KSC Alumni Association Presents Annual Awards

KEENE, N.H., 5/2/07 - The Keene State College Alumni Association will honor outstanding alumni at their Annual Reunion Luncheon on June 2.

David E. Costin ‘56, professor emeritus of education at the College, will receive the Alumni Association’s Sprague Drennan Award, given to a KSC alumnus/a who has demonstrated noteworthy participation in alumni activities and events.

Costin earned a bachelor’s degree from Keene Teachers College in 1956 and a master’s degree in 1959. He taught at the Wheelock School in Keene until 1966, when he accepted the position of assistant professor in the College’s Education Department. In 1976, he was named second assistant to KSC President Leo F. Redfern. He served until 1995 under six College presidents and was part of the institution’s transformation from a teachers college to a liberal arts college. Costin, who served on the Alumni Association board of directors for several terms, including serving as president (1973-1974), received the Alumni Association’s Outstanding Service Award in 1995.

Kenneth D. Warren ‘69 will receive the Alumni Achievement Award, given to a Keene State College alumnus/a whose professional achievement in her or his chosen field brings honor to herself or himself and to KSC.

Warren graduated in 1969 and has worked for the State of New Hampshire’s biology bureau for more than 35 years. He has studied the effects of pollution on aquatic wildlife and drinking water and the effects of industrial pollution on local waterways, and he has conducted research on invasive plant life and its effects on the state’s lakes and rivers.

Joshua Boynton ‘96 will receive the Alumni Inspiration Award, which recognizes the exceptional accomplishments of a KSC alumnus/a who graduated not more than 15 years prior to the year of the award. In addition to recognized accomplishments, the recipient must show promise for continued success.

In 1996, Boynton received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from KSC. While studying at Keene State, he and his wife met and became home-care providers for Ron, a young man with autism. Ron inspired Boynton to create a business that would offer person-centered services for individuals with developmental disabilities. That business, LifeShare Inc., is now a multimillion-dollar company with 200 employees in offices in New Hampshire and Maine. The New Hampshire Union Leader recently selected Boynton for its Forty Under 40 award

• a list of 40 of the state’s up-and-coming people who are under 40 years of age - for his compassionate approach to a very inspiring business.

William D. Pardus, professor emeritus of music and former chairman of the Music Department, will receive the Outstanding Service Award, given to an individual or organization that has provided outstanding service to KSC through leadership, commitment, and influence in the programs and activities of the College.

Pardus began teaching at KSC in 1966. He directed the KSC Electronic Music Studio, KSC Jazz Ensemble, the KSC Wind Ensemble, and the KSC Concert Band. He taught at Norwich College of Education in England in the 1960s as a Fulbright Scholar, and, during a sabbatical leave in 1994, he was visiting professor in residence at the University of Keele, also in the United Kingdom. The New Hampshire Music Teachers’ Association selected him as the 2001 and 2004 NHMTA Commissioned Composer, and, in 2002, he was elected to the New Hampshire Music Educators Association Hall of Fame.

For more information, contact Jeff LaValley, director of Alumni and Parent Relations, at 603-358-2370.