class of 1980
higher education leader
Paul LeBlanc graduated from Framingham State in 1980 with a B.A. in English. He continued his education,
earning a M.A. in English from Boston College and a PhD in Computer Technology and Writing from the
University of Massachusetts at Amherst. LeBlanc has stressed the importance of affordable higher education
and the utilization of innovative technologies in the classroom throughout his life. He began his teaching career
as a professor of English at Springfield College in 1984, and served as Chairman of the Department in 1989. He
rewrote the curriculum, added new courses, and established a computer writing lab for the Department before
taking a leave of absence in 1993 to work for Houghton Mifflin Publishing where he founded the Sixth Floor
Media division. From 1996 to 2003, he served as President of Marlboro College, a small Vermont liberal arts
college of 270 students and 34 faculty members. After his term, he went on to become President of Southern New
Hampshire University, a position that he still holds today. Under LeBlanc’s leadership, the college has become a
leader in online education; SNHU was one of the first nonprofit schools to implement such diverse online offerings
and the first American university to offer online classes all the way in China.
LeBlanc currently lives in Manchester, NH with his wife, Patricia.