SNHU names building of 'innovation and creativity' after outgoing President LeBlanc
Jun. 21—HOOKSETT — Southern New Hampshire University's school of engineering, technology and aeronautics building is filled with innovation and creativity, outgoing university president Paul LeBlanc said.
On Thursday, the building was named in honor of SNHU's biggest innovator, LeBlanc, who will step down as president on Sunday after 21 years.
"It's a remarkable honor," said LeBlanc, who transformed SNHU from a regional university with 2,500 students to the largest nonprofit provider of online education in the country. "This has been an incredible place to be a part of for 21 years, and to know that this building will bear my name — a building that's my very favorite — is a lovely thing."
Now named Paul J. LeBlanc Hall, the building is home to one of SNHU's newest schools, which was born from LeBlanc's creativity.
SNHU acquired the former Daniel Webster College, including its 550 students and 87 of its faculty and staff members, in 2016 from Indiana-based ITT Educational Services, a for-profit company that filed for bankruptcy shortly after the deal.
Daniel Webster College, which was located in Nashua, was known for its science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and aeronautical programs.
When SNHU's school of engineering, technology and aeronautics opened in 2017, half of its 170 students enrolled that year came from Daniel Webster.
LeBlanc said that the acquisition jump-started SNHU's engineering and technology programs.
"It allowed us to more aggressively move into STEM fields, and we know that so much of the movement in terms of student interest, in terms of workforce needs is about STEM," LeBlanc said. "So, all of a sudden overnight, we accelerated our pace."
LeBlanc's successor is Lisa Marsh Ryerson, who will begin a two-year term as SNHU's president starting July 1. She spent the past two years as the school's provost and was previously the president and CEO of Wells College in Aurora, New York, for 18 years.
Ryerson, who was president of the AARP Foundation before coming to SNHU, said LeBlanc taught her to keep the focus on students' needs while adapting to changes in education.
LeBlanc announced his plans to step down in December, and he spent this past semester helping Ryerson prepare to succeed him.
LeBlanc, Ryerson said, "has been so wonderful in terms of being sure that I get both the experiences and the learning in my work over the past six months for this transition."
"I want everyone to know that Paul's legacy is important at SNHU and that he will not get far away from us," she said.
LeBlanc is now focused on studying the impact of AI on education with Human Systems, a public benefits company whose principal investor is SNHU. He is part of a global team that also includes George Siemens, considered one of the world's experts regarding AI in education, and clinical psychologist Tanya Gamby.
"I remember seeing ChatGPT and thinking, 'The whole world is going to be different now,'" LeBlanc said. "The world I work in is education, so I wanted to ask that question: How does learning look different? How does education get transformed? What's possible? And also what do we have to guard against?
"We have to be really thoughtful about AI, and I wanted an opportunity to shape that future."
