University of New Hampshire (UNH)

We’re New Hampshire’s flagship public research university. This means we’re committed to pursuing research that contributes to the greater good. With award-winning faculty, cutting-edge facilities and a beautiful New England main campus within es and a beautiful New England main campus within reach of the mountains, the ocean and the city of Boston, we put you at the edge of possible. For more than 150 years, UNH has delivered hands-on learning, research and work experiences that bring together students, faculty and private and public partners to create life-changing opportunities and innovative solutions in our neighborhoods and across the world. The University of New Hampshire (UNH) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded and incorporated in 1866 as a land grant college in Hanover, moved to Durham in 1893, and adopted its current name in 1923. The university's Durham campus comprises six colleges. A seventh college, the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, occupies the university's campus in Manchester. The University of New Hampshire School of Law is in Concord, the state's capital. The university is part of the University System of New Hampshire and is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[6] As of 2018, its combined campuses made UNH the largest state university system in the state of New Hampshire, with over 15,000 students. It was also the most expensive state-sponsored school in the United States for in-state students. The Morrill Act of 1862 granted federal lands to New Hampshire for the establishment of an agricultural-mechanical college. In 1866, the university was first incorporated as the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts in Hanover, New Hampshire, in association with Dartmouth College. The institution was officially associated with Dartmouth College and was directed by Dartmouth's president. Durham resident Benjamin Thompson left his farm and assets to the state for the establishment of an agricultural college. On January 30, 1890, Benjamin Thompson died and his will became public. On March 5, 1891, Governor Hiram A. Tuttle signed an act accepting the conditions of Thompson's will. On April 10, 1891, Governor Tuttle signed a bill authorizing the college's move to Durham, New Hampshire. In 1892, the Board of Trustees hired Charles Eliot to draw a site plan for the first five campus buildings: Thompson, Conant, Nesmith, and Hewitt Shops (now called Halls) and the Dairy Barn. Eliot visited Durham and worked for three months to create a plan prior to the move to Durham. The Class of 1892, excited about the pending move to Durham, held commencement exercises in an unfinished barn on the Durham campus. On April 18, 1892, the Board of Trustees voted to "authorize the faculty to make all the arrangements for the packing and removal of college property at Hanover to Durham." The Class of 1893, followed the previous class and held commencement exercises in unfinished Thompson Hall, the Romanesque Revival campus centerpiece designed by the prominent Concord architectural firm of Dow & Randlett. In fall 1893, classes officially began in Durham with 51 freshmen and 13 upperclassmen, which was three times the projected enrollment. Graduate study was also established in fall 1893 for the first time. The number of students and the lack of state funds for dormitories caused a housing crunch and forced students to find housing in town. The lack of housing caused difficulty for attracting women to the university. In 1908, construction on Smith Hall, the first women's dorm, was completed using private and state funds. Prior to the construction of Fairchild Hall in 1915 for male students, 50 freshmen lived in the basement of DeMerritt Hall. With the continuing housing shortage for men, the administration encouraged the growth of the UNH Greek system. From the late 1910s through the 1930s, the fraternity system expanded and provided room and board for male students. In 1919 supervising architect Eric T. Huddleston prepared a master plan for the campus which guided development of the school for the next thirty years. As supervising architect Huddleston is credited with the design of over a dozen campus buildings.[8] In 1923, Governor Fred H. Brown signed a bill changing the name of the college to University of New Hampshire. The university was incorporated on July 1, 1923.[9] In the spring of 2015, the university was given $4 million from the estate of Robert Morin, who had been a librarian at the university for almost 50 years. Having lived a frugal and secluded life, he allowed for his life's savings to be given to the university without restraint.[10] In 2016, the news that the university was spending $1 million on a new video screen for the football stadium provoked criticism, both on and off campus. Critics thought that the difference between that amount and the $100,000 the university transferred to the library was inappropriate. ...view more