As diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives face increasing scrutiny and legal challenges at the state and federal levels, the University of New Hampshire is reassessing how it maintains its institutional values while remaining compliant with the law.

Earlier this year, New Hampshire lawmakers passed House Bill 2, a sweeping budget bill that includes provisions limiting DEI-related programs at public institutions. The law has since prompted a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and advocacy groups representing LGBTQ+ students and educators, arguing that the restrictions could harm marginalized communities and limit educational opportunities.

According to the New Hampshire Bulletin, the legislation broadly restricts DEI initiatives in public institutions, creating uncertainty across schools and universities as leaders try to interpret what is and is not allowed.

Despite this shifting landscape, UNH administrators say the university remains committed to student success, inclusion, and academic freedom.

“Diversity, equity, and inclusion at New Hampshire public institutions, and at some privates, are in flux because at the state and federal levels, these practices are being challenged,” said Dr. Nadine Petty, associate vice president for community, equity, and diversity at UNH. “Through this process, what is most central to UNH’s mission is to ensure academic freedom is protected, that student success and well-being remain at the forefront of decision making, and that all related initiatives continue to foster an inclusive campus where all employees and students, regardless of their backgrounds and identities, can thrive.”

Petty described HB2 as “vague and convoluted,” noting that some interpretations of the law appear to conflict with existing federal civil rights and equal employment laws.

“One interpretation leads us to assume the state wants us to take action that would violate existing federal Equal Opportunity in Employment laws, Civil Rights laws, and other laws on both federal and state levels,” Petty said. “Since we do not think the state wants us to violate any existing laws, UNH’s interpretation is tied to the spirit of what we believe the state is getting at, which is to uphold the anti-discrimination laws that have been on the books for decades now.”

In a December 2025 blog update, UNH leadership similarly emphasized that the university is reviewing programs to ensure compliance while maintaining its commitment to inclusion, academic freedom, and student success. The university noted that it would continue to evaluate initiatives carefully as legal challenges and guidance evolve.

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According to Petty, UNH has focused on ensuring programs remain inclusive and non-discriminatory, rather than targeting specific demographic groups for state-funded services.

“What’s interesting to note here is that without programs that address diversity, equity, and inclusion that educate people and build awareness, we likely would only promote the success of white, heterosexual, cisgender men over the success of others,” Petty said. “That is what higher education was founded on.”

Petty added that eliminating DEI-related services would disproportionately affect students from marginalized backgrounds, students she emphasized are also paying customers of the institution.

“It makes no sense to take their money and then decide we will not serve their needs,” Petty said.

At the federal level, Petty said recent rhetoric and policy shifts demonstrate what she sees as a widespread misunderstanding of DEI work.

“There is little to no understanding that diversity, equity, and inclusion covers a wide swath of demographic groups,” Petty said, pointing to veterans, students with disabilities, first-generation college students, and low-income families. “Yet that is exactly what has occurred with this administration’s anti-DEI rhetoric, whether intentionally or through a trickle-down effect.”

Petty also pushed back against the idea that DEI prioritizes identity over merit.

“This is an icky and dangerous belief and far from the truth,” Petty said, citing her experience on hiring committees. “Candidates of color are often weeded out of the search process or are not chosen for hire for ‘concerns’ that are overlooked in their white counterparts.”

From a legal standpoint, Chad Pimentel, UNH’s general counsel, said the impact of recent DEI-related legislation has varied across institutions.

“New Hampshire has a long-standing law prohibiting preferential treatment based on membership in a number of groups,” Pimentel said. “That meant that some recent federal law changes, like the Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions decision banning race-conscious admissions, changed nothing for UNH even though they prompted a lot of attention and changes at other institutions.”

According to Pimentel, the most significant effect has been the need for careful program review to ensure compliance with state and federal law, particularly given the lack of clarity surrounding what qualifies as “DEI-related.”

“One of the trickiest areas is determining exactly what folks mean when they say that something is ‘DEI-related,” Pimentel said. “Programs that do not have ‘DEI’ in the title could still be affected by changes in the law.”

Pimentel added that ongoing legal challenges to the state law have left the university in a “wait-and-see mode.”

“The biggest challenge is the uncertainty of it all,” Pimentel said. “Once the dust settles, UNH and other public institutions will do what they have always done, support their students within the confines of the law.”

Petty said UNH has already made limited adjustments to program language and training content in response to the legislation. One example involved revising implicit bias training to emphasize that bias is a shared human condition rather than something tied to a specific group.

“The content was clear to begin with, but we thought it was important to be even clearer,” Petty said.

Still, Petty stressed that laws cannot dictate how individuals treat one another on campus.

“The government may be able to legislate the words we use, the services we provide, and how we go about our work, but they can’t legislate how we engage with each other,” Petty said. “Our actions should be our testament, not some words on a webpage somewhere.”

Looking ahead, Petty said DEI at UNH will continue to be shaped by external forces, but the university’s core mission remains unchanged.

“We could not call ourselves a public institution if we did not work to meet the needs of all students,” Petty said. “We would find a way to reach our end goal, even if how we went about doing it needed to shift.”

A Bay State man who was trapped in his vehicle after crashing into a toll plaza was rescued by a trooper who’s on New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s security detail, according to police.

The governor also helped at the chaotic scene, police said, as the group helped the seriously injured 51-year-old man from Massachusetts at the Bedford Toll Plaza on the F.E. Everett Turnpike.

The state trooper assigned to the governor’s security detail helped pull the driver from his burning vehicle. The driver has been identified as Yevgeny Mirman.

At 11:55 a.m. on Tuesday, troopers assigned to the Troop B barracks responded to the single-vehicle crash involving a 2026 Lucid Gravity that struck the toll plaza. 911 callers said the vehicle had caught fire, and someone in the vehicle appeared to be trapped.

While units were responding, a veteran trooper assigned to Ayotte’s security detail came upon the crash, saw that the vehicle was actively on fire, and spotted the driver inside the car.

The trooper then pulled the driver from the burning car through a window. Ayotte, along with other witnesses at the scene, provided assistance to the trooper.

Mirman was transported by ambulance to an area hospital with serious injuries. The name of the trooper is being withheld due to the nature of their position.

“Certainly, their actions were heroic in what they did,” Colonel Mark B. Hall said in a statement. “Without hesitation, they put themselves in danger to render aid to someone who was in need of it.”

Troop B was assisted by members of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, Bedford Fire Department, Litchfield Fire Rescue and Merrimack Fire Rescue.

If you use your cell phone while driving, you may want to think twice — unless you’re willing to pay twice as much.

A bipartisan bill, backed by state law enforcement, would institute higher fines for drivers who use handheld devices behind the wheel. In some cases, motorists could lose their licenses for a month or more.

Sen. Donovan Fenton, a Democrat from Keene who serves on Gov. Kelly Ayotte’s Highway Safety Task Force, pointed to state crash data as reason for the change proposed in his Senate Bill 649

The number of traffic deaths in New Hampshire has crept up over the past few years. In 2023, there were 127 fatalities, at least six of which stemmed from distracted driving, Fenton said.

“Distracted driving is becoming more pronounced, more dangerous and more deadly,” he said at a public hearing last week. “The current penalties are not enough to change behavior, particularly with repeat offenses.”

There were 133 traffic deaths in 2024 and 138 in 2025, according to the Office of Highway Safety. In 2026 so far, thirteen people have died in car crashes.

Fenton’s bill would increase the amount someone has to pay for violating the prohibition on cell phone use while driving. First-time offenders would pay $250 instead of the current $100, and on the second violation in two years, the offender would pay $500. For the third offense in two years, they would pay $750 and lose their license for 30 days. All those penalties could increase if cell phone use behind the wheel is found to be a contributing factor in a car crash.

Current law allows hands-free operation of a cell phone via Bluetooth but prohibits handheld device use. The state collected more than $568,000 in related fines and penalty assessments in the most recent fiscal year.

Distracted driving was a contributing factor in 4,520 of the state’s nearly 28,000 non-fatal crashes in 2023, according to the Department of Safety. That’s a little over 16%, though a report from the task force said officials suspect distracted driving is difficult to track and underreported in more serious collisions. Cell phones are a common culprit in distracted driving.

Ayotte’s task force has highlighted other policies that it says would increase public safety, including doubling the license suspension period for refusing a breathalyzer test.

In the first 10 weeks of 2026, three-quarters of the people arrested for impaired driving in New Hampshire refused to take a breath alcohol test, Ayotte said in a recent press release. The governor has waged a public campaign for the proposed law, Senate Bill 260, which she says would disincentivize drivers from refusing the test.

What’s next: Senate Bill 649 breezed through the Senate earlier this year. The House of Representatives is set to vote on it in the coming weeks after a committee recommended its passage almost unanimously.