Founders Day 2026
President Wayne F. Lesperance, Jr. requests the honor of your presence at New England College’s Founders Day Celebration.
Founders Day celebrates the College’s beginnings as a place of opportunity for veterans returning from World War II and recognizes the commitment of the founding faculty, staff, administration, and students who helped make that vision possible.
Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at 4:00 p.m.
Rosamond Page Putnam Center for the Performing Arts
Or livestream: nec.edu/foundersdaylivestream
Keynote Speaker
Maj. Gen. David Mikolaities
Adjutant General of New Hampshire National Guard
Maj. Gen. David Mikolaities assumed duties as the adjutant general of the New Hampshire National Guard on September 23, 2017. He serves as the military chief of staff to the governor and commissioner of the NH Department of Military Affairs and Veterans Services. In his dual role, Mikolaities is responsible for the strategic direction of the Army and Air National Guard and all aspects of veteran’s services, including the Division of Veterans Services, the Division of Community Based Military Programs as well as the State Veteran’s Cemetery.
Mikolaities received his commission through the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1987. He first served on active duty, holding numerous leadership and staff positions with the 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Carson, Colorado. He transitioned to the reserve component where he completed the Special Forces Officer Qualification Course and served as a detachment commander with C Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Special Forces Group (Airborne). Following this assignment, Mikolaities served with Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), where he held numerous staff positions.
In 2007, Mikolaities joined the New Hampshire Army National Guard. He has served in various operational and staff assignments including commander, 54th Troop Command.
His operational assignments include deployments to Qatar and Iraq in 2003–2004 with SOCCENT and Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force-Arabian Peninsula, and to Afghanistan in 2009 and 2010, serving in multiple roles with the country’s Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force.
Mikolaities earned a BS in mechanical engineering, a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a master’s degree in management from Webster University. He is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, Combined Arms Services and Staff School, Command and General Staff College, Joint Forces Staff College, and the Army War College. He has also completed Ranger, Special Forces, Mountain Warfare and Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat training.
Mikolaities is a native of Manchester and resides with his family in Portsmouth.
