The 38th Best College in the World
Don't let us exaggerate. What the Washington Post's Jay Mathews really wrote was that Keene State College is one of his "hidden gems, the lesser known jewels, the wallflower [ahem] colleges that students fall in love with only after they get to know them." Of his list of 100, in league with such high-powered private institutions as Clark, Macalester, and Grinnell, Keene State sits at number 38 – third place among public colleges.

Women Make History in March
Every March, in honor of Women's History Month, KSC President Stanley J. Yarosewick presents four Outstanding Women of New Hampshire awards, based on recommendations from the College's Commission on the Status of Women. Representing the KSC student body this spring was senior English major Renee Pedersen of Salem, N.H., who started a free child-care service for single mothers and serves as statewide coordinator for Smart Steps, a walking fitness program for people with limited incomes. Dr. Beverly Ferrucci, professor of mathematics, received the award for a KSC faculty member, in part for her initiatives in training and mentoring future mathematics teachers and in part for her many publications and international presentations. Receiving the award for a woman from the Monadnock region was Jane Shapiro, community health coordinator at Cheshire Medical Center in Keene, who has founded or helped organize nearly 20 community groups and has co-chaired the Dental Public Health Task Force for treatment of low-income patients. Representing the state of New Hampshire was Nancy Frankel, former director of the Swift Water Girl Scouts' Camp Farnsworth, which she led for 26 years, teaching outdoor and social skills and providing a safe environment for more than 29,000 girls to take risks.

Grad Tidings
Following last year's rain-but-not-spirit-dampened Commencement ceremony (remember, it snowed the following week for Plymouth State), the weather was more respectful this May 11 for about 800 almost-alumni, holding off the showers until most of the post-party picture-taking was over.

Accepting honorary awards this year were Holocaust scholar Yaffa Eliach and noted poet Wesley McNair '63. "It means a lot to me that my alma mater has awarded me this honorary degree for my lifelong project of writing poetry," McNair told his audience, "especially since I wrote some of my first poems when I was a student on this very campus decades ago." Also among the honored was Bob Mallat Jr. '58, retiring this year from the University System Board of Trustees.

Alumni Association Recognizes Achievements, Service
A longtime KSC administrator and friend, a mathematics scholar and editor, a pioneering educator, a celebrated Owl coach, and two young physicians were honored at the May 31 Alumni Awards Luncheon during Reunion Weekend.

Receiving the Sprague W. Drenan Award, for support of alumni programs, was Robert Mallat Jr. '58, of Keene. Bob served the College for 30 years in several director roles, and finally as vice president for resource administration. He was elected to two terms as KSC Alumni Trustee on the USNH Board of Trustees, where he served as vice-chair in 1997-98 and 1999-2003.

Receiving this year's Alumni Achievement Award was Neil Sullivan '36, of Laconia. A former school superintendent and Massachusetts Commissioner of Education, he was instrumental in desegregating schools in Prince Edward County, Va., and Berkeley, Calif. Writing forewords for two of his books were Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.

Last year's recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award, Ronald Boisvert '73, attended the ceremony to receive his award. Ron, of Gaithersburg, Md., joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology in 1979, where he is now the leader of the Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division of the Information Technology Laboratory.

Edwin King '91 and Leslie Loberant King '93, of Mars, Pa., received the Alumni Inspiration Award. Edwin and Leslie earned their M.D.s from Jefferson Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University. In 1998, the Kings spent four months in Africa working with hospice patients and in a hospital. Both are active in their local community, organizing events and giving talks. Edwin is a pediatrician and Leslie is a family practice physician.

Men's soccer head coach Ron Butcher was presented with the 2003 Outstanding Service Award for his 33 years of service to the College. Ron is one of the most successful men's soccer coaches in the NCAA, amassing a 453-174-53 record since he started coaching the Owls in 1970. He has won numerous coaching awards, including 2002 Division III New England Coach of the Year. A tenured member of the faculty, Butcher has also coached KSC baseball, served as sports information director, and served as a key fundraiser for Owl athletics.

Dust Up
Sometimes the piledriving never seems to stop on this campus. Since May the wrecking ball has turned some parts of the Science Center into scattered pieces of concrete, as yet another sketch on the Master Plan moves from paper to reality. But when the dust of projects has settled across campus over the last few years, what has appeared is usually quite amazing to alumni and other visitors who haven't strolled Appian Way for a while.

Just this spring saw the opening of new spaces for Mason Library and the Cohen Center for Holocaust Studies. The library project, the second phase of the Mason renovation, was the first project to be completed through KEEP-NH, the Knowledge Economy Education Plan adopted in 2001 by the Legislature to fund science and technology facilities within the University System. The Cohen Center, now on the library's first floor, is finally in a space worthy of its remarkable and growing collection.

Meanwhile the Science Center renovation and addi-tion, scheduled for completion in 2004, will entertain the sidewalk supervisors among us for months to come. Follow the progress at www.keene.edu/science.