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December 3, 2004

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Tuttle pays tribute to Neville

“You have worked at Syracuse for just a year,” he began during my Area Coordinator candidate interview in 1987, “why shouldn’t we assume you won’t up and leave here after a year?” And so I met Pete Neville, the director of Student Activities at Trinity University.

I guess he liked my answer. Later that night, at dinner with Ted Shobe, director of residence halls, Pete asked me “what it would take” to get me here. And so it goes with Pete. He is never afraid to ask the tough questions and to hold others to high standards of excellence. Conversely, he is quick to be the first to support and recognize others.

A few years back he stopped a Greek member in the Coates University Center and told her the way she was dressed (as a club requirement) made her and the Greeks look bad. That was only shorthand, Pete-style. What he meant, I know, was that he cares about the Greeks, probably more than any administrator on campus, and wanted to see the best of them, not that which negatively stereotypes them. Pete cares deeply about students. He is intentional in moving them along the student development spectrum, from the first year to the senior year.

Pete was, after all, on hand the night we lost one of our Greek students to an alcohol-related accident in an incident that still shapes his feelings about student life today.

After over 20 years can we measure the impact Pete Neville has had on countless students and colleagues at Trinity? Before he leaves we should try, though ultimately we will conclude his impact has been immeasurable.

Like so many others – President Calgaard, Dean Grissom, Coach Potter, to name only a few – Pete will leave behind a terrific legacy. No plaque, no buildings bearing his name, just an indelible imprint on the culture of the institution

Like so many others – President Calgaard, Dean Grissom, Coach Potter, to name only a few – Pete will leave behind a terrific legacy. No plaque, no buildings bearing his name, just an indelible imprint on the culture of the institution

How do you measure? Pete would show students the film “Twelve O’Clock High” as a leadership exercise, leaving countless graduates with lessons to take to their careers. He developed and oversaw the mentor program for years. He knew TIGER when it was TAC and TAC when it was CCPB, for goodness sakes. He helped invent them.

In return, Pete will take with him, I hope, some extraordinary memories. He was here when Angela Breidenstein (now a faculty member in education) was a first year and then president of the Coates Center Program Board. He was here for countless receptions, retreats and, of course, meetings. He raised his kids here, too, bringing young Heather and Zach (both successful adults now) to the pool, the Bell Center, athletic events, picnics and more.

“I will miss Pete’s friendship, his good nature on the basketball court (never mind his obnoxious defense), his skill as a committee facilitator, his detailed editing, the small gifts he would bring for my kids and his humor.”

I will miss Pete’s friendship, his good nature on the basketball court (never mind his obnoxious defense), his skill as a committee facilitator, his detailed editing, the small gifts he would bring for my kids and his humor. I will cherish memories of Spurs games, Taco Cabana (yes, we do that too) and his “30 Something” parties. My colleagues and I will miss the leadership he has brought to the Student Affairs division.

Going back to 1987, I always assumed Pete would be here longer than I would – that the implication in his interview question would hold true – that I was the “short-termer.” That he’d always be here. But now, regrettably, he leaves me behind. Go figure. Go measure.

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