UPDATE (Sept. 15): The Nashua Telegraph reported Thursday that Daniel Webster fall sports will continue on their current schedule, and SNHU staff are working on next steps for fall and spring athletics.
“Our hope is to continue those sports and schedules as planned,” SNHU president Paul LeBlanc said in an email statement.
The report also states that DWC students who have completed 90 credits or more before the fall 2016 semester will graduate with a Daniel Webster College degree if they meet graduation requirements by the end of August 2017. Students with 60-90 credits will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, and students with 59 credits or fewer will graduate with an SNHU degree.
After the 2016-17 school year, SNHU will accept DWC students who meet the university’s academic standards.
“By next fall, it is very likely that we will be off the Nashua campus (since we do not control the campus and disposition of the property will be in ITT’s hands) and all remaining students, employees and programs will be transitioned into SNHU,” LeBlanc said in a message to students.
LeBlanc also said Wednesday that SNHU has made an offer to ITT/ESI for the 54-acre campus, but “we have not heard back.”
“We received a message from ITT this morning that Daniel Webster employees will be terminated by the end of today,” LeBlanc said in a Wednesday phone interview to the Telegraph. “First thing tomorrow, we will have people on temporary status so there is no break in medical coverage, and we can start moving forward to permanent employment.”
The original news story USCHO.com published is below.
According to the Nashua Telegraph, the dim future of Daniel Webster College may have an adverse affect on the two Division III programs there.
The women’s team, which barely fielded a team in 2015-16, has reportedly lost players and recruits and may have had a difficult time fielding a whole team this season.
“The approach isn’t any different right now,” Eagles athletic director Chris Gilmore said to the Telegraph. “We are day to day, doing our business as usual … I tell [the coaches] to work hard every day, to go day-to-day with their kids. I guess the best way to say it is keep an even keel. Don’t go to far up and down with the ebbs and flows. I think that’s the biggest thing.
“There’s always ups and downs. Each situation is different for others. We try to keep an even keel with what we’re doing. … No one can predict the future. Right now, it’s keep an even keel, try to concentrate on doing the things we can do and manage the things we can manage.
“Right now, I’m doing the same things every day. Same thing as the coaches. Just do your job day to day. That’s all you can do.”
One report in the Union Leader has Southern New Hampshire University purchasing DWC.
Men’s players and coaches are still on campus.
“Some of them are nervous, a large portion are optimistic,” men’s coach Eric McCambly said in the Telegraph report. “We should have plenty of horses in the stable. We’d like to hear something within the next 48 hours so we can tell them we are going to have a season. We’re hopeful and we think we’re going to have a pretty good group this year.
“Who knows? It might end up being better than it was before.”
