The Memorial Windows in the MUB's Memorial Room were designed by UNH Art Professor John Hatch. Hatch taught at UNH from 1949 - 1985 and was best known as a painter of landscapes. Hatch captured the essence of New Hampshire in his paintings of the White Mountains and the Isles of Shoals. Prior to his death, Hatch was honored as a "New Hampshire Living Treasure" by Governor Jeanne Shaheen who presented him with the biennial Governor's Award in Art's.
    When plans were being made in the 1950's for the construction of UNH's Student Union Building as both a union and a memorial to New Hamshire's War Dead John Hatch jumped at the chance to design a tribute window. Hatch had served in World War II in the Pacific campaign as a Map Topographer, charting invasion sites from planes then creating sketches of sites or scale models to help the US forces. Hatch was a new faculty member and had yet to earn the acclaim that would come to him later in his career, so many old-timers in the University community were disappointed in his selection for this special job. The criticism continued when his very modern design for the windows was shown to those who expected a more traditional "Cathedral" style stained glass look. Luckily the artist prevailed over his critics because the windows are now a revered and unique piece of public art on the UNH campus.
    The window was funded through a grant from Monsanto Chemical Company through the help of Alumnus Stanley King who was Director of Sales at the time. The process used to make the window is comparable to the process used today to make plexiglass. Layers of translucent pigment paint were applied then sandwiched between three layers of the plastic and heat treated. Each panel was trimmed to fit the window layer by razor blade upon their arrival from Detroit. It was the only window Hatch ever made although he painted murals throughout the University and in other public buildings. At the time of its installation the window was featured in the Monsanto Company magazine and the UNH Alumnus due to its revolutionary construction process.
    During the MUB renovation project in 1995 the location of the Memorial Room and the window shifted from the Hood House end of the building to its current location above the Granite State Room. John Hatch supervised the removal of the windows and their storage during the construction phase to ensure their safety. He then teamed with the construction company for their installation at the new site. It was uncertain how they would withstand the move, but Hatch's intervention promised that the University would sucessfully preserve one of its great pieces of public art . Today's students and visitors are able to enjoy the windows from an improved vantage point in the main corridor and can be reminded of the meaning of the building's status as a war Memorial.
    After Hatch's death the original models he made of the windows were Returned to the Memorial Union Building and have been placed on display outside the Memorial Room.