Volume XXIX • Number 1 Fall 2012 Keene State Today THE MAGAZINE FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS Working Together: The POWER of COLLABORATION SPRING 2012 From the President’s Office Jay Kahn Interim President, Keene State College fter 24 years as Keene State College’s vice president Our view of the classroom is limited only by our view Afor Finance and planning, I look forward to serving of where learning takes place. Transformations in as interim president for the upcoming academic year. Keene State’s curricula integrate a variety of learning I strongly identify with the college’s commitment to modalities. Learning can be classroom-based, led by academic excellence and student success – standards a master of the field, or a self-guided activity working that guide every facet of campus life and the decisions from a syllabus. Learning can be supplemented we make. Educational discovery and the relationships by doing in a lab, either scientific or technological. we create at KSC make our work rewarding. Learning occurs in teams, often while working on a project. Learning can be field-based or happen in a Faculty and staff don’t work alone in this effort. We workplace guided by an employer’s needs. It takes a consistently establish partnerships that enable us to creative faculty, such as ours at Keene State College, to create experiences for our students introduce these experiences across the beyond formal campus boundaries. curriculum, adjusting to the multiple Here’s what occurred just this past learning styles of our students. spring semester: Why, in a state known for its public n Sociology students worked with the and private partnerships and the city of Keene and state agencies to number of not-for-profit organizations, understand homelessness. does Keene stand out? I’ve heard it referred to as the “Special K” factor, n Environmental studies students worked enabling us to do more with less with the city on the Ashuelot Dam because of the relationships local restoration. organizations draw upon. It’s also n Architecture students worked on design said to be in the water, part of our projects with the Hampshire School, eco-system. Recent higher education Putney School, MoCo Arts and the literature describes this type of nearby town of Troy, New Hampshire. engrained behavior as embedded in organizational DNA. n Dance students taught motion therapy to people with disabilities. The fundamental outcomes of a Keene State College education are stated in our mission: to prepare n Health Sciences students documented the problem of students to think critically and creatively, to engage prescription drugs being redistributed to non-prescribed in active citizenship, and to pursue meaningful users. work. I am grateful to our community partners for helping provide the essential experiential learning, n Nutrition and athletic training students worked with the internships, practicums, and project-based research Cheshire Medical Center and its Vision 20/20 partners. opportunities for KSC students. Together we are adding Science faculty research, in partnership with Dartmouth value to the education of KSC students and to the College, led to sponsored undergraduate research communities we serve. experiences in KSC labs with our faculty. To view the 140+ different community partners working with Keene State students, look at the web site at this URL: http://sites.keene.edu/kscce/for-community-partners/ community-partner-list/ KEENE STATE TODAY Visit Keene State Today online: keene.edu/kst 4 8 11 Contents Letter from the President ..................................................................................................Inside Cover Interim President Jay Kahn reflects on the value of collaborative relationships 12 Greater Than the Sum of Our Parts .................................................................................................4 Striking examples of leadership, shared vision, and working together for lasting results Weaving a Web – Of Science, Community, and Conservation .........................8 Inside a highly effective network of citizens and scientists – the Ashuelot Valley Environmental Observatory Faculty and Staff Accomplishments .........................................................................................11 14 Two Fulbright Scholars emerge from within KSC faculty All Hands On Stage .......................................................................................................................................12 Who’s behind those stupendous Super Bowl half-time shows? Alumnus Anthony Bishop, and hordes of helpers Student Researchers Take On National Epidemic ....................................................14 How KSC researchers are collaborating to tackle prescription drug abuse – the nation’s number one killer 17 Alumni Profile: Matt Gill ’10 ...............................................................................................................17 Catching up with a student leader and master of collaboration as experience bolsters his belief in big ideas Stellar Students Speak Out ................................................................................................................ 18 Campus stars testify on the power of community and working together Alumni Notebook ...........................................................................................................................................20 18 Incoming Alumni Association president Linda Lacey ’10 writes about how alumni have worked together to help make KSC what it is today Class Notes ............................................................................................................................................................ 21 20 FALL 2012 • 1 Campus Keene State Today Happenings Volume XXIX Number 1 Fall 2012 Editor Paul Hertneky Designer Tim Thrasher Web Designer Michael Justice [email protected] Sandra McNair Production Manager Students exhibited their academic achievements at the 12th Annual Laura Borden ’82 Academic Excellence Conference. The event brings together student [email protected] scholars, their families, faculty and staff mentors and attracts a large Contributors audience of community members, including legislators, university Mark Reynolds trustees who come to see results of academic research and other [email protected] forms of scholarship. Susan Peery [email protected] Brett Amy Thelen [email protected] Class Notes Editor Lucy Webb [email protected] Vice President for Advancement Maryann LaCroix Lindberg [email protected] Director of Development Kenneth Goebel [email protected] Director of Marketing & Communications Kathleen Williams [email protected] Director of Alumni and Parent Relations Patty Farmer ’92 Sandra McNair [email protected] Nicole Mihalko ’12, explains the inner workings of NASA’s BETTII telescope Director of Advancement Services Michelle Fuller ’08 [email protected] Alumni Association President Linda Lacey ’73 [email protected] Special thanks to Eve Alintuck, Interim Director of Marketing and Communications, for her expertise and guidance on this and previous issues of Keene State Today Keene State Today is published by the Marketing & Communications Office, Keene State College. Periodicals postage rate is paid at Keene, NH, and additional offices. U.S. Postal Service No. 015-914. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Keene State Today, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435-2701. Address change: Make sure you don’t miss the next issue of Keene State Today. Send information – your name, class year, spouse’s name and class year, new address including zip code, telephone number, and email address – to Alumni Center, Keene State College, 229 Main St., Keene, NH 03435-2701. Sandra McNair www.keene.edu/kst David Daly ’12, presents his research into Alaskan salmon runs 2 • KEENE STATE TODAY Visit Keene State Today online: keene.edu/kst Campus Happenings Photo: Greg Wasserstrom for Obama for America Joe Biden with Cheryl Kahn and Interim President Jay Kahn Michael Moore Michael The largest class in the 103-year history of KSC graduated in 2012. Commencement speakers included Mary Ann Kristiansen, winner of the Granite State Award, and Janet Cohen, who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. For the first time, graduates wore caps Following his May appearance, Joe Biden meets student volunteers and gowns made of 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. Matt Foster ’12, Aaron Testa ’14, Shay Lynch ’14, and Dave Hersey ’12 FALL 2012 • 3 GREATER THAN THE SUM OF OUR PARTS t a time when agendas divide communities and nations, Keene State College has brought together more people and pursuits, more committees and causes than ever before. Since 2005, when Helen AGiles-Gee accepted the presidency and soon thereafter enlisted the help of Emile Netzhammer as provost, leaders at the college have woven an intricate and productive web of new and interconnected relationships. Initiatives that integrate community service and academic excellence are multiplying and growing stronger, and stand as a fitting legacy for a pair of leaders who left KSC a more vibrant institution. Evidence of these collaborations can be found all over the college, the city of Keene, the Monadnock Region, and beyond. A national research lab eagerly awaits the samples that come from KSC undergraduates, collected at the city’s recycling center. 4 • KEENE STATE TODAY Visit Keene State Today online: keene.edu/kst A performing arts center, a food co-op, a child-care center, “I was on city