UNH RIFC 50 Franchise Index Finds Sector Has Strong Third Quarter

DURHAM, N.H.—The franchising sector, like most other business sectors, is attempting to recover from the double-digit losses sustained in the second quarter of 2022. This quarter, the University of New Hampshire’s RIFC 50 Index™, reflecting the performance of the U.S. franchising sector, lost “only” 2.6%, while the S&P 500 Index, reflecting the general U.S. financial markets, lost 5.3%. Twenty-one of the 50 components of the RIFC 50 Index made positive gains this quarter, a big improvement from last quarter when only one component made gains.

Media Availability: UNH British Historian to Comment on Royal Visit to Boston

DURHAM, N.H.—Prince William and Kate Middleton are both expected to make the trip across the pond for the second annual Earthshot Prize ceremony which will be held in Boston. Nicoletta Gullace, associate professor of history at the University of New Hampshire, and an expert on the royal family, is available to talk about the significance of the trip and what this means for the monarchy as well as for the city of Boston.

Gullace can be reached at nicoletta.gullace@unh.edu.

UNH to Map Current and Planned Broadband to Improve Coverage in Granite State

DURHAM, N.H.—NH GRANIT, a mapping agency for the state based at the University of New Hampshire, is receiving close to a million dollars from the N.H. Department of Business and Economic Affairs (BEA) to inventory and map statewide broadband coverage that is currently available as well as what is proposed for the state’s businesses, educators and citizens.

UNH Research Shows COVID-19 Lockdown Did Not Lead to Quieter Offshore Ocean

DURHAM, N.H.—Life on land may have quieted down during the height of the pandemic, but far offshore the Atlantic Ocean was just as active as ever according to a new study from the University of New Hampshire. Researchers found that there was no significant change in the continental shelf’s underwater soundscape during the year 2020— a surprising contrast to earlier reports of quieter coastal waters during that same timeframe.

UNH Hosts Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian and JFK Scholar Nov. 14

DURHAM, N.H.—Historian Fredrik Logevall will speak as part of the Rutman Distinguished Lecture Series on the American Presidency at the University of New Hampshire Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Building’s Strafford Room. His talk, Ask Not: John F. Kennedy and the Promise of Democracy, is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Alumnus Alex Freid Named UNH Social Innovator of the Year

DURHAM, N.H.— Alex Freid ’13 has been named the 2022 Social Innovator of the Year by the University of New Hampshire. Honoring individuals since 2013, the award is among the university’s most prestigious, recognizing leaders with a demonstrated commitment to combining the purpose of a social and/or environmental mission with the rigor and accountability of a financially sustainable, scalable model for change.

UNH to Establish New Sibling Aggression and Abuse Initiative

DURHAM, N.H.—According to national surveys, one-third of children have been physically assaulted by a brother or a sister in the past year. To help reduce its prevalence and impact, the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire is establishing a new Sibling Aggression and Abuse Research and Advocacy Initiative (SAARA) that will work to change the perception that sibling aggression and abuse is not serious as well as provide guidance on how to prevent its occurrence.

UNH Receives Grant to Study Atlantic Cod, Common Terns in Warming Gulf of Maine

DURHAM, N.H.—Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have been awarded over $1.25 million from the Office of Naval Research and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to take a deeper dive on the impact of climate change on the dynamic marine ecosystems found in the Gulf of Maine in both New Hampshire and southern Maine.

UNH’s Institute on Disability to Continue Support for N.H. Residents

DURHAM, N.H.— The University of New Hampshire received a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to continue its support of the one in eight New Hampshire residents who report having a disability, including serious difficulties with vision, hearing, mobility, cognition, self-care or independent living. The award will allow the Institute on Disability (IOD) to continue serving as New Hampshire’s designated University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (UCEDD).