BILL SHEA ’52

It seems fitting for someone who would build a long and decorated career in aviation: The view that first sold William “Bill” Shea ’52 on UNH was an aerial one.

Shea, a native of Lawrence, Massachusetts, was working as an intern in the carpenters union when he drew an assignment at UNH. After spending several days high up on some scaffolding helping build what would become Kingsbury Hall, Shea decided he liked what he saw enough to march into the admissions office, grubby work clothes and all, to inquire about enrolling.

It took several visits to convince the director of admissions — Shea’s high school grades were somewhat less than sterling — but he eventually talked his way in, albeit on academic probation. He performed well that first semester, though, and the rest is history.

“I never looked back,” says Shea, who majored in government. “Life has been like a rocket ever since.”

A rocket may be one of the few things Shea hasn’t flown in his lifetime. He learned to fly an airplane as a teenager and didn’t stop until he was in his 80s, holding a wide and diverse variety of jobs in the aviation world, including a presidential appointment.

In 2022, Shea received the Wesley L. McDonald Distinguished Statesman of Aviation Award from the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) for “his distinguished service as an advocate for our national aerospace system, enhancing aviation education and energetically inspiring the next generation of aviation professionals.”

During a recent conversation with UNH Magazine, Shea shared more about his life since leaving Durham:

He was a pilot for the Red Baron Squadron
Among Shea’s aviation adventures, he flew in 22 air shows with the Red Baron Squadron, entertaining families at a variety of small airports. The pilots in the group, which debuted in 1979, dressed in period clothing and flew in replica Boeing Stearman biplanes. Shea was a fill-in pilot and occasional emcee of the events. “The kids just loved it,” Shea says.

He helped found a college — and used a TV appearance to boost enrollment
Shea taught high school and worked as a guidance counselor. In 1962 he helped found Hawthorne College in Antrim, New Hampshire, and served as chancellor for eight years, directing the aviation program. He was in New York City interviewing prospective students ahead of the college’s opening and wound up filming an episode of the television show “To Tell The Truth” as the youngest college chancellor in the country, he says.

He’s an active musician
Shea says there have been three themes in his life: aviation, education and music. He got his start as a musician early, playing bass in a big band after high school before performing with the U.S. Army, traveling the country to play ROTC dances. Shea can play the bass fiddle and piano and is still an active performer. For the last dozen years or so, he’s played one day a week at a local hospital — “just a little background music for the lobby,” — and he still jumps in for an occasional gig as part of a trio.

He’s seemingly held just about every job you can in aviation
He’s flown in air shows. He’s overseen airport operations in Vermont, New York, Oregon and California. He is the founding director of the University of Nebraska Omaha Aviation Institute and is former chairman of the aviation department at the University of North Dakota. He served a presidential appointment as associate administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration under President Ronald Reagan. He even learned to hang glide as a means to better establish regulations after a glider caused a 20-mile backup on a California freeway. “I had to learn to fly those things and I ended up falling in love with it, too,” Shea admits.

He’s ready for Hollywood to call — and credits it all to UNH
“My life would make a great movie. Maybe Brad Pitt, you know?” Shea quips as a means of making a casting suggestion. “But none of this would have happened if I didn’t go to UNH. It was out of this world. UNH was the key to it all. If it wasn’t for that, I’d still be a carpenter.”