“Business Liaisons” Named at USNH Colleges and Universities to Provide Enhanced Access

October 10, 2006 – LEE, NH – The University System of New Hampshire (USNH) is developing several new initiatives that will make it easier for businesses to learn more about the System and its institutions, and connect and partner with the institutions, the first of which is providing a primary point of entry. The four USNH colleges and universities have named individuals to serve as business liaisons on behalf of their organization.

“Higher education institutions are structured in a way that is not often easy to navigate, due to their many points of entry and the numerous constituencies they serve. While we have many terrific relationships with businesses across the System, we want to simplify the process and let the entire business community know that we want our institutions to be their partners of choice,” said USNH Chancellor Stephen Reno.

“These enhancements, as well as others, are being carried out to help ensure that our institutions and our system as a whole can be easily accessed so we can foster partnerships that will benefit our economy, create more internships and partnerships, and share our expertise with the citizens of the state,” he added.

To simplify the process of connecting with an institution, the presidents of the USNH institutions recently named business liaisons, and Matt Cookson, associate vice chancellor of external relations, will fill this role for the system office. The liaisons will take on this new responsibility immediately and are as follows:

Barney Keenan, Granite State College Dean of External Programs & University Centers, 603-447-3970, Bernard.keenan@granite.edu
Christine King, Academic & Career Advising-Career Specialist, 603-358-2067, cking2@keene.edu , and Mary Pleasanton, Job Developer, Academic & Career Advising, 603-358-2462, mpleasanton@keene.edu
Stephen Barba, Plymouth State University Executive Director of University Relations, 603-535-3268, sbarba@plymouth.edu , and Brad Allen, Instructor in the Business Department, 603-535-2955, callen@plymouth.edu
John Aber, University of New Hampshire Vice President for Research and Public Service (with additional representatives named for each of the colleges that comprise UNH), 603-862-1948, john.aber@unh..edu

“A recent survey of New Hampshire businesses clearly shows that many business owners don’t know how to access the resources available within the University System of New Hampshire. The rapid response to the survey results by the university system, with the creation of one-stop business contacts at each campus, is a major step forward in generating more collaboration between business and higher education. Now, New Hampshire business owners need to use those contacts,” said Fred Kocher, president of the New Hampshire High Technology Council.

USNH institutions have been developing relationships with businesses for decades and there are many successful partnerships in place. One example is the UNH Industrial Research Center, where for 15 years small businesses have been gaining extensive benefit from the professors, students, and university facilities as part of their technical grants. This year, job fairs at all institutions have seen a greater level of participation by companies, and more than 2,000 students at the institutions annually participate in some form of internship through for-credit and non-credit learning experiences.

About the University System of New Hampshire:
The mission of the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) is to serve the higher educational needs of the people of New Hampshire. Through its sister institutions (University of New Hampshire, Plymouth State University, Keene State College, and Granite State College), USNH presently serves almost 30,000 students and awards almost half of the bachelor’s degrees earned each year in New Hampshire.

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