Category Archives: Uncategorized

A Letter from Krakow

June 3, 2013UncategorizedHolocaust & genocide, Student Standouts, study away

Holocaust and Genocide Studies students Johanna DeBari (left) and Chloe Edmonds (right) hold the Jagiellonian University flag with Justyna Jochym (middle) who coordinates the Jagiellonian study-away program. — Holocaust and Genocide Studies students Johanna DeBari (left) and Chloe Edmonds (right) hold the Jagiellonian University flag with Justyna Jochym (middle), who coordinates the Jagiellonian study-away program.

Just over two years ago, Keene State forged an exchange relationship with Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland. Although the relationship is not specifically for Holocaust and Genocide Studies majors, it certainly offers them a rewarding opportunity. “It fit beautifully for us,” explained Paul Vincent, professor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, “especially for the Holocaust part of our major. Krakow is perfectly located within walking distance of the infamous Płaszów concentration camp. The factory mentioned in Schindler’s List is located nearby, as is the ghetto. It’s about a 45-minute drive from Auschwitz. If you’re studying the Holocaust, there is a remarkably powerful mental impact to stand in the places where these things happened. You see the world differently when you’re actually studying this in Poland.”

So far, three Holocaust and Genocide Studies majors have taken advantage of the opportunity at Jagiellonian. Two of them, Chloe Edmonds and Johanna DeBari, now completing their spring semester at the university, wrote a detailed letter to Dr. Vincent telling him of their adventures. It’s an inspiring testament of bright, engaged students exploring new horizons and taking on challenges beyond the call of duty. But it’s better to let them tell their story in their own words:
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Several Significant Gifts

June 3, 2013Uncategorizedgiving

Jules Olitski's cor-ten steel sculpture, “Oranto” — Jules Olitski’s cor-ten steel sculpture, *Oranto*, now a permanent part of the Thorne collection.

The KSC Development Office is proud to announce the receipt of several important gifts that will be of significant benefit to students and the campus community:

• The William T. Morris Foundation has given new gifts totaling $243,000 to support scholarship and program funding for the coming academic year. This represents the largest current use gift to the institution this year and brings the total from the W T Morris Foundation to over $1 million over the last five years. $5000 of this total is directed to the Cohen Center for programmatic support, and $238,000 is directed to financial aid, which KSC chooses to apply towards students in its Honors Program.
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Chepina Rumsey ’05 Wins Kansas Math & Science Partnership Grant

June 3, 2013For Alumni, UncategorizedAlumni achievers, education

Chepina Rumsey ’05, now in her first year as an assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at Kansas State University, is the principal investigator of a $450,000 mathematics and science partnership grant from the Kansas State Department of Education. This three-year professional development project, titled “Improving Mathematics Instruction through Lesson Study,” aims to deepen the mathematical content and pedagogical knowledge of elementary school teachers in order to impact student learning and strengthen the partnership between elementary school teachers (K–6) and Kansas State University.

Holding a BS in Math and a BS in Education, Rumsey noted that she’s integrated what she learned from both degrees in her current position working with elementary school teachers and pre-service teachers in the area of mathematics. “Having the mathematics background was helpful in my graduate work and now in my job as I work with mathematicians and mathematics educators,” she said. She’s also using skills she learned outside the classroom as an athlete at KSC. “I ran cross country and track, so I had to learn to manage my time well and stay organized. I have used those skills in graduate school and now in my first year at Kansas State University.”

Her success has already gained her notice in K-State Today. Read all about it!

TDS Construction via Time Lapse

May 15, 2013Uncategorized

The Technology, Design, and Safety Center had to have been the fastest large construction project on campus. Workers began demolishing the old Adams Technology building in July 2011, just after graduation, and the TDS Center was finished in August 2012, just in time to welcome Architecture, Safety, and SPDI students for their fall classes. The finishing touch, the huge solar-panel array, was installed from March–May 2013, and (as of this posting) is now fully operational, ready to produce electricity! It’s just awaiting final permitting by PSNH.

This state-of-the art facility was designed to be sustainable and resource-efficient and to support LEED Platinum certification. Watch this amazing construction project, from beginning to end, in just 5:48 minutes of time-lapse video, created by Colin Burdick, KSC’s CAD technologist and clerk of the works:

Where’d I See That?

May 14, 2013UncategorizedWhere'd I See That?

Well, things are looking up at KSC. And if you’ve been looking up, you might have seen this sight. Where is it? What is it?

If you think you know the answer, write it on a piece of paper and tuck it into the bell of a 1948 King 2B tenor trombone and send it to Newsline, 120 Alumni Center, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435. Or use the “comments” link, below.

Register for Reunion 2013

May 14, 2013Mark Your Calendar, Uncategorized

When thinking about Keene State College, what do you remember? Sitting out on the quad with your friends? Hiking Mount Monadnock? Spending time downtown? Well, during Reunion 2013, you can do that and more! June 7–9 will be a great weekend filled with friends, fun, and reliving the college years.

Throughout the weekend, there will be time to hang out with old friends and meet new ones. We’ll have ice cream, dueling pianos, even sizzlers!

For more information, please visit Reunion 2013. There you can see the full schedule of events and register! Registration closes May 24!

Questions? Email us at alumni@keene.edu or call us at 603-358-2369.

Kristen Porter-Utley 2013 Scholar of the Year

May 8, 2013Uncategorizedaward, faculty

Dr. Kristen Porter-Utley, associate professor of Biology, received the 2013 Faculty Distinction in Research and Scholarship Award at the Faculty Appreciation Dinner in Centennial Hall on Friday, May 3. The award is intended to honor faculty members who have, over a significant part of their tenure at Keene State College, engaged in research and scholarship that is recognized by their professional peers and that represents an effort above and beyond that required for promotion and tenure. The award has been given since 2000, and Dr. Porter-Utley is the 11th recipient.
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Communicorps Students Design Vocational School for Haiti

May 7, 2013Uncategorizedarchitecture, Student Standouts, sustainability

Hinche Vocational School photo — (l-r) Peter Temple; Ryan Smith (Boston chapter of AfH), Will Preskenis, James Eliscar (OSDPC), Fritz Henning, Jason Abram, Jessica Pierre, Estineau Jean (OSDPC), Kristen Guillette, Jacques Parent (OSDPC), Jillian Cornelius (Lynn Roman photo)

One of Haiti’s problems stems from a severe lack of skilled construction workers, a need that became woefully apparent following the 2010 earthquake. For most construction projects, workers are brought in from the Dominican Republic, a somewhat absurd solution in a country suffering from high unemployment. But education in Haiti is not free, making it an impossible dream for many citizens. The drop-out rate is high, leaving many with little education and few prospects for employment. These often travel to the capital city where their lives can rapidly disintegrate.

When Peter Temple, associate professor of architecture, learned through contacts at the Boston chapter of Architecture for Humanity (AfH) that a Boston-based Haitian group, the Organization of Support to the Development of Plateau Central (OSDPC), had hopes of building a vocational school in Haiti’s Central Plateau, he realized that this presented a perfect opportunity for his Communicorps students to step up to a real-world challenge and provide an architectural plan that should offer long-lasting benefit. The OSDPC been given a building site near the Haitian city of Hinche and had begun the necessary fundraising, and the Communicorps students spent the semester designing a vocational school to teach construction trades and auto mechanics. The plan is actually for a small campus of buildings that will include the main school building, a working auto garage, residential housing for teachers and staff, an administration building, and a separate large dining facility, all within a walled compound. With adequate funding, the school will be able to train Haitians in needed job skills that they otherwise could never afford.
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Vote for Your Alumni Board Members

May 6, 2013Uncategorizedalumni

What do Ferd Prevost ’57, Leslie Ringuette ’86, Keith Couch ’86, Scott Farnsworth ’87, Mike Ripley ’96, and Deb Barrett ’03 all have in common? They’re dedicated alumni who have stepped up and volunteered to serve on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. These are all great people who very much want to be a proactive part of the Alumni Association and KSC.

We sincerely appreciate their willingness to volunteer to lead the more than 32,000 members of our Alumni Association. If you haven’t already, please choose which of these fine alums you’d like to have represent you. Bios and photos of the candidates can be found along with an online ballot on the Alumni website. Don’t delay—the deadline is May 17th!

Prof. Gebauer Receives Grant to Study in Nepal

May 6, 2013Uncategorizedaward, faculty

Renate Gebauer, professor of Environmental Studies, has received a grant from the Marion and Jasper Whiting Foundation to study sustainability efforts in Nepal for three weeks this spring. “My goal is to immerse myself in and broaden my understanding of sustainable community development in the Katmandu valley and the development of ecofriendly tourism in Tansen (Central Nepal). I also plan to explore issues of forestry conservation at both locations,” Prof. Gebauer explained.

The trip will enable her to present a Global Engagement course (HNRS 301) in the Honors Program in the spring of 2014, which will include a two-week student trip to Nepal. Prof. Gebauer also expects this experience to bring a broader global perspective to her other courses, including Concepts of Sustainability (IIENST 152), Conservation of Ecological Systems (ENST 352), and Ecosystems and the Environment (ENST 452) by expanding the discussions of sustainability, social justice, and conservation issues. “Another long-term outcome for this trip is to establish and strengthen connections with Nepalese partners to conduct research projects on carbon sequestration in local community forests as trees and soils can store much carbon and therefore counterbalance CO₂ released by fossil-fuel burning,” Prof. Gebauer said. “This has great potential to give Environmental Studies students the opportunity to conduct meaningful research abroad.”

Keith Goodale ’96 Wins Janet Guernsey Award

May 6, 2013Uncategorizedfaculty

Keith Goodale photo — Physics lecturer and alum Keith Goodale

Keith Goodale ’96, lecturer in physics, won the 2013 Janet Guernsey Award for excellence in Physics Teaching in April. The award honors Janet Guernsey, a long-time professor of physics at Wellesley College, and is presented yearly by the New England Section of the American Association of Physics Teachers. Mr. Goodale was cited for his professionalism; his high standards in the classroom; his extensive knowledge in the fields of physics, astronomy, and electronics; his mastery of physics equipment in the laboratory; his many successful demonstrations; his PowerPoint introductions to many laboratory exercises and to many topics in physics and astronomy, his hands-on approach to teaching, and his many self-constructed computer tutorial programs.
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Prof. Durnford to Attend Cultural Seminar in Québec

May 6, 2013Uncategorizedfaculty

Dr. Thomas Durnford, professor of modern languages, recently received a grant from the Québec Ministry of International Relations and Commerce to attend a three-week seminar in July at the Université de Montréal. The Québec Delegation in Boston, which oversees relations between the province and the New England states, recommended Dr. Durnford for this program. He was the only person in New England—and one of only 12 in the US—to receive the grant.

The seminar’s primary focus is to develop curriculum and pedagogical applications in the teaching of Québec culture, history, economics, the arts, and the place of the province within the Canadian confederation and the international community. The seminar program includes conference presentations, classroom observations, discussion groups, and guided excursions around the province.
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Dueling Pianos at Reunion 2013!

May 6, 2013Mark Your Calendar, Uncategorized

It’s a night of Dueling Pianos! Come celebrate with Keene State College during Reunion 2013 with a night of song requests, sing a-longs, comedy, dancing, and competition!

Saturday June 8, 2013
8 p.m.
Doors open 7:30
Mabel Brown Room, L.P. Young Student Center
Keene State College
$5 in advance and $8 at the door

Have you registered for Reunion 2013? If not, you need to!
Register for Reunion and Dueling Pianos today!

Memorizing Choral Music Isn’t Always the Best Approach, Say KSC Researchers

May 3, 2013Uncategorizedmusic, research

During the 2012–2013 academic year, Assistant Professor of Music Sandra Howard and Hannah Hall, a junior studying music education, conducted a quantitative experimental research study entitled “The Effect of Memorized Versus Non-memorized on Choral Performance Evaluation.” The project investigated the way judges rated the quality of choral performances with different combinations of nonmusical factors (i.e., memorized music versus nonmemorized and eye contact versus no eye contact with the choral director).
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Catalpa Tree Dedicated to Jay Kahn

May 3, 2013Uncategorized

Jay Kahn & his tree — Jay Kahn, standing in front of his new catalpa tree, demonstrates his tree pose for the kids from the CDC.

Wrapping up the College’s celebration of Earth Week, Keene Mayor Kendall Lane, Campus Sustainability Officer Mary Jensen, Assistant Director of Physical Plant – Grounds Bud Winsor, kids from the Child Development Center, and other members of the campus community gathered on the lawn of the President’s House on May 3rd for the dedication of a catalpa tree, planted in honor of Interim President Jay Kahn. The catalpa is one of Dr. Kahn’s favorite trees, and the appreciative staff of the Finance & Planning Office donated the tree in his honor. It should grow to a height of about 60′ and grace the President’s lawn for many years to come. Thanks Jay!

James Lavimoniere Earns Year in Germany

May 2, 2013UncategorizedStudent Standouts, study away

James Lavimoniere photo — James Lavimoniere
(Photo by Alison Pantesco)

Political Science major James Lavimoniere has been awarded an all-expenses paid, year-long academic and professional experience in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals (CBYX), a highly competitive exchange. Funded by the German Bundestag and U.S. Congress through the U.S. Department of State, this program annually provides 75 young professionals who have a strong interest in cultural exchange the opportunity to study, work, and live with a host in Germany. The CBYX program consists of two months of German language school; four months of classes in the participant’s career field at a university, technical school, or professional school; and a five-month internship in the career field. Participants are placed throughout Germany on this scholarship program.
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