James W. Dean Jr. Installed as 20th President of UNH

Friday, October 12, 2018

James W. (“Jim”) Dean, Jr. installed as the 20th president of the University of New Hampshire Friday, Oct. 12, 2018.

James W. (“Jim”) Dean, Jr. installed as the 20th president of the University of New Hampshire Friday, Oct. 12, 2018.

DURHAM, N.H.—Surrounded by family, friends, trustees, members of the university community and alumni on campus to celebrate homecoming, James W. (“Jim”) Dean Jr. was installed as the 20th president of the University of New Hampshire Friday, Oct. 12, 2018. With more than 30 years of experience in public higher education, Dean was elected unanimously by the University System of New Hampshire board of trustees to lead the state’s flagship public university effective June 30, 2018.

Dean addressed the crowd after being formally installed by John Small, chair of the USNH board of trustees, speaking passionately about the relationship between education and freedom, including freedom of expression.

“Why am I so focused on freedom in this speech, at the moment of my inauguration?” Dean asked those gathered. “Because true freedom depends on education. Our freedoms are largely created by education, and on the knowledge and understanding that education produces…In fact, education and freedom are so tightly intertwined that it is impossible to imagine true freedom without education. And not surprisingly, their opposites—ignorance and oppression—are also tightly linked.”

Dean identified the role of education in ensuring freedom of speech and expression, freedom of every person to worship God in his or her own way, freedom from want and freedom from fear.

“Education helps people to develop ideas to be expressed, as well as the skills to express them,” he said. “Are we truly free if we have nothing worth saying or no capacity to express our thoughts?”

He noted that every day, the university is “helping students learn our history and values, so they can deeply appreciate the freedoms we enjoy as Americans, teaching students the communication and analytical skills that will allow them to effectively participate in our wonderful chaotic democracy, creating scientists and engineers whose inventions will provide future citizens freedom from dangerous work, from disease, and from drudgery, and we are helping to inspire and educate business people who will build organizations that will employ thousands of people, freeing them from want.”

Watch or read his full speech here.

Dean succeeds Mark W. Huddleston, who retired after 11 years leading UNH. Dean most recently served as executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill where he was a professor of organizational behavior.

The University of New Hampshire is a flagship research university that inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. UNH’s research portfolio includes partnerships with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, receiving more than $100 million in competitive external funding every year to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space. 

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PHOTOS FOR DOWNLOAD:

https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/dean-installation-headshot.jpg
Caption: James W. (“Jim”) Dean Jr. installed as the 20th president of the University of New Hampshire Friday, Oct. 12, 2018.

https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/sites/default/files/media/dean-installation-medal.jpg
Caption: Newly installed UNH President James W. ("Jim") Dean Jr. receives medal from UNH Interim Provost Wayne Jones Jr.