- Faculty; On Campus and On Location
From his grandfathers – a Swiss minister/missionary and a Native American cotton farmer who survived the Dust Bowl of the 1930s – Dr. Dan Stauffacher inherited a lifelong mission “to be a good neighbor.”
When he’s not teaching psychology at SNHU, you can find him pursuing that mission on a 36-acre parcel of land in Allenstown.
Meeting House Park is “a dream project” for Stauffacher and his wife, Pam. It includes an Iroquois village for elementary school education, a 6,000-square-foot barn equipped for multiple functions, an open area for historic re-enactments, an outdoor pavilion and much more. Stauffacher says it’s the fifth major project of his 37-year career; others have included public library and senior housing projects in Pembroke, N.H.
Born and raised in southern California and educated for the ministry in Illinois, Stauffacher has been a radio and TV host, a mental health professional, a spiritual leader of New Hampshire’s Métis Native American people, an adjunct professor and pastor of Pembroke’s First Congregational Church.
Those experiences help to enrich the wide range of courses he teaches on campus and at the university’s centers; topics include sociology, psychology, Native American culture, ethics, religion and more.
“SNHU invites professors to bring their scholarship and real-world applications in one package to the classroom,” he says. “They expect knowledge, understanding and practical application. This is great for our students."
Stauffacher declines to take himself too seriously, though.
“My career has been a lot of fun,” says the man who describes himself as only semi-retired, and who still finds time to burn up the road on his 1996 Honda Gold Wing when the weather allows.
