Celebrating Tuck’s Man of Steele

Over the past 40-plus years, Andy Steele T’79 has played an integral role in building and sustaining one of the strongest alumni networks in higher education, and with his relaxed demeanor and southern drawl, it was sometimes hard to tell how much energy he was putting into the task. But as Roger Federer reminded us during his commencement speech at Dartmouth in 2024, “effortless is a myth.” Those who really know Andy (an incredibly large cohort), know that he always put his heart and soul into the countless interactions he has had with alumni over the years, and into the processing power it took to make the thousands of connections between them, knitting the Tuck fabric tighter and tighter. 

On June 30, Andy is retiring from Tuck. To celebrate his career and impact, Tuck Advancement invited alumni to share their thoughts and memories of Andy for a keepsake book, and the school is hosting a send-off party for him on July 9, from 10-11:30 a.m. on Dishner Terrace.

Born and raised in North Carolina, Andy came north for high school and college, attending Deerfield Academy and Princeton University. After graduating in 1969 with a B.A., he went into the Navy and spent three years on the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy, based in Norfolk, VA. When his tour in the Navy ended, he returned to North Carolina to work in the family business: a ladies clothing manufacturing company founded by his father. He worked there for five years and then applied to Tuck, matriculating in 1977. While at Tuck he and his wife welcomed their first child during the spring of his second year. Andy’s first job after Tuck was in industrial marketing at General Electric, in Michigan. After three years in a big corporation, Andy was ready for a change, and he noticed a job in alumni relations had opened at Tuck. He had served as an alumni relations volunteer for Deerfield and felt the Tuck job and location would be a good fit. Andy was hired for a role supporting Tuck Annual Giving (TAG) and began in July 1982.

When Andy joined the staff at Tuck, there was one person in particular he needed to impress: Jon Cohen D’60, T’61, the chairman of TAG. TAG had met its ambitious fundraising and participation goals the previous year, setting a record, and now Andy was aiming to pick up where Harry White T’74 left off. “I had lots of concerns,” Jon recalled, “because Harry was very good and we worked well together. I didn’t know if I could get used to Andy’s pronounced southern drawl and slow delivery.”

Jon needn’t have worried. Andy proved to be a quick learner with good ideas, and Jon came to rely on him for all things TAG-related. In the process, Andy set the foundation for Tuck to be the leader in alumni giving participation in higher education.

In a piece Andy wrote in 2022 for TAG’s 50th anniversary, he recalled some details of the job back in the early days, and how TAG has evolved:

“When I came in 1982, all solicitations were done via phone or snail mail. I remember vividly signing lots of thank you letters at home in the evening, while watching TV. Things have sure changed, but we try to keep the personal touch going. Besides Head and Assistant agents, TAG has evolved a multipronged strategy to keep the peer-to-peer relationships going. International region leaders were recruited to encourage donations from alumni in their respective countries. Corporate agents contact alumni in their firms to encourage participation. Awards were presented at the annual agent’s conference in Hanover for participation leaders by industry, decade, etc. This emphasis on participation continues today, as TAG enjoyed a 60%-plus participation rate for 37 consecutive years.”

Andy’s impact at Tuck was formally recognized in 2017, when he received the Tuck Overseers Medal, now known as the Distinguished Achievement Medal. At the time, he had just started a new role: Tuck Ambassador. It was a role Dean Matthew Slaughter created for Andy when he was ready to step down from being the executive director of development and alumni services, and a position that only Andy could fill. He was charged with cultivating, supporting, and engaging the Tuck alumni community. This was, ostensibly, a new role, but the job description matches what Andy had been doing at Tuck for the previous 35 years: building a vast knowledge of alumni and their families, befriending them with kindness and authenticity, and connecting them to Tuck and each other. 

When he received the Overseers Medal, Jon Cohen described Andy differently than he would have in 1982: “He exemplifies the Tuck values and Tuck culture at its very best,” Jon said. “He’s extraordinary.”

Andy has served as Tuck Ambassador for the past eight years. In an announcement to the Tuck community about Andy’s retirement, Chief Advancement Officer Ben Porter described Andy’s service as ambassador: “Andy continued to do what he does best: cultivate connections, foster lifelong bonds between alumni and the school, and personify the values that define the Tuck culture.”

“We are deeply grateful for everything he has done for Tuck,” Porter continued, “and we wish him all the best in his and Annabelle’s next chapter. We will miss working with him day-to-day—but his influence will remain woven into the fabric of Tuck.”