New England College

Founded in 1946,{{cite web|url=https://www.nec.edu/parents/family-events/|title=New England College|website=New England College|access-date=10 December 2018}} New England College was established to serve the needs of servicemen and women attending college on the G.I. Bill after World War II.{{cite web|url=http://www.wsls.com/story/25913751/new-england-college-introduces-redesigned-website-featuring-online-degree-programs-facilitated-by-university-alliance|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140929100526/http://www.wsls.com/story/25913751/new-england-college-introduces-redesigned-website-featuring-online-degree-programs-facilitated-by-university-alliance|url-status=dead|title=New England College Introduces Redesigned Website Featuring Online De…|date=29 September 2014|archive-date=29 September 2014|website=Archive.is|access-date=10 December 2018}} In 1970, the college purchased the Tortington Park School for Girls in Arundel, in the English county of West Sussex. For a time, the school functioned as an extension campus for NEC students wishing to study abroad; at one point, the college even changed its logo to incorporate the flags of both countries. However, the Arundel campus closed in 1998.{{cite web|title=Tortington Manor History|url=http://www.tortingtonmanorestate.co.uk/local-interest/manor-history-2.html}} In 2023, New England College closed the Manchester campus and moved all remaining students to the main campus in Henniker.{{cite web | url=https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2023-08-09/for-manchester-arts-community-uncertainty-after-new-england-college-shuts-down-its-city-campus | title=For Manchester arts community, uncertainty after New England College shuts down its city campus | date=9 August 2023 }}

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NEC is located in the small town of Henniker, New Hampshire, approximately {{convert|17|mi}} west of Concord, the state's capital; {{convert|31|mi}} northwest of Manchester; and {{convert|81|mi}} northwest of Boston.{{cite web|url=https://www.nec.edu/about/nec-at-a-glance/|title=New England College|website=New England College|access-date=10 December 2018}} The Contoocook River runs through the center of town and alongside the NEC campus. A covered bridge joins the main campus with roughly {{convert|20|acre}} of athletic fields.

The {{convert|225|acre|adj=on}} campus, which has no distinct borders separating it from the town of Henniker, features 30 buildings, many of which feature white clapboard-style siding or brick mid-century architecture. The campus is known throughout New England for promoting environmental education initiatives. Pats Peak ski resort lies just outside the village center, and many students participate in outdoor activities such as skiing, snowboarding, whitewater rafting, hiking in the White Mountains, and rock-climbing.{{cite web|url=https://www.nec.edu/life/|title=New England College|website=New England College|access-date=10 December 2018}}

New England College offers nine associate degree programs, 37 bachelor's degree programs, 12 master's degree programs, and one doctoral degree program. The programs are divided into four divisions: Art & Design, Humanities, Management & the Science, Health & Education Division.{{cite web|title=New England College|url=https://www.nec.edu/life/facts-figures/|access-date=10 December 2018|website=New England College}} The college is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education, and all programs offered by New England College are included in this regional accreditation. The school's business programs are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). Additionally, the school's Teacher Education Program (including endorsements in Physical Education, Special Education, Elementary Education, and Secondary Education) is approved by the New Hampshire Department of Education.{{cite web|url=https://www.nec.edu/about/distinctions/|title=New England College|website=New England College|access-date=10 December 2018}} Currently, the school employs 40 full-time faculty members and holds a 14:1 student-to-faculty ratio.

U.S. News & World Report ranks New England College #131–#171 in "Regional Universities – North, Tier 2."{{Cite web|title=New England College {{!}} Best Colleges {{!}} US News|url=https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/new-england-college-2579 |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=January 27, 2018}} New England College ranks tied for 173 on the U.S. News & World Report list for "Best Online Bachelor's Programs".{{Cite web|title=New England College {{!}} Best Online Programs {{!}} US News|url=https://www.usnews.com/education/online-education/new-england-college-182980 |work=U.S. News & World Report |access-date=January 27, 2018}}

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The college is home to 27 student organizations, including various student government committees and Kappa Delta Phi NAS. There were originally five chapters of Greek life: two sororities (Kappa Phi Sigma and Phi Sigma Sigma) and three fraternities (Sigma Phi Delta, Lambda Epsilon Delta, and Sigma Alpha Beta), but those dissolved beginning in the late 2000s. Students also publish an award-winning campus newspaper called The New Englander and operate a campus-based radio station, WNEC-FM.

New England College opened an esports arena in January 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nec.edu/let-the-games-begin/|title=New England College|date=2019-01-24|website=New England College|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-29}} This club sport at NEC is closely connected to several academic programs, such as Game and Digital Media Design and programs focusing on art, writing, marketing, graphic or website design, science, and strategy.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nec.edu/esports/|title=New England College|website=New England College|language=en-US|access-date=2019-05-29}}

NEC has been publicly recognized by Time magazine as one of the top 25 colleges in the nation which have diversified their student body the most since 1990.{{Cite web|title = New England College {{!}} Top Diverse Colleges| date=18 December 2015 |url = https://time.com/4148233/college-student-diversity-top-campuses/| publisher=Time Magazine| access-date = January 28, 2018}} The college strengthened its diversity efforts by establishing an Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI). The ODI holds annual events that observe minority communities such as African American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian, Native American & LGBTQ students."{{Cite web|title = New England College {{!}} Office of Diversity and Inclusion {{!}} |url = https://www.nec.edu/life/diversity-and-inclusion/| access-date = January 28, 2018}}

{{distinguish|New England Pilgrims (professional softball team)}}

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New England College's Pilgrims compete in 21 intercollegiate NCAA Division III athletic sports, including soccer, lacrosse, ice hockey, field hockey, softball, baseball, basketball, cross-country, football, wrestling, volleyball, rugby, and alpine skiing.{{cite web|url=https://athletics.nec.edu/|title=Official Athletics Website|website=New England College Athletics|access-date=10 December 2018}} The Pilgrims compete in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC).

They were previously members of the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) from 2011 to 2018 and the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) from 1989 to 2011.{{cite web|url=https://athletics.nec.edu/news/2010/7/6/GEN_7.6.10.aspx?path=general|title=NEC Athletics to Join North Atlantic Conference|website=New England College Athletics|access-date=10 December 2018}}

In 2023, NEC announced the official reopening of their varsity football program after a 50-year hiatus. They will compete at the NCAA Division III level.{{cite web | url=https://www.nec.edu/news/go-long-new-england-college-adds-football-to-its-athletics-playbook | title=Go Long! New England College Adds Football to Its Athletics Playbook }} The New England College Pilgrims football team will be coached by Kevin Kelly (American football coach) and participate in the Conference of New England

• Geena Davis (b. 1956), Academy Award-winning actress who attended her freshman year at NEC before transferring to Boston University
• Ira Joe Fisher (b. 1947), meteorologist and former weather reporter for The Saturday Early Show{{citation|title=What's Behind the Forecast? Pure Poetry|journal=New York Times|first=E. Kyle|last=Minor|date=July 12, 1998|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/12/nyregion/what-s-behind-the-forecast-pure-poetry.html}}.
• Mariela Griffor (b. 1961), poet and diplomat
• Siad Haji (b. 1999), professional soccer player who attended his freshman year at NEC before transferring to Virginia Commonwealth University
• Laura Harris Hales, writer, historian, and podcasterBunning, Rachel. [https://news.asu.edu/20201207-graduating-her-master’s-degree-history-student-plunges-world-research "Graduating with her master’s degree in history, student plunges into the world of research"], ASU News, 7 December 2020. Retrieved on 9 March 2021.
• Mark Lindquist (b. 1949), sculptor
• Maureen Mooney, New Hampshire State Representative, attorney, and educator
• Allen Steele (b. 1958), science fiction author
• Wallace Stickney (1934–2019), director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) under President George H. W. Bush
• Steven Zirnkilton (b. 1958), voice actor, narrator, radio show host, and politician{{cite news|url=http://mainecampus.com/2009/02/02/steve-zirnkilton-the-man-behind-the-voice/|title=Steve Zirnkilton: The man behind the voice|last=Morton|first=Spencer|date=February 2, 2009|work=The Maine Campus|publisher=University of Maine|access-date=1 August 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808062433/http://mainecampus.com/2009/02/02/steve-zirnkilton-the-man-behind-the-voice/|archive-date=8 August 2014}}

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• {{oweb}}
• [https://athletics.nec.edu/ Athletics website]

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{{Colleges and universities in New Hampshire}}

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Category:Private universities and colleges in New Hampshire

Category:Universities and colleges established in 1946

Category:Universities and colleges in Merrimack County, New Hampshire

Category:1946 establishments in New Hampshire

Category:Liberal arts colleges in New Hampshire

Category:Henniker, New Hampshire