Undergraduate Catalog 2010-2011 - SNHU Academic Archive ...

The University
Southern New Hampshire
University
The 1970s were a time of growth and change. The college
moved from its downtown Manchester site to the now 300-
acre campus on the Merrimack River in 1971. In 1974, the college
introduced a Master of Business Administration program,
and, in 1978, assumed human services degree programs.
In the spring of 1981, the General Court of New Hampshire
authorized New Hampshire College to award the Master of
Human Services degree and the Master of Science degree in
business-related subjects. That same year, to accommodate
the two new rapidly expanding programs, the university purchased
the former Mount Saint Mary College in Hooksett,
which served as the “north campus” for many years.
Operations have since been reconsolidated on the main campus.
In 1988, the human services programs were transferred
to Springfield College in Springfield, Mass.
Mission
Southern New Hampshire University educates intellectually
and culturally enriched individuals to be successful in their
careers and contribute to their communities. SNHU’s educational
philosophy challenges students’ intellectual potential
and prepares them for professional lives in an ever-changing
and increasingly interconnected world. It provides a supportive
and close-knit learning community, delivering engaging
instruction in a flexible variety of formats. Students develop
the knowledge to understand a complex world, the skills to
act effectively within that world and the wisdom to make
good choices. They do so within a community of teachers,
staff and peers that is encouraged to add its scholarly, creative
and pedagogical contributions to the larger social good.
History of the University
Southern New Hampshire University was founded in 1932 by
H.A.B. Shapiro as the New Hampshire School of Accounting
and Secretarial Science. The school remained relatively
small until 1961, when it was incorporated and renamed New
Hampshire College of Accounting and Commerce.
The state of New Hampshire in 1963 granted the university
its charter, which gave it degree-granting authority. The first
associate degrees were awarded that year, and the first bachelor’s
degrees were conferred three years later. The college
became a nonprofit institution under a board of trustees in
September 1968, and the name was shortened to New
Hampshire College in 1969.
During the ’60s the college opened off-campus centers to
better serve adult learners. Programs today are offered in
Manchester, Nashua, Portsmouth and Salem, N.H., and in
Brunswick, Maine, as well as internationally through such
schools as HELP International College of Technology (HICT)
in Malaysia.
The college continued to expand academic offerings
throughout the 1980s and 1990s. Community economic
development was first offered in 1982 and the Culinary Arts
Program was established in 1983. New liberal arts and
education majors were added in the early 1990s and in
the last several years. The one-of-a-kind 3Year Honors
Program in Business was launched in 1997. Academic offerings
again expanded in 1998 to include the Ph.D. in community
economic development and the Doctor of Business
Administration.
The university extended its reach worldwide with the launching
of its Internet-based distance learning program in 1995.
A wave of campus expansion began in 1996 with the construction
of a new residence hall; Webster Hall, home to the
School of Business; the Hospitality Center, home to the student-run
restaurant and culinary programs; and Belknap
Hall, now home to the Institute for Language Education,
Public Safety, the School of Education and several university
offices, including the Office of Admission.
Expansion and program development led to a momentous
event in the institution’s history in 2001, when New
Hampshire College became Southern New Hampshire
University. Several new degrees were added in the 2000s,
including new M.B.A. degrees, the M.F.A. in fiction and nonfiction
writing, game design and development and more.
Construction continued with the building of a new academic
center, Robert Frost Hall, which houses the Center for
Financial Studies, a simulated stock trading room, and the
museum-quality McIninch Art Gallery. New residence halls
were built on the west and east sides of campus. All classrooms
and halls are wireless.
In 2007, SNHU became the first carbon-neutral university in
New Hampshire.
During the 2009-2010 school year, the university opened a
new academic building, which features new classrooms, student
lounge and study areas, a café, and a new dining hall.
Both energy-efficient buildings were designed with sustainability
in mind.
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