2019-2020 First-Year LLCs
The Commons is the home of our Living and Learning Communities (LLCs) for First-Year students. This state of the art residential facility boasts six different communities that provide a variety of opportunities for students to pursue their academic and social goals in a safe, supportive and dynamic environment. The LLCs help create a more seamless transition to college life by providing an environment where faculty and residential staff work collaboratively to nurture communities where students can develop friendships and succeed academically.
If you are a faculty member interested in starting a new LLC please click here for more information.
Best of Stem
The Best of STEM LLC welcomes students majoring in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, or Physics and helps them form a community that supports their success. Students in the Best of STEM LLC will take a class together each semester of their first-year. These classes not only support the progress toward STEM majors but also satisfy general education requirements. In these classes, students make connections with STEM faculty members and receive support from Peer Course Assistants, upper-class majors who have previously excelled in the material. Members of the Best of STEM LLC will have many opportunities to participate in STEM-related social activities and co-curricular events.
Fall 2019 semester: Programming Foundations I, ISCS 140, Shari Bemis
Spring 2020 semester: Introduction to Statistics, MATH 141, Karen Stanish
For more information contact: Karen Stanish, kstanish@keene.edu
Brainiacs Unite: Let’s Explore Psychology and Neuroscience
Neuroscientists study the brain and nervous system to better understand how they control the diverse functions of the body and the mind. Many mysteries remain and scientists continue to work toward a deeper understanding of how nerve cells organize into circuits that allow us to read, speak, remember, move and regulate vital functions like body temperature. Advances in neuroscience help to address the more than 1,000 neurological and psychological disorders that affect up to one billion people globally. Students interested in careers in neuroscience will work at the intersection of psychology, biology and chemistry to gain background and experience in this exciting field.
Fall 2019 semester: ITW 101, Writing in Neuroscience, Susan Whittemore and Harlan Fichtenholtz Spring 2020 semester: PSYC 253, Brain and Behavior, Karen Jennings
For more information contact: Karen Jennings, kjennings1@keene.edu
Communicating Health & Wellness LLC
Calling all Public Health Majors! Join the Communicating Health & Wellness LLC. Through this experience you will learn ways in which communication serves to inform and influence health and wellness related issues. You will learn and become aware of the dimensions of wellness and self-assessment through the application of critical thinking skills while being exposed to behavior change concepts that facilitate personal awareness and health and wellness through effective communication.
Fall 2019 semester: Public Health 101, Health and Wellness, Tiffany Mathews
Spring 2020 semester:IHCOMM 171, Public Speaking, Michael McCarthy
For more information contact: Tiffany Matthews, tmathews1@keene.edu
Film
Do you love making, viewing, or talking about films and intend to major in Film? If so, join the Film LLC and get to know other students who are passionate about cinema and moving image media. The Film LLC will become an active group within the Film Society, meeting each week and experiencing the films that are screened at the college’s historic Putnam Theater. LLC Students can also make independent films through Keene State Media Productions. Share your love of film as a form of art, entertainment, and social commentary, get to know faculty and other students, and learn more about the world of film.
Fall 2019 semester: Film 270, Introduction to Film Analysis, Jiwon Ahn
Spring 2020 semester: Film 271, Introduction to Film History, Irina Leimbacher
For more information contact: Debra White-Stanley, dwhitestanley@keene.edu
History
Do you have a lively interest in studying the past? The History Learning Community provides an engaging environment for you to live and study with others who share a genuine interest in history. Participating students take a two-course sequence that introduces you to ways of reading, writing, and thinking as historians, as well as exposes you to an array of different types of historical study and understanding. The History LLC is dedicated to offering a welcoming academic culture for history students and to developing strong intellectual bonds.
Fall 2019 semester: ITW 101, A History of Baseball, Graham Warder
Spring 2020 semester: IIHIST 161, American Encounters to 1877, Matthew Crocker
For more information contact: Graham Warder, gwarder@keene.edu
Honors
Each year a select number of qualified first year students are invited to participate in the Morris August Honors Living and Learning Community. Do you have a passion for learning about a range of different subjects? Do you consider yourself to be academically motivated? If so, then this Living and Learning Community is for you. Here you will work together with fellow honors students as you explore human history, science, arts, and culture—knowledge that is unique to a liberal arts education. You will work closely with professors and peer mentors in the classroom while enjoying outside-of-class activities that include book discussions, guest speakers, field trips, service projects, movie nights, and social gatherings.
For more information contact: Anna Schur, aschur@keene.edu
Presidential Politics and Elections
Do you want to meet the next president? While we can’t guarantee that specific outcome, we can guarantee that you will have a good chance of doing so. Keene State is always an important stop on the road to the White House. And Keene State students have an advantage in meeting and possibly working for those candidates as they run for office. This LLC will provide a great introduction to political science and practical politics, an up-close view of national campaigns, and possibly a starting point for a career in politics.
Fall 2019 semester: Presidential Politics, POSC 190-01, William Bendix
Spring 2020 semester: Presidential Campaigns, POSC 190, Michael Welsh
For more information contact: William Bendix, wbendix@keene.edu
Hours of Operation