McIntosh College to close

McIntosh College faces a murky future. The college’s parent company, Career Education Corporation, has announced that it will begin slowly phasing out MacIntosh’s educational programs. The announcement, released on Friday, Feb. 15, laid out a plan that would close McIntosh’s doors for good late in 2009. The gradual process allows for the approximately 1,000 students currently enrolled in the school to complete their educations.

Lynne Baker, vice president of corporate communications for Career Education, said the school is no longer accepting incoming applications. McIntosh will, however, continue to work with its remaining students until all of their programs have been completed.

Career Education had been searching for potential buyers for the school since November 2006, but failed to find an agreement that would “protect the short and long-term interests of the school’s students, faculty and staff,” Baker said.

The news stunned many local residents, who have grown accustomed to McIntosh’s presence in the community. The school was established in 1896 and has provided thousands of Seacoast residents with career training.

When the Career Education Corporation acquired the rights to McIntosh College in March 1999, it began broadening the school’s curriculum, but the expansion did not translate into financial success.

But there may still be hope for McIntosh College. In a letter to the Portsmouth Herald, MacIntosh President Michael Hoyle asked state legislators to change the school’s charter and create a nonprofit state community college, but the state has not yet responded to the proposition. Hoyle and other school officials refused to speak to The Wire.

UNH deemed ‘Leanest and Greenest’

The University of New Hampshire further bolstered its reputation as one of the nation’s most forward-thinking educational institutions by winning Business NH Magazine’s Lean and Green Award this month. UNH received the top honor with the Overall Judges Award in the magazine’s first-ever presentation of the awards.

The magazine recognized the school’s varied efforts to conserve energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and integrate sustainable practices into its operations and curriculum. UNH is home to the nation’s first and oldest endowed office of sustainability in higher education.

UNH chief sustainability officer Tom Kelly said academic institutions have a heightened responsibility for being on the cutting edge of green technologies and policies.
“We are educating the next generations of professionals and citizens who will be in positions of decision making authority and leadership,” Kelly said. “If we don’t create a culture of learning where sustainability is integral throughout, then we’re really handicapping them in their future professions and their future role as citizens to really be inspired and empowered to make the kinds of innovations and changes that are so urgently required.”

The magazine accepted entries from businesses representing a range of industries across the state. Award judges included Thomas Burack, commissioner of the N.H. Department of Environmental Services; Margaret Dillon, board member of the N.H. Sustainable Energy Association and president of S.E.E.D.S., Sustainable Energy Education & Demonstration Services; and Ami D’Amelio, board member of N.H. Businesses for Social Responsibility. Six other businesses also received awards, but UNH was the only winner from southeastern New Hampshire.

Kelly said the judges were impressed by the depth of UNH’s green practices, which have expanded to pervade numerous facets of campus life and school operations. Among UNH’s green policies are its support of local, sustainable agriculture and its use of alternative fuels in its public transit system. The school is in the process of completing a landfill methane gas pipeline that will help it reuse purified landfill gases. The pipeline, in combination with the university’s co-generating heat and power facility, are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 57 percent below 1990 levels, while also saving money and enhancing energy security.

Kelly said a number of other universities have begun to embrace green policies across the nation, and UNH’s latest award should continue to spotlight advancements in sustainable practices. “There’s really a broad sweep now that’s begun,” he said. “We just have to keep adding to the momentum.”

Kelly and UNH president Huddleston will join leaders from other winning businesses to share information during a luncheon at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester on Tuesday, March 25. To register for the event or to order a copy of Business NH Magazine’s March issue, call 603-626-6354. For more on UNH’s office of sustainability, visit www.sustainableunh.unh.edu.

RiverWoods expansion project requires further revisions

RiverWoods has been issued a special exemption by the town of Exeter for its planned expansion project. The exemption gives the retirement community the right to add a third facility, The Boulders, to its two existing life care communities.

But, before beginning construction, the project still has a couple of hurdles to clear. Residents and town officials have shared some concern over RiverWoods’ proposed placement of roads surrounding the facility.

“We are working very hard with the town and the abutters to come to an agreement,” said Cathleen Toomey, RiverWoods’ vice-president of marketing.

The two sides are currently trying to reach an agreement that would connect The Boulders with Blackford Drive via a permanent driveway. This new development was a response to the town’s concern regarding a proposed temporary access road from The Boulders to Pickpocket Road.

Despite the ongoing discussions, Toomey said the project is still scheduled to begin this fall, but she cannot officially confirm the date until all sides have reached a final agreement. An agreement could come as early as Thursday, March 27, when the Planning Board will meet with RiverWoods representatives and abutters at Exeter Town Hall. The meeting is open to the public and is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.  
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nce construction is finished, The Boulders will be very similar to the other two RiverWoods facilities—The Woods and The Ridge. The building will be approximately 285,000 square feet, consisting of 76 independent living units, 28 cottages, 24 individual assisted living facilities and 16 nursing beds.

According to Toomey, a few of the noticeable differences will be a larger multi-purpose room and a café espresso bar. The Boulders will also include common areas for dining, reading, exercise, arts and crafts, socializing and even a beauty parlor.