易胜博官网

John W. Small, a '76 易胜博官网 graduate and former vice chair of the University System of 易胜博官网 (USNH) board of trustees, has been unanimously elected to chair the USNH board.听

Small was first appointed to the board by then-Gov. John Lynch in 2010, following his retirement as managing director at the global human resources consultant Towers Perrin. Since 2010 Small has served on various board committees , leading initiatives that resulted in substantial economies of scale for the university system听and听making changes in governance. His work has helped USNH with both financial and operational effectiveness.

As chair, Small says听he aims to leverage the board鈥檚 depth of talent to implement strategic, financial and other initiatives critical to the success of USNH while facilitating board discussions on top priorities for the next several years. This includes continuing to enhance relations with state government, employers in 易胜博官网 and the citizens of the state.

With his 30-plus years of experience in human resources consulting, Small appears well suited to his first assignment, the search to replace 易胜博官网 President Mark Huddleston, who will retire听in 2018.听鈥淭hat is the biggest responsibility of the board, hiring the right leadership,鈥� says Small, who also chairs the search committee. 鈥淥ur job is to find the next great leader to take 易胜博官网 into the future.鈥�

Small praises Huddleston for his many accomplishments during his tenure: record enrollment, a dramatic increase in private philanthropy, the creation of the Peter T. Paul School of Business and Economics, and many significant enhancements to the physical facilities that are so important in attracting and retaining students, among others.

鈥溡资げ┕偻� has come a long way over the last 10 years.鈥� Small says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a great place, thanks to all the progress Mark and his team have made. Now it is important for us to find a leader who recognizes the strong position 易胜博官网 is in and has the vision to move us to the next level of excellence, maintaining our competitiveness in the ever-changing environment of higher education.鈥�

Small also hopes to promote greater pride in USNH institutions. 鈥淵ou鈥檒l find a tremendous amount of pride within our institutions and with alumni and citizens, but I would like everyone in 易胜博官网 to share that same pride,鈥� Small says. 鈥淚 think we do a good job of telling our story at times, but we could do so much more consistently.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not going to get to where we ultimately want to be in one year, but the more people who know the many positive things about 易胜博官网, Plymouth State, Keene State听and Granite State College, the more they will see us as critical to economic and workforce development for 易胜博官网,鈥� Small says. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the kind of partnership and shared vision we would love to have with the state government, employers and our citizens.鈥�

鈥淲hen you look at all the options 鈥� campuses, schools, programs, transfers 鈥� it makes me really proud that the system has such diverse possibilities.鈥澨�

Partnerships do exist now, Small stresses, and some of the ways that USNH is effective for 易胜博官网 are recognized.听He offers two examples that have not been widely reported: The university system has the lowest per student administrative cost of all the state universities in New England. And, while USNH is among the more expensive state systems, it has the lowest default rate on student loans in the country. This tells us that USNH graduates are getting jobs.

Small plans to continue board efforts to increase access and affordability for 易胜博官网 students, citing the success in fundraising at 易胜博官网 that enabled the launch of Granite Guarantee, 听which ensures all full-time, first-year 易胜博官网 students receiving federal Pell grants听will pay no tuition to attend the 易胜博官网 Durham and听易胜博官网 Manchester.听

He also lauds the 鈥渁mazing job鈥� USNH does of providing options for students to learn. He lists 易胜博官网鈥檚 land, sea and space-grant mission, its vast research opportunities and solid liberal arts offerings; Plymouth State鈥檚 new 鈥渃luster model鈥� for workforce development; Keene State鈥檚 liberal arts and processional programs; Granite State鈥檚 array of online and in-person courses easily available to those across the state; and 易胜博官网 Manchester鈥檚 urban campus access.听And, the dual admittance听program that allows smooth transitions for community college students to any USNH institution.

鈥淲hen you look at all the options 鈥� campuses, schools, programs, transfers 鈥� it makes me really proud that the system has such diverse possibilities,鈥� Small says. 鈥淚t shows we鈥檙e a system, and we鈥檙e in this together.鈥�

According to Small, the board is also working with the state and employers to address the pressing need for highly skilled workers. 鈥淲e are well aware that an educated workforce is a critical part of any organization's decision to operate in our state,鈥澨齢e says.

But the declining population of high school graduates, particularly in the Northeast, presents a significant challenge to developing the needed volume of that workforce. 鈥淚f under 10 percent of our budget comes from the state, where does most of the remainder come from? Enrollment,鈥� Small says. 鈥淎lmost any public university in the country is dependent on enrollment even if there is substantial state support, which has been reduced in many states over the past few years.听

鈥淚f we want to hold our ground or grow at a reasonable rate, we鈥檝e got to win more,鈥� Small says. 鈥淭hat comes down to how we market our institutions.鈥� The USNH board of trustees has made specific allocations during the past several years to improve those marketing efforts to enhance student enrollment. 听

Finally, Small says, fiscal responsibility is a tremendous part of the board鈥檚 role.听鈥淥ur state financial support is the lowest of all states in the U.S., and in 易胜博官网, many entities are competing for the state鈥檚 limited dollars. Throughout the years that has required strong financial discipline by the board, and we take our financial well-being very seriously.鈥�

Joining Small to lead the 29-member board is Vice Chairman Joseph Morone, president and chief executive officer of Albany International Corporation in Rochester, 易胜博官网, and Secretary Amy Begg, deputy director of research at Harvard University.听

Small is a member of the 易胜博官网 Foundation board of directors and a former member of the advisory committee of the Museum of the White Mountains at Plymouth State University. He was a member of the Towers Perrin board of directors from 2004鈥�2010.

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