Academic Affairs

We’re in the final days before the kickoff of the Keene State College Symposium on Citizenship. For those of you who haven’t seen the ads or the posters or the brochures or the web sites, the symposium begins next Tuesday with a noon session and continues through Friday evening. During those four days, nearly a hundred people will present at over 40 presentations. The presenters include nationally known journalists, scholars and artists, as well as some of Keene State’s best faculty and staff. It’s going to be amazing.

 This is my first symposium at Keene State, so I’m doubly amazed. The effort from all corners of our campus that has gone into making this event so significant has, at times, boggled my mind. The passion. The commitment. The understanding. When we approved the proposal just a year ago, I don’t think anyone expected that we would be putting together an event on such a grand scale.

But this is a topic that resonates. It’s very New Hampshire. It’s very current. Most of all, it goes to the core of what we mean when we talk about a liberal arts education for our students. What does it mean to be a responsible citizen in 2007? How do we prepare our students for a lifetime of civic engagement?

Thanks to everyone who has gotten us this far. Marianne Salcetti and Nigel Malcolm, supported by Advancement, College Relations, Pat Hitchner and so many others have put together an extraordinary array of sessions. It’s up to the rest of us to get the campus the rest of the way. Participate! Bring your classes, your workstudy students, your colleagues to the sessions. Ask questions and challenge yourself.

Although this is my first symposium, I’ve learned well that the biannual symposium is a key event on our campus. I can’t wait to see what next week brings. 

Tags: academic excellence, symposium //