When the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade this past summer, one question was on University of New Hampshire (UNH) students’ minds: what would the President say? On June 28, in update #44, they got their answer. 

“This is a complex topic with many ethical, religious, political, economic and health dimensions to be considered, and leadership at the university and at the system level will continue to ascertain what impact it may have on our university,” Dean wrote. “As Governor Sununu recently reaffirmed, the Supreme Court’s decision will have no influence on the availability of abortion in New Hampshire.”

This message was one of many Dean shared with the UNH community over the course of the summer

On May 26 (Update #43), Dean congratulated all students that earned their degrees from UNH Durham, UNH Manchester, and the Franklin Pierce School of Law. Dean also remarked on UNH being ranked 12th nationally in the value of licenses and options in a report published by Heartland Forward, a nonprofit think tank titled Research to Renewal: Advancing University Tech Transfer. 

The search for a new athletic director was also underway and in the final stages at this time. Allison Rich, Esq., Ed. D has since been named the new athletic director following successor Marty Scarano. Dean announced Rich as athletic director on July 5, and she became effective as of July 25. 

Additionally, UNH has been seeking to renew its status as a Carnegie “community engaged institution” with Vice Provost Ken La Valley leading the effort over the next year. La Valley will be working with stakeholders across campus in identifying and documenting the ways in which we collaborate with our community to enhance public good.

Renewing the classification is a large-scale undertaking that will involve many community members. Anyone interested in participating in this effort is encouraged to reach out to Vice provost La Valley directly. 

On June 28’s update #44, Dean announced that the USNH Board of Trustees also approved the budget for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, including funding to develop infrastructure for online courses as well as expenses from merging with Granite State College. The new chair, Alex Walker, also joined the board. Walker is also president and chief executive officer of Catholic Medical Center.The Board of Trustees and American Association of University Professors at UNH (AAUP-UNH ) also agreed to use a fact-finder’s report to reach a settlement which needs to be voted upon before an agreement is signed. 

On July 26 (Update #45), Dean announced that three new members had joined the Executive Committee, UNH’s senior leadership team. New members include Ken Holmes, senior vice provost of student affairs; Marian McCord, senior vice provost of research; and Bill Poirier, chief information officer.

In the same announcement, Dean mentioned a bus tour of the state during the fall that’s in the works in accordance with the Embrace New Hampshire strategy. The intent of this tour is to share some of the great things going on at UNH with New Hampshire citizens all around the state. Funding for the tour was provided by an anonymous donor, according to Dean.

New campus-wide COVID-19 policies were also finalized for the Fall ‘22 semester. Every student will be required to submit a PCR test at some point in the first two weeks of classes. After PCR test results come back, testing will no longer be mandatory or required, but can be done on a voluntary basis. Further information and the latest up-to-date COVID-19 protocols can be found here. 

Photo courtesy of Jeremy Gasowski