University of New Hampshire president will be retiring at the end of the next academic year.
Mark Huddleston announced Wednesday his plans to step down on June 30, 2018, after being with the university since 2007, according to UNH. His retirement comes as the university prepares to finish one of its biggest fundraising campaigns and begin a program that will help 285 first-year students who qualify for Pell grants attend school tuition free.
The university has undergone many changes under Huddleston’s leadership. Many of the school’s facilities were upgraded, including the Peter T. Paul business school on the Durham campus. Hamilton Smith Hall was renovated, as was Wildcat Stadium for $25 million, a project that garnered some controversy when the school decided to use $1 million of a $4 million gift from a former university employee to buy a video scoreboard. A large portion of that gift – $2.5 million – was used to upgrade the school’s career center.
Huddleston also oversaw the expansion of the Manchester campus and the UNH School of Law in Concord, as well as the creation of the Carsey School of Public Policy and the School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering.
Most recently, Huddleston announced the Granite Guarantee, a fundraising initiative that will bridge the gap between UNH’s in-state tuition and a student’s Pell grants. The university will spend about $4.8 million fulfilling guaranteed tuition the first year, and Huddleston said the university plans to continue the program indefinitely. Money for the program comes from the university’s Celebrate 150 campaign, which is on track to raise $275 million, according to a press release.
“Mark’s record of accomplishment is remarkable,” said Tim Riley, chairman of the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees. “Mark will leave a powerful legacy that will benefit our state’s citizens, employers and economy far into the future. UNH has great momentum right now and the trustees are committed to making sure that continues.”
Huddleston is highest-paid employee in the state university system with a salary of $405,000, according to UNH media director Erika Mantz. She said the university’s board of trustees will form a hiring committee in the next few weeks to begin a national search for Huddleston’s replacement.
Huddleston declined a request to be interviewed.
“UNH is a remarkable institution and serving as president has been the highlight of my professional life,” Huddleston stated in the press release. “Everyone at UNH has worked hard to ensure the state’s flagship public research university is well positioned for the future. Next year is the right time to transition leadership.”
Huddleston, 66, was president of Ohio Wesleyan University and spent more than two decades before that at the University of Delaware.
He was the first person in his family to attend college, earning a bachelor’s degree at the State University of New York at Buffalo and a master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
(Caitlin Andrews can be reached at 369-3309, candrews@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @ActualCAndrews.)