Category Archives: Uncategorized

Kaufman Wins Three (More) Awards for Sports Writing

July 8, 2013Uncategorizedsports, writing

Sturat Kaufman — Stuart Kaufman, KSC’saward-winning Sports Information Officer

There aren’t many writers at KSC who turn out more copy than Stuart Kaufman, our award-winning Sports Information Officer. And his hard work pays off, because the awards just keep coming. Recently, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) selected Kaufman from a pool of 525 entries for three more awards for outstanding writing.

Kaufman’s national winning entry (one of only seven) in the category of Athlete Profile was for his piece, “Mastrangelo Follows Trail Back to Keene State.” In addition, he received two District 1 awards: one in the General Feature category for “Inspirational Message Keeps Keene State Men’s Lacrosse Team Focused,” and one in the Event Coverage category for “Keene State Men Stun No 1 Middlebury 77-76.”

CoSIDA also recognized Kaufman in 2009 with a second-place award. His writing not only appears in Keene State publications and media, but is routinely picked up by a variety of local, regional, and national news organizations.

Recent Phonathon Efforts a Resounding Success!

July 8, 2013For Parents, Uncategorized

Phonathon student callers — Our charming and effective phonathon student callers.

Many of you out there must have responded positively to our charming and earnest phonathon student workers, because their efforts have really reaped great benefits. Over 1600 of you made gifts. The student callers recorded $73,249.10 in pledges, and $67,983.13 has already been received. That’s a staggering fulfillment rate of 92.81%! The money provides much needed student support, so thank you, donors! And thank you, student phonathon callers! And thank you, Lindsay Taflas, assistant director of Annual Giving and Phonathon manager!

TDS Center Is NH’s Third-largest Solar Energy Producer

June 28, 2013Uncategorizedsustainability, TDS

Keene State College’s Technology, Design and Safety Center (TDS Center), which opened in October of 2012, is now the third-largest producer of solar energy on the Public Service of New Hampshire (PSNH) system. Manchester International Airport is the top solar-power producer and Favorite Foods in Somersworth is the second. There are currently 719 customers throughout the PSNH service area that are generating all or a portion of their electricity via the sun.

The large solar array atop the TDS Center became functional in May and is projected to produce 15 percent of the building’s power needs. This milestone brings the TDS Center closer to LEED Platinum certification for its energy efficiency. “The building houses state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment, which in sum use a great deal of energy,” KSC Interim President Jay Kahn said. “These solar panels will significantly reduce our dependence on traditional electricity sources. It’s a win-win.”

Because of the center’s sustainable design, the College received $150,000 in energy rebates from PSNH, which helped offset the cost of the solar system array system.

Health Science to Conduct Drug Abuse Study

June 26, 2013Uncategorizedfaculty, research

Health Science Professor Marj Droppa and her students will be helping the Keene School District conduct a study to better understand the issues behind teenage drug and alcohol abuse. Statistics show that substance abuse in the Keene area is higher than the state average, and Dr. Droppa feels that, in order to curb this risky behavior, educators need to know why students find it so attractive. So she and her Health Science students will be interviewing public school students and parents, and inmates at the Cheshire County House of Corrections who abused substances in their teens, to gather important insights into the path to drug abuse.
Continue reading Health Science to Conduct Drug Abuse Study →

Dr. Porter-Utley Investigating Unstudied Tropical Plant Group

June 26, 2013Uncategorizedbiology, faculty

Associate Professor of Biology Dr. Kristen Porter-Utley is collaborating with partners in Brazil to study the evolutionary history of a large group of tropical plants that have largely been ignored by scientists, despite the fact that most of the plants are important trees in tropical forests around the world.

Dr. Porter-Utley and some of her students are extracting DNA from samples sent by her collaborators in Brazil and provided by storehouses of dried plants, to ultimately help people understand the evolution of these plants, and the ecosystems and biodiversity in South America and beyond.

“The research I am conducting helps us understand our past, in order to better protect our future,” said Dr. Porter-Utley. “This research opens the door to a great deal more knowledge about our natural world, while providing students with opportunities to expand their hands-on research experience.”

Elaine Ginsberg’s Choral Arrangement of “Oseh Shalom” Performed as Part of Great Music in a Great Space

June 26, 2013Uncategorizedfaculty, music

In May, KSC Music Lecturer Elaine Broad Ginsberg’s choral arrangement of Nurit Hirsh’s “Oseh Shalom” was performed in New York’s Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine by the Cathedral Choir and the instrumental ensemble Rose of the Compass, as part of the Great Music in a Great Space series. The rich program also included Coptic and Armenian chant, Sephardic songs, Sufi melodies, and Thomas Tallis’s “Lamentations of Jeremiah” on the historic destruction of Jerusalem.
Continue reading Elaine Ginsberg’s Choral Arrangement of “Oseh Shalom” Performed as Part of Great Music in a Great Space →

Recent Gifts to KSC

June 26, 2013Uncategorized

Ida Goodell '47 — Ida Goodell ’47, from the 1947 *Keene Kronicle*

June was a good month for KSC gifts and scholarships, beginning with a wonderful surprise estate gift of $326,000 from career educator and school principal Ida Goodell ’47, who worked in Portsmouth, NH, and Eliot and York, Maine. Though Ida was a regular annual donor, we had no idea she had set aside such a generous estate gift for the College.

The Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery received $3,000 towards their interior construction project, known as “the wall.” The Friends of the Thorne provided the funding to support this project.
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Owls Capture 13th Consecutive LEC Commissioner’s Cup

June 26, 2013Uncategorizedsports

When the LEC released its final standings for the 2012–13 season, Keene State College had once again earned the coveted Commissioner’s Cup—for the 13th year in a row! The Owls finished in the top third of the Little East regular season standings in 13 of their 17 (.765) conference-sponsored sports with an average of 6.294 points to earn the trophy in each of the 13 years it has been presented.

Read all about it.

Dom Smith, Former Study Away Student from England, Releases App for Alternative Music News

June 26, 2013For Alumni, UncategorizedAlumni achievers, study away

Dom Smith, editor of Soundsphere — Dom Smith, editor of *Soundsphere*

If you were on campus in the fall of 2005, you probably remember Dom Smith, the exchange student from York St. John University in northern England. He made quite an impression—and he made the Dean’s List.

“During my short time at KSC, the whole place made a massive impact on me,” Dom recalled. He took a journalism class with Rose Kundanis, whom he remembers as rewarding hard work and accuracy. “I learned my work ethic from Rose, and my fellow students. I did my very first face-to-face interview around a story on Pumpkinfest ’05. I got some feedback from Rose about “leading questions,” which I like to think I’ve taken forward! I also volunteered at the radio station to get more experience, and now I am a regular contributor to BBC Radio North Yorkshire. As a person, my experiences in Keene made me more confident, more worldly-wise, and also more competent as a journalist. … I am incredibly proud of my experience there.”
Continue reading Dom Smith, Former Study Away Student from England, Releases App for Alternative Music News →

Emily Burns ’10 Featured on ABC Family’s The Vineyard

June 26, 2013UncategorizedAlumni achievers

Communication major Emily Burns ’10 is featured on ABC Family’s new reality show, The Vineyard. This docu-series, set in Martha’s Vineyard, follows a mix of locals and transplants living and playing together for the summer. The show premiers July 23 and runs each Tuesday at 10 p.m. (Eastern time) on ABC Family.

“I’m really excited about the show,” Burns said. “I’m grateful I had the chance to work with a fun cast and crew, top producers, and to be on an amazing network. Also, spending the summer on Martha’s Vineyard wasn’t too shabby. Keene State College gave me a well-rounded education that prepared me for the entire process.”

Congratulations, Emily!

Calling all Keene State College NASCAR Fans!

June 21, 2013Mark Your Calendar, Uncategorized

Fun time at the track is here again! New Hampshire Motor Speedway has an exclusive special $10 ticket offer for Keene State College faculty, staff, students, and alumni to the New Hampshire 300 in Loudon on Sunday, July 14th, at 1 p.m.

You don’t have to go around in circles to get these awesome tickets!
Visit the Ticketmaster® link and enter the special code: NHRACE. That will let you select the number of seats you wish and print electronic tickets to the race. Tickets will be $10 each, plus a $3 service fee for each ticket printed.

Remember: Tickets are available on a first-come-first-serve basis with no limit on quantity or transferability.

Our special thanks to NH Motor Speedway for never laps-ing in giving KSC the opportunity to have fun!

Where’d I See That?

June 20, 2013UncategorizedWhere'd I See That?

This one may bit of a challenge—or not:

If you think you know the answer, write it on a piece of paper and tuck under the windshield wiper of a 1951 Jeep Wagoneer and send it to Newsline, 120 Alumni Center, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435. Or use the “comments” link, below.

Safety & Athletic Training Alums—Meet Us in Las Vegas!

June 10, 2013Mark Your Calendar, Uncategorized

Your Alumni Association will be in Las Vegas on June 25 & 26, meeting with Safety and Athletic Training alumni at their respective professional events.

♦ Safety Alumni Meet & Greet

Tuesday, June 25
5:30–8 p.m.
The Peppermill
2985 Las Vegas Boulevard

RSVP to Patty Farmer (or call 603-358-2370)

Additional information will be available at the Keene State College booth #2080, at the SAFETY 2013 conference & expo. And don’t forget to visit the OSHA Education Center’s booth #1585.

♦ KSC Athletic Training Alumni Reception

During the NATA annual meeting
Wednesday, June 26, 7:30 p.m.
(Co-hosted with Plymouth State University)
With Scot Ward and Bob Merrow
RiRa’s Irish Pub at the Mandalay Bay Resort
3950 Las Vegas Boulevard South

RSVP to Scot Ward
Or Patty Farmer at pfarmer@keene.edu

Alumni Association Announces the 2013 Alumni Awards

June 7, 2013Uncategorizedalumni, award

On Saturday, June 8, the KSC Alumni Association presented its annual Alumni Awards at the luncheon and ceremony it holds each year during Reunion.This year, the awards went to the following deserving recipients:

Alumni Inspiration Award

Shawn Curtis ’99 Senior Manager, LEGO-Merlin Entertainments Affairs, LEGO, is this year’s recipient of the Alumni Inspiration Award. Shawn currently manages the global partnership between the LEGO Group and Merlin Entertainments, which owns and operates the LEGOLAND Parks and LEGOLAND Discovery Centers. A management/marketing major at Keene State and a National Case Study award winner, Shawn has held positions managing national and international marketing efforts for two advertising agencies and has worked in management at Stanley Tools. Shawn was named one of the Hartford Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” business leaders for 2005. He joined the LEGO Group in 2005 as Customer Marketing Manager for North America. Two years later, he became Senior Marketing Manager for LEGO Direct to Consumer, where he led a cross-functional team that managed multi-channel marketing for shop.LEGO.com; search, affiliate, and email marketing; and offline marketing including the LEGO Catalog. An active member of his local community, Shawn serves as a volunteer firefighter; he also volunteered with Habitat for Humanity from 1997 to 2005.

The Alumni Inspiration Award was established in 2002 to recognize the exceptional accomplishments of an alumnus/alumna who graduated from Keene State College nor more than 15 years prior to the year of the award. In addition to recognized accomplishments, the recipient must show promise for continued success.

Sprague W. Drenan Award

Susan Fortier ’86 has received the Sprague W. Drenan Award. Throughout her 27 years as an alumna, Sue has worked passionately on the front line and behind the scenes to grow alumni engagement and awareness and strengthen connections between alumni and students. She has been a key leader in the transformation of the Alumni Association programs in the past five years. She has been a driving force behind many initiatives, including her own class’ 25th reunion, the Volunteer Support Program, the Career Support Committee, the Homecoming Task Force, the Alumni Bylaws Committee, and Alumni Association strategic planning, among many others. Sue was instrumental in the leadership of the Alumni Association Board of Directors, serving as President in the 2009–2010 and 2010–2011 academic years. During the past 10 years, she has been an active annual participant in reunions, homecomings, Winterfest, and many other events. Known for her “can-do” attitude and spirit, Sue has encouraged alumni programs that are visible, meaningful, and impactful. She is married to Steve Fortier ’86, a member of the Executive Committee of the KSC Parents Association. Their children Sean and Larissa are current Keene State students; both were recently named to the Dean’s List.

The Sprague W. Drenan Award is given to one whose participation in and support of alumni activities and events is worthy of recognition.

Alumni Achievement Award

Dr. Walter Asonevich ’77 President, Pennsylvania Highlands Community College, received the Alumni Achievement Award. A native of Springfield, Vermont, Walter majored in English at Keene State, earning an MA from the University of Vermont and a PhD from the University of Delaware, both also in English. In 1986, he accepted a position as Assistant Professor of English at Potomac State College. In 1990, he became head of Potomac’s English Department and four years later added the duties of coordinating Institutional Research for the college. In 2002, he moved to Corning (NY) Community College, where he served as Vice President and Dean of Academic Affairs. In August 2007, he was named President of Pennsylvania Highlands Community College. There, he has streamlined internal processes, created a new governance system, and strengthened relationships with external constituents. His current focus includes building on the regional mission of the college, adding new programs such as culinary arts, welding, radiology tech, and computer security, and adding additional academic sites in Pennsylvania.

The Alumni Achievement Award is given to one whose professional achievement in his/her chosen field brings honor to him or herself and Keene State College. Recipients must be bona fide alumni of Keene State College.

Outstanding Service Award

Dr. Jay Kahn, Interim President, Keene State College, has received the Outstanding Service Award. Jay had served as Keene State’s Vice President for Finance and Planning since 1988, prior to accepting the one-year post as Interim President. For 25 years, he has been instrumental in the dynamic evolution of the physical aspects of the campus as a leader in the master planning and strategic planning of the institution. Before joining Keene State, he served as Associate Vice President for Administration and Planning at Governors State University in Illinois, a position he held from 1978 to 1988. His earlier posts included serving as Assistant Director for Academic Affairs with the Illinois Board of Higher Education. Jay holds a BA from Northern Illinois University and a PhD in political science/policy studies from the University of Illinois, Chicago. Nationally, he serves as an at-large director on the board of the Society for College and University Planning. At the state level, he serves on the Workforce Initiatives board. Locally, he chairs the Cheshire Medical Center Board of Trustees and has previously served as board chair for the Greater Keene Chamber of Commerce and the Monadnock Economic Development Corporation. Jay has been honored with many awards over the years, most recently being recognized as an honorary member of the American Institute of Architects.

The Outstanding Service Award is given to an individual or organization that has provided outstanding service to Keene State College through leadership, commitment, and influence in programs and activities of the College. Recipients may be alumni, staff, faculty, friends, or associates of Keene State College.

Environmental Studies Majors Conduct Natural Resources Inventory for Harris Center

June 7, 2013Uncategorizedconservation, Employment, environment, internship, Student Standouts

Students sketching vernal pool — Alexandra Kirk and Stephen Day creating a detailed field sketch of a roadside vernal pool (as part of the vernal-pool documentation process).

For several years, the Harris Center for Conservation Education has played an integral role in stitching together a 33,000-acre Supersanctuary of connected protected lands in the towns of Antrim, Greenfield, Hancock, Harrisville, Nelson, Peterborough, and Stoddard. These contiguous blocks of habitat are vital for long-ranging species of animals, for migratory birds, for timber, and for outdoor recreation. In order to most effectively manage and understand this area, the Harris Center needed to conduct a natural resources inventory (NRI). That’s a perfect project for some of KSC’s Environmental Studies majors, but there’s a problem: A lot of the critical information—such as where the vernal pools are and which animals are on the move during breeding season—takes place in late spring/early summer, when most students are off campus and working summer jobs to help pay for next year’s classes.

The solution? Hire some of these students to stick around and conduct the NRI. Talk about a win-win: The Harris Center gets a team to collect critical data to help it manage the trust, and the students get paid to develop real-world skills that bring substance to classroom theory and will look very impressive on a resume.
Continue reading Environmental Studies Majors Conduct Natural Resources Inventory for Harris Center →

Three EPSCoR/Campus Compact Grants

June 5, 2013Uncategorizedaward, faculty, grant

NH EPSCoR and Campus Compact for NH have established a seed-grant program for faculty at undergraduate higher ed institutions to broaden participation and build research capacity in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) disciplines. Funding may go towards exploring a concept or integrating research experiences into an undergraduate STEM curriculum. Priority is given to environmental sciences.

These mini-grants are aligned with the Enhancing Inclusive Excellence for NH Communities Initiative, designed to expand outreach efforts and broaden community participation. Funded activities should enhance New Hampshire’s capacity to develop a talented, robust, and diverse STEM-oriented work force capable of performing, adapting, and thriving in a dynamic knowledge-driven economy.
Continue reading Three EPSCoR/Campus Compact Grants →