Franklin Pierce University is a private university in Rindge, New Hampshire, United States. It was founded as Franklin Pierce College in 1962, combining a liberal arts foundation with coursework for professional preparation.
The school gained university status in 2007 and is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). It has an enrollment of 1,400 students and overlooks Pearly Pond, a few miles from Mount Monadnock. The campus covers approximately 1,200 acres (4.9 km2). Peter Eden has been president of Franklin Pierce University since 2024. The school also operates the College of Graduate and Professional Studies with campuses in Manchester, New Hampshire and Lebanon, New Hampshire, and Goodyear, Arizona. The college at Rindge houses three institutes: the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication; the Monadnock Institute of Nature, Place, and Culture; and the New England Center for Civic Life.
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History
The school was founded by Frank S. DiPietro in 1962 as Franklin Pierce College, named after Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States and the only U.S. president from New Hampshire. The school opened its doors to its first set of students in the winter of 1963. They began with just under 100 students and six full-time professors. The campus consisted of four older buildings known as the Manor, Rindge Hall, The White House, and Ravencroft Theatre. Many classes were conducted in downtown Rindge, while other buildings there were used as residence halls.
In the winter of 1964, Crestview Hall was built, and by then the college had 150 students. That building was used for both dorms and classrooms, enabling the college to move completely to its current location. In the fall of 1965, Monadnock Hall was built for more classrooms on the ground floor and residence halls on the above floor. Later that school year in 1966, Edgewood was built. At that time the cafeteria moved from the Manor to the ground floor with residence halls on the two upper floors. Also that year, the DiGregorio building was built and housed a post office along with student lounges, a snack bar, and book store.
Still, despite the additional buildings, the campus remained overcrowded as the student body grew to over 500 students. In the fall of 1966, Granite Hall opened as a dormitory with health services in the basement. In 1967, New Hampshire Hall opened for more dormitories with the fire department in the basement. Mt. Washington Hall was built as an extension to New Hampshire in 1968 and also housed the music department. Also that year, the Fieldhouse was built to accommodate sports programs.
The school still lacked a full library, though a small limited one was in Monadnock, so in 1967 construction for a library/resource center began and was completed in 1969. The library moved from one of the classroom/dorm buildings to the resource center along with academic and administrative offices. Eventually years later, the television production center, radio station, computer labs, and the cable TV system headend would be located there. In 1971, Marcucella Hall was built for classrooms, enabling most of the classrooms in Crestview and all of the ones in Monadnock to relocate there. The Manor remained a student center as Rindge Hall became financial aid and registration offices. Franklin Pierce held its first graduation in 1967 and became accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) in 1968.
Presidents
Frank DiPietro (1962–1975) (founder)
Walter R. Peterson, Jr.( (1975–1995)
George J. Hagerty (1995–2009)
James F. Birge (2009–2015)
Andrew Card (2015–2016)
Kim Mooney (2016–2024)
Peter Eden (2024-
Academics
Franklin Pierce offers undergraduate programs in a variety of arts, sciences, and professional disciplines. The university also offers students master's degrees, doctoral degrees, and graduate certificate programs in business, education, and health sciences.
Franklin Pierce University has been accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges or its successor since 1968.
Campuses
Main campus
The college at Rindge, Franklin Pierce's traditional undergraduate campus, is located on 40 University Drive in Rindge, New Hampshire, and is situated on 1,200 acres (490 ha) of land. Franklin Pierce's main academic buildings include Petrocelli Hall, Marcucella Hall, the Fitzwater Center, the Pappas Center, Monadnock Hall, Cheney Hall, and the Yvonne S. Boice Performing Arts Center. The Frank S. DiPietro Library serves as the main library on campus and also houses additional classrooms and student support services.
The Emily Flint Campus Center is the main student activities building on campus which houses the Marketplace Cafeteria (main dining hall), Raven's Nest (late-night dining), post office, and a number of other student services.
The Grimshay-Gudewik Activity Center at Northfields or "The Bubble" is the hub of the university's Campus Recreation program. The Bubble serves as a recreation area for the entire campus population, as well as both a weight room and inclement-weather practice facility for Franklin Pierce's intercollegiate athletic programs. The Bubble is home to a complete cardio-strength area, a free weight area, two full tennis courts, two full basketball/volleyball courts, a 50-yard turf field and a two-lane track.
Franklin Pierce currently houses all on-campus students in a variety of residence halls, from large dormitory-style to apartment-style living. Residence halls on the Rindge campus include Granite Hall, New Hampshire Hall, Mount Washington Hall, Cheshire Hall, Edgewood Hall, Monadnock Hall, Mountain View and Northwoods Apartments, Lakeview Townhouses, and Sawmill Apartments.
Pearly Pond is at the base of campus, and Mount Monadnock overlooks the area.
Branch campuses
Besides the campus in Rindge, Franklin Pierce also operates the College of Graduate and Professional Studies, which has four campuses: two in New Hampshire, Manchester and Lebanon, Goodyear, Arizona and Round Rock, Texas.
Athletics
Franklin Pierce offers 24 varsity sports, of which one, the Women's Ice Hockey team, competes at the NCAA Division I level within the New England Women's Hockey Alliance (NEWHA). The remaining 23 teams compete at the NCAA Division II level and, primarily, are members of the Northeast-10 Conference. Those programs include Baseball, Men's and Women's Basketball, Men's and Women's Cross Country, Field Hockey, Men's and Women's Golf, Men's Ice Hockey, Men's and Women's Lacrosse, Women's Rowing, Men's and Women's Soccer, Softball, Football, Men's and Women's Tennis, Men's and Women's Track and Field, and Women's Volleyball. The university offers men's and women's rugby at the club level, with both programs recognized by the New England Rugby Football Union (NERFU).
Student life
Franklin Pierce University has almost 30 clubs and organizations on campus ranging from academics (Criminal Justice, Education, History, etc.) to community service to performing arts.
Pierce Media Group
The Pierce Media Group, or PMG, is the campus media group that consists of the Pierce Arrow, PMG News Center, FPTV 25, The Talon 105.3FM WFPC-LP, Ravens Sports Network, Four Corners Marketing, and thefitzonline.com.
All the media outlets are a part of the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication. Any student can easily participate in any facet of the PMG, even if they have no experience in marketing, advertising, production, or journalism.
Franklin Pierce University holds an FCC broadcast license for WFPC-LP, The Talon 105.3 FM. The station features hourly news briefs that consist of information from the Associated Press news feed and student sources.
The Pierce Arrow, the student newspaper, is the oldest student group on campus.
FPTV 25 offers both student-created content and studio-produced feature-length films. Two feature films are shown monthly. FPTV 25 has a mix of entertainment and sports programming as well as a weekly thirty-minute newscast.
Four Corners Marketing offers students the opportunity to sell advertisements both to clubs on campus as well as businesses off campus to be placed in The Pierce Arrow or FPTV25.
Ravens Sports Network broadcasts games of the varsity athletic programs live, giving complete coverage of the Division II competition.
Student Government Association
The executive board consists of the president of the SGA, the Vice President of the SGA, the Secretary of the SGA, the Treasurer of the SGA, and the Parliamentarian of the SGA.
Franklin Pierce Fire Company
At one time, the campus was home to one of the only fully student-run fire companies in the world. Franklin Pierce Fire formerly operated as an engine company under the town of Rindge Fire Department and responds to all fire related emergencies on campus. The company was headed by four student fire officers, as well as a varying number of student members serving as firefighters.
Notable alumni
Temple Grandin (b. 1947), animal behavior researcher
Rebekah Harkness (1915–1982), founder of the Harkness Ballet
Steve Hathaway (b. 1990), pitcher
Johannah Leedham (b. 1987), British basketball player
Minna Mustonen (b. 1977), soccer player
Henry Simmons (b. 1970), actor
Cece Telfer (b. 1999), first openly transgender person to win an NCAA title
Brandon Whipple, politician, former mayor of Wichita, Kansas
Devin Sheehan (b. 1982), Holyoke, MA School Committee Member and President of the National School Boards Association