Just Out: Keene State Today!

December 6, 2011Uncategorized

The latest issue of Keene State Today is now online. Read all about our first-generation college students, a population we’re proud to have on campus. You’ll learn about several first-gen students and alums, including Orlando Echevarria, who went from “no way” as a kid on the streets of Chelsea, Mass., to a way out as a safety studies major and basketball player at KSC. There’s also the inspiring story of William Seigh, who won this year’s Distinguished Teacher Award. And you can welcome Dr. Paul Baures, the brand-new David F. Putnam chair in the Chemistry Department, and see how he’s using chemistry—and his teaching—to make a better world. All that, and more. …

Mark your calendar: Winterfest, Feb. 3 & 4!

December 6, 2011Mark Your Calendar, Uncategorizedalumni, event

Get out of the house and into the brisk air and winter fun on campus! Join your fellow alums, students, faculty, and staff for some snow tubing, or join fellow sports fans at Spaulding Gym to share your KSC spirit and cheer on the basketball teams. If you think you can shred it, the rail jam on Saturday night will let you show what you’ve got!

Check out the full schedule on the Alumni page! We’re still adding events, so check the schedule often.

The KSC-Iowa Connection

December 6, 2011Uncategorized

This note from Joe Bannon ’87, who lives now in Davenport, Iowa, is another great illustration of the connections KSC folks feel towards their alma mater and their fellow alums:

“The other morning I got up and started my daily routine, which includes reading the paper before coming to work. On the front page of the Quad City Times was an article about an AmeriCorps group helping with a local nature preserve. I know the fellow who runs the preserve, Brian Ritter, because he sits on the advisory board for a preserve my company owns and that I oversee.

“As I read the article, I nearly jumped out of my chair when it noted that one volunteer, Kristina Hawes ’10, is a KSC grad! I called Brian and heard him call out, ‘Hey Kristina, wanna talk to another KSC grad?’ I offered to meet her and /or the group over lunch, but yesterday was their last day and they were heading home. Ms. Hawes and I talked for a bit and shared how much KSC meant to us. Living in Iowa it can be hard to feel connected as an alum, but this brief conversation re-energized my feelings about KSC.”

Calif. Senate Commends Dr. Waller

December 6, 2011Uncategorizedfaculty, Holocaust & genocide

Dr. James Waller, Cohen Endowed Chair of Holocaust and Genocide Studies and author of Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide, was commended by the California State Senate at the Third International Conference on Genocide, Negationism, Revisionism, Survivors’ Testimonies, Eyewitness Accounts, Justice, and Memory on November 2–4, 2011.
Continue reading Calif. Senate Commends Dr. Waller →

Healthy Living After School

December 6, 2011Uncategorizedfaculty

Dr. Karrie Kalich and Dr. Marjorie Droppa, associate professors of health science, have been awarded a $2,000 grant from the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation to develop an evidence-based nutrition and physical activity after-school program that combines elements of the CATCH (Coordinated Approach to Child Health) and Early Sprouts initiatives. CATCH is a daily curriculum-based health promotion program designed to encourage physical activity and healthy food choices among children from preschool through grade 8. The Early Sprouts program encourages preschool children to enjoy healthy eating by involving them in planting, raising, harvesting, and cooking organic vegetables. Drs. Kalich and Droppa hope to develop a model that combines aspects of these two programs into something that after-school staff can use to provide effective nutrition and physical activity for their charges. The developed model will be pilot tested at the Parks and Recreation Center in Keene, New Hampshire.
Continue reading Healthy Living After School →

Prof. Sandy Publishes “Containment Theory”

December 5, 2011Uncategorizedfaculty, literature

Associate Professor of English Kirsti Sandy’s nonfiction essay, “Containment Theory” is featured in the Nov. 28 issue of Freshly Hatched, the online journal of Freerange Nonfiction, a New York City reading series and storytelling collective. The series is a New York Magazine “Critic’s Pick” and has been praised by Electric Literature as “the best nonfiction reading series.”
Continue reading Prof. Sandy Publishes “Containment Theory” →

In Memoriam: Shirlee Ingalls

December 1, 2011Uncategorizedobituary

Shirlee Ingalls (we apologize for the poor quality of the image—it's from a cell phone video.)

Born with spina bifida, Shirlee Ingalls spent much of her life as an exemplary mother, social activist, and undaunted optimist in a wheelchair. Shirlee, who passed on in late November, was also a longtime Keene student, beginning in 1974 and taking a course or two each year until the fall of 2004. She took a break for a few years and then enrolled in a class with sociology professor Dr. Margaret Walsh in the spring 2010 semester, so she touched many lives here at KSC. “She was such an inspiration,” Dr. Walsh recalled. Shirlee’s ultimate ambition was to be a licensed social worker.
Continue reading In Memoriam: Shirlee Ingalls →

KSC Alumni Gathering in Boston

December 1, 2011Mark Your Calendar, Uncategorizedalumni, event

Have you wondered in any other KSC alums live near you? Well, if you are from the Boston area, now is the time to find out!

Join Matt Ulvila ’02, Christine Williams ’01, Sara Goddard ’08, and Mark Metevier ’06 as they host area KSC Alumni at Boston Beer Garden on Monday, December 12, from 5:30–8 p.m. Come network, reconnect with other area alumni, and hear about what is happening at KSC. You cover the drinks, and we will cover the appetizers!

Learn more at www.keene.edu/alumni or on Facebook. Feel free to invite your fellow KSC’ers!

The Challenges of Spring

November 29, 2011Uncategorizedgiving

In a very few days, the fall semester will come to a close. Grades will be posted, residence halls will close, and students will be headed off for semester break. However, though KSC seems to go into hibernation, a flurry of activity will occur here that speaks to the many challenges to come during the spring semester.

Repairs, painting, cleaning, and snow removal are just the beginning. The real preparation for the spring semester happens behind the scenes with the faculty and with the pocket book. Professors create class notes, syllabi, and test questions. Students look for every available dollar as they work out their finances, because paying for the spring semester is often more difficult than the fall semester.

One way that you can help with the challenges of spring is to make a gift to KSC by December 31st. Support a student with a gift to a scholarship, support your favorite academic or campus program, or make a gift to the KSC Fund! Every gift does make a difference, and your thoughtfulness is truly appreciated. The results of your help will show in the future actions of KSC graduates.

Thank you,
Kenneth R. Goebel
Director of Development

Eco-Reps Raise Student Awareness

November 21, 2011UncategorizedStudent Standouts

Eco-reps Gregg French and Danielle Flaherty

Genocide and Holocaust Studies major Danielle Flaherty and Education/History major Gregg French presented at an Eco-Representative conference at Babson College on Saturday, Nov. 5. Eco-reps is a peer-to-peer education program that works primarily in residence halls to make students aware of how their actions impact the environment and the cost of running the school. Danielle and Greg were asked to look at how their major ties in with the education work they have been doing. For example, Danielle looked at how the way Americans use and dispose of technology impacts the resources and the social, environmental, and economic fabric in such places as the Sudan. Their presentation was in the “Effective Dorm Strategies” track and featured their work as peer educators at KSC.
Continue reading Eco-Reps Raise Student Awareness →

Wanted: Outstanding Women

November 18, 2011Uncategorized

March is National Women’s History Month, which is a great time to honor four Outstanding Women of New Hampshire. The theme for this year’s award is Women’s Education – Women’s Empowerment, so KSC plans to celebrate and honor the stories of women who have been integral to the history of our campus, our community, and our state. Awards will be given to women in four categories: KSC student, KSC faculty or staff member, greater Monadnock community resident, and New Hampshire resident. If you know someone who deserves this honor, please prepare a letter of nomination and submit it to the Campus Commission for the Status of Women by 5 p.m. on Friday, January 20, 2012.
Continue reading Wanted: Outstanding Women →

New Interdisciplinary Minor in Medieval and Early Modern Studies

November 15, 2011Uncategorized

Three students enrolled this fall in the new Medieval and Early Modern Studies (MEMS) minor, an interdisciplinary program involving faculty from English, history, and art history. Meriem Pages, associate professor of English, is director of the program, which is intended to give interested students the opportunity to engage in a focused study on the Middle Ages or the Early Modern period. Students are required to take at least one course in each time period, and numerous course offerings provide an international and multicultural focus.

Where’d I See That?

November 14, 2011UncategorizedWhere'd I See That?

Geeze, I know I’ve seen that somewhere. Come on, this one’s easy:

If you think you know the answer, stick it in a box containing a Zoom H1 Handy Recorder and mail it to Newsline, Alumni Center, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435. Or use the “comments” link, below.

Financial Genius Spoken Here

November 8, 2011Uncategorized

KSC’s Associate Vice President for Finance Karen House and Finance and Budget Analyst Melissa Laughner recently won the 2011 Bradford K. Perry Award for their achievement developing a multi-scenario, multi-year financial planning model that has been essential for integrating Keene State’s strategic planning initiatives with financial projections. The model is an efficient alternative to buying an expensive, labor-intensive, commercial product. Karen and Melissa won the award for their “financial genius” as noted by the University System of New Hampshire (USNH) Treasurer and the Financial Policies and Planning Council. Just one more of the big ways we watch our pennies!

More information. …

KSC OSHA Partnership

November 8, 2011Uncategorized

Keene State College has entered a new partnership with the New Hampshire Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s consulting service, which provides free consultations to NH businesses to ensure they are operating a safe and productive work environment. The NH Department of Labor requires all employers in the state with 10 or more employees to have a written safety and health program, so students and faculty from KSC’s Safety Studies and Occupational Health program will offer their expertise to help employers develop a proactive plan. The College will receive more than $400,000 in federal funds to support the program.

Since 1994, Keene State has directed an OSHA Training Institute Education Center in Manchester.

More information. …

Theatre & Dance and Music Present Rocky Horror Show

November 8, 2011Mark Your Calendar

Get yourself back to campus sometime between Nov. 16–19 and treat yourself to that wild cult classic, The Rocky Horror Show performed by the KSC Theatre & Dance and Music departments. Shows start at 7:30 p.m. in the Redfern’s Main Theatre, with a special midnight performance (of course!) on Friday, November 18. Tickets are $16 for the general public, $13 for senior citizens, and $6 for KSC students. Audience Participation Kits will be sold for a nominal cost (that’s all you’ll be able to bring into the theatre). Parents be warned: This show is not recommended for children. Call the box office at 603-358-2168 or order online.

More information. …