One of the best parts of the annual Alumni Association Luncheon on Reunion Saturday (June 2) is the presentation of the Alumni awards. This year, the Alumni Inspiration Award went to Dr. Christopher Cameron ’06, the Sprague Drenan Award went to Scott McPherson ’92, the Alumni Achievement Award was given to Dr. Phillip Rumrill ’89 M’91, and outgoing KSC President Dr. Helen Giles-Gee received the Outstanding Service Award.
About these outstanding alumni:
Dr. Christopher Cameron ’06 is assistant professor of Colonial/Revolutionary American History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests include Colonial and Revolutionary America, slavery and abolition, and American religion and intellectual history. He is currently working on two book projects. The first, entitled To Plead Our Own Cause: African Americans in Massachusetts and the Making of the Antislavery Movement, explores the connection between slavery, religion, and black politics in colonial, revolutionary, and early national Massachusetts. The second, An Age of Reason: Deism and Liberal Religion in Early America, explores the role that Enlightenment science played in the English deist movement and the transmission of deism to the American colonies, the role of deists and liberal Christians in bringing about the disestablishment and ushering in the Second Great Awakening, and the influence of deism and liberal Christianity on Transcendentalism.
Scott McPherson ’92 has been a loyal volunteer of the Alumni Association since his graduation. He served actively on the Alumni board in the mid 1990s, lead his class reunion efforts each year since graduation, regularly attended alumni events and gatherings, served on the Keene State Today editorial board for many years, volunteered his time and experience in support of The Equinox Centennial retrospective program series, and currently serves as a board member of the Keene Endowment Association, which manages and directs KSC scholarships for students.
Dr. Phillip Rumrill, BA ’89 M’91, CRC, is a professor and coordinator of the Rehabilitation Counseling Program and Director of the Center for Disability Studies at Kent State University in Ohio. He is also the founding director of the Multiple Sclerosis Employment Assistance Service, which provides vocational services and support to people with multiple sclerosis across the United States. Dr. Rumrill has authored or co-authored more than 150 professional journal articles; 30 book chapters, monographs, measurement instruments, and training manuals; and nine books. As a person with a significant disability (blindness) and a former vocational rehabilitation consumer, Dr. Rumrill has a personal as well as a professional interest in issues facing people with disabilities in all aspects of society. Accordingly, his teaching, research, program development, administrative, and clinical activities are imbued with the ideals of inclusion, equality of opportunity, and consumer choice that have brought him success in his own career.
Dr. Helen Giles-Gee, ninth President of Keene State College, has served as a remarkable visionary and catalyst, driving a new era of alumni engagement opportunities, including the development of the Alumni Center. Her support of student, campus, and alumni needs brought about a major institutional transformation. Under Dr. Giles-Gee’s leadership, Keene State College has come to be known throughout New Hampshire and the New England Region for the strength of its academic program, its leadership in innovation, and its powerful influence for economic development. She has worked closely with the University System of New Hampshire Board of Trustees and Keene State faculty, staff, and students to build upon the college’s strengths and traditions to advance a vision of academic excellence. She is chair of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) board of directors, vice chair of the NH Charitable Foundation board of directors, and on the board for the New Hampshire College and University Council, Campus Compact for New Hampshire, and the National Council on Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). She is also a signatory of the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC).