Andre Tippett is a member of both the NFL and New England Patriots hall of fame. He was an All-American linebacker at the University of Iowa , before being drafted by the Patriots in the second round of the 1982 draft. He was a fan favorite for 12 stellar seasons for New England, making five Pro Bowls and being a member of the NFL’s all 1980-decade team. Tippett is a resident of Sharon, MA and is involved with the community, including holding a position at UMass Boston. Tippett has been a member for UMass Boston’s College of Nursing and Health Sciences since 2005.  He recently took some questions from the Mass Media about his involvement.

MM: How and when did you first get involved at UMB?

AT: It was in 2005, when Chancellor Motley and Dean Greer Glazier

both invited me to be part of the Advisory Board for College of

Nursing & Health Science.  Dean Glazer has done a phenomenal

job raising the bar of the nursing program.

MM: How often are you on campus for meetings or events?

AT: When I started, I believe it was around 4 times a year.  I got to

know the campus and the ins and outs of getting around on campus. I

still come to campus around 4 times a year.

MM: Do you have any sort of communication with students or faculty?

AT: I was involved with a big fundraiser some time ago – UMass Boston’s

version of “Dancing with the Stars”. My partner was a UMass Boston dance major,

so I was on campus like twice a week leading up to the competition.

Sad to say, we didn’t win.

MM: Do you like working with kids and education?

AT: I enjoy working with kids. I’ve trained kids in traditional

karate-do for about 12 years and I’ve been coaching my son’s Pop Warner

football team since he was 7, he’s now 12. I originally wanted to

become a PE teacher when I left high school for the University of

Iowa. You can’t place enough value on a good education. Adding

continuing education in the mix really improves your value in life. It is

something my wife and I preach to our children.

MM: Do you think UMB would benefit from having a football team?

AT: Obviously I’m a little biased with this question, but I think

sports in general is a great camaraderie builder for any campus. It’s

a great way to bring all diversity groups of people together. I think

with football, it really gets into teaching a lot of life lessons. Some of

those being teamwork, discipline, perseverance, work ethic, and facing

competition under pressure situations.