Teachers' College

A college with the word "State" in its name is very often a former "normal school" or teachers' college. So it is, of course, with this institution.

It wasn't so long ago – in 1963 – that Keene Teachers College was awarded University System membership, a broader liberal-arts mission, and its new name. We now list some 36 majors; send graduates to medical and architecture school; train filmmakers, journalists, and musicians; and offer one of the country's premier safety programs.

But KSC, formerly KTC, formerly KNS, remains in much of its heart a teachers' college, or rather a college where prospective teachers know they will find the best preparation available for their calling. Instead of understating this tradition, Keene State finds great pride in its 95-year history of providing educators to the state, region, and nation. KSC remains New Hampshire's leader in the number of bachelor's degrees awarded each year in teacher education. And the College's new Science Center, just opening, gives much of its space to teacher education in fields that face dramatic shortages, both in the region and nationally.

In this issue of Keene State Today, we offer some teachers' stories, just a few accounts of the hundreds of remarkable professional histories in that field with beginnings on this campus.

Dr. Neil Sullivan '36 gives us the briefest summary of his career as a key figure in the integration of American schools. Carrie Holmes, who graduated 66 years later, tells us about her new career in inner-city Baltimore. And our Alumna Spotlight reminds us of the pioneering role of young teachers in the one-room schoolhouses of a not-so-long-ago New Hampshire.

Readers, enjoy these articles about a few who chose one of the highest callings. Those of you who also became teachers, know that these stories honor you as well.

– Michael Matros