C LBY-SAW Y E R ALUMNI MAGAZINE ▲ President Galligan’s Charge to the Class of 2010 ▲▲▲ Living the Dream in “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” Alex Hardenbrook ’07– Life Lessons from Uganda Colby-Sawyer’s Eighth The Gordon Research Conferences–On the President Thomas C. Cutting Edges of Science Galligan Jr. and his wife Susan Stokes Galligan F ALL/WINTER 2006 EDITOR BOARD OF TRUSTEES David R. Morcom Anne Winton Black ’73, ’75 CLASS NOTES EDITOR Chairman of the Board Tracey Austin William S. Berger CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Vice-Chair Tracey Austin Elizabeth A. Cahill Robin L. Mead ’72 Mitch Capelle Executive Secretary Cathy DeShano Mike Gregory Pamela Stanley Bright ’61 David R. Morcom Alice W. Brown Kimberly Swick Slover Timothy C. Coughlin P’00 Peter Walsh Thomas C. Csatari Laura D. Danforth ’83 VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT Richard Dulude Elizabeth A. Cahill Karen Craffey Eldred ’86 Stephen W. Ensign DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS Thomas C. Galligan Jr., ex officio Kimberly Swick Slover Eleanor Morrison Goldthwait ’51 Suzanne Simons Hammond ’66 G. William Helm Jr. COVER PHOTOGRAPHY Patricia Driggs Kelsey Katie Dow ’90 Joyce Juskalian Kolligian ’55 David B. Payne DESIGN AND PRODUCTION Mark A. Peterson P’08 Lisa Swanson Jean Harding Pierce ’47 Second Story Design Richard N. Thielen Manchester, NH Jean M. Wheeler Daniel H. Wolf PRINTING Penmor Lithographers HONORARY LIFE TRUSTEES Lewiston, ME David L. Coffin P’76 Peter D. Danforth P’83, ’84, GP’02 William H. Dunlap P’98 Charles J. Lawson LIFE TRUSTEES EMERITI Mary Trafton Simonds ’38, P’64 Barbara Johnson Stearns ’32 ADDRESS LETTERS AND SUBMIT ARTICLE IDEAS TO: David R. Morcom, Editor Publications Office Colby-Sawyer College 541 Main Street New London, NH 03257 Phone: (603) 526-3730 E-mail: [email protected] © Copyright 2006 Colby-Sawyer College C LBY-SAWYER ALUMNI MAGAZINE FEATURES COVER STORY Convocation . 10 A charge to the class of 2010 by President Tom Galligan. Living the Dream . 13 Nate Corddry ’00 has moved from the stage to the set of ‘Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.’ The Service Ace . 18 Alex Hardenbrook ’07 helps improve schools in Uganda. On the Cover: Early in his tenure as Colby-Sawyer’s eighth president, Tom Galligan and his wife, Susan Stokes A Not Very Quiet Year Off . 22 Galligan, were the subjects of a photo Professor Jon Keenan revitalizes himself in shoot at the president’s home and gar- Asia, California and at home in New Hampshire. dens. Both Tom and Susan exhibited a willingness to take direction, a sense of humor, and a down-to-earth view Deans in Jeans . 24 of themselves, which made the shoot Top college administrators discuss more fun than work. Because of this, campus issues with students. photographer Katie Dow ’90 was able to snap this wonderful portrait of the presidential couple that captures their Reunion 2006 . 28 outgoing personalities, affable nature, Remember Colby-Sawyer, Relive Colby-Sawyer! and the sincerity of purpose they bring to their roles as the First Couple of the Colby-Sawyer campus. Gordon Research Conferences Celebrate Success, Relationships . 34 Bringing scientists together from a variety of fields. DEPARTMENTS A Renaissance Colby-Sawyer Matters . 2 Woman in Nepal. 37 Sue Chapman Melanson ’66 journeyed to Sports Round-up . 43 Nepal to become a practicing shaman. Alumni Notes. 47 Commencement 2006. 40 Class Notes . 49 A photo album celebrating the big event. FALL/WINTER 2006 1 C LBY-SAWYER MATTERS Alumni Journalist ever being satis- modern American crime narrative, nar- fied with the rative journalism and creative writing. Named to Harvard quality and depth “The fellowship part of this experi- Fellowship of yesterday’s ence is rich and exciting. I have become lead story.” close friends with several of the other Chris Cousins ’98, an Now Chris is fellows,” he said. “We all have the same award-winning reporter studying side by attitude about this experience: that it’s a for The Times Record in side with journal- once in a lifetime opportunity. ” Brunswick, Maine, has been ists from The In one week, Chris and the other named to the 69th class of Washington Post, fellows enjoyed a seminar with poets The New York Sharon Olds and Donald Hall and a Nieman Fellows by Harvard Chris Cousins ’98 at Harvard University, University. Chris is one of where he is engaged in a Nieman Times, and lunch meeting with journalist Bob 28 U.S. and international Fellowship in journalism for the 2006– The Wall Street Woodward. 2007 academic year. journalists selected to study Journal, as well “As for what I’ve learned, here it is: at Harvard in 2006–2007. He is the as others from leading publications in confidence,” Cousins said. “I was always Donald W. Reynolds Nieman Fellow in China, Gambia, Nepal, Germany, the confident sort, but when I look at Community Journalism, with funding Colombia and South Korea. myself and my new surroundings and provided by the Donald W. Reynolds By mid-October, Chris said the the people I’m here with, I realize there Foundation. Nieman program was “exactly what I is no career goal too high.” Established in 1938, the Nieman pro- expected it to be: inspirational.” He is — Kimberly Swick Slover and gram is the oldest mid-career fellowship taking classes in classical music, the Cathy DeShano for journalists in the world. The fellow- ships are awarded to promising and accomplished working journalists for an The Susan Colby Colgate Scholars Symposium academic year of study at the university. Chris will study the events, trends and forecasts that breed the perception of Maine as an overtaxed, underachiev- ing and economically disadvantaged state struggling for a position in the emerging world economy. While at Colby-Sawyer, Chris gained experience as reporter and editor for the Colby-Sawyer Courier and says professors, such as Pat Anderson, Don Coonley, Ann Page Stecker and Olivia Smith, “drove home the notion that success doesn’t come easily, and that it’s worth working for.” “My professional goals aren’t about money or having bylines in The Boston Globe,” he wrote in his application for the Nieman Fellowship. “They’re about writing stories that matter to people and During the symposium, some of the senior students presented their Capstone projects in the Coffin Field sometimes making a difference in their House of the Dan and Kathleen Hogan Sports Center. Here, students discuss their research projects, lives. They’re about improving myself as some of which are represented by visual displays, with college community members. a writer as much as possible and never, 2 COLBY-SAWYER ALUMNI MAGAZINE Celebrating Student Biology students discussed their Students in the Wesson Honors research on topics such as “Beech Bark Program examined “Modern Technolo- Scholarship Disease” and “Canine Lyme Disease: Is it gies and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Treatable?” Nursing students reported Rings,” while an undergraduate student The Susan Colby Colgate Scholars on their Community Capstone experi- presentation explored “Money and Symposium, now in its third year, calls ences with the Adult Day Out program Environmental Externalities.” on seniors and selected underclassmen at Valley Regional Hospital, Quail Hollow Cheryl Coolidge, assistant professor of to present their academic research pro- Independent Living, New London Natural Sciences and coordinator of the jects to the entire college community. Hospital, and the Tiger Treatment event, says the symposium celebrates Last April, many seniors presented Center at Newport (New Hampshire) students’ “academic talents and best Capstone projects, the culmination of Middle-High School. efforts,” and provides a wider audience work in their fields of study. Communi- Exercise and Sport Sciences majors to showcase their work. cation Studies students created a video- presented such group projects as “The “It’s a chance for our seniors to share based oral history for a New London, Individual, Family Status and Sport their Capstone projects with their peers New Hampshire-based conservation Choice,” “Potential Nutrition Knowledge and their faculty,” she explains, “and a group, the Ausbon Sargent Land and Children’s Eating Habits,” and chance for the undergraduate students Preservation Trust, a radio production “Motivational Factors for Attendance in to see the type of work they will engage for the Kearsarge High School Athletic Minor League Baseball.” Community in as seniors. For me, one of the best Department, and promotional media for and Environmental Studies students parts of the day is to see the tremendous the Waterville Valley (New Hampshire) addressed “Creating a Long-Term Experi- academic growth of our students over Recreational Department. ment to Predict Perennial Growth,” and the course of their time here. Students Psychology students presented displayed a “Lake Sunapee Watershed who barely uttered a syllable as fresh- Capstone research on “Using Dogs to Residents Survey Analysis.” men are confident, capable speakers as Lower Blood Pressure” and “Student and History, Society and Culture students seniors. It’s a pleasure to see what they Faculty Responses to a Plagiarism Case.” researched such subjects as “A Return to can do when they are excited and One Child Development project on a Civil Society: The Changing Role of the enthusiastic about their work. ” student intern’s experience at Turtle Roman Catholic Church in Poland” — Joe Sampson ’06 and Mountain Childcare was titled, “I Saw, I and “The Journey through the Upper Kimberly Swick Sklover Came, I Conquered: The Challenges of Kennebec Valley: A Soldier’s Experiences Being a Toddler.” during Arnold’s March to Quebec.” At left, students Ethan Wright (standing), Brian Skoczenski and Kelley Smith-Hull (at podium), all History, Society and Culture majors, relax in the library after their Capstone presentations. Ethan’s presentation focused on media during the Cuban Revolution, Kelley researched themes related to the Holocaust and Brian discussed the Catholic Church in Post-Communist Poland.