Latest Grant Makes Stable Isotope Analysis Possible

Keene State has received a grant from the National Science Foundation to purchase a stable isotope ratio spectrometer. This state-of-the-art equipment, which up to now has been available only at large research universities, will be used by science students and faculty to address questions in the areas of biology, geology, and environmental studies.

The grant of about $90,000, which will be supplemented by matching KSC funds, was awarded to Renate Gebauer, assistant professor of biology/environmental studies, Tim Allen, associate professor of geology/environmental studies, and Steven Bill, associate professor of geology.

Stable isotopes of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen, the most abundant elements in the natural world, are great storytellers, says Renate. Isotopes are elements that are chemically and physically similar, but have different masses (unlike radioactive isotopes, "stable" isotopes do not decay and don't give off radiation).

By using stable isotope analysis, scientists can determine the isotopic composition of a great variety of materials such as rocks, leaves, teeth, water, air, etc., which in turn can provide answers to an almost endless variety of questions. For example, says Tim, the carbon and hydrogen isotope composition of sugar molecules in maple syrups can tell us whether it originated from Vermont or New Hampshire because maple trees in the two regions are subjected to different growth conditions such as rainfall patterns. Similarly, stable isotope analysis could reveal if an unscrupulous syrup collector was substituting cane sugar for sap.

By analyzing the stable isotope composition of river water, students will be able to determine the different water sources of the Ashuelot River. The stem water of trees and shrubs can be analyzed to determine the soil depth at which these plants take up their water, without digging up their roots. Hydrogen isotopes in feathers of migratory birds and nitrogen isotopes in the wings of monarch butterflies can provide clues about their migration patterns.

Renate, Tim, and Steve say they are looking forward to using the equipment with students in a variety of classes. Previously, faculty members and students had to send their samples to commercial laboratories for analysis, which is costly (up to $25 a sample) and which could take up to a year.

With the new equipment in place, more students can be included in isotope analysis projects, says Renate. "Our students will be able to be involved in the whole process, from preparing the samples to performing the analysis," she explains. "This will give them a much better understanding of what the results actually mean." Having the equipment in-house will also give students the confidence to deal with sophisticated instrumentation, an important preparation for the professional world, Renate says.

The equipment will be up and running in time for the fall semester.

Recent Keene State National Science Foundation Awards

Outstanding Women Will Be Honored Tomorrow

Four women will be recognized with the 2002 President's Outstanding Women of New Hampshire Awards tomorrow, Thursday, March 28, at the 12th annual Women's History Month Banquet at Keene State. Dr. Y will present awards to women representing the Keene State student body, the Keene State faculty and staff, the Monadnock region, and the State of New Hampshire.

The theme for this year's event, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Mabel Brown Room of the Student Center, is "Women Sustaining the American Spirit." Tickets for the banquet are $15. Reservations are required. For more information and reservations, call 2850.

The President's Outstanding Women of New Hampshire Awards are based on outstanding service and leadership, especially in the area of equality for women. This year's recipients:

o Celena Chickering will receive the award for a KSC student.

o Dr. Jan Youga, professor of English, will receive the award given to a College faculty or staff member.

o Jean Nelson, Keene State supervisor of student teachers in music, will receive the award for a woman from the Monadnock region.

o Debbie Carluccio, former executive director of the Cheshire Coalition for Tobacco-Free Youth, will receive the award for a woman representing New Hampshire.

In last week's Campus News...

Jan Youga's degrees were incorrectly listed last week. Jan earned her bachelor's degree at Northern Illinois University and her master's degree and doctrate at the University of Iowa.

Ensemble Uses Pails and Hand Clapping

The sounds of pails and clapping hands will meld with the reverberations of traditional instruments during the KSC Percussion Ensemble concert on Tuesday, April 2. William Hanley, adjunct faculty in music, will direct seven students through a diverse repertoire of percussion music. The concert will start at 7:30 p.m. in the Alumni Recital Hall of the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond. Tickets are $7 for the general public and $5 for KSC students, senior citizens, and youth 17 and under. Call the box office at 2168.

Trombonist Back to Visit Former Teacher

Trombonist Christopher Hayes, assistant professor of trombone at Ohio University, will be the featured soloist during the KSC Concert Band concert, to be held Friday, April 5, at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Theatre of the Redfern Arts Center. Hayes is a former private student of Doug Nelson, professor of music and conductor and musical director of the Concert Band. Tickets are $7 for the general public and $5 for KSC students, senior citizens, and youth 17 and under. Call the box office at 2168.

April 6: Storytelling Conference at KSC

The 11th annual New England Conference on Storytelling for Children will be held at Keene State on Saturday, April 6. Call 2218 for more information.

N.H. Geographic Bee Set for April 5

The annual N.H. Geographic Bee will be held on Friday, April 5, in the Mabel Brown Room. Preliminary rounds begin at 1:30 p.m., with the final round slated to begin at 3 p.m.

Multicultural Seminar Set for Tomorrow

The next Multicultural Luncheon Seminar will be held tomorrow, Thursday, March 28, 12:30-1:30 p.m., in Room 309 of the Student Center. Maureen Ahern, director of the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery, will present "The Venerable Object," a discussion of issues governing the acquisition and display of cultural artifacts. Maureen will talk about guidelines from the American Association of Museums regarding appropriation of objects from the Nazi era, repatriation of cultural treasures, use of human remains, and ritual objects for study and display.

Graduates Will Read for Poetry Month

On Thursday, April 4, KSC graduates and writers Elizabeth Harris, Leslie Lewis, and Chris Locke will read from their own work. Watch Campus News for more details about this and other Poetry Month events at KSC. For more information, contact Jeff Friedman, adjunct in English, at 4135.

PCSW Seeks New Members

The President's Commission on the Status of Women, a committee consisting of faculty, staff, and students who are committed to improving the quality of life for women at KSC, is seeking new members for 2002-03. For more information and membership forms, visit www.keene.edu/pcsw/join.cfm.

VPAA Search: Many Applications Received

As of Friday afternoon, March 22, the Vice President for Academic Affairs search committee had received 68 applications. Committee members are hard at work reviewing the materials and preparing for preliminary interviews, which will take place in the coming weeks. The committee is hopeful it will be able to meet its goal of bringing finalists to campus by the end of April.

Nominations Due for Senior Awards

From Andy Robinson, Student Affairs: Each year, Keene State community members nominate seniors for recognition at the President's Brunch. With these awards, we recognize those students who have contributed in a positive way to the campus or community. I am seeking your assistance in identifying students worthy of this honor. Prospective candidates should meet one or more of these guidelines: unselfish service to the College or the community, outstanding leadership, and exceptional or unique contribution to KSC.

Nominations are due Friday, March 29. Your cooperation in honoring outstanding Keene State College students is appreciated. For more information, contact Carol Symonds at 2842.

New Event: Women's Week on Campus

Women's Week, a series of events organized by the KSC Feminist Collective, will be celebrated April 1-6. Visit the Student Center atrium for updates on daily events.

Spring: Enrollment Figures in Line with Goals

Enrollment figures for the spring at Keene State reflect both a continuing stability in student numbers and the meeting of College goals, say KSC officials.

Spring enrollment in undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education credit courses increased over spring 2001 by nearly two percent. Total enrollment, which includes non-credit continuing education workshops and courses, increased by nearly six percent for the same period.

"Overall, there's a strong indication that the College has stabilized its enrollment," says Jay Kahn, vice president for finance and planning. "Our retention of students is high," he says, "because Keene State provides the quality of academic programs, services, and facilities that students desire at their college."

In recent years, Keene State has focused many of its efforts on stabilizing its matriculated enrollments, says Jay. "The consistency we've seen in our enrollment over the past few years validates the work we've done on campus to improve the services we offer our students." According to Jay, the College has improved the quality of academic programs by increasing the number of courses available and by providing each student with an academic advisor. Current facilities projects on campus include the construction of a recreation center and new apartments, which will be completed over the summer, and the proposed redevelopment of the Science Center, slated to begin in 2003.

The College's non-credit continuing education enrolment increase last spring, says Jay, reflects the success of the programs run by KSC's Occupation Safety program in Manchester, N.H., and of the programs for senior citizens organized by the College's Cheshire Academy for Lifelong Learning (CALL).

For more information about KSC enrollment figures and trends, visit www.keene.edu/ir.

President's Column: KSC Community Service Award - Request for Nominations

Under the theme of "chasms," a strategy in Our Plan asks us to identify and recognize members of the campus community who demonstrate excellence and contribute to the College's mission (Vision 4.1, strategy 4.1(d)). I am pleased to advance this strategy by announcing the first cycle of nominations for the Keene State College Community Service Award.

The notion of community service is prominent in Keene State College's mission statement. It identifies community service as a way that we encourage students to integrate learning. It also recognizes that community service is both a value and responsibility of members of the campus community. The Community Service Award will acknowledge members of the faculty and staff who have been in a full-time position for at least three years, who model community service for our students, and who demonstrate an exceptional commitment to enhancing the quality of life within their communities.

A task force of KSC faculty and staff including Marc Doyon, Don Hayes, Sherry Huntley, Robert Sherry, and Pam Smith drafted the criteria for the award during the fall semester. Their recommendations were considered by the President's Cabinet, which finalized the award criteria earlier in the semester. The criteria emphasize dedication and commitment to community service, including level of responsibility, depth and breadth of effort and responsibility, and an individual's capacity to motivate others. The criteria for the award may be viewed online at www.keene.edu/admin/csaward.cfm.

I thank the members of the task force for their help in implementing the KSC Community Service Award, and I encourage every member of the faculty and staff to consider who best exemplifies the spirit of this award. Nominations, which should consist of a letter of nomination and three letters of support, should be sent to the Community Service Award Selection Committee, care of my office, no later than July 15.

Second Academic Excellence Conference Slated for April 6

Work by nearly 80 of Keene State's top students will be showcased at the College's second annual Academic Excellence Conference, to be held Saturday, April 6, in the Student Center. Among projects to be presented at the conference will be a report about the nesting habits of diamondback terrapins, a land-use map of Keene created from satellite images, and an evaluation of New Hampshire public school funding proposals.

The conference is an opportunity for students to exchange intellectual ideas with their peers and faculty and to develop professionally, said Ann Rancourt, associate vice president for academic affairs at KSC. "The conference serves as a place for students to share their work with the College community, with parents, and with the community in general," said Ann. "This conference exemplifies the quality of students we have at Keene State."

Proposals, which had to be endorsed by faculty members, were submitted to the conference committee in October. The committee chose the best abstracts from the submissions, and these were entered into the conference.

To cater to the diverse range of presentation material, from a talk about the history of photojournalism in the U.S. to a poster session on the costume design for one of Keene State Theatre's productions, students were asked to choose from six different presentation formats. These included workshops, performances, poster sessions, oral presentations, and panel and roundtable discussions. The presentations will take about 30 minutes.

The conference will begin at 9 a.m. with a welcome from Dr. Y and an address by William Doreski, professor of English and recipient of the 2002 KSC Award for Faculty Distinction in Research and Scholarship. The presentations will begin at 9:40 a.m. Stephen Reno, chancellor of the University System of New Hampshire, will deliver a keynote address during the presenters' luncheon.

"We're holding the conference on a Saturday so parents and community members can attend," said Ann. "People seldom have a chance to see the academic side of life at college. This conference will be a good exhibition of the quality of students we have at Keene State."

The conference is co-sponsored by the KSC Honors and Enrichment Program and the Student Center Office of Programs and Leadership Development. The partnership, said Ann, reflects a new, shared commitment to academic excellence between the offices of academic and student affairs at the College.

Candidates on Campus

Chief Information Officer (CIO) Search:

Over the next two weeks, the College will be hosting four candidates in an effort to hire a Chief Information Officer, an information technology leader for the campus. Last June, Campus News reported Dr. Y's approval of a reorganization of the Information Technology departments in the Finance and Planning division. The CIO coordinates the activities of network services, administrative information services, and client services, which includes the faculty-staff help desk and student technology support, and next year will include media services. Currently, Laura Seraichick is serving as interim CIO.

Candidates' resumes are available for review in the Mason Library.

Director of Counseling Center Search:

The search committee is pleased to announce the interview schedule for the first two candidates and invites the campus community to meet these individuals at the following open forums.

o Monday, April 1: James "Andy" Hogg, professor and director of clinical training in the doctoral program at Argosy University, Phoenix, Ariz.
Open forum: 3:15-4 p.m., Room 309, Student Center.

o Friday, April 5: Karen Levin, associate director of the counseling center, Boston University, Boston, Mass.
Open forum: 10-10:45 a.m., Room 153, Rhodes Hall.

Professional Activities

Kirsti Sandy, assistant professor of English, had her article "Teaching Teachers and the Extracurriculum" (co-authored with Doug Hesse) published in Teaching Writing Teachers of High School English and First-Year Composition, Boynton/Cook.

Nona Fienberg, professor of English, had her article "Mary Wroth's Poetics of the Self" published in Studies in English Literature, Vol. 42, winter '02. Nona completed her research on Wroth with the support of the Whiting Foundation and a Keene State College Faculty Development Grant.

Jerry Jasinski, professor of chemistry, presented "X-ray Crystallography: Microscopic Events Producing Macroscopic Results" at the chemistry department at Smith College on Feb. 12. He also spoke with faculty members and students about crystallography as taught at an undergraduate institution.

Leadership Luncheon Set for March 29

The next Luncheon for Supervisors will be held Friday, March 29, at noon in room 309 in the Student Center. The event will be facilitated by Tara Stuart, professor of communication. Please RSVP to Joan Ledbetter at 2877.

Office Changes

The P.E. office is now located in room 105 of Spaulding Gymnasium. Donna Smyth, the department chair, is now in room 103.

Campus Calendar

Wednesday, March 27
7 p.m. (to 3/28). Film. I Am Sam. Putnam.
8:30 p.m. Film: Trick. Room 203, Rhodes Hall.

Thursday, March 28
12:30-1:30 p.m. Multicultural Seminar with Maureen Ahern. Room 309, Student Center.
6:30 p.m. 12th Annual Women's History Month Banquet and Outstanding Women of N.H. Awards. Mabel Brown Room.

Friday, March 29
Noon. Luncheon for supervisors. Room 309, Student Center.
7 p.m. (to 4/4; also 2 p.m. Sat.-Sun.). Film: The Lord of the Rings. Putnam.

Monday, April 1
Women's Week events begin. Visit the Student Center for more details.

Tuesday, April 2
7:30 p.m. KSC Percussion Ensemble. Alumni Recital Hall.

Thursday, April 4
8 p.m. Mason Library Lecture: Robert Putnam. Mabel Brown Room.

Send in Your News

Campus News is published every Wednesday during the academic year and every other Wednesday during the summer. Send news or items for Professional Activities by e-mail to campusnews@keene.edu or by mail to Campus News, College Relations Office, Mailstop 1502. No phone submissions, please. The editor is Dave Orsman. The deadline is at noon on the Friday prior to publication. We reserve the right to edit. Due to space limitations, not all items can be published in Campus News.