Discussions about a possible merger between the New Hampshire Institute of Art and Southern New Hampshire University are dead, an NHIA official said.
The chair of the institute’s Board of Trustees Joseph Reilly says there are no plans to pursue the merger, and the focus of the school is on finding a new president.
In a statement posted on the school’s website, Reilly said an announcement about a new president would be made in “the near future.”
NHIA and SNHU had signed a memorandum of understanding to pursue a merger, but Institute of Art faculty, staff and students raised concerns about a merger this summer.
In an email, SNHU President Paul LeBlanc says, "We agreed some time ago to set aside any merger talks and simply stay in conversation around opportunities for fruitful partnership. In other words, to be good institutional neighbors and collaborators."
NHIA had said merger discussions would end if the schools couldn’t reach a deal by Sept. 1, but Reilly said questions have lingered about whether the talks were ongoing.