In the summer, everyone wants to get cooler. And you know how to do that, right? With fans.

So even as things slow down a little on campus, the college has another place for you to get news and share your KSC love. Yup, new Facebook fan page to connect with campus, other parents and alumni, current students, staff, and faculty… it’s like a virtual Appian Way. Check us out!

(Bonus helpful hint for those of you who want new ways to read Newsline — and who doesn’t?: Click on the “Boxes” tab, and you’ll find RSS feeds for Newsline, KSC press releases, and the Centennial blog.)

Brian Kolacz in action.

Sophomore Bryan Kolacz hurled his hammer 201′8″ at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Marietta, Ohio, on Thursday afternoon (May 21, 2009). The throw broke the record at the Don Drumm Stadium, where the event was held, and was the best of the season, winning Kolacz the NCAA DIII national title.

Kolacz joins a select group of 10 national champions from Keene State. He is the first KSC men’s athlete to earn the honor in a field event since Paul Trocki won the decathlon in 1979. And his best may be yet to come: Darcy Wilson, the Owls’ throwing coach, thinks Kolacz has just scratched the surface of his potential in the sport. “Bryan knows what he needs to do to become a better thrower,” she said.

More information.

Amy Watson

Head field hockey coach Amy Watson has been promoted to full-time status. She’s just starting her 20th season at Keene State and has had a very impressive record coaching the Owls. She’s seen the field hockey team capture seven Little East Conference championships (1998, 1999, 2004–08), earn six NCAA berths (1998, 2004–08), and claim the 2003 ECAC New England title. She has also produced 12 All-Americans.

More information.

Remember last year, when we kicked off the Centennial festivities with a night at the Swamp Bats? No? Boy, howdy, did you miss a good time. President Giles-Gee threw out an excellent first pitch, hall of fame athletes came to help out, we had a few laughs at the alumni tent, and there were giveaways galore. Plus, you know, great Swamp Bats baseball.

And the festivities continue with another game this summer, June 20 at 7 p.m. You won’t want to miss it; we’ll post more details here as they become available.

The one detail we can share now: The College is giving away a bunch of tickets, at a bunch of times, including but not limited to Grand Reunion. Watch for your chance to join us for free.

If you’d like to take some time off and work on your writing this summer, KSC has the program for you. Registration is now open for the Writers Conference, which will take place from July 26 to August 1.

Eight published, award-winning, nationally recognized writers in the genres of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry work one-on-one with conference attendees during the week. With four or five writers in workshops, instructors are able to focus their attention on students, both individually and in small groups.

Come back to campus to explore the craft of writing, network and share with other writers, and spend time writing.

More information.

You may hear about this from other sources, too, but we’re trying to get the word out to as many people who know Keene State as we can.

From Keene State Today editor Susan Peery:

For the fall issue of Keene State Today, we need your ideas. What do you think belongs on a list of “100 Great Things about Keene State College”?

Please send suggestions, write as little or as much as you like, and suggest as many ideas as you want. Memories, events, people, buildings, courses, professors, singular encounters — whatever stands out in your mind. This issue will round out our Centennial year and we want to make it as special and inclusive as possible. We hope you will spread the word to friends of the College in Keene and beyond.

Please send your ideas to Susan Peery, speery@keene.edu, no later than Friday, May 22. If you have photos or memorabilia to share, please let us know as well. Thank you for your help.

Please help us out if you can. Think big, both in terms of what you think makes us great, and in passing this message along. Who do you know who:

• is an alum?
• taught a class?
• took a class?
• works with students?
• hired our alums?
• want to come here when they’re old enough?
• attends events on campus?
• cheers for our sports teams?
• has children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews who went here?
• went to Upward Bound?
• went to the Child Development Center?
• benefits from students’ community service?
• woos our students for graduate school?
• has a perspective you think we should hear?

Pass this along to them all. What do you think makes Keene State great?

The Owl softball team headed to Brandeis Univ. on Sunday, May 10, ready to settle the score with the team that unseated them in last year’s championship. And settle the score they did, with a decisive 11-1 win over Brandeis. It was a glorious day for this Owl team.

The new – and very happy – ECAC Division III New England champs. (Photo courtesy of Brandeis University)

More information.

Self Portrait, by Analesa Perkins

Have you caught the “Emerging Art” show at the Thorne, yet? Did you pick your favorite artwork and vote for it in the “Peoples Choice Award”? KSC senior art major Analesa Perkins won that vote with her Self Portrait.

The show, showcasing the work of 14 graduating KSC art majors, will be a the Thorne through Commencement Saturday, May 9. If you’re on campus, stop in and check out some of our best talent.

More information.

Riding the wave of a program-record eight-game winning streak, the Keene State women’s lacrosse team will meet the Middlebury College Panthers in the NCAA Division III Tournament on Wednesday, May 6 (4:30 p.m.), in a first-round game at Middlebury.

More information.

If you’re a regular Newsline reader, you may remember that KSC’s production of Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker so wowed audiences at the Redfern here on campus that the cast and crew were invited to take the play to the 41st New England Region I Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at Fitchburg State College in Fitchburg, Mass., last January. Well, they wowed the judges there, too, bringing home five of the 10 distinguished achievement awards. Our award winners included Jenny Fulton, faculty member of the Theatre and Dance Department, for scene design; Kade Hill, for his performance as Cornelius Hackl; Ethan Selby, for his performance as Barnaby Tucker; Jamie Pearsons, for her performance as Mrs. Irene Molloy; and Allie Lee Relihan, for her performance as Minnie Fay.

More information.