All four University System of New Hampshire institutions are asking for supporters to help us advocate for higher ed, and we think Keene State can raise 1,000 advocates this month. It’s easy. Sign up at the KSC Advocates site.

Why do we need 1,000 advocates?

Last year, New Hampshire’s four public colleges and universities suffered the largest budget cut—a 49 % reduction—in our state’s history, indeed in our nation’s history. At KSC, state support now provides just 6 percent of our operating budget. New Hampshire is last in the nation in per capita funding for public higher education at a time when a well-prepared entering workforce is crucial the economic development of our state.

The USNH Board of Trustees has taken a major step in seeking restoration of the state appropriation. They propose freezing in-state tuition and providing more financial assistance to needy NH students for the next two years, if the legislators restore the University System’s biennial state appropriation of $100 million.

But we can’t convince legislators by ourselves. You have an important voice in this advocacy effort. You can write letters, contact legislators, talk to friends, but if you do nothing else, check “Yes, count me in as an Advocate for KSC” today.

Back In 1969, before he came to Keene State, Professor Emeritus of Geography Klaus Bayr decided to climb the Grossglockner, the highest mountain in his native Austria. He’s been back many times since, and during those visits, he became familiar with the nearby Pasterze Glacier, the largest in the eastern Alps. And during those visits, he became aware that the Pasterze was changing. “The glacier is shrinking—terribly—it’s lost a lot of mass,” Dr. Bayr observed.

The Margaritze Reservoir collects the meltwater of the glacier, and a hydroelectric power station uses that water to produce electricity. So far, the Pasterze is producing plenty of meltwater, “but if the glacier melts away, it will obviously affect power production,” Dr. Bayr observed. He has been working with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) since the 1980s to study the glacier’s rate of recession. NASA supplies satellite data and images, and Dr. Bayr has been ground truthing that data—walking the glacier’s perimeter, with GPS in hand, to determine its exact edge. Glaciers push a lot of till in front of them: rocks, dirt, and debris. With sometimes several feet of till on top of the ice, it’s difficult to tell from satellite images just where the glacier ends. Dr. Bayr’s ground truthing supplies that essential data.
Continue reading Climate Change Study Wins NASA Grant →

Deb Gode, from the Winchester Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, and Richard Righter, DVM, were among a small group that assembled near the entrance to the Owl Athletic Complex on October 17 to release a rehabilitated barred owl into the wild.

The Winchester Wildlife Rehabilitation Center is a local non-profit that rehabs about 200 birds and animals each year, often with Dr. Righter’s generously donated help. This owl suffered a head injury and broken leg after being hit by a car, and spent nine weeks at the Center. The brushy stretch of wetlands between the entrance gate and the athletic fields should offer her a good home, and we hope she sticks around and prospers for many years. Look for her at night games!