Pat and Manny Sanchez give $100,000 boost
to Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center

by Tom Parisi

Manny Sanchez is a man who wears his heart on his sleeve. So picture him, if you will, in an NIU jersey.

“I never have and never will forget where I came from,” he says. “I appreciate the valuable role Northern Illinois University has played in my life. I can't forget and won't.”

Sanchez, who grew up in a tough melting-pot neighborhood on Chicago 's west side, was a first-generation college student at NIU. He later earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was class president, and went on to found Sanchez & Daniels, the second largest minority-owned law firm in the nation.

Today, at the top of his profession, he sits on numerous corporate and civic boards.

But he still devotes both considerable time and talents to his alma mater. Sanchez was appointed in 1996 by then-Gov. Jim Edgar as one of the founding members of the NIU Board of Trustees. When he was named chair in 2001, he earned the distinction of becoming the first Latino in Illinois and second in the nation to head up a public university board. Working with NIU, he also has taken a leadership role statewide in helping to increase college enrollment among minority students.

Now Sanchez is aiding his alma mater on yet another front. He and his wife, Pat Pulido Sanchez, are contributing $100,000 toward construction of the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center.

“We've been looking for the right opportunity to make a statement about the love affair that I have with my alma mater,” Manny Sanchez says. “I just think it's high time that the hundreds of thousands of NIU alumni have a center that they can truly call their own.”

Adds Pat Pulido Sanchez: “We both recognize the importance of the NIU relationship with its alumni, and we realize that alumni also have a responsibility to help cultivate future generations of college students. Manny has so much passion and love around his alma mater, how could I not support him in this?”

While not an NIU alum, Pulido Sanchez is, like her husband, a first-generation college graduate who blazed her own trail in the corporate world.

After spending a decade at Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc., where she managed governmental affairs in a seven-state region, Pulido Sanchez was named vice president of external affairs for Chicago operations of Commonwealth Edison, an Exelon Company, becoming the energy provider's first Latina V.P. Last year, she launched her own strategic communications business, Pulido Sanchez Communications, LLC.

“I've been a beneficiary of higher education, and I recognize its importance, especially in the Latino community,” Pulido Sanchez says. “My husband and I are proud to be supporting the creation of a new front door to the NIU campus, a place that hopefully will inspire generations of diverse students, faculty and alumni.”

The Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center will be a gathering point for the NIU community.

Ground was broken last fall on the two-and-a-half story building, which is expected to be open for this fall's Homecoming (Oct. 15). Located on the southwest corner of Annie Glidden Road and Stadium Drive, the building will boast state-of-the-art meeting and conference facilities and office space for the NIU Alumni Association, the NIU Student Alumni Association and representatives from the admissions and orientation offices.

The facility's centerpiece will be the Great Hall, featuring plaques, displays and exhibits highlighting the history of NIU and the accomplishments of the university's alumni.

“The absolutely wonderful aspect of the gift from Manny and Pat is how outspoken and emotional Manny has always been regarding his love of NIU and what it meant to him as he grew into adulthood,” says Michael P. Malone, vice president for University Advancement. “That a kid from the Chicago streets could rise to a position of wealth and influence as Manny has is a great story. That he then remembers his alma mater with a leadership gift is a true testament to his character.”

The Sanchez gift earns the couple special recognition and honor in the Circle of the Seal. The university's seal will be carved into stone measuring 8 feet across at the center of the Great Hall. Surrounding the seal will be tiles engraved with the names of alumni and friends who stepped forward to make the dream of an alumni and visitors center a reality.

“President John Peters and his leadership team at NIU have done a fabulous job over the past five years enhancing the esprit de corps among alumni,” Manny Sanchez says. “Clearly, the additions of such facilities as Barsema Hall and the Convocation Center have enhanced the reputation of NIU's educational experience. This is another step in the continuum. It shows how much the university values its alumni.”

Manny Sanchez isn't the only NIU alum in his family.

As a board trustee, he had the honor this past spring of awarding his daughter, Annette Valente, with her second master's degree, this one in educational administration. (She also holds a bachelor's degree from NIU.) Her husband, Tony Valente, is an NIU alum as well. Sanchez says he's looking forward to bringing his three grandchildren to the Barsema Alumni and Visitors Center, where he'll “tout grandpa's alma mater.”

“The center will be a place where we alumni can bring our children or relatives who are interested in attending the university, where we can gather when we return to campus for football and basketball games, and where we can reflect upon our own NIU experiences and memories,” Sanchez says. “It's going to be a great draw and rallying point for the university.”

9-12-05