Leadership & History

Lisa Marsh Ryerson is the President of Southern New Hampshire University. She assumed her role on July 1, 2024.

The leadership at Southern New Hampshire University is comprised of dedicated professionals from diverse backgrounds, each of whom brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the institution. Collectively, they fuel the passion that drives every individual at Southern New Hampshire University to do all that can be done to see our students succeed.

The state of New Hampshire in 1963 granted the university its charter, which gave it degree-granting authority. The first associate degrees were awarded that year, and the first bachelor's degrees were conferred three years later. The college became a nonprofit institution under a board of trustees in September 1968, and the name was shortened to New Hampshire College in 1969.