Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Make a sustaining gift today to support local journalism!

UNH Seeks $38M From State's Capital Budget To Expand STEM Programs

Courtesy The University Of New Hampshire

Officials from the University of New Hampshire want $38 million in the state’s next two-year capital budget to help expand the school’s STEM programs.

The university’s presentation Monday morning kicked off two days of hearings on $227 million in capital spending requests from 18 state agencies.

President Mark Huddleston described UNH as the state’s “STEM factory,” as he made his case before Governor Maggie Hassan and members of her capital budget advisory committee.

The issue now, he says, is one of space.

If funded, he says the university’s laboratory space dedicated to engineering and STEM-related programs would expand by 150,000 square feet.

“It will allow us to at a minimum increase by 250 the number of students that we’re sending out each year into the world of STEM. That can have a material effect on workforce needs.”

The $50 million project would include renovations and additions to five buildings.

The other $12 million would be funded by the university system.

Final decisions about what projects will actually get funding won’t be made until next year.

Tags
Michael serves as NHPR's Program Director. Michael came to NHPR in 2012, working as the station's newscast producer/reporter. In 2015, he took on the role of Morning Edition producer. Michael worked for eight years at The Telegraph of Nashua, covering education and working as the metro editor.
Related Content

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.