October 8th, 2009

   In this issue:


•  KSC to Host Mathematics Conference In April
•  2009 COPLAC Conference: Higher Ed Guests at KSC
•  Register for the KSC Writers Conference
•  Conference Brings Undergraduate Psychology Students, Faculty to Campus
•  Chemistry Lyceum Students Travel to Canada for Conference
•  Academic Excellence Conference Proposal Deadline
•  Submit Abstracts for KSC’s 9th Annual Academic Excellence Conference
•  A Great Free Opportunity: Ending Violence Against Women Conf 10/24

KSC to Host Mathematics Conference In April

Keene State College will be hosting the 17th annual Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference (HRUMC) on Saturday, April 17, 2010. The conference was founded under the leadership of Emelie Kenney of Siena College, with the help of Frank Morgan (Williams), David Vella (Skidmore), and William Zwicker (Union), to welcome undergraduates to the community of mathematics. HRUMC now attracts about 400 students and faculty (mostly students) from about 90 colleges and universities throughout the Northeast, and has served as a model for many other undergraduate conferences throughout the country.

HRUMC is a one-day event, and consists of several parallel sessions of mixed faculty and student presentations (as many as 200 student presentations) on various areas of mathematics, statistics, mathematics history, mathematics education, and computer science. Keene State College faculty and students have been attending the HRUMC since 1995, and have frequently given talks at the conference. A distinguished mathematician is invited to give a keynote address. This year’s speaker will be Erik Demaine, from MIT.
 
Ockle Johnson and Vince Ferlini (Mathematics) have been awarded $5,000 from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA) to support bringing the conference to campus, and additional funding will be coming from the Provost and the Dean of Sciences and Social Sciences. (Funding for the Hudson River Undergraduate Mathematics Conference is provided by NSF grant DMS-0846477 through the MAA Regional Undergraduate Mathematics Conferences program.)

2009 COPLAC Conference: Higher Ed Guests at KSC

Keene State hosted the 2009 Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) annual Meeting June 19–21, bringing 100 guests from 20 national institutions to campus. Two keynote speakers, Carol Geary Schneider, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), and Stephen J. Reno, former chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire, addressed the gathering. Concurrent sessions on the theme for the three-day program, “The Value of a Liberal Arts Education,” filled the schedule.

“The COPLAC conference showcased the many areas where Keene State College has become the aspirant institution for a number of our peers: town/gown relationships, facility planning and implementation, integrative curriculum, and the SODEXO dining staff,” said President Giles-Gee. “Many institutional leaders are coming back to visit the College and bringing their partners to learn how to improve. I am proud of the College’s achievements, and I am especially proud of the people who work to make the College perform better each year in support of our sense of community and students.”

Twenty of the 27 COPLAC member institutions were represented at the meeting, and on Friday, video conferencing connected two other COPLAC campuses to the preconference activities. KSC faculty and staff presented at the following sessions:

  • “The Enduring Value of a Public Liberal Arts Education” (Nona Fienberg, Irene Herold, Gordon Leversee, Melinda Treadwell)
  • “Sense of Place” (Mary Jensen, Bud Winsor, Dee Denehy, Joe Britton, Bert Poirier)
  • “Differentiating COPLAC Institution Costs from Those at Other Colleges and Universities” (Jay Kahn)
  • “Save the World on Your Own Time” (Nona Fienberg, Mark Long)
  • “The Place of Continuing Education on a COPLAC Campus” (Bob Baker)
  • “Marketing the Liberal Arts” (Peggy Richmond)
  • “Making the Case for a Liberal Arts Education in a Global Economy” (Christine King, Gordon Leversee)
  • “From Conversation to Commitment” (Phyllis Benay, Robert Kostick, Mark Timney, Sara Hottinger, Mark Long, Jeff Halford)

Many guests stayed in the Pondside III Residence Hall during their visit.
“Keene State College has so much to be proud of,” said Provost Mel Netzhammer. “Our guests were thrilled with the hospitality and with the program. Clearly this was a COPLAC meeting to remember.”

Register for the KSC Writers Conference

From Dori Almann, Continuing Education: Registration is now open for the KSC Writers Conference, which takes place from July 26 to August 1.

Conference attendees will work one-on-one with eight published, award-winning, nationally recognized writers in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They’ll also meet visiting writers, attend craft talks and readings, and spend time writing. The conference closes with a group reading by all conference participants.

The 2009 faculty bring a breadth of writing experience:

Laurie Alberts is the author of novels, a story collection, and memoirs. She received the Michener Award for the Novel, the Katherine Anne Porter Prize, the Pirate’s Alley Faulkner Society Prize for short story, and an American Fiction award. Alberts teaches fiction and creative nonfiction in the Vermont College MFA in Writing Program.

• Poet Celia Bland is the author of Captions for Cartoons Not Yet Drawn and Soft Box. Her poems have appeared in Shenandoah, Natural Bridge, Heliotrope, Entelechy, Prima Matera, and Sui Generis. Dean of studies at Bard College, Bland teaches poetry and first-year seminar at Bard.

William Doreski has written 17 books of poetry, criticism, and memoir. An English professor, he has taught creative writing at Keene State College since 1982.

Jeff Friedman has published four collections of poetry. His work has appeared in American Poetry Review, Poetry, and The New Republic. He is a core faculty member in the MFA program in poetry writing at New England College.

Joseph Monninger has written eight novels and three nonfiction books. His work has appeared in American Heritage, Scientific American, Sports Illustrated, and Ellery Queen. He has twice received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and a fellowship from the New Hampshire Council for the Arts.

• Christopher Noel, author of the novel Hazard and the Five Delights, the memoir In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing: A Geography of Grief, and the collection of short stories A Frail House, and has taught in the Vermont College Fine Arts in Writing Program since 1989. Noel also runs an editing service. He lives in East Calais, Vermont, where he runs Tall Rock Retreat, each summer and fall.

Dzvinia Orlowsky is founding editor of Four Way Books and author of four poetry collections, including Convertible Night, Flurry of Stones. She translated Alexander Dovzhenko’s novella, The Enchanted Desna. Orlowsky received a 2006 Pushcart Prize and received a Massachusetts Cultural Council poetry grant. She is a faculty member of the Low-Residency Solstice MFA Creative Writing Program of Pine Manor College.

• Roy Nathanson is an internationally acclaimed jazz composer and saxophonist. He is the bandleader of The Jazz Passengers. The Passengers recorded eight CDs, touring extensively in the United States and Europe over their 20-year career. Recently, Nathanson has concentrated on combining text and music in various ways: writing songs for performers such as Elvis Costello, Jeff Buckley, and Deborah Harry; writing a radio play for NPR, and recording with his singing, talking, playing band Sotto Voce. His second CD with this group, Subway Moon, will be released in May, as will his first collection of poems. Nathanson also performs regularly with the poet Anne Waldman and has collaborated with Jeff Friedman, Gerald Stern, and other poets.

The conference base cost is $990. Undergraduate or graduate level and conference housing is available for an additional fee. Full payment is due by July 10, 2009.

Contact Steven Kessler (800-KSC-1909 or 603-358-2290; skessler@keene.edu; Keene State College Writers Conference, Continuing Education Office, 229 Main Street, Keene, NH 03435-2605), or check out the online brochure and registration form.

Conference Brings Undergraduate Psychology Students, Faculty to Campus

Faculty and undergraduate psychology majors from Keene State, Colby Sawyer College, Franklin Pierce University, and UNH-Durham gathered in the Student Center on April 18 for the Undergraduate Psychology Conference, hosted by the New Hampshire Psychological Association and Keene State College’s Psi Chi chapter.

Dr. Anthony Scioli, (Psychology) gave the keynote address, “The nature and significance of Hope: Theory, Research, and Applications.” Karen Couture (Psychology) reports that approximately 115 faculty and students attended. Events included poster presentations, a job fair, and sessions designed to present unique psychology-related careers to interested graduates. KSC student Sheri Lantagne, president, KSC Chapter, Psi Chi, was profiled in an article about the conference that appeared in the April 23 issue of the Concord Monitor.

Sheri Lantagne; Christopher Gueret (right) from Colby Sawyer College talks about his poster “Effect of Skin Tone on Decisions of Judicial Sentencing” with N.H. Psychological Assoc. president-elect Dr. Foad Afshar (left).

Photo: Sheri Lantagne; Christopher Gueret (right) from Colby Sawyer College talks about his poster “Effect of Skin Tone on Decisions of Judicial Sentencing” with N.H. Psychological Assoc. president-elect Dr. Foad Afshar (left).

Chemistry Lyceum Students Travel to Canada for Conference

From Colin Abernethy, Chemistry: On March 14, seven members of the Chemistry Lyceum traveled to Moncton, New Brunswick, to attend the 2009 Maritime Inorganic Discussion Weekend, a two-day gathering to discuss recent advances in Inorganic Chemistry, and opportunities for employment and graduate study in this field.

At this conference, our students presented some of the recent results of a research collaboration between Keene State College and the University of Texas at Austin as a poster entitled “Attempted Synthesis of Bis(imino)acenaphthene Complexes of Group 5 Metal Halides” and met fellow chemistry students and faculty from seven universities in Atlantic Canada.

Courtesy photo; (left to right) Curtis Guild, Jacob Meier, Joseph Meany, Kristopher Glimenakis, Elisabeth Neuhardt, Colin Abernethy, Katherine Edes, and Joel St. John.

Courtesy photo; (left to right) Curtis Guild, Jacob Meier, Joseph Meany, Kristopher Glimenakis, Elisabeth Neuhardt, Colin Abernethy, Katherine Edes, and Joel St. John.

Academic Excellence Conference Proposal Deadline

From Donna Hinz, Academic Affairs: Hard copies of sponsor-approved and signed proposals and abstracts for the Academic Excellence Conference must be submitted to Donna Hinz’s office in Hale Building no later than 5 p.m. on December 3, 2008. Students should place their proposals in the wall pocket outside the door. Please ask students to save the forms as a Word document on their computer so they will have them for future reference. Here is a link to forms, process, and guidelines.

Upon review of abstracts, the committee will make one of the following recommendations:

Accepted: Congratulations! Your abstract is accepted. Please work with your faculty/staff mentor to prepare for the conference.
Accepted with Minor Revision: Please work with your faculty/staff mentor to revise the abstract addressing issues identified by reviewers. Resubmit your proposal by the posted re-submission deadline.
Denied: The AEC Committee regrets to inform you that your proposal has been denied.
The committee members are looking forward to receiving proposals and wish mentors/sponsors and students well as the final proposals are crafted. For more information contact Donna Hinz at dhinz@keene.edu.

Submit Abstracts for KSC’s 9th Annual Academic Excellence Conference

From Donna Hinz, Academic Affairs: The College invites all students who are engaged in interesting work and research to consider sharing that work with the College community at this year’s 9th Annual Academic Excellence Conference. Proposals and abstracts are due Wednesday, December 3. Abstract guidelines and forms are online at http://www.keene.edu/academics/enrichment/aec.cfm.

The conference is on Saturday, April 4, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Student Center and Science Center. This is a great opportunity for students to present outstanding work. Student support for and participation in the conference has been outstanding, and the conference committee looks forward to another excellent event.

For more information contact Ann Rancourt (arancour@keene.edu), Yi Gong (ygong@keene.edu), Kris Alvarez (kalvarez@keene.edu), or Donna Hinz (dhinz@keene.edu).

A Great Free Opportunity: Ending Violence Against Women Conf 10/24

From Forrest Seymour, Counseling Center: If you, or any students you know (particularly guys) are interested in attending this year’s Ending Violence Against Women Conference sponsored by the NH Violence Against Women Campus Consortium (of which KSC is a member), please let me know ASAP. Faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to attend. The conference runs 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Friday, October 24, at UNH in Durham. It is free, and they have reserved 14 spaces for us, so let’s fill them up! Contact Forrest Seymour fseymour@keene.edu, 8-2407.