For a young composer, the journey from the creative spark to the final performance can be a challenging one. KSC’s Young Composers Institute, held from June 20–22, helped seven student composers master some of the elements along that journey. The three-day experience, guided by Keene State’s Dr. Heather Gilligan and Dr. Paul Salerni from Lehigh University, offered the students an opportunity to hear their creations played in workshop and then in a formal concert.
OK, this will show how many alumni have been paying attention. Obviously, it’s a clock. But where is it, and why is it there?
If you think you know the answer, write it in eraseable marker on a Catalina Cylinders 80 cu. ft. standard aluminum scuba tank and mail it to Newsline, Alumni Center, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435. Or use the “comments” link, below.
Reunion 2011 was another grand success! Even the weather was perfect, as over 300 alums showed up to reconnect with old friends (and make some new ones), representing classes that span most of Keene State’s fine history. The Class of ’61 celebrated its 50th Reunion (and was inducted into the Golden Circle), and the Class of ’86 celebrated its 25th. Trudy Carmichael ’36 celebrated her 75th class reunion, and there were several newly minted alums from the class of 2011 here, celebrating their first of many.
Of course, we took LOTS of pictures. Look for yourself and your friends in our Reunion 2011 SmugMug gallery. And make sure you check out all the Reunion posts on the Alumni FaceBook page, where there are even more photos!
The big news around campus these days is that the Red Sox have drafted senior Corey Vogt, the Owl pitcher with a screaming fast ball. Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein picked the right hander in the 39th round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft.
A die-heart Yankees fan, Vogt will have to change his allegiance. “They’re paying my salary now, so I won’t have a hard time with it,” he said.
The Little East Conference’s annual Little East Spring All-Academic teams honor student-athletes from baseball, men’s and women’s lacrosse, softball, men’s tennis, and men’s and women’s outdoor track and field. To earn a spot on the all-academic teams, a student-athlete must be at least a sophomore academically and athletically, have a cumulative grade point average of 3.3, and be a full-time member of a varsity team.
Who are the student standouts who made the grade? Visit the KSC athletics page to see the list.
On Friday, June 3, Keene State Environmental Studies Professor and skipper Tim Allen set sail from Newport, Rhode Island, to St. George’s, Bermuda, for the 18th running of the biennial Bermuda One-Two Yacht Race, put on by the Goat Island Yacht Club, Newport Yacht Club, and the St. George’s Dinghy and Sports Club. The race is run in two 635-nautical-mile legs: Dr. Allen will sail the first Newport-to-St. George’s leg solo. In Bermuda, he’ll pick up his wife and KSC alum Wendy Thorpe Allen ’88 and set sail on June 16 for the second leg from Bermuda back to Newport.
Matthew Newton ’97 took his degree in Film Studies and headed for the bright lights of Hollywood. However, he’s back in New Hampshire now, as director of the state’s Film & Television Office.
Film & Television Office? Yes, and its got a two-fold mission: Its first is to promote New Hampshire as a filmmaking destination, and its second is to support the state’s media production industry. “Every state has some sort of film office that acts as a liaison between productions and the state’s workforce, businesses, and other government agencies and association,” Newton explained. “New Hampshire’s Film & Television Office is here to assist with permitting, location scouting, and all other local logistics that might come with motion picture and television filming, commercial filming, or photo shoots.
Continue reading Film Alum Promotes Filmmakers in NH
Christina Anderson, an elementary education and mathematics major and first-year student in the honors program, obviously has a head for math. She’s also an accomplished novelist. Her first novel, Hardly Perfect, recently entered the quarterfinals in the Amazon Breakthrough Novelist Award Contest’s young adult/romance category.
Anderson says she wrote the novel five years ago. “However,” she claimed, “I wasn’t pleased with the way it turned out the first time around, so I scrapped it and didn’t look at it again for another two years.” For the past four years, she’s been participating in National Novel Writing Month, a competition to write a 50,000-word novel in just 30 days. In 2008, she decided to revisit and rework Hardly Perfect as part of the competition.
Continue reading Hardly Perfect Writer Pretty Amazing
IRN (Institutional Recycling Network), a non-profit full-service recycling/re-use firm that works closely with Keene State and other campuses to help us donate used furniture and equipment to needy communities around the world, has contacted us for help in their Joplin tornado relief efforts. IRN’s non-profit partner for Joplin, Feed The Children, is based out of Oklahoma City. They work with dozens of domestic and international charities, and are partnering with Operation Compassion for the large efforts at Joplin. These two charities specialize in infrastructure development.
Continue reading KSC Community Pitches In for Tornado Relief
KSC’s new summer session is off to a healthy start! Over 700 students have enrolled in courses, putting the program ahead of budget. Registration is ongoing, and students can still register for some of the later courses. Faculty put a lot of effort into developing a course schedule that will help students graduate early (or on time), take courses that they couldn’t get during the regular academic year, and take advantage of summer internships and independent studies. There are approximately 180 courses on the schedule, representing every academic discipline. There is also a full offering of ISP courses at both the upper and lower level.
Students can live and dine on campus to take full advantage of a summer living/learning experience. Sound good? Visit the Summer is Smart page.
Dr. Wanda Swiger, coordinator of the athletic training program, and Scot Ward, coordinator of clinical education, took student volunteers from athletic training to staff the Medical Tent/Finish Line area for the Boston Marathon last April. The athletic trainers work with the physicians, podiatrists, nurses, physical therapists on the medical team. The trainers in the finish-line area triage any athlete needing medical attention, to determine the best course of action for the athlete.
Londonderry Music Director Andy Soucy ’72 received the Music Department’s Distinguished Alumni Award for 2010–2011 at the KSC Jazz Band concert in April. This award is presented each year to an alumnus who, in the opinion of the music faculty, has distinguished themselves as a musician, music educator, or as a representative of Keene State College.
Continue reading Andy Soucy ’72 Receives Distinguished Music Alumni Award
by Susan Peery
This summer, a team of Keene State faculty members from all three academic schools will participate in “Shared Futures: General Education for a Global Century,” an institute sponsored by the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) to help faculty integrate global perspectives across the curriculum. The institute will be held in Ellicott City, Md., from July 31 to August 5, and will draw faculty from 32 colleges and universities.
During the fall 2011 semester, the core Keene State team will draw in faculty and staff from across campus to implement the goals and strategies developed at the institute. By building a network of educators dedicated to this integrative work, Shared Futures facilitates curricular change and faculty development on campuses nationwide. Through an online social network, the initiative hopes to create new connections between educators and new opportunities for partnership and learning.
Keene State faculty members attending the institute include professors Charles Weed (political science), Margaret Henning (health sciences), Patricia Pedroza (women’s and gender studies), and Rich Blatchly (chemistry). For more information, contact Prof. Weed or visit the Shared Futures website.
KSC has captured the Little East Commissioner’s Cup for the 11th year in a row. “Keene State continues to set the pace for athletic excellence in the Little East Conference,” said Commissioner Jonathan C. Harper. “By winning the award every year the Commissioner’s Cup has been offered, the Owls solidify themselves as a regional and national power in Division III.”
The Commissioner’s Cup measures an institution’s overall performance in the 19 sports sponsored by the LEC. For sports in which the conference conducts in-season play (baseball, basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, soccer, softball, tennis, and volleyball), point totals are determined by the order of finish in the final regular season standings with bonus points awarded to the champion of the ensuing post-season conference championship tournament. For sports that do not conduct in-season play (cross country, indoor track and field, outdoor track and field, and swimming and diving) points are awarded based on the order of finish in the conference championship meet.
The KSC Honors Program (directed by sociology professor Peggy Walsh) received a grant from the National Collegiate Honors Council for the innovative “WeReaders: Connecting Kids and Kindles” project. This is a new e-reading partnership between the Honors Living/Learning Residence Hall (LLC) and middle school students enrolled in an afternoon enrichment program. The program is designed to promote the pleasure of reading and life-long learning using the novelty and ease of e-reader technology. As part of the program, college and middle school students will participate in book discussion meetings which will take place in the new Honors Program space located on Main Street in Keene, with special events held in the student center, library, and residences.
OK, this wasn’t taken recently. It hearkens back a few months. But, hey, it reminds you of just how beautiful winter at KSC can be! Anyway, it’s not too hard to figure out what landmark campus building is in the photo. But what’s that big “S” all about?
If you think you know the answer, write it on the tag on a new 7mm Body Glove full wetsuit (size medium) and mail it to Newsline, Alumni Center, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435. Or use the “comments” link, below.