Business and Industry Association of NH Honors Former USNH Chancellor Stephen Reno with Lifetime Achievement Award

CONCORD, N.H. – November 4, 2009 – Dr. Stephen Reno, chancellor emeritus of the University System of New Hampshire, and Lewis Feldstein, president of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation, were honored with the Business and Industry Association’s 2009 Lifetime Achievement Awards at the organization’s annual dinner on November 4, 2009.

Established in 1993, the annual BIA Lifetime Achievement Awards recognize business leaders who help shape their local communities and the state through their successful business endeavors, active participation in civic and town organizations, involvement in boards of directors, and service to local and state government

“As one who came to New Hampshire a mere ten years ago, I am humbled as well as honored by this award and its timing, and I thank the BIA for the recognition. Many of those to whom it has earlier been given – some of whom are here this evening – are persons who have been my mentors over those years and to be included in their number is beyond any expectation I may have had” Dr. Reno said, upon accepting the award. “It has truly been a privilege to serve as Chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire and to work with an extraordinarily dedicated and talented group of colleagues, presidents, trustees, and faculty, staff, and students, some of whom are with us tonight”

In July, Dr. Stephen Reno completed nine years of service as chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire. He served formerly as the president of Southern Oregon University, associate provost and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern Maine, and has held teaching and research appointments at the University of Leicester (England), the Harvard University Center for the Study of World Religions, and the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is an Honorary Fellow of the University of Winchester (England).

He was presented with the award by Allison Stebbins, vice president of Fidelity Investments. Upon presenting the award, she said: “during his tenure, the University System and its constituent institutions have truly flourished and made dramatic improvements on all fronts. The campuses were rejuvenated with new science and technology facilities, renovated classroom buildings, new residence halls, and, most importantly, dynamic new leaders. Through Steve’s vision, New Hampshire is taking seriously the effort to attract and retain a talented young workforce through the establishment of the 55% Initiative. This effort to keep more of our college graduates living and working in New Hampshire was supported from the beginning by Fidelity Investments and lives on today with the Stay Work Play Initiative.”

Reno is chair of the board of trustees of New Hampshire Public Radio and of Stay Work Play NH, and is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Lumina Foundation. He has served on the boards of the Business and Industry Association, New Hampshire Public Television, the Salt Center for Documentary Field Studies, and as treasurer of the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. He is currently a research professor at the University System of New Hampshire and an Ad Hoc Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religion at Harvard University.

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