Paul LeBlanc, president and CEO of Southern New Hampshire University, said Wednesday he plans to step down in June after more than two decades in the role.
LeBlanc is credited with transforming Southern New Hampshire from a small regional college with just a few thousand students to an online behemoth with over 160,000 students last fall. LeBlanc has also helped carry out an initiative to lower in-person tuition prices.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to be the president of SNHU for the past 20 years,” LeBlanc said in a statement Wednesday. “I am so proud of the work we have been able to do together to help expand access to education and transform the lives of our learners.”
Lisa Marsh Ryerson, who has been Southern New Hampshire’s provost since last year, will step into the presidency for a two-year term beginning in July. Ryerson previously served as president of the AARP Foundation for eight years. Before that, she was president of Wells College, in New York, for 18 years.
“Paul’s legacy is one of bold vision and generosity of spirit,” Ryerson said in a statement. “Over the next six months, he and I will work together on a transition plan that honors the work of our people and prioritizes the experience of our learners.”
After he steps down, LeBlanc plans to write about AI’s impact on education and the workforce during a yearlong sabbatical.
