Monthly Archives: July 2011

Tom Durnford Visits Vichy

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Dr. Thomas Durnford, professor of modern languages

Dr. Thomas Durnford of the Department of Modern Languages just spent two weeks (July 4–15) at Cavilam in Vichy, France, courtesy of a grant from the French Embassy. He attended a program on innovations in the teaching of French. Cavilam is a private institute founded in 1964 by the universities of Clermont-Ferrand and the municipality of Vichy and has become one of the benchmarks of teaching French as a foreign language and teacher training. Dr. Durnford’s grant is one of only three the French Embassy awarded this year in the New England states. While in France, he also continued his Holocaust-related research into the role of the Vichy government during WWII.

Where’d I See That?

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Things are looking up on campus, so this shouldn’t be much of a challenge:

If you think you know where it is, write your answer on an envelope containing a 1909 S VDB penny and mail it to Newsline, Alumni Center, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435. Or use the “comments” link, below.

In Memoriam: Jody O’Brien ’82

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Former Alumni Board President Jody O’Brien ’82 passed away on June 25, after a long battle with cancer. A dedicated volunteer, Jody served on the Alumni Board from 1999–2003, including as vice president for two years and as president from 2002–2003. She received the Sprague Drenan Award in 2006, in recognition of her outstanding support of the Alumni Association and KSC.

For the past few years, Jody lived in Maryland. She was very active in starting a local Association chapter and was instrumental in many regional activities. Because she played softball when she was at KSC, she maintained a strong connection to the athletic program as well. A memorial service will be held at the College Camp on Wilson Pond  at 3 p.m. this afternoon (July 7th).

Rick Benner ’88: Keeping the Stats on College Baseball

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Rick Benner ’85 at home in Texas

When you follow an interest, you never know just where it’s going to take you. Back in 2000, Rick Benner ’88, a geography major when he was at KSC, started researching major league baseball players who had played college ball. It wasn’t long before he was the Chairman of the Collegiate Baseball Committee at the Society for American Baseball Research, a position he held until 2009. When the College Baseball Foundation was organized in 2004, he asked to be included. Since then, he has expanded his research to writing summary sheets for every college baseball program, past and present. Continue reading Rick Benner ’88: Keeping the Stats on College Baseball →

Spaulding Gym’s Extreme Makeover

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There are no athletes driving towards the basket—or fans cheering them on—in Spaulding Gym this summer, but there’s plenty of activity happening there. The gym’s getting a makeover. After 43 years of heavy pounding and abuse from basketball shoes, volleyball players, and all the other shoes that run, jump, slide, and walk across the gym, and after the heavy commercial sanders from 43 annual refinishings, the floor had worn thin. So it’s coming up, and a new one is going down.

When the crew started tearing up the old floor, they realized that the bleachers, too, had seen better days (lots of them), and also needed replacing. So, the “student” side of the gym is getting bleachers with 968 molded seats. The “team” side is getting 470 chair-back seats. They fold up, the same as regular bleachers, but the chair backs pop up when the bleachers are pulled out for seating. Fans can now thrill to the excitement of Owl action in improved comfort!

Continue reading Spaulding Gym’s Extreme Makeover →