Southern New Hampshire University

Southern New Hampshire University, also known as SNHU, is a private university in Manchester, New Hampshire. Their athletics name is "The [SNHU] Penmen".

The university was founded in 1932 by Harry A.B. Shapiro and Gertrude Crockett Shapiro (his wife) as the New Hampshire School of Accounting and Secretarial Science. In 1961, it was incorporated and renamed New Hampshire College of Accounting and Commerce. The state of New Hampshire granted the college its charter in 1963, which gave it degree-granting authority. The first associate's degrees were awarded that year, and the first bachelor's degrees were conferred in 1966. The college became a nonprofit institution under a board of trustees in September 1968, and its name was shortened to New Hampshire College in 1969.

Created with a challenge and a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the 3Year Honors Program broke the mold for higher education in 1995. This program is a custom-designed, integrated academic experience that is offered over the course of six semesters.

New Hampshire College became Southern New Hampshire University on July 1, 2001. A new academic facility, Robert Frost Hall, containing the McIninch Art Gallery and a new state of the art Center for Financial Studies, was completed in 2002. The University transferred three graduate education programs and two undergraduate education programs from nearby Notre Dame College when that institution closed.

The Southern New Hampshire University is one of only a few American educational institutions that is accredited by the

European Council for Business Education (ECBE) in addition to ACBSP.