationship, “they had an incredible bond. She was a delightful young woman, and I am not surprised she grew up into such a professional and successful mom herself.”

According to Miller, “(My mom) was passionate about education. She knew the difference it could make in people’s lives. She felt that the more she knew, the better she could serve her students.”

“In terms of the School of Education in particular, she had great respect for the fellow students, colleagues, mentors, and administrators who guided her through the doctoral process,” continued Miller.

“She believed it was important to support and foster an alumni association that would provide current Neag students and graduates with a valuable professional resource.”

Dot believed in all the right things – education, family, working hard and building an alumni association that would have an impact. She helped to build a lasting legacy that continues to impact the Neag School of Education’s alumni and will for years to come.