Dear Colleagues,
I am now one month in as the 21st President of UNH, and I could not be more thrilled to be a part of the Wildcat family. I’ve had a chance to visit each of our campuses and meet many faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members. I’ll continue to share photos from these events on the @UNHPrez Instagram account, and I hope you’ll follow along.
I am looking forward to the start of the semester and seeing the university in full swing. But before our students begin returning in full later this month, Michael and I would like to invite you all to the president’s house on Tuesday, August 20 from 1 to 3 p.m. for an end-of-summer get-together. It just so happens that it will be Michael’s and my 25thwedding anniversary, so we look forward to celebrating by meeting all of you. Please click here for more details and to RSVP.
I do have a few organizational updates to share. After several conversations over the past month, Provost Wayne Jones and I have come to the mutual decision that he will step down as Provost at the end of the calendar year. Wayne has been a strong leader at UNH, first as Dean of CEPS and, for the past six and a half years, as Provost. He is clearly ready to pursue his next leadership position, and I support him in those efforts. I will be announcing details on the search for the university’s next provost in the coming weeks, but for now, I want to thank Wayne for his leadership on behalf of UNH and his continued support in the provost's role for the next five months.
On a related note, as many of you know, our previous search for a Chief Financial Officer did not bear fruit. As such, we are taking this opportunity to broaden the portfolio and re-open the search as an Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration. This will give us the opportunity to recruit a senior financial leader while also consolidating and refining our administrative structure in operations. We continue to work aggressively with Korn Ferry on this search. Meanwhile, we are working closely with USNH Chancellor Cathy Provencher and others to continue supporting day-to-day finance operations. If you have any questions on budget and finance support until the EVPFA arrives, please reach out to your finance director.
Finally, I’ve decided to shift the reporting line for the Division of Student Life from the Provost to the President. I believe having a direct reporting line for this division is important to our ability to continue prioritizing and elevating the UNH student experience, and I look forward to working with Kenneth Holmes and his team to do so in the years ahead.
I hope you all enjoy the last few weeks of summer. It is great to be back in New England. Lola, Sammie, and Wally are enjoying getting to know the campus and having greater access to water, especially at low tide!
Go ‘Cats!
Elizabeth
