Cohen Professor for Holocaust and Genocide Studies and internationally recognized authority on genocide prevention Jim Waller was recently elected to a position on the Advisory Board for the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), and named a Centennial Senior Ethics Fellow by the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.
Continue reading Professor Waller Receives Two Prestigious Appointments
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
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.”
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
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
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.
Continue reading Kristen Porter-Utley 2013 Scholar of the Year
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, 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.
Continue reading Keith Goodale ’96 Wins Janet Guernsey Award
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.
Continue reading Prof. Durnford to Attend Cultural Seminar in Québec
Professor of Chemistry Jerry P. Jasinski has been awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to lecture and conduct research at the University of Mysore (Mysore, India) during the 2013–2014 academic year. Dr. Jasinski’s goal through this exchange is to teach students and faculty at the University of Mysore, and affiliated institutions about the use of single crystal X-ray crystallography as a modern state-of-the-art tool in the determination of molecular structure.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
When a member of the Kayser Family visited the Children’s Literature Festival Gallery Collection in Rhodes Hall recently, she was so impressed by this delightful collection of work by the best children’s book illustrators that she directed NH Charitable Foundation to make a $2,000 grant from the Kayser Family Fund to help support it. Professor David White, director of the Children’s Literature Festival, intends to use the award to purchase an illustration from Morris the Artist, written by Lore Segal and illustrated by Boris Kulikov, who spoke at the 2012 Festival. That illustration will be used for the October 26, 2013, Festival flyer and poster.
The Festival Gallery Collection, which began in November 1990, is a permanent collection of original illustrations, working drawings, and pieces related to children’s book illustration. It currently contains hundreds of pieces by 159 artists.
As a loyal Newsline reader, you probably already know that two KSC profs., Shirley McLoughlin and Deborah Merchant, are Fulbright scholars. But did you know that Dr. McLoughlin will be posting her travel experiences in the Republic of Georgia and insights into her scholarship on a Huffington Post blog? Check it out!
Technology, Design and Safety Assistant Professor Bart Sapeta was recently recognized as one of New Hampshire’s top “40 Under 40” young professionals for his achievements and his personal contributions to the community. Read what the Union Leader had to say about him.
Assistant Professor of Management Emily Porschitz was also nominated for her positive impact on young professionals through her advocacy and professional activities that cultivate emerging talent in the state.
The annual “40 Under 40” program is presented by the New Hampshire Union Leader in cooperation with the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire to profile 40 of the state’s brightest young achievers under the age of 40 who are contributing significantly to their field and community.
Thanks to generous support from the Faculty Development Grant fund, Professor Nona Fienberg (Holocaust & Genocide Studies) will be in Poland from Nov. 8–26 as a visiting scholar, primarily at Jagiellonian University, in Krakow.
“I’m giving an invited lecture that I call ‘Present! Scenes of Instruction in Ghetto Romance,'” Dr. Fienberg said. “Given the central place of books and study in Jewish identity, I examine scenes of instruction in the ghetto—both clandestine and officially recognized—in streets, garret classrooms, kitchens, and underground hiding spaces. Jews studied in Yiddish, Polish, and Hebrew and created art and literature even as the catastrophe unfolded in the ghettos.”
Continue reading Nona Fienberg a Visiting Scholar in Krakow
In early October, the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA). chose KSC Professor of Dance William Seigh as its president. “I am very pleased to have this opportunity to support college dance on a national scale and to represent KSC in this position,” said Prof. Seigh, who received the Alumni Association’s
Distinguished Teacher Award in 2011.
Continue reading William Seigh Appointed ACDFA President
Associate Professor of Art Lynn Richardson is exhibiting her work at the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center’s show, New England Biennial 2012, from November 2–March 1. This juried exhibit features paintings, photographs, drawings, sculpture, and installation artwork by 13 artists from around New England, chosen from among more than 400 applicants by Stephen Haller of the Stephen Haller Gallery in New York City.