November 24th, 2010

Newsmax.com has put together a state-by-state “best colleges” list, released last week. Keene State is joined on New Hampshire’s list by Dartmouth, UNH, Southern New Hampshire University, and Plymouth State. Read Newsmax’s full writeup here.

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As most presumably know by now, Dr. Beverly Ferrucci, professor of mathematics, received the Alumni Association’s 2010 Distinguished Teacher Award during New Student Convocation on August 26.

Dr. Ferrucci has been a driving force for excellence in training mathematics teachers at Keene State for over 20 years and is internationally renowned in her field. For more on Dr. Ferrucci and the Distinguished Teacher Award, see the writeup on the keene.edu news page.

You can now also view her inspiring convocation address at the Equinox’s YouTube site.

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From Sara Telfer, Alumni and Parent Relations:

Now is your chance to nominate an inspirational KSC professor for the Distinguished Teacher Award! Presented annually by the KSC Alumni Association, this award recognizes excellence in teaching at Keene State College based on the following criteria: excellence in classroom teaching, encouragement of independent thinking, rapport with students in and out of the classroom, and effective student advising.

To get more information, browse past award recipients and download the nomination form, please visit the Distinguished Teacher Award page. All nominations are due April 16, 2010.

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From Gail Zimmerman, Dean of Students:

Each year Keene State College nominates seniors for recognition for outstanding service with awards given at the Leadership Banquet. These awards, unlike many other honors, are based on service rather than scholarship. With these awards we recognize those students who have contributed in a positive way to the campus or community. I am seeking your assistance in identifying students worthy of this honor. Prospective candidates should meet one or more of the guidelines listed below:

• Unselfish service to the college or the community.
• Outstanding leadership.
• Exceptional or unique contribution to the College

Please list all students you feel should be considered for this honor, even if you are uncertain of their qualifications. A selection committee will review all nominations. Feel free to suggest as many students as you wish, providing information about their accomplishments if possible. The committee will seek additional information from various sources for all students nominated.

Please submit nominations to Gail Zimmerman no later than Thursday, February 25, 2010.

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The Keene State College’s production of Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker (produced last fall) was awarded the 2009 Moss Hart College/University Theatre Division Award at the New England Theatre Conference last month.

The Moss Hart Memorial Award recognizes outstanding theatrical productions throughout New England of playscripts that “present affirmative views of human courage and dignity; that have strong literary and artistic merit; and that, in their productions, exemplify fresh, imaginative, creative treatment within the intent of the playwright.”

Director PeggyRae Johnson and KSC students attended the award ceremony at the conference. She reports that Michael Soldati (who played Horace Vandergelder) and Allison Lee Relihan (who played Minnie Fae) handed out pamphlets and answered questions about KSC’s Theatre and Dance program all day on Friday (High School day). On Saturday night, Michael, Allison, and Jes Berman (who played Dolly) and Jaime Pearsons (who played Mrs. Molloy) presented a scene, in costume, prior to the dinner.

PeggyRae Johnson (Theatre and Dance) and cast members from The Matchmaker with the 2009 Moss Hart College/University Theatre Division Award (courtesy photo)

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New Hampshire Magazine included President Giles-Gee on the 2009 “IT” list in the November 2009 issue. Each year the magazine creates a guest list for the “ultimate dinner party in the Granite State – an annual who’s who of the most fascinating and happening people in New Hampshire.” Calling Giles-Gee a “New Century Leader,” they write:
Dr. Helen Giles-Gee has presided over a wide range of activities since becoming president of Keene state College in 2005, including this year’s celebration of the school’s 100th anniversary. Courses have been revised and curricula transformed to ensure students acquire both the academic and technical skills graduates should have. The school has been endowed with two new academic chairs and has increased ties with area businesses and communities. “I think this puts us in position for the next 100 years to be an even better partner, not just with the Monadnock Region but with the state,” says the president.

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Bud Winsor and Sally Brown, President of the Monadnock Garden Club (courtesy photo)

Bud Winsor (Physical Plant) received the Garden Club of America’s prestigious Club Civic Improvement Commendation at the annual meeting of the Monadnock Garden Club on October 21. He was recognized for more than 30 years of experience as a horticultural professional in the Keene area and for his excellent contributions to the City of Keene as assistant director of the Physical Plant at Keene State College for the past 16 years.
 
The Keene State campus is open to the public and is a horticultural destination, attracting people from the region who regularly visit and stroll through the KSC Arboretum. Winsor helped create the KSC Arboretum brochure (available as guides for visitors to the campus), which documents the biodiversity of campus plants. He conducts field tours for grade-school students and has travelled with his staff to give a presentation titled “Creating a Sense of Place.”  
 
Winsor was also cited for professional development of his staff. Each of the 13 college employees he supervises is assigned a particular zone on the 180-acre campus, and he emphasizes continuing education for his staff. He also supervises many part-time KSC students, helping them to appreciate landscaping and design as both an art and a science.

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On Tuesday, October 6, Keene State was one of five New Hampshire businesses recognized with an Employment Leadership Award for demonstrating exceptional leadership, innovation, and/or a commitment to adopting hiring practices that improve employment opportunities for workers with disabilities in New Hampshire.

Keene State was one of 41 companies nominated by employment providers and partners throughout New Hampshire. Nominations were evaluated based on the company’s efforts to create opportunities that assist people with disabilities to develop the skills they need to obtain competitive employment, adopt inclusive hiring practices that allow people with disabilities to fairly compete for employment, and engage community partners to become a more diverse workplace. 

Among those on hand to congratulate and thank recipients for its diversified employment practices were Governor John Lynch; Fred Kocher of Kocher & Company, Inc.; Denise Sleeper, Administrator of the Granite State Employment Project; Nancy Rollins, Associate Commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services; and Robert Purcell, Principal/Owner of Brevan Electronics in Merrimack.

President Helen Giles Gee, Heather McGreer, Jane Warner, and Steve Bigaj represented KSC at the Employment Leadership Award ceremony on October 6. (Courtesy photo)

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From Colin Abernethy, Chemistry: For the second year in a row, the KSC Chemistry Lyceum has received an Honorable Mention Chapter Award from the American Chemical Society’s Committee on Education. The award recognizes the Lyceum for its educational, social, and outreach activities during the 2008-2009 academic year. Furthermore, the Lyceum was one of only 44 Student Chapters selected this year by both the Committee on Education and the ACS Green Chemistry Institute to receive a Green Chemistry Award.

 I would like to thank Ms. Jeudi Davis for the time and effort she gives in helping the Lyceum members plan and coordinate their activities; the Lyceum’s success is due, to a large part, on her continuing support.

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Paul Paltrineri, general manager of Zorn Dining Commons, was one of eight Sodexho employees named an “Everyday Hero” in June at a special event in Washington D.C.  Sodexho’s Heroes of Everyday Life award, now in its tenth year, honors employees who are making a difference in the fight against hunger in their local communities.

Paltrineri is chair of the board for The Community Kitchen in Keene, a nonprofit organization that provides food for local residents in need. He helps plan, organize, and staff fundraisers that raised more than $700,000 to fight hunger last year. Paul is also an advisor for the Keene State chapter of Delta Phi Epsilon, whose volunteer activities include working at the Community Kitchen.

“Paul’s commitment and dedication are remarkable,” a write up on the Sodexho Foundation website states. “While board members are expected to participate in as many fundraising events as possible, Paul has volunteered at every one since becoming a board member. In addition, he volunteers his time to work with 130 managers and staff members to support specific Sodexo/Keene State College initiatives that support the food bank directly.” The Sodexho Foundation has made a $5,000 grant to the Community Kitchen in Paul’s name.

For Paltrineri, who describes himself as a “political junkie,” an important bonus to the recognition and award was a behind-the-scenes visit to Capitol Hill. The award winners were given a tour and met with members of congress to talk about hunger.

“I was scheduled for 15 minutes of one-on-one-time with Senator Shaheen,” he said, enthusiastically describing a meeting extended into a longer appointment. “I talked about my work at Keene State and the Community Kitchen. The need is greater out there now, because of unemployment, and ­I get to see the benefits of these programs first hand.”

Paul Paltrineri (Sodexho) with U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen; courtesy photo

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KSC journalism students placed third in the Outstanding Student Reporting category of the Society for Environmental Journalists’ (SEJ) 2009 Awards for Reporting on the Environment. Melissa Ball, Randall Booth, Casie Brown, Meghan Foley and Ian Lord received recognition for their investigative package, “Getting The Lead Out,” which was published in the 5/8/08 issue of KSC’s student newspaper, The Equinox.

SEJ will honor the winners and present the awards on October 7 at an awards ceremony at the SEJ’s 19th annual conference. Nearly 800 journalists, academics, and others are expected to attend the five-day gathering.

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Dr. Candice Bosse, assistant professor of Spanish and Women’s Studies, has received a Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation Grant to facilitate the writing of her second book, Voices of Honduran Women: Here Women Do Not Write. Her first book, Becoming and Consumption: The Contemporary Spanish Novel, was published in 2007.

In July, Bosse will travel to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to conduct research in the Biblioteca Nacional, a key Central American national library, and to interview Honduran women poets. She will be completing work started in 2006, when she interviewed two Houduran poets, Lety Elvir and Claudia Torres. On this trip, Bosse will interview three more poets, exploring how each “articulates the creation of self” in relation to her role in Honduran society. She plans to use some of this material to create new courses in the Modern Language and Women’s Studies departments at Keene State.

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Lawrence M. Benaquist (Film Studies) is congratulated by the KSC Owl for 40 years of service at the Faculty and Staff recognition program on May 19. (Photo by Heather McGreer.)

See a see a complete listing of the Keene State employees honored for their service.

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From Stuart Kaufman, Sports Information: Tyler Kathan and Crystal Blamy were named Keene State College’s male and female Athletes of the Year at the College’s 2008–09 Athletic Awards Dinner held Sunday night, May 3, at Spaulding Gym.

Sarah McDougle received the Scholar-Athlete Award, and the Keene State women’s soccer team and men’s track squad were presented with the Don Carle Award for having the highest cumulative GPA among Owl teams. Because the athletic season is not completed, players from the previous spring are eligible for awards.

The KSC Athletic Department also presented a special Life Challenge award to Erin Dallas of the field hockey team. Dallas, a two-time All-American, suffered a knee injury during the season and developed a post-surgical infection following an ACL operation in December. She spent over three months in the hospital and had 37 operations.

Making the presentation to Dallas, KSC athletic director John Ratliff announced that, in the future, the honor will be known as the Erin Dallas Life Challenge award.

In addition, 44 seniors and the 126-member KSC All-Academic team were also recognized.

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From Colin Abernethy, Chemistry: Elizabeth A. Neuhardt ’10 has been selected to receive a 2009 James Flack Norris/Theodore William Richards Summer Research Scholarship from the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society. The award carries a stipend of $3,000 with another $500 for supplies and travel.

At the conclusion of her summer of research in my laboratory, Ms. Neuhardt will write a report for publication in The Nucleus (The newsletter of the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society) and will also present her work at the Northeast Student Chemistry Research Conference (NSCRC) in April 2010. The presentation of this award to Ms. Neuhardt will be made at the 897th Meeting of the Northeastern Section on May 14 at Northeastern University, Boston, Mass.

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