Dear Members of the UNH Durham Community—
As many of you prepare to leave campus for spring break I am writing to share some information about commencement and a construction project that will impact this year’s ceremonies. While this construction work at the Whittemore Center Arena will be inconvenient in the short term, it will allow us to host commencement ceremonies that are no longer weather-dependent when the Whitt reopens next fall. Our?commencement ceremonies this year?will be held May 20-22 on Memorial Field.
Work was scheduled to begin when the pandemic started and now, two years later, we’re on borrowed time with an ice-making system that is well beyond its life expectancy and a strong desire to improve safety for our student-athletes with a board system that provides "give" upon impact. The work will also compress the rink surface by 10 feet to align with collegiate and professional rinks around the country and include installation of an improved sound system critical for commencement and other large events.
Construction at the Whitt will begin as early as the week of March 14 and is expected to be completed in time for the 2022-23 men’s and women’s ice hockey season. Thank you for your patience while the arena is out of commission. We’ll announce the commencement speaker the week after spring break so keep your eye on social media.
James W. Dean?Jr.
President
Christopher Clement
Chief Operating Officer and VP for Administration
