MAGAZINE - Thomas College

SPRING
MAGAZINE
TechKNOWLEDGEy
as an Agent of
Change in Learning
A Campus
Connected:
Technology
at Thomas
Thomas Admissions
in the Palm of
Your Hand
|
2009
Thomas
L E T T E R
F R O M
T H E
P R E S I D E N T
MAGAZINE
WE AT THOMAS COLLEGE are sensitive to the current
economic climate and its impact on our students, alumni, their
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Katie Greenlaw
families and our community-at-large. Those of us who teach and
work at Thomas College place the highest priority on the welfare
MANAGING EDITOR
Lee Allen
of our students. We strive to do what is in our power to help them
CONTRIBUTING
WRITERS
Lee Allen
Deb Biche
Jay Brock
Diana Dority
Cathy Dumont
Tom Edwards
Juliet Graves ’09
Katie Greenlaw
Sherry Pineau
Krista Specht ’10
Megan Tapley
CONTRIBUTING
PHOTOGRAPHER
Katie Greenlaw
develop a skill base that will serve them well in their lives and careers.
We are proud of what we do and we are intensely committed to
its success.
Thomas is taking responsible measures to trim down our costs, and yet continue to
offer the high quality education for which we are known. We will continue our Guaranteed
Job Placement program regardless of the state of the economy. We will continue to meet
student financial aid needs, as we have in the past. We will continue to exhibit the same
high level of care for—and attention to—the students who attend Thomas College. We will
continue to request the support of our generous donors to help us to fulfill our mission.
As an institution, we continually assess ways that we can be more efficient, in terms of
expenditures, as well as the environment and energy efficiency. The theme of this issue
of the Thomas Magazine is technology. We hope that you will enjoy reading about the
DESIGN
Mahan Graphics
Bath, Maine
PRINTING
J.S. McCarthy
Augusta, Maine
LETTERS AND NEWS
ITEMS WELCOME
The Thomas Magazine is
published two times per year,
spring and fall, by Thomas
College. Signed letters
may be sent to the editor,
Katie Greenlaw at the
Thomas Magazine, 180
West River Road, Waterville,
Maine 04901, or e-mailed to
[email protected]. Letters
and news items may be
edited for length and style.
www.thomas.edu
many ways that the College and our faculty are using technology to enhance our students’
academic experience.
One of the many advantages to being on the leading edge of technology, aside from the
additional learning opportunities it offers, is the impact on spending. By holding classes in
virtual classrooms or submitting homework assignments online, printing and paper costs
are reduced. This also helps accomplish our goal of being environmentally conscious.
A new section of the Thomas Magazine, headed Thomas Gives Back, includes a report
on the College’s increased focus on sustainability and the new Energy Conservation
Guidelines. These efforts will help the College to protect the environment, and be even
more fiscally responsible.
While the College is well-positioned to thrive in these difficult economic times, we will
continue to use these methods of assessment to make sure that we maintain our high
quality educational experience for our students.
There are remarkable things happening at Thomas College, as profiled in this magazine.
We hope you will read it and take pride in our success.
T H O M A S
G I V E S
B A C K
F E A T U R E S
Volume 7 | Issue 1
D E P A R T M E N T S
SPRING | 2009
6
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Thomas students volunteer in the
greater Waterville community
7
THOMAS FOCUSES
ON SUSTAINABILITY
College increases efforts in the
area of environmental stewardship
9
pg. 7
LENDING A HELPING HAND
Thomas Peer Mentors volunteer their
services for the Evening Sandwich Program
C A M P U S
N E W S
38
THOMAS ATHLETE FINDS
NEW CHALLENGE
Julia Nyitray ’10 skates in Crashed Ice
Competition
11
pg. 38
Just as technology is changing the way
we communicate, it is also affecting the
way we teach.
40
FREDA STAPLES SMITH
RECEIVES DEGREE AT AGE 85
21
Smith gives new meaning to the words
“senior class”
42
MY SEMESTER ABROAD
A CAMPUS CONNECTED:
TECHNOLOGY AT THOMAS
pg. 40
Krista Specht ’10 reflects on her
semester abroad in Heidelberg, Germany
A T H L E T I C S
51
27
Men’s basketball clinches #1 position
in North Atlantic Conference
THOMAS ADMISSIONS IN
THE PALM OF YOUR HAND
pg. 42
A L U M N I
58
THOMAS ALUM’S
ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
SPELLS SUCCESS
5 THOMAS GIVES BACK
33 COURSE OVERVIEW
36 CAMPUS NEWS
TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL
[email protected]
With the technology boom gaining
momentum as today’s high school students are nearing college age, a new
generation has formed. Colleges that
want to recruit successfully are finding
new and creative ways to market to
these students.
Todd Smith ’92, M.B.A. ’99 shares the
secrets to his successful business record
62
GEORGE R. SPANN
President
In the technology-rich environment at
Thomas, the role of the faculty member
is no longer the primary source for subject matter information, but instead, the
guide for students on how to approach
problems systematically and how to use
the information they have critically
and analytically.
WINTER SEASON REVIEW
P E R S P E C T I V E S
This publication is printed on
50 percent recycled content.
TechKNOWLEDGEy
AS AN AGENT OF
CHANGE IN LEARNING
Greg Savard ’89 shares his perspective
on the impact of technology
45 FACULTY/STAFF NEWS
48 ATHLETICS
pg. 51
Cover and inset: Christopher Rhoda ’88, M.B.A. ’89: Man of Mystery
Cover Illustration by David Perry, Mahan Graphics
55 CLASS NOTES
58 ALUMNI PROFILE
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
THE MISSION
AND VISION FOR
THOMAS COLLEGE
“Those we serve are
the foundation of
our future”
Thomas College prepares
students for success in their
personal and professional
lives, and for leadership and
service in their communities.
Thomas provides a supportive
learning environment that
values the needs and goals
of individual students. At
Thomas, students discover
and fulfill their unique
potential. Each program at
the College promotes professional excellence, informed
by ethics and integrity.
Thomas aspires to be a
regional leader in business
and liberal arts education.
The College is committed
to quality teaching and to
the application of technology
at both the graduate and
undergraduate levels. Thomas
offers broad opportunities
for professional development,
and promotes economic
prosperity through long-term
KATIE IS…WRITING AND EDITING, editing
and writing.” So went my status update on Facebook one day
as the Thomas Magazine writing deadline loomed near. With
posting status updates on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter becoming as essential to the daily routine
as say, brushing your teeth, it is no surprise that colleges have
harnessed this technology to enhance students’ learning
experiences.
Thomas College is no exception. There is evidence of
this fact throughout this issue of the Thomas Magazine.
It begins with the recruitment methods used by the Admissions staff (pg. 26)
and continues to students creating avatars to hold online meetings with faculty
when meeting in person is not convenient. It even transcends to Thomas alumni
becoming fans of Thomas College on Facebook to continue their relationship
with the College after graduation.
When I received a friend request from my 84-year-old grandmother, one thing
became particularly clear to me: people of all ages have hopped on board—or online—
and embraced technology as an essential part of their lives. And a large part of successfully using technology is just keeping up with the pace. New technology—or
TechKNOWLEDGEy, as we have dubbed it in this issue—is infiltrated throughout
the Thomas campus, thanks in large part to Chris Rhoda, Thomas’ vice president
for Information Services.
I’m confident that you’ll find this “TechKNOWLEDGEy-obsessed” issue enriching. Thomas faculty are blending technology and traditional teaching in surprising
ways. For those who are not as well-versed in the world of technology, we’ve
included a glossary of terms (pg. 30) to help you hold your own when a millennial
co-worker references their latest “tweet” at the water cooler. We’ve also expanded
our content with this issue by placing links on the Thomas Magazine Web site
(www.thomas.edu\alumni\magazine) to let you, our readers, dig a little further
into our stories.
As you know, technology is not the only area in which Thomas is at the top of its
game. As you’ll read in our expanded Athletics section (pg. 48), head men’s basketball
coach T.J. Maines and his roster of stellar athletes have reinvigorated the meaning of
school spirit at Thomas. We want all Terrier fans to be able to share in the excitement
felt here on campus, so we’ve included the spring sports schedules. We hope to see
you at some of our spring contests. Come out and show your Terrier pride!
After all, whether you are a graduate, a current or prospective student, a parent, or
a member of the local community, your affiliation with Thomas is something to be
proud of.
We hope that you see the evidence of that throughout the Thomas Magazine.
Additionally, if there are topics you would like to know more about, whether Thomasrelated or in the world of higher education in general, please let us know. We welcome
letters to the editor as well as guest editorials. We are interested in your opinions
and encourage you to share, just as Greg Savard ’89 has in our Perspectives section
(pg 62). Your opinion matters to us.
With that said, “Katie is… hoping you enjoy this issue of the Thomas Magazine.”
Thomas Gives Back
W
ITH HUNDREDS OF THOMAS ALUMNI
in the Waterville area, nearly one thousand students
on campus and more than 150 faculty and staff employed
by the College it is evident that Thomas College, and
its supporters, have a tremendous impact on the local
community and the State of Maine. According to
President George R. Spann, “The impact of thousands
of Thomas graduates on the regional economy has been,
and continues to be, substantial. Our students graduate
to become business leaders, community volunteers and
mentors of youth.”
The impact on our community begins long before
graduation. Thomas students are genuinely concerned
with being advocates for others, doing their part to
improve the lives of the people in their communities
and learning about the personal rewards that come
from lifelong community service. They believe that
their volunteer efforts for various community groups
and charitable organizations can really make a difference.
The College administration strongly supports students’
participation in community service activities. It’s part
of our mission: “Thomas College’s mission is to
prepare students for success in their personal and
professional lives, and for leadership and service
in their communities.”
Throughout the years, the Thomas Magazine has
included numerous stories of how our students are
excelling in the classrooms, shining on the sports field
and thriving as graduates in the world of work. With
this issue, we continue to tell these stories of student
achievement in an exciting new section called “Thomas
Gives Back.”
Community service means giving back to our society
and the people that surround us. This new section highlights the important volunteer work that Thomas students,
faculty, staff and the College as an institution are undertaking in our local and regional communities.
Because environmental concerns are also
very important to Thomas students and to
our community-at-large, this section will
also highlight environmental efforts on
campus and in the community.
community partnerships.
KATIE GREENLAW
Editor-in-Chief
4
THOMAS MAGAZINE
[email protected]
SPRING 2009
5
T H O M A S
G I V E S
B A C K
Making a Difference
S
G I V E S
B A C K
Thomas Focuses on Sustainability
Co-Written by Sherry Pineau and Katie Greenlaw
ERVICE IS NOT NEW to the various clubs and organizations on the Thomas campus. Although a service project
is not required, most of Thomas’ students who are members
of clubs and organizations volunteer for community service projects throughout the year and many participate individually.
Last fall, the Criminal Justice Club took part in the area’s
“Coats for Kids” program and collected 40 coats for children
in need. The Environmental Awareness Group and T.H.E.S.
(Thomas’ Drama Group) teamed up to work on
Halloween for Hunger where members went trickor-treating for the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter.
The Thomas bookstore also participated in supporting the homeless shelter by offering a discount to students, faculty and staff who donated
personal items for those in need. The Education
Club hosted a series of Read-A-Thons at the
Waterville Public Library to raise funds for
the library.
Instructor Dennis Harrington, working
off the theme of this year’s Common Read
“Three Cups of Tea” by Greg Mortenson
and David Oliver Relin, added a servicelearning component to his first year seminar in the fall. At December’s First Year
Celebration, Harrington recognized his
students for the effort they put into community work. Among his six groups,
Harrington had a group that collected school
supplies for a local elementary school and three
groups that worked as mentors at other local
T H O M A S
schools. First-year student Margo Mackenzie worked with a
local special education class to clean up that school’s grounds.
The athletic fields are another place where Thomas students
and staff find a way to give back. Cory Worcester ’09 has found
his role as the seventh grade girls’ basketball and soccer coach
at Waterville Junior High School to be a rewarding one. He
shares this passion for coaching with assistant director of
Admissions, CJ McKenna, who coaches the Waterville Senior
High School junior varsity boys’ basketball team along with
Jill Lathan, director of recreation and intramurals, who is
the Lawrence High School girls’ soccer coach.
The focus on athletics is also apparent, and rightfully
so, with a project of the Student Athletic Advisory
Board (SAAB). The members are sponsoring a free
athletic clinic for students in local schools grades 6-8.
At press time, they are still in the planning stages and
are looking forward to the opportunity to work
with youth athletes. “It’s important to be involved
with the community and to get the Thomas
name out there,” says Matt Peck ’09, SAAB
co-president. “It’s also great for these kids to
be made aware of what Thomas has to offer.”
Whatever the cause, Thomas students know
that their community service is important.
Whether they are involved in fundraising,
volunteering at the youth center or coaching
local sports, they know that it is within
their power to make a difference.
T
HOMAS COLLEGE, LIKE MANY INSTITUTIONS,
recognizes the importance of environmental stewardship.
The College is increasingly active in various areas of sustainability
efforts. Improvements include increasing insulation throughout
campus buildings, employing more efficient heating and cooling
systems, and using new lower-watt lighting. Across campus,
efforts are underway to increase sustainability and monitor our
impact on the environment. All departments are recycling, the
College is sponsoring annual Earth Day events and students are
getting involved in activities hosted by the student Environmental
Awareness Group.
During the summer of 2008, President George Spann
formed an ad-hoc Energy Conservation Committee to create
and execute a plan to continually reduce costs associated with
energy use on the Thomas campus. Committee membership
consists of representatives from staff, faculty and students.
The committee worked together to create the first Thomas
Energy Conservation Policy (see right), Energy Conservation
Guidelines for students, faculty and staff, and is now creating
and executing a short- and long-term action plan to educate
the community, measure energy use and lower costs.
The Energy Conservation Guidelines recommend a variety
of energy-saving measures. They include shutting off equipment
when not in use, turning off unnecessary lights, keeping windows
Thomas College
Energy Conservation Policy:
It is the policy of Thomas College
to reduce energy consumption in
an economical and environmentally
sound manner. The College is committed to developing appropriate
guidelines for staff, faculty and
students in promoting an
institutional goal of combining increased energy
conservation and cost
savings with a positive
environmental impact.
and outside doors closed during the heating and cooling seasons,
using energy efficient appliances, recycling and even eliminating
the use of trays in the dining hall.
The Committee, in coordination with the student Environmental Awareness Group, will continue to explore ways that
the College can increase sustainability. For more information
about the sustainability efforts at Thomas, please visit
www.thomas.edu/sustainability.
Thomas Turns Grease into “Dough”
By Juliet Graves ’09
T
HOMAS COLLEGE IS MAKING RECYCLING
work for the environment, as well as the budget. The
College’s Dining Services contractor, Sodexo, regularly recycles
its used cooking grease, rather than paying for its removal and
disposal. The new arrangement began when Baker Commodities
contacted Sodexo several months ago to propose a unique idea.
They suggested that Sodexo be paid for their used fryer grease,
instead of being charged for it. Recognizing this as a win-win situation for the environment, and a great way to earn some extra
“dough” for Thomas, a partnership began.
The soy bean-based grease is used in the College kitchen for a
week at a time. The grease is filtered between uses, and at the
end of the week it is placed into a storage bin, which holds about
200 gallons of grease. Baker Commodities empties the bin four
times a year. The higher quality grease is used as an additive to
6
THOMAS MAGAZINE
dog and cat food, and the rest is then processed and used as
bio diesel fuel. “It’s a clean, trouble-free system,” says Jody
Pelotte, Thomas’ general manager of Sodexo Dining Services.
“And we’re getting paid to do it!”
This new system complements the other eco-friendly initiatives undertaken in the Dining Hall. They include the recycling
of paper and cardboard products, and switching the dish room
chemicals to products that are environmentally safe.
Pelotte feels that it is only right to give back what we get
from the earth’s resources, rather than it sitting in a land-fill
unused. “Globally, one-out-of-four arable acres of land are dedicated to food production,” he explains. “Food production uses
about one-third of all water and 10 to 15 percent of all energy.
With that in mind, it’s only right that Thomas does our part to
make sure our environmental future is as bright as our past.”
“
The most common definition of
sustainability...meeting the needs
of the present generation without
compromising the ability of future
”
generations to meet their own needs.
~ United Nations Brundtland Commission, 1987
SPRING 2009
7
G I V E S
B A C K
T H O M A S
Student Works with Family
to Give Back to Community
Lending a Helping Hand
Thomas Peer Mentors Volunteer Their Services
for the Evening Sandwich Program
By Juliet Graves ’09
Courtesy of Sherry Pineau
C
LOUDY AND COOL” IS WRITTEN in blue ink at
the top of the small log book used by volunteers as a
record of each day’s activities. Perhaps, the weather is there to
predict the day’s turnout: 86 meals served to 24 people of all
ages, including one under the age of 17. Six volunteer names
take up the next quarter of the page, followed by the menu
for the day:
•
•
•
•
•
•
8
The ESP served over 27,000 meals last year, according to
Poissonnier, and Thomas College students are volunteering to
help deliver similar numbers this year. Poissonnier said that the
ESP is not the only place where he has seen Thomas students
volunteer. He chuckled as he retold a story about a group of
Thomas students who worked at last year’s central Maine Family
Christmas Dinner. One student could not stop talking about
how excited he was at the chance to help those who needed it.
“You have great students at Thomas,” Poissonnier said.
This was the first time Nickie and Amber volunteered for the
ESP, and Nickie has already committed to work again this year.
She shared a story about her experiences. While visiting with a
gentleman at the church, she learned that “He had lost his job
and his house, and his wife had also left him.” She continued,
“He is living in a camper and all he kept talking about was
that ESP is the only thing he has now. I really feel like I made
a difference.”
Blood Drives held at Thomas
Vegetable/Turkey Soup
Bologna & Cheese Sandwich
Bologna & Lettuce Sandwich
Cream Cheese & Olive Sandwich
PB & J
Assorted Desserts
The Evening Sandwich Program (ESP) was started by the
Universalist Unitarian Church of Waterville and it provides
take-out meals for those suffering from hunger in the greater
Waterville area. The church sponsors the event four evenings
each week. Teams of volunteers from other area churches,
colleges and the community come to prepare, package and
serve the food to those in need.
Butch Poissonnier, a member of the Waterville Elks Club is
in charge of ESP for the day. He flips the log book page to begin
a new record and writes “Sunny and Cold” at the top of the
page, hoping for a chance to help many in need.
Tonight, the menu includes tuna noodle casserole. “You have
to add a little cream of mushroom soup to give it that ‘BAM’!”
Poissonnier laughs out loud as he explains to Thomas College
Peer Mentors Nickie DeMerritt and Amber Cochran how they
will make the dish that will be placed in bags. They will be
assisting the serving crew that evening.
THOMAS MAGAZINE
B A C K
Out of the Darkness
Community Walk Fundraiser Held
By Juliet Graves ’09
By Sherry Pineau
“
G I V E S
T
HE THOMAS COLLEGE PEER ADVISORS
sponsored a blood drive that was held on campus in
September. It was one of two annual blood drives at the
College. Each fall, Thomas holds a drive for the Maine
Blood Center and in the spring, a second one is held for
the American Red Cross.
The fall drive was a great day for the Maine Blood
Center, located in Bangor. More than 50 students participated and 35 units of blood were collected. “Today was
a great day for us,” says Melissa Borden, blood donor
recruiter from the Blood Center. She was extremely
pleased with the turnout.
R
ACHEL LARRABEE
’13 RECENTLY
participated in a service project to help the community
of Waterville. Long a passion
in her family, Rachel joined
with “The Bryant Girls,”
a family group who work
together to make quilts for
various charitable groups
throughout the area.
Individually, the ladies have
made hundreds of quilts
Courtesy of Rachel Larrabee
over the years and collaboratively they have made dozens of quilts, which they donate
to charity. One of the most recent quilts was donated to the
Waterville Area Hospice in memory of Larrabee’s grandmother, Lila Raven Bryant, who passed away in February
2008.
“The Bryant Girls,” made up of Bryant’s daughters, continue the tradition of quilting in their mother’s honor and
Larrabee assists with the efforts on occasion. Bryant started
her quilting hobby to give something back to community
groups that were helpful to her family. Larrabee and her
family are carrying on that legacy.
According to Larrabee, “My grandmother made quilts for
local charities and organizations throughout her life.” She
continued, “The family group consists of my mom, her five
sisters, as well as other grandchildren and my grandmother’s
friends.” One sister is Juanita Reynolds (Thomas class of
1984) of Unity.
The Waterville Area Hospice was chosen by the family to
receive this special memorial quilt because of the care they
provided to Bryant in her last weeks. In December 2008,
Larrabee and “The Bryant Girls” worked with the hospice
staff to raffle off the quilt to the public in order to raise
money for the hospice. The raffle was promoted by the
Thorndike Press in Waterville.
“My grandmother never solicited recognition for doing
this, nor do the ladies in the group,” Larrabee said. “I think
‘The Bryant Girls’ use the quilting as an opportunity to share
something together and it represents what their Mom was
all about.”
Courtesy of Jim Chapman
T H O M A S
E
ACH YEAR APPROXIMATELY 32,000 people lose
their lives to suicide and over 1 million people attempt
suicides. To combat these alarming statistics, The American
Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) sponsors an annual
Out of the Darkness community walk.
As part of Thomas’ ongoing commitment to give back to
the community, several students participated in the local walk
in Waterville on October 18. Students from Jim Chapman’s
Computer Science classes, along with Psychology Club members,
joined club sponsor Dale Dickson for the two-hour walk. They
participated with thousands of others nationwide to raise money
for AFSP’s vital research and education programs to prevent
suicide and save lives.
The students gathered at North Street Park in Waterville
that morning, some assisting with the arrangements and others
participating in the walk. Teresa (Groth) Rael ’92 was the coordinator of the event. Like many others across the nation who
pledge to support local efforts, Rael has felt first-hand the effects
that suicide can have on a family. She tragically lost her son to
suicide at age 13. Thus, this is an especially important event and
cause for her. The walk attracted approximately 60 walkers, with
Thomas students accounting for 20 percent of participants.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention provides
opportunities for survivors of suicide loss to get involved
through a wide variety of outreach, advocacy and fundraising
programs. “Suicide and mental illness take an enormous toll on
families, friends and neighbors, leaving communities across the
country devastated by this national health problem,” said AFSP
Executive Director, Robert Gebbia. Their research is aimed at
improving public understanding of suicide and prevention strategies. The organization also provides educational activities to
increase awareness and to identify the warning signs and psychiatric illnesses that can lead to suicide.
SPRING 2009
9
TechKNOW LEDGEy
as an Agent of Change in Learning
B Y L E E R. A L L E N
H
HUMANS HAVE BEEN LEARNING by
technology since the days of Plato. Even though
Plato believed that new technologies in his day
(such as writing) would impede literacy, reading
and writing have become central to our culture.
We now live in a media-saturated environment
where traditional forms of literacy are being
blended, redefined and replaced by dynamically
evolving communications technologies that seem
to emerge in new forms daily.
In 1962, Canadian author and English professor
Marshal McLuhan wrote, “Any technology tends
to create a new human environment... technological environments are not merely passive containers
of people, but are active processes that reshape
people and other technologies alike.”
10
THOMAS MAGAZINE
SPRING 2009
11
Technology has become
an integral tool for
teaching. Computers in
present day classrooms
are as common as
the chalkboard of
classrooms past.
McLuhan, whose philosophies about media are well known,
saw electronic media as a return to older, collective ways of perceiving the world. His “global village” theory posited the ability
of electronic media to unify the human race. McLuhan, who
died in 1980, did not live to see it, but it would have come as
no surprise to him to witness the merging of text and electronic
mass media to form the Internet.
Often parents and educators ask the basic questions: Is technology really important in schools and libraries? Does it really
make a difference in learning? These questions have been posed
since teachers first began using chalkboards, books and television in the classroom. Using technology in education is as
important today as when the question about it was first asked;
however, it is not technology “itself” that facilitates learning.
EDUCATORS AS AGENTS OF CHANGE
“The most shocking part of going back to school at this point
in my life (in her 30s) is looking around and realizing that
nobody is in the room. The professor is just another open
browser window.”
~ Sharyl Grant
Graduate student, University of North Carolina,
CNet News. February, 2008
While this quote may seem surprising, it is nothing new. It is a
reminder, however, that just as technology is changing the way
we communicate; it is also affecting the way we teach.
According to John Martin, writing for the “Edventures in
Technology” blog, “The 21st century treats knowledge and
information as currency and those who can effectively acquire,
1976
Thomas College Institutional
Technology Timeline
20
Years
of Advancement
Conrad Ayotte ’77,
H’98 (Chair,
Thomas College
Board of Trustees)
was one of the first
computing students.
process and synthesize that knowledge into actionable projects
and tangible results will be far better prepared for the world
they will enter.”
Emerging technology never seems to stand still and all of
us can easily grow weary of yet another new entry. At the same
time, student expectations are important, and successful learning-focused organizations have long known they cannot ignore
these expectations.
According to Christopher Rhoda, vice president for Information Services at Thomas College, there are three important
areas to focus on for access to technology in higher education.
They are academic excellence, the business of the institution,
and the student living-and-learning experience. According
to Rhoda, “colleges need a vision and a strategic plan for
academic technology.”
In higher education, the use of technology can be a major
advantage for instructors if they can conquer their fears just
by using technology that they (and students) are familiar with
in their everyday lives, such as cell phones, e-mail, Instant
Messaging and the Web.
Each year the Horizon Advisory Board researches, identifies
and ranks key trends affecting the areas of teaching, learning
and creative expression. Trends are ranked according to how
significant an impact they are likely to have on education during
the next five years. In this report, the two technologies placed
on the first adoption horizon are student-produced video and
collaboration Web sites (Wikis). They are already in use on
many college campuses.
TRANSITION TO WORKPLACE
The integration of technology into learning during college
should ease a student’s path into the workplace. This is true
not only in technology-related professions, but in other disciplines as well. However, the higher education community
still faces challenges in providing this needed experience.
1979
Purchased first
video terminal.
1982
Shirley Blanton, vice president for technology at Mojo
Interactive, an Internet marketing firm in central Florida,
manages a team of nine program developers who are all
“millennials.” In fact, in a company of 30, the average age
span at Mojo is 25 to 30.
Blanton says that her team is a group who are empowered
by technology. They have been technical since their high school
days. “They love the latest in technology sites, tools, video
games like Guitar Hero and any Web 2.0 applications. They
prefer Apple computers over PCs and use chat as their primary
communications tool at work. They do not even start-up
Outlook when they get to the office,” she says.
As Blanton works with faculty at the University of Central
Florida (UCF) in Orlando for job recruitment and intern placement, she says many potential employees’ understanding of
technology is theoretical rather than applied. “Instructors
expect students to get actual technology experience once
they get a job, not in school.”
According to Blanton, she is working with instructors to
describe the company’s workplace needs and pushing them to
show technology leadership. She is also encouraging instructors
to emphasize e-portfolios so that potential employers can see
examples of students’ experiential education. She hopes that
instructors will begin to design meaningful learning experiences
for students that will integrate technology into their studies.
Recently, the use of e-portfolios has experienced growth
in higher education to demonstrate students’ mastery of
competency-based curricula. Colleges and universities use
e-portfolios to assess academic effectiveness and student
learning and to showcase student work. These portfolios are
excellent marketing tools for graduating seniors and are used
by recruiters, such as Blanton, when looking for graduates as
they enter the job market.
1983
Original computer
center built.
CIS/M.B.A.
major started.
Computer Information Services (CIS)
major started.
Purchased two
Macintosh
computers.
1985
Purchased six
IBM portable
PCs for PC lab.
Purchased first
PC (a Compaq
portable).
SPRING 2009
13
Courtesy Andergassen/Himps
Service, Analytical Reasoning, and Community and Interpersonal
Relations. This provides students a unique opportunity to share
their educational experiences at Thomas and to demonstrate to
educators, parents and future employers what was learned.
Featured materials in e-portfolios come from class projects,
campus activities and work experiences. Because they come
in an electronic format, a variety of digital files can be stored
in student portfolios. From essays, spreadsheets and
PowerPoint® documents to video, photo and music files—
the portfolio accommodates them all. Students also create
Web-styled versions.
At Thomas, a national leader in the use of e-portfolios,
student portfolios that are well organized and professionally
presented are featured on the College Web site (go to the
Thomas Magazine Web site for a link to view some examples).
The requisite is that students meet proficiency in the four
Core Competencies of Communication, Leadership and
1987
Purchased 16 PCs
and printers
for PC lab.
1988
First local area
network (LAN)
is created.
is what they learn.
~ John Dewey, American philosopher,
psychologist and educational reformer.
1990
Purchased seven
terminal servers.
First building-wide
LAN created.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
“
”
What students
do in a classroom
1994
Wired all dormitory
rooms with voice,
data and video lines
connected to the
Internet.
HOW ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY
IN EDUCATION IMPACTS
STUDENT LEARNING
While sometimes controversial, we are all aware that today’s
students have embraced social networking Web sites like
Facebook and MySpace for their personal communications and
sometimes for educational use. After all, today’s students are
part of the “Millennial Generation.” Born between 1980 and
2000, their most influential years have been the mid-90s and
2000s. Many of them are just entering the workforce today.
For years, students have created popular Web content, from
personal home pages to online movie and book reviews for
their creative expression. This has led to millions of pages
created by students and instructors. The decades-long successes
of discussion groups and e-mail have been incorporated into
classroom lessons.
According to Neil Howe and William Strauss in “Millennials
Rising” (Vintage Books, 2000), millenials are “the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital media.”
These students have embraced and mastered new technologies
in their everyday lives that many adults hardly know how
to manipulate, much less understand. Text messaging, gaming,
wireless Internet and phones, and touch screens are a few
examples. These technologies have a natural place in communication between instructors and students, and for classroom
applications the examples are never-ending. Let’s explore a few.
Blending of technologies has allowed students to produce
vast numbers of lessons that include multimedia presentations
using PowerPoint®, photos from Web 2.0 social image sites
such as Flickr, and tagging from sites like Delicious (formerly
del.icio.us), which allows users to share their Web bookmark
1995
Added network capability to
GPH dormitory room.
Purchased 20 PCs for first
PC and homework labs.
1996
Added video conferencing
capabilities over Internet.
discoveries with other users. This process is referred to as a
mashup—using multiple technologies and resources to create
a single integrated project.
How are colleges and universities capitalizing on students’
experiences and readiness with technology into learning and
the curriculum? Many college instructors are using a variety
of pedagogical methods to reach students “where they’re at”.
From Thomas, to Penn State University, to Harvard, instructors use podcasts in various academic areas including science,
English literature and media classes. Many libraries, including
Thomas, are not just a place for students and faculty to perform
research and check out materials, but are becoming “interactive
portals” with designated learning centers for technology use.
Library staff are producing blogs to keep students, faculty and
parents abreast of their activities and how they are meeting
students’ academic needs.
For example, the Penn State library created a Web site for
a user-tagged system for library content. Termed PennTags,
a search might turn up publications as diverse as “Citizen Kane:
One of the Greatest Films of all Time?” to “Chicago’s New
African-Americans: Modernity and Black Urban Life.” Harvard’s
H20 Playlist allows students to create, maintain and share
playlists of classroom assigned readings for others on various
topics of intellectual interest. They create profiles on a blog and
are able to exchange useful links to readings and information
both online and offline for others.
How do instructors cut through the Web noise to bring
real technology into the classroom? What are the new trends
in technology for use in higher education?
One problem with the Web is that it is too darned big! One
can spend all day online researching, surfing for fresh headlines,
or reviewing content on favorite sites. Today, we can gather new
content on Web sites, blogs, or podcasts through Real Simple
Syndication (RSS). These “feeds” are indicated by an orange
radar-looking symbol that you can click to subscribe to your
favorite sites and be automatically notified electronically when
1997
1998
All faculty offices, student
labs and the majority
of staff offices became
PC-based.
New phone system purchased to handle student
dorm calls and for Y2K
compliance.
Started implementing
Windows terminals
instead of desktop.
Two new computerrelated majors are
created: Computer
Management and
Software Development.
SPRING 2009
15
Incoporating technology,
such as Second Life®
into the curriculum allows
instructors to teach
students of the millenial
generation in a way that is
interesting to them.
new content is available. Thus, we have taken content from
a “pull technology” (request from receiver) to a “push
technology” (originates from publisher).
According to Bryan Alexander, from the National Institute
for Technology and Liberal Education, on the status of Web
2.0, “Now that we are into the second decade of the Web and
the Internet’s second generation, we have seen a wide range of
practices emerge for teaching and learning with technology.”
Alexander writes, “Web 2.0 technologies have enabled
different discussion forms [to take place], such as distributed
conversations (blogs), collaborative conversations embedded
within documents (Wikis), and threads attached to ‘social
objects’ (Flickr).”
“These conversations have sometimes been distinguished
by…asynchronous (discussion boards, blogs) versus synchronous (chat, Second Life®, Instant Messenger). Discussions in
both forms have connected members of a class to each other,
students to instructors and students with learners elsewhere.”
Virtual environments inhabited by multiple users are increasingly of educational interest. Among the most popular, and in
use on many campuses including Thomas, is Second Life® (SL).
Launched in 2003, SL has won public attention through its
innovative combination of user-generated content and its ease
of use. This includes the creation of avatars, or graphicallyrepresented alter personalities (see glossary for more), who are
residents of a 3D world and who live, work and interact with
others through chats and online meetings in communities that
students have created themselves.
Alexander continues, “Networked computing has proven…
to be a social enabler. In education, this social nature has been
one of the major virtues of digital technologies…e-mail, Instant
Messenger, groupware, and learning management systems
(Blackboard, Moodle, Sakai) have supported conversations
among students both geographically, co-present and dispersed.”
So, the Web has linked people from the beginning and
restored some of the Internet’s original intention. Even more
recently, the rise of online gaming has returned the social nature
of computing to popular heights. Gaming in education; now
there is a topic for discussion!
GAMING IN EDUCATION
Consider Plato’s observation. “You can discover more about
a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”
According to Chris Rhoda, “Video games are regarded by some
as time-wasters, requiring little intellectual capacity. However,
research reveals that educational gaming not only offers meaningful and challenging learning environments, but also quite
effectively aids in the development of cognitive skills and engaging experimental learning opportunities.”
Some of the research has been conducted by the University
of Central Florida, where Blanton recruits students, and they
concluded that immersive educational video games can improve
students’ math skills and comprehension and raise scores on
district-wide benchmark exams.
“
Video games traditionally have been
viewed as enemies rather than allies
in the educational process. Many
educators have questioned: What
good can come from students sitting
and banging away at gaming consoles
for hours? One barrier is that oftentimes, instructors do not understand
gaming themselves.
”
~Paul Korzeniowski, TechNewsWorld
1999
Administrative information
system converted to Webbased system from VAX
COBOL system.
All dorm rooms provided
phone numbers, voice-mail,
computer connections and
cable TV for one low fee.
2000
Streaming audio/video
capabilities added.
Campus card system
added to bring picture
IDs in-house.
Wireless network added
to classrooms.
Added data/voice/video
systems to new Auditorium.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
2001
Wireless network added to
academic, administrative and
general student areas.
Portable wireless computer
cart added.
Increased IT focus by
adding LCD projectors,
TV/DVD/VCRs and
laptops to all classrooms.
2002
2003
2004
Internet access upgraded
to a much faster connection.
Blackboard added as learning
management system (LMS).
All 15-inch monitors replaced with
17-inch monitors across campus.
New door access card system
added for GPH halls.
Admissions began using IM
and individual marketing
plans (IMAPs).
Computer workstations were integrated
into the library and IT services.
Software upgrades included
Windows XP, Windows 2003
and Office 2003.
Laptop, digital music and cell phone
discount purchase plans were created
for students.
2005
Phone and voice mail systems
upgraded to support links to
e-mail/web/IP phones.
Added data/voice/video systems
to new Harold Alfond Athletic
Center.
SPRING 2009
17
2006
VoIP phones installed to replace digital phones.
Windows-based smart phones added to sync
e-mail, calendar and contacts.
Added Windows Live@EDU for alumni e-mail.
“
”
You can discover more
about a person
in an hour of play than in
a year of conversation.
Courtesy of Gus Ruelas
~ Plato
Nicholas DePalmer celebrates after a win.
Courtesy of Nicholas DePalmer
According to the 2008 study, which was conducted in the
Orange County, Fla. school district over an 18-week period,
students playing the educational video games demonstrated
higher gains on district benchmark algebra exams than students
not playing the games. On average, students in the experimental
group made gains of 8.07 points (out of 25), while students in
the control group made gains of 3.74 points.
“These research results are remarkable and support previous
studies which have concluded that interactive games are more
effective on learner’s cognitive gains than traditional classroom
instruction alone,” said Ntiedo Etuk, co-founder of an educational video game series used in the study. “We are teaching a
new generation of students, which requires unconventional
teaching strategies be put into practice in the classroom. And
when schools use our games, the student benefits speak for
themselves—a greater desire to learn and higher test scores.”
Robert Krakoff, president of Razer, the leading manufacturer
of high-end precision gaming peripherals, can also attest to this
fact. “There are four areas in which computer gaming helps to
expand minds: (1) abstract reasoning, (2) problem solving, (3)
pattern recognition, and (4) spatial logic.”
Krakoff explains that games engage the full range of sensory
and motor cortices of the brain. No other pop culture form
directly engages the brain’s decision-making apparatus in the
same way. He says, “Almost all other forms of entertainment
are passive in direct comparison to games. While other cultures
can be immersive, they do not require the decision-making and
problem-solving interactions of games.”
Krakoff believes that it is important to carry this positive
message to non-gamers (parents and educators). “Most of them
are unaware or are either cautiously concerned or hoping that
gamers will outgrow this phase,” he says.
Fortunately, some do not outgrow it. Such is the case with
Thomas alumnus Nicholas DePalmer ’07, who works with
Krakoff. DePalmer, who received his B.S. degree in Computer
Information Systems started at Razer as an intern, and is now
employed full-time as a professional gamer.
According to DePalmer, many professional gamers are in
school or have jobs and cannot afford to dedicate themselves
to professional gaming full time.
DePalmer says that there is money to be made for the dedicated and more emotionally mature and business-oriented player.
He should know; he has earned over $250,000 as a gamer.
He said, “I initially approached my gaming career as a business
venture and was focused on my goals much the same as a business person or small business owner is focused.” He continued,
“Setting objectives, practicing, traveling, self-promotion and
competition are the goals. Not being afraid to lose and seeking
the highest level of competition has had a lot to do with my
success.” DePalmer is proof that gaming is more than the often
perceived time-waster.
So, what relevance does this have for higher education?
Through the previous examples of research studies and workplace experiences, it is incumbent on instructors to assist
students in acquiring strong information fluency skills and
discipline-specific technology competencies that will prepare
them for their career or advanced studies. It is important that
college faculties test new technologies in their courses in order
to help prepare students for their futures. Technology is constantly changing and providing new ways to learn, teach,
communicate and interact.
According to Rhoda, “Technology costs money and faculty
members can receive grants for using technology in the classroom and developing new learning technologies. This is fine on
the department level, but for a university to implement learning
technology on a massive scale is much more difficult.”
In 2008, Hewlett Packard invested more than $12 million in
higher education institutions for technology development as part
of the HP Technology for Teaching Grant Initiative. The company made this investment to support its belief that teaching
excellence, combined with the right technologies, has a positive
impact on student achievement. This initiative encompasses a
total investment of nearly $60 million since 2004, impacting
over one thousand educational institutions in 41 countries.
Besides providing adequate funding, perhaps the greatest
strategy that institutions of higher education can undertake
is to develop a visionary long-range academic plan to manage
the effective use of technology in the curriculum. Having buyin from faculty, staff and students is necessary for this success.
Thomas College has begun this process.
Today, with digital networks in place, numerous social media
sites at their disposal, and pervasive mobile technology available,
students are already engaged in participatory, hyper-linked,
collaborative, open-ended (and, yes, unpredictable) communication in their daily lives. Can it be that harnessing this technology
for education will accelerate the pace of their learning? Can
educators provide new directions for relevant and creative narratives to flow? Will re-thinking university teaching practices to
better integrate technology assist student achievement? Some
examples presented here may assist in taking learning further
in that direction.
Nicholas DePalmer ’07
2007
Analog phone lines removed from resident hall rooms
due to student preference for cell phones.
2008
2009
Energy saved by replacing
traditional servers with blade
servers and network storage.
Video-over-IP service called
ThomasTV introduced with
three “channels.”
Power over Ethernet (PoE)
technology introduced to
entire campus.
Internet-based phone system
starts to replace traditional
switchboard system.
Windows 2008, IPv6 and
new technology-based science
lab added to campus.
CRT monitors replaced
with flat panels to reduce
energy use.
Moodle replaces
Blackboard as Learning
Management System.
Office Communications Server used campus wide.
Live Meeting Server introduced for
online/blended classes.
Software upgrades included Windows Vista,
OS X 10.4, and Office 2007.
Added cart of 18 MacBooks for education classes.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
SPRING 2009
19
A Campus
Connected
TECHNOLOGY AT THOMAS
B Y T O M E D WA R D S
A
A FIRST-YEAR ACCOUNTING STUDENT in Stephen
Turner’s quantitative literacy course plots data points on a graph
and identifies a break-even point related to gas prices and commuting
distances. He downloads his information from the Web, graphs it in
Excel and prepares his PowerPoint for a presentation to the class.
®
Next door, a student bends over
her dissection project in Dr. Dale
Dickson’s Physiological Psychology
class, peering carefully into the sheep’s
brain as she attempts to identify the
optical nerve. When she looks up, the
microscope from her lab partner is
projected on the classroom screen.
On one open window of her laptop
she jots down her notes. On the
other, she looks at the same dissection
project outlined on a Web site.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
SPRING 2009
21
Thomas students in Dr. Joseph Scozzafava’s class use technology to guide them
through a dissection project.
22
THOMAS MAGAZINE
work together. Creating robots out of the kits requires students
to think about what they want their robots to do, and then
to design it using the resources at hand in the most effective
manner.
And down in North Carolina, Professor Kjrsten Keane finishes up her online office hours for her graduate class in education.
Everyone in class, from Benton to Waterville to Winslow to
Augusta, has had a chance to answer her questions, chat with
the others in class, and get their essays returned, all without
leaving home.
Welcome to the college of the 21st century.
The pace of change brought by technology in education is
fast, and the impact pervasive. When you talk about technology
and education, it’s important to recognize that the fundamental
nature of teaching and learning hasn’t changed—but how we
go about it has.
One important difference lies in access to information for
learning. Information used to be fixed in a physical form and
in a physical location. Books (and, hence, large college libraries)
were key because that’s where the information was. Faculty
used the resources for research, and hopefully, to create new
knowledge; and students needed access to this information to
help inform them about the world beyond their classroom, and
their professors. So, if books were the window to the world,
then the more expansive your library collection, the larger the
picture window! But now the Web, and other new technologies,
have changed all that—the question now is no longer “How do
I get the information I need?” but rather, “What do I do with
the information I have?”
This kind of access to information has profound effects on
how we teach. In this technology-rich environment, the role of
the faculty member is no longer the primary source for subject
matter information; but instead, the guide for students on how
to approach problems systematically; how to use the information
they have critically and analytically.
“I wanted a course for students that challenged them to take
all the data that surrounds them on a daily basis, and to make it
work for them,” observes Dr. Stephen Turner, as he explains a
new course that is now required of most students at Thomas.
“I want to make our students informed citizens of our community. We need good answers for the problems that affect
us—environmental, economic and social problems. Technology
is the tool we can use, and I want our students to be able to
use it.”
Enter Dr. Turner’s classroom computer lab. You’ll see students working in pairs, or in groups, finding the data, drawing
up the formulas and producing the results. There is no textbook
in this class: “All my materials are stored online. Students can
access them anytime, anywhere,” he notes. And as he walks
Faculty member
Nancy Henry’s
avatar is a
representation of
her “inner self”,
a child of the 70s.
Courtesy of Nancy Henry
Down the hall, Dr. John Joseph explains “return on investment” while his students go online to research delivery prices
and calculate BTUs for various energy sources. Their analysis
of electrical consumption gets factored into formulas that drive
their recommendations for new lighting on the Thomas campus
that will increase the quality of the light in classrooms and the
gym, and drive down the cost of energy.
In their upstairs classroom, far away from the paper-based
card catalogs that once were the center of any academic library,
students in Greg King’s Research Methods course scroll
through hundreds of online databases. They find a full-text
article for their essay, download it into their research files, and
quote from it as they complete their project. When they submit
their work to the professor online, Professor King runs their
essay through a national database of similar writing, and uses
the color coded results to highlight where they are using
their research most effectively.
A few yards away in a classroom across the hall, students in
Professor Tom Easton’s Introduction to Systems Engineering
class are building robots using Lego NXT kits purchased by the
College as a way to demonstrate how software and hardware
around the room, giving encouragement, pointing out next
steps, his students are engaged and eager. “The emphasis is on
learning. They need to be able to work with all this world has
to offer,” he says.
The technology doesn’t replace teaching, however. The
relationship between a faculty member and the students is still
the fundamental piece of the equation. The technology makes
it easier to communicate and gives us more to work with.
For Greg King, this means students in his Sports
Management class e-mail their assignments to him and he
responds to them online. For Dickson, the tools for his labs
make the face-to-face encounters in the lab richer and more
engaging.
For Nancy Henry’s classes in popular culture and communications, students review video clips she has embedded in
PowerPoint® presentations. Henry uses YouTube to post
videos of topics in popular culture and of her students’ work
in her classes. She uses Delicious.com to store and manage
links to articles that her students might be interested in reading
or may be part of her assigned reading. She and her students’
avatars occasionally meet in an “office” in Second Life® (an
online virtual world) to discuss questions about a course.
Wordpress.com (a free blog site) enables her to set up a
different blog for each of her classes and organize the information she wants to share with her students.
“
”
The question now is
no longer “How do I get
the information I need?”
but rather, “What do I do with
the information I have?”
SPRING 2009
23
As a Matter
OF FACT
“
”
Technology doesn’t
replace critical thinking,
if anything, it makes it
more challenging.
The teaching continues in collaborative form between students and faculty on Learning Management Systems like
Blackboard (above) and Moodle (see glossary), which are in
wide use on the campus. These tools allow faculty and students
to form group discussions boards, share documents and links,
hold live chats, send group e-mails and more.
This software is particularly essential in the Maine winter and
especially with the graduate program, which includes students
traveling from all over the region. “Hi all. I am moving our class
online tonight. I will post all of my notes on Blackboard and
set up discussion boards for you to ponder,” writes graduate
program instructor John Kenneally in an e-mail to his class after
one particularly large winter storm. Moving the class online
enables them to break down physical barriers and add enriched
content to the class discussion.
The technology brings more into the classroom environment than ever before, and the challenge for students is how
to organize and assess the information they have available.
“Technology doesn’t replace critical thinking,”
points out King. “If anything, it makes
it more challenging. Students have
more information and more material
than ever to consider.”
Nowhere is this difference more profound than in the transformation of the
college library. “Libraries used to be where
you stored the information you needed,”
points out Chris Rhoda, vice president for
Information Services, who oversees library and
technology resources at Thomas.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
“The library is still one of the central learning places on any
college campus, but its role now is more what we’d call social
and interactive learning,” says Rhoda. Where there once were
stacks, you’ll now find rows of computer terminals. Online
databases now provide students with access to thousands of
resources that once were inaccessible to all but a few select
libraries. “Students come here to work on projects and to be
engaged with others while they learn,” says Rhoda. “But the
information isn’t physically located here the way it once was.
We’re still the central access point, so in that sense, we still provide a very traditional function for students and faculty alike.”
The mission of Thomas is to prepare students for success in
their personal and professional lives. Technology is the key to
that success. Thomas students who return from their internships
often relate how technology impacts their placements.
Accounting students have software to master. Marketing students need to produce high-quality publications. Our elementary education students head into the classroom and students
are working on smartboards. Our academic program has to
adequately prepare students for the workplace.
So what does all this mean for teaching and learning? Today’s
college students are highly connected and rely more on technology than any other college generation before them. But,
even with technology readily at their disposal, for students at
Thomas, education still revolves around key relationships that
are built between faculty and students.
90
Percent of college students in the
United States who say WiFi access is
as essential to education as classrooms
and computers (1)
100
Percent of Thomas campus that has
WiFi access
63
Percent of American college students
who own a laptop computer (2)
74
Percent of Thomas resident population
who own a laptop computer (3)
93
Percent of American college students
who own a cell/mobile phone (2)
90
Percent of Thomas resident population
who own a cell/mobile phone
150 million
Number of active Facebook
users worldwide (4)
550+
Number of fans of Thomas College
on Facebook. Become a fan!
(1) WiFi Alliance and Wakefield Research Survey
conducted September 2008
(2) Harris Interactive Study conducted August 2007.
(3) Information Services Student Survey Fall 2008.
(4) http://blog.facebook.com
Thomas Edwards is the vice president for Academic Affairs at Thomas College.
Visit www.thomas.edu\alumni\magazine for links to
these and other surveys.
SPRING 2009
25
Thomas
Admissions
in the Palm of Your Hand
B Y M E G A N TA P L E Y
W
“WITH AND FOR, NOT AT OR TO.” Seth
Godin, bestselling author and creator of the popular
marketing blog, creatively titled Seth Godin’s Blog,
has redefined the rules of recruitment. With the
technology boom gaining momentum as today’s
high school students are nearing college age, a
new generation—known as “the millennials”—
has formed. These students grew up in a rapidly
advancing technological environment; to put it
lightly, they are tech savvy.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
SPRING 2009
27
Channeling Technology
The main lobby of
College Week Live
is where students
launch their virtual
college tours and
begin the process
of interacting with
students and staff
from colleges
around the world.
According to a survey conducted by the Wireless Trade
Association and Harris Interactive, four out of every five
teenagers carry a cell phone, a statistic that is up from 40
percent of teens owning one in 2004. Almost one in three
teenagers is browsing the Web using their phone. Nine out of
every ten college-bound students visit social networking sites,
such as Facebook. In fact, teens spend, on average, nine hours
per week on these sites, compared to 10 hours watching television. Many are also using the Web and their cell phones to
explore college options. Technology is making it easier and
cheaper for high school students to learn more about the
schools they are interested in.
Originally, the Internet (Web 1.0) was an exciting way to
enhance a college’s major recruitment activities of traditional
college fairs, high school visits and direct mail. But with technology now in the hands of students, these traditional methods
are not as exciting for the millennials. Web 1.0 was a monologue
at its users. Web 2.0 provides an instant dialogue that creates
authentic, vibrant conversations with and for its users.
There certainly has been a paradigm shift. The Internet has
now become the most effective way for colleges to market to
this generation. And in understanding Seth Godin’s message,
the Admissions Office at Thomas College has modified its
recruitment efforts to attract this new generation of millennials.
Vice President for Enrollment Management, Rob Callahan
encourages Thomas’ expanded efforts in using technology.
“Technology has drastically altered the college search process,”
he says. “Colleges that want to recruit successfully are quickly
finding new and creative ways to market to the millennial generation. The development of personalized customer relationship
strategies and strong one-to-one marketing will be paramount
to our continued success.”
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
The Admissions staff members are continually refining marketing tools
to reach potential students in order to better communicate with them
and understand their needs. They have created individualized marketing enrollment plans that facilitate personal relationships and are
using online communications as a major tool in this strategy.
• Because prospective students are “always connected,”
Instant Messaging (IM) is an important source of direct
communication. Admissions counselors can now reach
out to students in various ways while they are online.
The Admissions staff has created a presence on popular websites such as Facebook.com and Blogger.com in an attempt to
reach more prospective students (see facing page).
These are very effective tools, but the Admissions staff is not
leaving any stone—virtual, or otherwise—unturned in their
efforts to reach as many prospective students as possible.
Recently, Thomas participated in a virtual college fair in an
effort to reach out to students across the country and internationally. Admissions worked with CollegeWeekLive, hosted by
a Boston company, to build a virtual booth that showcased video
about the campus, allowed for live chats with students, offered
links to various areas of the Thomas Web site and presented
opportunities for staff members to work the booth virtually.
(Continued on pg. 30)
“
Technology has drastically
altered the college
search process.
Colleges that want to recruit
successfully are quickly finding
new and creative ways to market
to the millennial generation.
~ Rob Callahan
• The College Intranet provides a better way to track
information requests. For example, Admissions staff can
follow if a student has visited campus, if they have an
interest in a particular sport or if they are a first generation student and may need extra advice about the
admissions process. They can also learn how a student
found out about Thomas, so that they can better target
those sources in the future.
• Using the Thomas 24-hour Extranet Web-based service,
prospective students can track their applications process,
learn more about academic programs and even accept
their financial aid award online.
• The Admissions staff has created a blog for prospective
students. It allows them to learn more about the admissions process, get advice on writing a college essay,
read about the importance of a college visit, and view
pictures of various fun campus activities.
Student blogs have also been launched and linked
to the Admissions page so that prospective students
have the opportunity to hear directly from a student
experiencing Thomas first-hand. Visit www.thomas.edu
/alumni/magazine for links to these blogs.
• Current students are encouraged to use Twitter, a free
social networking and micro-blogging site that allows
users to stay connected through short updates on their
activities or whereabouts on campus. The goal is for
prospective students to follow Twitter accounts to get a
better understanding of what it’s like to be on campus.
The Admissions Office work-study students “tweet”
with updates of their daily lives at Thomas. For example, a tweet might go like this: “John Michael here:
the egg chef on campus is epic :-) Every morning he
knows my breakfast order (2 eggs over hard), but I
only ordered one today... tricky!”
• Prospective students can also become a friend of
Thomas on MySpace, a fan of Thomas on Facebook
and follow the Thomas College Admissions YouTube
channel.
Live chat hours were set up and the staff interacted with
students from as close as Windham, Maine and as far away as
India. The Thomas booth was featured in an ABC News report
on CollegeWeekLive (go to www.thomas.edu and click on
Thomas in the News to see the segment). The feedback
received from booth visitors was positive and the Admissions
staff was pleased to note that an application has already been
received from a CollegeWeekLive visitor.
While the social networking additions to the recruiting plan
are vital to helping create relationships with prospective students, it is also important that the Thomas Web site has all the
relevant information students need. Over time, the College
has found “ghost applicants” who do not request information
directly from Thomas or engage in any recruitment activities
prior to applying. They have received no admissions information and have not had an opportunity to form any kind of
relationship with a college representative. One can only guess
that they heard about Thomas through the Web site or by
word of mouth.
As a result, Admissions has redesigned the home page on
the Thomas site to be more easily navigated and studentfriendly. They have added a “CheckMeOut” video series
featuring current students. These short clips show various
campus landscapes and contain information about academic
majors and student club opportunities. The videos are nonscripted and are a great way for students to start a virtual
relationship with a member of the Thomas community.
To better feature the campus to online visitors, the virtual
tour also shows all aspects that factor into a high school student’s decision making process. Academics, athletics, campus
life, and the surrounding Waterville and Maine area are now
showcased in a narrated slideshow.
The Admissions Office plans to continue the use of technology to create relationships with students and to showcase
the campus community. Numerous video projects will launch
soon and personalized interactive Web pages are currently
being constructed. The need to stay up with the technological
times is one that is always at the forefront of recruitment
planning.
Perhaps one of the greatest future obstacles will be predicting what is next. The next generation of students is the first
to have grown up in a mobile world. The tools of recruitment
are rapidly changing and entire mobility will be the next hurdle
college admissions offices will have to face. Web 3.0 will be just
as challenging as Web 2.0 for the Thomas Admissions Office,
but it will be even more engaging in helping the College build
relationships with the next generation of Thomas alumni.
Megan Tapley is the former assistant director for undergraduate admissions.
For links to the studies cited in this article, please visit: www.thomas.edu/
alumni/magazine.
30
THOMAS MAGAZINE
A Glossary of
“TechKNOWlogical”
Terms and Web sites
DISCLAIMER: this list is by no means a comprehensive list. In fact, in the time it takes for you to
read it, millions of new Web pages, mobile applications and new technologies will be created! For
more information on the terms below visit
thomas.edu/alumni/magazine.
3D Chats: a 3D Avatar chat has all the same features as traditional chat rooms, but in a virtual
world such as Second Life®. (See Avatars)
Apps: any software tool that functions and is
operated by a computer or mobile phone device
to support and improve the user’s work. For a
list of the top 100 Web apps in 2008 go to the
Thomas Magazine Web site (see above) and click
on the link “Top Web Apps.”
Avatars: a computer user’s representation of
himself/herself or alter ego (See cover). Used
in computer games or online forums, the
representation can be a picture (two dimensional)
or a three-dimensional image.
Blackboard: a fee-based educational platform
that enables schools and universities to host their
classes on the Web. It is designed to enable educational innovations by connecting people and technology.
Blog: a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics
or video. A popular blogging Web site is
blogger.com.
Boxee: a Web site that gathers video from all over
the Web (Hulu, YouTube, CNN.com and many
others) and puts it in an easy-to-use interface that
can be accessed via computer or TV. It creates a
programming-like guide for Internet video rather
than having to search individual sites. It can also
organize video, images and music stored on a hard
drive.
Collaboration Webs: virtual collaborations between
online users using the Internet. This can include social
networking tools, web applications and collaborative
workspaces.
Data Mashup: a Web application that combines data
from more than one source into a single integrated tool.
Delicious.com (formerly del.icio.us): a social bookmarking Web service for storing, sharing and discovering Web
sites tagged and bookmarked by others.
Digg.com: a social news Web site for people to discover
and share content from anywhere on the Internet by
submitting links and stories. Users can vote stories up
or down, called “digging” and “burying”.
Extranet: a private network that uses Internet technologies and an organization’s network to securely share
parts of its information or operations with suppliers, vendors, partners, customers or other businesses.
Facebook.com: a social networking site that was created in February 2004. People of all ages—grandparents,
parents and children—use Facebook in more than 35
different languages and 170 countries and territories.(2)
Flickr.com: an image and video hosting Web site.
Users share personal photos and videos and it is used
by many bloggers as a photo repository.
Folksonomy: (also known as collaborative tagging,
social classification, social indexing and social tagging)
is the practice and method of creating and managing
tags to annotate and categorize content.
Gaming: is the activity of playing games (any of a
number of structured activities, including board games,
role-playing games and video games).
Glogster.com (Glog): an online poster Web site. Its
tag line is “poster yourself.” Users can combine text,
pictures, graphics, video and audio to create an interactive online poster that can be embedded into a wiki,
blog or Web site.
Google Reader: a Web-based aggregator that constantly checks for a user’s favorite news sites and blogs for
new, updated content. It can read RSS feeds online or
offline (See Real Simple Syndication).
Hulu.com, TV.com: Web sites that offer commercialsupported streaming video of TV shows and movies
from many networks and studios.
Internet: a global network of interconnected computers, enabling users to share information along
multiple channels.
Intranet: a private computer network that uses Internet
technologies to securely share any part of an organization’s information or operational systems with its internal
users, such as employees, students or others.
Instant Messaging (IM): a form of real-time communication, based on typed text, between two people
connected over a network such as the Internet. Familiar
services include Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant
Messenger, MSN Messenger and Windows
Communicator.
Learning Management Systems (LMS): software
for delivering, tracking and managing training.
Frequently used in educational settings, applications for
students include discussion boards, assignment dropboxes (file uploaders), e-mail and assessment tools.
Common examples are Blackboard and Moodle.
LinkedIn.com: a business-oriented social networking
site launched in May 2003, mainly used for professional
networking. As of October 2008, it had more than 30
million registered users spanning 150 industries.
Loopt.com: a mobile application that gives users the
ability to detect locations of other mobile users through
maps and global positioning. Through a query system,
Loopt detects businesses and makes suggestions based
on your interests or specific queries (food, movies and
bowling for example) and can additionally provide user
reviews.
Metadata: is used to facilitate the understanding,
characteristics and management usage of data on the
Internet. Examples of metadata regarding a book would
be the author, publisher, ISBN number or other data.
Millennial: a person of the millenial generation was
born between 1980 and 2000. They are the first generation to grow up surrounded by digital media.
SPRING 2009
31
Mobile Learning (or mLearning): related to elearning and distance education, it focuses on learning
across contexts and learning with mobile devices. One
definition of mobile learning is: learning that happens
across locations, or that takes advantage of learning
opportunities offered by portable technologies.
Moodle: a free Learning Management System Web
software that allows educators to create online learning
for students.
MySpace.com: a very popular international social
networking Web site that offers users e-mail, forums,
communities, videos and a blog space. Currently there
are 76 million users on MySpace U.S.
Podcast: a series of audio or video digital media files,
which is distributed over the Internet by syndicated
download, through Web feeds, to portable media players
and personal computers.
Power over Ethernet (PoE): an innovative technology that is being used to power Internet phones,
wireless Internet, network cameras, etc. in areas where
AC power is either expensive or not readily available.
It saves time and money by avoiding the expense of
laying separate power and data cables.
Qik.com: a membership Web site that allows users to
stream and share live video from a cell phone camera.
Qik members from around the world stream videos that
are automatically archived and can be programmed to
send them to YouTube, Facebook or a user’s own blog.
Real Simple Syndication (RSS) feed: an RSS
reader checks the user’s subscribed feeds regularly for
new work, downloads and updates from Web sites, blog
entries, news headlines, and audio and video from the
publisher of these works. An RSS document includes full
or summarized text, which benefits publishers by letting
them distribute content automatically.
Second Life®.com: a virtual world used in many college classes where “residents” can interact with each
other through the use of self-created avatars. They can
explore, meet other residents, socialize and participate
in individual and group activities.
Skype.com: a text, voice and video-chatting platform
that works using your Internet connection.
Social Bookmarking: a method for Internet users to
store, organize, search, and manage bookmarks of Web
pages on the Internet with the help of metadata.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
Social Networking: a social structure where individuals
or organizations share information in an online
environment. The most popular social networking sites
are Facebook and MySpace.
Streaming Media: is audio or video that is constantly
received by an end user while it is being delivered by a
provider, such as television or radio. The name refers to
the delivery method of the medium rather than to the
medium itself. Users can receive it via cable, the Internet,
Mp3 players, such as iPods, or cell phones.
COURSE SPOTLIGHT
Trends in Curriculum Development
with Gayla LaBreck
BY DIANA DORITY
Tagging: a keyword or term assigned to a piece of
information, such as an Internet bookmark, digital image
or computer file. This kind of metadata helps describe an
item and allows it to be found again by browsing or
searching.
Twitter.com: a free social messaging utility for staying
connected in real time. A post or status update on Twitter
is known as a “tweet.” Twitter’s popularity is expanding
rapidly; user totals grew 752% in 2008.(3)
Vlogs (Video Log): a form of blogging for which the
medium is video.
Thomas College Course Overview
Web 2.0: describes the changing trends in the use of
World Wide Web technology and Web design that aim to
enhance creativity, communications, secure information
sharing, collaboration and functionality of the Web.
Widget: applications that can be easily downloaded from
Web providers and installed on computer desktops, or
embedded into personal Web pages and blogs. They often
take the form of on-screen tools such as clocks, event
countdowns, auction tickers, stock market tickers, flight
arrival information or daily weather.
Wiki: collaborative Web sites which can be edited by
anyone with access. The most widely recognized wiki
project is Wikipedia.com, a publicly editable encyclopedia.
Many colleges, universities and classes have developed
their own wikis.
Yelp, Inc.: a Web 2.0 company that operates a social
networking, user review and local search Web site
(Yelp.com). Over 10.6 million users access the site
each month, putting it in the top 100 of U.S. Internet
Web sites.
YouTube.com: a video sharing Web site where users
can upload, view and share video clips.
T
his is a required course for the Master of Science in
Education program where students acquire concepts and
skills that can be applied to their own curriculum development
process. It examines the issues of curriculum development
(design, instruction and assessment) common to all subject
areas and educational levels.
Teaching approach
This course includes short lectures, PowerPoint® presentations,
individual research and reporting, personal reflection, and group
collaboration (both in class and on Blackboard). In a weekly
journal, students write about how to apply what they learn and
analyze how their own beliefs, values and assumptions affect
their curriculum development. They research curriculum standards of different states and post summaries for their classmates
on Blackboard.
The Instructor
Gayla LaBreck has served as an adjunct instructor at Thomas
since 1996. She received her Bachelor of Science in Elementary
Education and her Master of Science in Education from the
University of Maine as a literacy specialist. LaBreck returned
to UMO to attain her CAS in Educational Leadership and is
certified as a Superintendent of Schools finishing her internship in 2005. In addition to this course, LaBreck also teaches
Educational Assessment, and electives in Leadership and
Literacy. When not teaching, she provides national consulting
services for Pearson, an international media company.
Why use technology in the classroom?
• To enhance student learning by providing access to faster
online search capability.
• Online videos offer students real examples of the type of
work they would be doing—similar to looking over the
shoulder of a teacher, watching them create a lesson
plan—it augments their field experiences.
• Allows for more multimedia and hands-on activities
which keeps students engaged.
• To level the playing field for all types of learners: auditory,
visual and kinesthetic.
LaBreck shares her knowledge of Internet resources (many of
them free) available to students such as: Portaportal.com, a
Web site that allows teachers to store links to other sites that
are useful in their curriculum, and Lexile.com, a Web-based
educational tool that explains how reading comprehension
levels of books are scored and helps match readers to text.
The Students’ Take
“This class confirms what we are doing right, while showing
us how to be better at our craft.”
“I appreciate the balance throughout the class between
instruction and group discussion.”
Sources:
1. www.wikipedia.org • 2. http://blog.facebook.com • 3. www.mashable.com
SPRING 2009
33
Man of Mystery?
B Y L E E R. A L L E N
W
HEN YOU FIRST MEET Chris Rhoda, it’s
all about the business of information technology
and services. What else? Rhoda takes his role of
providing the technology tools and services that an entire
campus needs to run very seriously. With a three-person
department, supplemented by student work-study support,
Rhoda manages and troubleshoots campus-wide information
services for faculty, students and staff on a daily basis, and
yes, that includes weekends.
When you Google Rhoda, don’t confuse his listings with
those of cowboy Chris Rhoda whom you will also discover
there. However, Rhoda does enjoy being outside, perhaps
because he grew up on a potato farm in Hogdon, Maine
rather than as a cowboy!
Behind the IT façade lies a man whose personal life is quite
the opposite of his on-campus persona. “Colleagues at work
may not recognize me off-campus,” he says. “At home I am in
my jeans, grilling out, working around the house or traveling
with my wife [Andrea, M.S. ’07] and my daughter.”
By day, Christopher Rhoda is vice president for Information
Services at Thomas where he oversees the Library and
Information Technology Services departments.
For the last 20 years, Rhoda has been responsible for a multitude of advancements of campus IT services. A few include creating local area networks, adding telephone, Internet and cable
34
THOMAS MAGAZINE
Q. What do you consider your greatest achievement
in your position while at Thomas?
A. I would have to say the ability to help several
thousand people with their IT needs while they work
to accomplish their educational and career goals.
Courtesy of Chris Rhoda
Chris Rhoda ’88, M.B.A. ’89
TV/local video origination services, creating a campus-wide
wireless network, providing help desk services, developing
instructional technology for both traditional classroom and
online courses, and keeping the campus network secure.
He is a busy man.
A staff member since 1988, Rhoda is also an alumnus having
received a B.S. in 1988 in Information Services and an M.B.A.
in 1989. Rhoda was Thomas’ first full-time computer services
employee. He was hired as a programmer/analyst, after creating
administrative systems part-time for the College for three years
as an undergraduate. His first full-time charge was to create an
admissions information system to help increase enrollment.
Rhoda’s tenure explains his passion for the students and
his colleagues across campus. “Because Chris has been both a
student and staff member, he combines a unique perspective
on campus life at Thomas,” says President George Spann.
As part of his responsibilities, Rhoda works with the
President’s Council in strategic and annual planning and enables
the Information Services team to provide the best service to students, faculty and staff to meet the goals of academic excellence.
Rhoda has also taught many programming and management
information systems courses over the years. As an associate professor, Rhoda says, “my teaching goal is to engage students
using various methods and tools to encourage active learning
for those with various learning styles.”
According to Vice President for Academic Affairs Thomas
Edwards, “Chris understands teaching technology as a tool to
engage, to inform and to empower students. It allows academics
to go beyond the traditional confines of the classroom. He
understands that technology doesn’t replace teaching—but it
does make a different kind and scope of teaching possible.”
Rhoda also makes an impact on the industry he works in.
Google him (and not the other Chris Rhoda) again, and you’ll
find that because of his deep knowledge of issues surrounding
I had a chance to sit down with Rhoda and ask him to
reflect on and provide insight about his time spent at
Thomas and his wishes for the future. Here is what he
shared with me:
technology in education, he is also in high demand as a speaker
at various industry venues, such as NERCOMP (Northeast
Regional Computing Program), and is quoted in many trade
publications from organizations like Educause, the national
organization for information technology in higher education.
His work at Thomas has garnered recognition from other colleges and universities, tech organizations and peers for bringing
the College to the leading edge of IT. Through his work,
Thomas has received several awards, grants and recognitions,
including two from Microsoft® for progressive use of technology.
Thomas was recently featured as a case study on the Microsoft®
Web site as a stellar example of customer solutions for the new
Vista® Operating System and it is currently the subject of a case
study being conducted by Dell.
With Rhoda’s busy schedule on campus, one of his biggest
regrets is the lack of time he can spend with students day-to-day
as he troubleshoots campus technology issues. However, for
three years Rhoda has participated in the Resident Assistants
(RA) events program as a facilitator. According to Rhoda, an
RA asked him to attend a Bingo activity with his floor at Grant
dorm in 2006. “After the first year, I thought there was a great
opportunity to invite the students to my house the following
year,” he said. “We had more space, pinball machines, a pool
table and other games, and it gave me a chance for some
extra grilling!”
According to RA Bill Oxford, an Accounting/M.B.A. major
at Thomas, “I found out that Rhoda was interested in the RA
program. Because of his involvement, the program has continued to grow over the past three years. We held it again this past
October and we had an awesome turnout.” Oxford attributes
the success of his events to Rhoda. “There is no awkwardness
when he is participating. I feel that he is basically a big kid at
heart and wants to interact with the residents on a less formal
level than from being the ‘IT guy’. He is very easy-going and
shows that in the way he interacts with the residents.”
Oxford says, “Chris Rhoda’s participation has greatly affected
the way that my residents see the faculty.” He continues, “I may
not have had this opportunity if it wasn’t for being an RA, but it
has been beneficial. It is just like having another person to go to
when there may be a problem.”
Q. What advantages have you had working at
Thomas from having also been a student here?
A. Initially, a unique perspective, but throughout the 20
years I think it has helped connect me to the institution
more so than an employee who is not an alum.
Q. What has kept you at Thomas for so long?
A. Several factors: the constant challenge, the ability
to implement new projects most years; and especially
working with the institutional leadership.
Q. What is your philosophy of providing IT services
to the campus community?
A. Do what we can with what we have. This requires
constant prioritization and re-prioritization. The mission
of the IT Services department is to help all areas of the
College by providing adequate resources and support for
the tools required by students, faculty, and administrative
staff in their day-to-day activities.
Q. Look into your crystal ball and describe how you
think professors and students will be using technology for teaching and learning in ten years.
A. The biggest trend appears to be the constant immersion people have with technology. I suspect products
like Smart Phones and applications like Twitter are just
the beginning, allowing us to be “connected” anytime,
anywhere. The biggest challenge appears to be the ability
to determine appropriate use for technology and how
to critically analyze the vast amounts of information we
each receive daily.
Q. What is your one wish for IT services at Thomas?
A. To continue to be a strategic resource for the institution by providing information for decisions, increasing
our academic excellence, keeping our business processes
efficient, and providing a good experience for our
students.
SPRING 2009
35
C A M P U S
N E W S
C A M P U S
Thomas Hosts Teachers
from Kotlas, Russia
Art Gallery Moves
(B)log Jam Ahead
T
HOMAS COLLEGE HAS SEEN the launch of many
new blogs in recent months. The blogs have provided a
great way for students, faculty, staff and parents to feel better
connected to the campus community. And the great thing is
that all the blogs connect to each other and back to the
Thomas Web site to provide for more interaction. Below are
some of the sites in this (b)log jam.
Courtesy of Diana Dority (2)
T
T
Courtesy of Brenda Ferguson
HE THOMAS
COLLEGE ART
GALLERY has found a new
home. The Gallery was recently relocated from the lobby
area outside of the President’s
office on the second floor of
the Administration Building to
the Library on the first floor.
In addition to increased traffic,
and ease of access, this new
space allows for 30 additional
feet of display space for visiting
artists.
The new location is just
one news item regarding the
Art Gallery. Additionally,
beginning this year, opening
receptions are being held for
each artist. The first reception
was held on January 16 for
Dixmont artist, Brenda
Ferguson. Dozens of attendees
including Thomas faculty, staff,
students and members of the
Dyed in the Wool by Brenda Ferguson.
community, as well as friends
and family of Ferguson, were
treated to an open bar and refreshments as they enjoyed the
many pastel works by Ferguson that were on display.
Receptions will be held for each new artist during the first
week of their exhibit. They are open to the public and there
is no cost to attend. For more information, please visit
www.thomas.edu.
In addition, Thomas is pleased to announce the kick-off of
the first (soon to be annual) Thomas College Student, Faculty
and Staff Art Show. All Thomas students (Day, CED and
Graduate), faculty and staff are eligible to submit art. Original
works in any medium (painting, photography, sculpture,
pottery, etc.) are eligible.
Please visit the Thomas Art Gallery to view the works of
talented local artists. The gallery is open to the public Monday
through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
If you are interested in showing your work at the Thomas
College Art Gallery, please call 207-859-1211 or e-mail
[email protected]. Shows are booked at least one year
in advance. Please have samples of your work to share.
2009–2010 Art Gallery
Exhibit Calendar
January 16–February 27
Brenda Ferguson, Dixmont (pastels)
March 6–April 30
Student, Faculty and Staff Art Show
(various mediums)
May 1–June 26
Patrick Brancaccio, Harpswell (photography)
August 28–October 30
To Be Announced
November 6–December 30
Irene Rothe, Auburn (watercolors)
36
THOMAS MAGAZINE
N E W S
HOMAS COLLEGE
HOSTED A GROUP
of teachers from Waterville’s
sister city of Kotlas, Russia in
December. The teachers met
with Thomas’ Elementary
Education faculty and attended
several demonstrations at the
College.
The visit, coordinated by
the Kotlas Connection
(www.kotlas.org), provided an
opportunity for a group of
teachers from Kotlas to learn
Dr. Dale Dickson demonstrates equipment
in the Davis Hybrid Science Lab for a
about the way that America’s
Kotlas teacher.
future teachers are prepared in
the college setting. The delegates enjoyed lunch with senior
administration, faculty and students, a campus tour and then
a meeting with Elementary Education faculty and students in
which they discussed teacher preparation and student portfolios,
among other topics. Following the discussion, the group saw
demonstrations from faculty and students in Thomas’ new
Davis Hybrid Science Lab, as well as a presentation on courses
offered such as Foundations of Quantitative Analysis.
The teachers were in the Waterville area for about a week,
during which time they visited Waterville public schools and
spent time shadowing local teachers. The visit was supported by
a grant from the Open World Program (www.openworld.gov),
which is funded by the Library of Congress. Open World
is designed to enhance understanding between the United
States and the countries of Eurasia and the Baltic republics.
The Kotlas Connection began the grant competition a year
ago. This is the Kotlas Connection’s second Open World grant.
thomascollegeadmissions.blogspot.com
The most recent and exciting blog to launch is targeted
at prospective Thomas students. Started by the Admissions
Office, it provides potential students with useful information
about academic and campus life, the application process, dates
of upcoming events, such as open houses and college fairs,
and a better way to connect with Admissions staff. The blog
also links to blogs of Student Ambassadors to help future
students get a feel for life as a Thomas student coming
straight from the mouths—or keyboards—of those
experiencing it daily.
thomascollegelibrary.blogspot.com
The Thomas Library staff has also recently launched a blog
that provides faculty and students another forum to get more
involved with the numerous activities at the Library. The goal
is to provide better access and information about the valuable
resources available. Did you know they have more than books
there? The blog’s headline reads, “We plan to use this space to
keep the Thomas community updated on exciting new items
and services available at the library.” And they are doing just
that. The blog is updated regularly with news about new services available (many of them being online resources) and tips
on how to use them most effectively. It also includes links to
other helpful Web sites.
Faculty Blogs:
Jim Libby’s Blog
jimlibbysblog.blogspot.com
Nancy Henry’s Blog
tuxedokatjunction.blogspot.com
Tom Easton’s Blog
technoprobe.blogspot.com
Several Thomas faculty members have entered the world
of blogging. Among them are Professor Jim Libby with his
Economic Policy blog, adjunct faculty member Nancy Henry
with her philosophy and communications (and more!) blog
and Professor Tom Easton with his Technoprobing blog,
with a headline that reads “Emerging technologies; issues
in science, technology, and society; and even a bit of science
fiction—it’s all grist for the mill.” Check them out!
SPRING 2009
37
C A M P U S
N E W S
C A M P U S
I N S P I R AT I O N A L S T U D E N T
Petrocelli Adds Pep to Putting
at Annual Lunder Invitational
Thomas Athlete Julia Nyitray
Finds New Challenge
T
HOMAS JUNIOR
JULIA NYITRAY has
played soccer, and hockey
and been a member of the ROTC,
so she is no stranger to the rush of
adrenaline one feels in competition.
But none of it compared to the
thrill Nyitray felt during her latest
adventure participating in the
Crashed Ice IV competition, sponsored by Red Bull Energy Drink
Courtesy of Yorick Carroux
in Quebec City in January.
A combination of hockey, boardercross and downhill skiing,
Red Bull Crashed Ice is arguably the fastest sport on skates.
Over the course of the weekend, 120,000 fans watched as racers
hurdled down an ice track coiling around Old Quebec. It began
at the Château Frontenac with racers battling to the bottom
through a series of massive vertical drops, razor-sharp turns, ice
steps and gap jumps before ending at the Saint Lawrence River.
A couple of weeks before the event, Nyitray, a business management major from Farmingdale, Maine, hadn’t even heard of
Crashed Ice. She was approached by a friend of the family, a
local hockey coach, who had been contacted by a representative
of Red Bull looking for a U.S. female to participate in the event.
“I figure-skated for 17 years and played hockey in high school,
but I hadn’t really skated in four years. I figured it would be
fun,” Nyitray said.
Nyitray jumped at the opportunity to try something new
and says she wasn’t scared when she saw the track. “It was unbelievable. You start by looking down at this 30 foot drop.
It was bumpy—you can’t get a zamboni down there, of
course—with jumps and drops. It was nerve-wracking, but
once I got through training, it was a lot better.”
Qualifying events were held in November and December
2008, and more than 100 men and 20 women competed in
a final qualifying round in January. Consecutive heats of four
skaters raced head-to-head in a double elimination bracket
narrowing the field down from the top 64 qualifiers to a final
four in the men’s division, and from the top 16 qualifiers to a
final four in the women’s division.
N E W S
“I had to make the top 16 to qualify,” Nyitray explains. “My
first run was clean, I came in fifth. After my second run I was
seventh overall and made it to the quarterfinals.” She did well
enough in the quarterfinals to make it onto the semi-finals
where she finished seventh.
Nyitray continues, “I was completely pumped about it. I was
talking to my dad on my cell phone and he was freaking out.
There were so many people watching. This event is really big in
Canada. Once you get to the bottom of the track reporters are
right in your face. It was amazing.”
Nyitray’s father, Louis, taught her how to skate when she was
young. He was ready with tips and pointers for his daughter
once he found out she was going to compete. “He got on
YouTube and was watching videos from previous years. He suggested how I should approach it,” she explained. Now that she
has one competition under her belt, her father is ready to coach
her onto the next level. “He’s already talking about building a
track in our backyard for me to practice,” she laughs.
It will be important for Nyitray to start practicing now, as
there have been talks of the competition coming to Maine next
year. “They said they’d like to have one in Portland and if they
do, I may be asked to host, which means I would get a bye in
the first round.”
Regardless of where it happens, Nyitray is looking forward to
doing it again. “I’ll continue to do it every year if they’ll have
me,” she says.
A
MERICO PETER “RICO” PETROCELLI, Red
Sox Hall of Famer, was the guest of honor at Thomas
College’s fifth annual Lunder Scholars Golf Invitational on
Friday, September 12, at Belgrade Lakes Golf Club.
Petrocelli joined Thomas College President George Spann
and two members of the Thomas men’s golf team as they
competed against 20 other teams for the tournament
win. Despite the rainy weather, the tournament was a great
success and raised significant funds for the Lunder Scholars
Endowment, which provides financial assistance to Maine
students attending Thomas.
Petrocelli played for the Boston Red Sox for 13 seasons
from 1963-1976 as shortstop and third baseman, and played
in two World Series. In 1967, Petrocelli was a strong performer
during the Carl Yastrzemski-led Red Sox “Impossible Dream”
year. In the 1975 Fall Classic, Petrocelli hit .308 with four
RBI and three runs, and played errorless defense.
Voted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997, Petrocelli was
the first American League shortstop to hit 40 homeruns in a
season. He played in the 1967 and 1969 All-Star games and
ended his career with 210 homeruns and 778 RBI. Petrocelli
Michael DeFilippo ’12 and Matthew Dumais ’09 join Boston Red Sox Hall of Famer,
Rico Petrocelli, and President George Spann for a round of golf in the Annual Lunder
Scholars Golf Invitational.
managed and coached in the White Sox and Red Sox organizations and currently acts as a company spokesperson for
TD Banknorth, participating in charity events on behalf of
the company.
Plans are already in place for the sixth annual Lunder
Scholars Golf Invitational. Check out www.thomas.edu for
more information.
Townhouse Residences Open at Thomas
T
HE THOMAS COLLEGE CAMPUS has expanded
once again with the completion of the townhouse residential buildings. The three new units are located on the northeast
corner of the campus to the rear of the Harold Alfond Athletic
Center and Laurette Ayotte Auditorium. The Townhouses
accommodate 88 students in two-floor, suite-style living areas.
Students enjoy a private entrance to their townhouse, a small
common area on the first floor of each unit, and double and
single living quarters. Townhouse residents also have access to
a community living area on the first floor of each unit, which
has laundry facilities, mailboxes, and a fully-equipped kitchen.
Kaym Eells ’11 (center) chats with Katie St. George ’09 (left) and Jen Higgins ’09
(right) who are happy to be among the first residents of the new Townhouses.
Currently, the townhouses are home to mostly seniors, which
many of them say is a nice perk. “It’s nice to be somewhat
separated from the rest of the campus,” says senior Katie St.
George. “It helps to give us a feeling like we are living on
our own. It’s a good way to transition from dorm-life to
life-after-Thomas.” St. George’s townhouse-mate, Jennifer
Higgins ’09, agrees and adds that being away from the center
of campus is attractive. “It’s nice and quiet. The rooms are big
and it is especially nice to be able to spend this last year with
our friends in our own space.”
Courtesy of Jean-Marie Villeneuve for Le Soleil
38
THOMAS MAGAZINE
SPRING 2009
39
C A M P U S
N E W S
C A M P U S
Freda Staples Smith Receives
Degree from Thomas at Age 85
Orientation 2008 Brings Class of 2012 to Campus and Together
T
F
REDA STAPLES SMITH IS undoubtedly the most senior member of Thomas College’s senior class. Smith, 85, a
resident of Sunset Home in Waterville received her Associate of
Arts degree cum laude at a special ceremony at the residential
care facility in December.
Smith, a 1940 graduate of Waterville High School, earned
credits from two other colleges before attending Thomas. “Her
mother made her promise to attend Colby for at least two years
so she enrolled and studied French,” explained Smith’s daughter
Sherry Darby. But Colby was not for her, so she transferred to
Nasson College, formerly in Springvale, Maine, and enrolled in
the dietician program.
As Freda Staples, she attended Nasson; her then boyfriend,
W. Leigh Smith, was enrolled at Gorham Normal School, now
the University of Southern Maine at Gorham. Though he was a
college student exempt from the draft, he was called to military
service during World War II. He was sent to basic training at
Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Maryland. While in
training, he contracted meningitis and was told he would never
walk again. Staples dropped out of school to be with him and
said “I will not marry a cripple,” which gave him the determination to get better and walk again.
They married and both started working at Keyes Fiber in
Fairfield. Smith was the secretary to the engineering department. She stopped working at Keyes for several years to raise
her two children, Sherry and Scott, but eventually went back
to work so that she could afford to send them to college.
Smith placed a high value on education. Perhaps it was her
upbringing—her mother, Margaret Staples, had been the chair
of the English department at Lawrence High School for many
years. Smith insisted that her children pursue higher education.
“Our parents were always very supportive. They told me that I
would never be compared to my older sister—I could do what I
wanted, but I should strive to be the best at whatever that was,”
says her son. Smith expected a lot of her children; she valued
education and wanted to instill those values in her children—
and she did a good job of it.
“
I never dreamed I would be
handed anything like this.
My mother would be awfully
proud of me.
40
THOMAS MAGAZINE
N E W S
President George Spann holds the hand of Freda Smith, Thomas’ most senior Senior.
It wasn’t until after her husband passed away that Smith’s
attention turned again to her own education. She enrolled
part-time at Thomas from 1979–1983 to pursue a bachelor’s
degree, but never completed all the required courses for the
bachelor program and, thus, never received a diploma.
Smith’s daughter initiated the degree presentation. “I started
going through my mother’s folders and kept coming across the
transcripts. I looked at them and decided something had to be
done.” Darby then contacted Thomas College.
After a review of her transcripts, Tom Edwards, Thomas’ vice
president for Academic Affairs, contacted Sherry with the news
that Smith had acquired the needed coursework to earn her
Associate of Arts degree. And with a cumulative grade point
average of 3.24, she would graduate cum laude (with honors).
Darby was thrilled to receive the news and worked with Thomas
and Sunset Home to put the event together.
Thomas President George Spann, along with Edwards,
attended the graduation event and surrounded by Smith’s
family, friends, and Sunset Home residents and staff, presented
Smith, dressed in cap, gown and honor cord, with her longawaited diploma.
The family kept the presentation a secret until the night
before. Smith was thrilled when she learned about it and cried
tears of joy, which started up again when the ceremony began.
“I never dreamed I would be handed anything like this,” Smith
said through her tears. “My mother would be awfully proud
of me.”
“This is huge for her,” Darby said. “I’ve only seen my
mother cry twice.”
Smith’s son led a celebratory toast and Darby thanked the
Sunset Home staff for planning the celebration. On her children’s appreciation, Smith said, “See, I brought them up right!”
Edwards joked that perhaps Smith would be awarded with a
new car as a graduation gift. He also teased “now we just need
to settle those unpaid library fines...with compounded interest!”
HE CLASS OF 2012 ARRIVED on the Thomas
campus at the end of August 2008. Among the vehicles
loaded with bedding, bulk packages of Ramen® noodles and
dorm fridges, the students who make up Thomas’ first-year
class anxiously made their way around campus in preparation
for the next chapter in their lives.
Of the 252 new students at Thomas this year, more than 20
percent have crossed state lines to pursue their degree. Some
come from other New England states, some from New York
and Pennsylvania, while others made a longer trek from places
like Texas and even Russia.
The activities of move-in and orientation day included visiting the registration center to pick up a welcome packet, getting
photo IDs and registering vehicles. Next, resident students—
most with parents in tow—headed off to settle into the space
they will call home for the next year. Nearly 80 percent of the
class of 2012 (200 of 253 students) are living on campus this
year. After unpacking, many students took the opportunity,
while their parents (and accompanying checkbooks) were near,
to hit the Thomas College bookstore and stock up on the essentials for classes—maybe a few notebooks or Thomas sweatshirts,
but most importantly, their text books for the semester.
All new students and their families were treated to a barbecue
lunch, which was followed by an official welcome from Thomas
President George Spann. President Spann urged the students
to get to know at least one faculty member their first semester
and to have that faculty member know them well. Before the
final farewells, families were invited to attend a presentation
by motivational speaker Ed Gerety, while students attended
a getting-to-know-your-classmates session titled Playfair. The
first-year students enjoyed various high-energy activities in this
session including a Rock-Paper-Scissors tournament, dancing,
and more.
SPRING 2009
41
C A M P U S
N E W S
I N S P I R AT I O N A L S T U D E N T
My Semester Abroad
in Heidelberg, Germany
Krista Specht
Junior Krista Specht, a Finance major from Fairfield who is the
founder and president of the student Environmental Awareness
Group, as well as a member of the Dance Club, spent the Fall 2008
semester abroad in Heidelberg, Germany. Here Specht reflects on
her experience.
I
Courtesy of Krista Specht (4)
CHOSE HEIDELBERG FOR MY semester abroad
because of its location, size and rich culture. Heidelberg
can be described in two words: “fairytale city.” It is a small
city tucked between two mountains and divided by the Neckar
River, which connects to the Rhine. A beautiful castle overlooks
the city which holds a dome cathedral, many old-style buildings
sitting along-side very modern-styled buildings, a famous
‘Altstadt’ Old city, and a brick/cobblestone pedestrian bridge.
One of my favorite places in Heidelberg was a walking trail
(Philosophy Way) which went up the mountain and led to a
garden overlooking the entire city.
The German culture is very celebratory. Some of the festivals
held in Heidelberg included: wine festivals, Oktoberfest
(Heidelberg style), Herbst Fest (a celebration of the fall season),
and the ever-popular Christmas market, which is held every
November and December. During these festivals, the streets in
the old city fill with stands of wurst, beer and candy. Tables are
set up close to the stands and it is common for people to meet
and greet one another there. The atmosphere is cheerful with
performances from musical bands, parades and dance groups.
During the Christmas market, the streets are filled with the
scent of Gluehwein (a warm, spiced Christmas wine) and
roasted nuts.
I chose to study abroad for the opportunity to network with
students from around the world. I attended an international
school and while being immersed in the German culture, I was
able to learn about other cultures and people. My coursework
included European History, Middle Eastern Studies, German
Language and International Business. The courses were different
from Thomas in the way they were structured. I had a class,
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
once a week for a three-hour period. At Thomas, the classes
run three hours per week, but are spread out over several days.
I was also expected to read and study outside of class time.
My final exams were worth 50 percent of my final grade and
mid-terms were worth 25–30 percent.
Luckily, I was able to travel while I was there. I participated
in two school-organized trips: a canoe/bike weekend trip to
Strasbourg, France, and a week long trip to Mallorca, Spain.
On my own, I visited Freiberg, Wiesbaden, Speyer, Frankfurt,
Munich, Fulda, Mannheim, Marburg, and Berlin, Germany.
Though I was without a vehicle, I was able to travel by high
speed trains, local city trams and buses.
The social atmosphere was alive and vibrant. One of the
parks along the Neckar River was a favorite social spot. Between
volleyball and soccer games, there was always something happening. Townspeople brought blankets, food and drink, and
would meet at the river banks to celebrate.
The city also offered a variety of nightlife entertainment
including a live jazz club, salsa club and Indian music as well
as dance nights at a local restaurant. I was also able to attend
theater and musical productions, which varied every weekend.
In November, Heidelberg hosted an international film festival
which lasts for two weeks. There was never a lack of activities
to get involved in while I was there.
When I stepped onto the plane to return to the U.S., I felt
like I had just arrived there: four-and-a-half months seemed to
have gone by as fast as four-and-a-half days. During the return
flight I experienced nine hours of mixed emotions. I was leaving
a temporary home I had loved, but was excited to see friends
back in the States. I am already looking forward to returning
to Germany in the future, and I certainly left part of my heart
in Heidelberg.
Taking time to spend a semester abroad was an enriching
experience for me. I will carry what I learned, the memories,
and the friendships I made with me for the rest of my life.
C A M P U S
F A C U L T Y / S T A F F
N E W S
Tom Easton, professor of science, has an upcoming book
titled, “The 3D Printing
Revolution.” In September,
Easton gave us a sneak preview
of what was to come in a review
he wrote for TechRevu titled,
“In Crimes to Come.” This year
Easton has also collaborated with
a former colleague on a piece,
The Promise of E-Portfolios for
Institutional Assessment. It will
be included in the soon-to-be
published book, “Electronic
Portfolios 2.0: Emergent
Research on Implementation
and Impact.”
Davis Hybrid Science Lab Opens
T
HE DAVIS HYBRID SCIENCE LAB is now open
and in wide use by excited students. With the support
of a generous grant from the Davis Educational Foundation,
Thomas has renovated a former classroom space to create a
unified hybrid lab facility on campus.
The move to create the lab was spearheaded by three
Thomas professors: Dr. Dale Dickson, Dr. Joseph Scozzafava
and Charles Ravis. With enormous growth in the Psychology,
Elementary Education and Criminal Justice programs, the need
for a permanent lab space dramatically increased. The Davis Lab
is used for exploring science methods of research for Education
majors, forensic science courses for Criminal Justice majors,
cellular biology and research courses in psychology, and in
anatomy and physiology for Sports Management majors.
Helene Farrar, adjunct faculty
member, has been full of activity
painting images inspired by her
recent trip to Italy. For almost 10
years she has followed her journey of being an artist. To see her
artwork and upcoming events
you can go to her site:
www.helenefarrar.com.
Honoring Faculty and Staff at
Annual Thanksgiving Celebration
E
ACH YEAR THOMAS STUDENTS, faculty and
staff look forward to one of the most exciting celebrations during the academic calendar—the annual Thanksgiving
celebration. It is one of the few opportunities for the entire
campus community to gather in honor of the individuals who
truly make a significant contribution to the institution.
President George Spann welcomed the community to this
year’s celebration, held on the Thursday before Thanksgiving.
He began the recognition program by noting, “We mark
their contributions by their years of service. ...we acknowledge the energy, expertise and enthusiasm they share with
all of us.”
Seven employees were recognized for their service to
the College and given gifts of appreciation. They included,
with five years, Michelle Joler-Labbe, director of Human
Resources and Hannah Gladstone, assistant dean of students;
with 15 years, faculty member Mark “Dog” Wallace; for 20
years, Christopher Rhoda, vice president for Information
Services and faculty members Pat Karush and Phil McPheeBrown; for 25 years, Professor Tom Easton; and for 30 years,
Professor Doug Lepley.
The final honoree of the day was introduced by President
Spann: “This man has been teaching at Thomas for a very
long time, since the Civil War, I think,” he joked. “He has
earned the respect, friendship, admiration and affection of all
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
of us. Students have honored him with numerous dedications
and testimonials. It is my privilege and honor to ask Nelson
Madore to come forward and be recognized for his 39 years
of devoted service to Thomas College.”
Dr. Madore graciously accepted the 2008 yearbook,
signed by faculty and staff, presented to him by President
Spann, amidst a well-deserved standing ovation from his
students and colleagues.
Faculty and staff members, because of their close contact
with students, are in a unique position to make a tremendous
impact on their success. For students, college can be exciting,
overwhelming, challenging and stressful. All those factors can
be balanced with the right support from faculty in the forms
of teaching, advising, mentorship and friendship. The length
of service of this year’s honorees illustrates their commitment
to students at Thomas. We congratulate them all.
Celebrating Dr. Madore
After nearly 40 years of service to Thomas College, beloved faculty
member Dr. Nelson Madore is retiring. A celebration will be held on
the Thomas campus Saturday, April 25 at 3:30 p.m. A Web page has
been created on the Thomas Web site (see Thomas Magazine site
for link) with information on the celebration and how to R.S.V.P., an
opportunity to contribute to the scholarship fund, as well as a chance
to leave comments or send photos for a scrapbook that will be
presented to Madore at the ceremony.
Nancy Henry,
adjunct faculty
member, was
“very excited
and flattered”
when a major
textbook company, Pearson Longman, solicited
one of the poems she had written, “People Who Take Care,”
for an upcoming textbook titled,
“College-Level Literature and
Writing Instruction: Literature
and the Writing Process,” 9th
Edition, by McMahan, Day,
Funk and Coleman.
Henry explained what
inspired her to write the poem:
“In 2001, I decided to transition
from my legal work as a child
advocate with the Attorney
General’s office to a career I had
always longed for—teaching. I
then found a position in a private
school that was part of a residential head injury center. I found
that the young people I got to
know during that year, both as a
teacher and house mother, were
profoundly courageous. It moved
me so, that I wrote a collection
of poems about them and in
their honor.
“The poem was about the
dedicated direct-care providers
who worked with these kids,”
says Henry. Henry’s poem was
selected for the Garrison Keillor
radio program.
Pearson Longman then contacted her to include the poem
in its textbook. Several Midwest
colleges invited her to do a
“reading tour” last year. “That
was an unforgettable experience,” she said.
John Joseph, professor of
finance and economics, attended
the 32nd Conference of the New
England Governors and Eastern
Canadian Premiers last fall. Six
governors and the five Canadian
Premiers were also in attendance.
It was held in Bar Harbor, Maine
in September 2008. The conference was hosted by the State of
Maine and was chaired by
Governor Baldacci. It closed with
attendees voting on resolutions
to move energy and transportation policies forward for the
coming year. Joseph was pleased
to be invited to take part in such
an event.
Jim Libby,
associate
professor
of business
administration,
has published a
new book titled
“Buxton”. The book contains
over 200 historical post card
images along with written history
of their origins. “It is my hope
that this book, which tracks
Buxton’s postcard history, will
serve as both a repository for its
fine photographs and as a springboard for more literary and electronic efforts that capture the
town’s images,” Libby says. Dr.
Libby has written several books,
including “Took Three Lives”
and“Super U: The History and
Politics of the University of Maine
System”. He is currently working
to expand a supplemental college
casebook entitled, “The Politics of
Economic Development.”
Nelson
Madore,
professor of
history and
government
continues to
receive kudos
for his book, “Voyages: A Maine
Franco-American Reader.” Eric
Waddell, geographer at Laval
University, recently said about
the book, “Let me tell you what
I’ve just read online at the
‘University Affairs/Affaires universitaires’ Web site: a wholepage review on ‘Voyages: A
Maine Franco-American Reader.’
The author for the review (and
reviews are rare in this publication) concludes by writing,
‘To my mind, this was the most
important book published in
American Studies in 2007.’”
Wendy Martin
was promoted
to associate
dean for
Undergraduate
Admissions in
August 2008.
During her time at Thomas, she
has developed an Admissions
team that delivers outstanding
levels of service to prospective
students and their families.
David Pease,
adjunct faculty
member, was
recently
appointed
as the vice
president and
human resources director at the
Androscoggin Bank of Lewiston.
Pease has been in the human
resources field for more than 20
years, most recently working as
the senior human resource leader
at a Maine hospital. Pease was
also named as Maine’s state
council director for the Society of
Human Resource Management.
Chuck Ravis, assistant professor
of sports management, has been
appointed as one of the “environmental expertise” representatives on the Maine Board of
Pesticides Control. His name
was submitted through the
Deptartment of Agriculture
N E W S
to the governor’s office and
required confirmation by the
Joint Standing Committee on
Agriculture and Forestry,
followed by legislative approval.
The Board is responsible for
policy and regulations regarding
pesticides in the state of Maine.
Ravis says that he is looking forward to providing input over the
next four years to this important
environmental area.
N E W FA C E S
Laura Betit
joined the
Thomas
Graduate and
Continuing
Education
Division on
October 27 as the administrative
assistant. She received her B.A. in
English Language and Literature
in 2006 from Southern New
Hampshire University. Most
recently, she worked as the lead
customer service representative
and trainer for Hertz Corporation at the Portland International Jetport.
Deb Biche
joined the
Thomas
Athletic
Department
on October 6
as the interim
athletic director
and was hired for the position
permanently in February.
Biche earned a B.S. in
Psychology with a minor in
coaching from Plymouth State
College and an M.S. in Sports
Psychology from Ithaca College.
Prior to Thomas, she worked at
St. Lawrence University for 10
years in the position of women’s
soccer head coach as well as
event manager, building supervisor, and athletic schedule
coordinator.
She also taught courses in
Human Growth and Motor
Development and Wellness.
Biche was also the women’s
soccer head coach at St. Joseph’s
College before transitioning
to St. Lawrence.
SPRING 2009
45
F A C U L T Y / S T A F F
Amy Black
joined the
Thomas College
administration
on January 28,
2009 as Controller. Black
brings several years of not-forprofit accounting experience. She
has a B.S. degree in Child
Development/Family Relations
from the University
of Maine at Orono, a B.S. in
Business Administration/
Accounting from the University
of Maine at Augusta, and an
M.S. in Accounting from the
University of Southern Maine.
She worked for Penquis CAP
in Bangor as a family planning
counselor before moving to the
Augusta area. She also worked
for the Family Planning Association of Maine in Augusta for 10
years in the finance department.
Most recently, Black was the
finance director for the Waterville
Area Boys and Girls Club and
YMCA at the Alfond Youth
Center.
Orlina Boteva
joined the
Thomas
College staff
on July 21 as
the assistant
director of
residential life. She comes to
Thomas having worked as a resident director at the University
of Southern Maine from 2005–
2008. Boteva has a thorough
knowledge of an educational
experience in Maine having completed most of her degree work
here. She received a M.Ed. in
Student Development in Higher
Education from the University of
Maine in 2005, and an M.A. in
History in 2004. Boteva received
a B.A. in Political Science and
History from the American
University in Bulgaria (where she
was born and raised) and spent
her junior year studying at the
University of Maine, Orono.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
N E W S
Joy Charles
joined the
Thomas
Athletic
Department
on October 1
as the new
women’s basketball head coach.
She graduated from the “Up
with People” world study abroad
program and attended New
England College where she was a
member of the women’s basketball team. She has coached basketball, softball and field hockey
at Messalonskee Middle School.
She was the assistant women’s
varsity basketball coach and the
women’s junior varsity coach at
Messalonskee High School from
2000 until 2008.
Donald
Cragen joined
the Thomas
College faculty
this fall as a
full-time assistant professor
of sport management. Cragen
holds his B.S. in Business Administration from Salem State
College and his M.S. in Athletic
Training from Illinois State
University. He is completing his
doctorate in Sports Management
at the United States Sports
Academy. Cragen comes to
Thomas from Triton College
in River Grove, Ill., where he
held positions as athletic trainer,
athletics director, and faculty
member since 1994.
Kristen Chasse
joined the
Thomas
Admissions staff
on August 1
as an undergraduate admissions counselor. She received
her B.A. in Anthropology and
Archaeology from Washington
and Lee University and studied
abroad with the School for
International Training (SIT).
Most recently she worked at
Washington and Lee in the
Archaeology department as the
assistant field director for the
Archaeology field school.
Cheryl
Daggett joined
the Thomas
College staff on
August 25 as
the new nurse
practitioner.
She brings with her over 30 years
of community health experience.
Daggett has worked for the past
several years as the project coordinator for the Family Planning
Association of Maine, a women’s
health care nurse for Planned
Parenthood of Northern New
England, a nurse practitioner
for the Male Clinical Services
Project in Augusta, and in a
private practice.
Her professional experiences
also include: nurse practitioner
with Three Rivers Family
Practice, private duty nurse, and
supervisory experience as an
R.N. with Inland Hospital.
Daggett holds an A.D.N. from
the Community College of
Philadelphia, a B.S.N. from the
University of Pennsylvania, a
B.S.N. from the University
of Southern Maine, and she
attended the Harbor General’s
Women’s Health Care Nurse
Practitioner Program.
Sarah Colby
joined the
Thomas
Information
Services
Department on
January 2 as
the information technology support technician. She is originally
from Massachusetts and moved
to Maine to attend Saint Joseph’s
College in Standish where she
worked towards a B.S. in English
with a minor in Fine Arts. After
four years of college, she started
work at a southern Maine temp
agency and was then permanently
placed at ComputerWorks, a
small repair shop in Scarborough,
which she eventually co-owned.
F A C U L T Y / S T A F F
Cindy Eastman
joined Thomas
College on
January 5 as the
administrative
assistant for
Student Affairs.
She brings over 10 years of experience to Thomas as an administrative assistant and office manager. Cindy has a B.A. degree in
Communications from Western
Illinois University. Most recently, she held the position of team
leader at True Textiles in
Guilford, Maine.
Joseph Frechette joined the
Thomas College Public Safety
Department in December as the
sergeant of public safety. Joe
recently retired from the U.S.
Army after serving 22 years. Joe
successfully completed the 100
hour pre-Law Enforcement
course at the Maine Criminal
Justice Academy in October
of 2008.
Heidi Holst
joined the
Thomas administration on
September
29 as the coordinator of
tutoring services. She received a
B.A. in English with a creative
writing emphasis and an M.A. in
Technical and Expository Writing
with a concentration in composition, both from the University
of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Holst has been a private
school teacher in Edina, Minn.,
a legislative proofreader for the
Office of the Revisor of Statutes
in Augusta, a supervisor of developmental writing at the
University of New England in
Biddeford as well as the creator
and director of the Writing
Assistance Center at Unity
College in Unity.
Patricia
Hubel, Ph.D.
joined the
Thomas
College faculty
on July 21 as
the full time
athletic trainer and strength
and conditioning coach. Hubel
earned her Ph.D. with an emphasis in leadership for higher education from Capella University
in Minneapolis, Minn.
She earned her M.S. in
Physical Education from The
University of Wyoming and an
M.S. in Education with an
emphasis in online teaching and
learning from California State
University. She also has a B.S. in
Physical Education/Athletic
Training from Ball State
University. Hubel comes to
Thomas from A.S.K. Fitness and
Performance Inc. in Minot, N.D.
where she designed, developed,
and implemented activity-centered health care plans for the
general public as well as for
competitive athletes.
Harriet
Huntley
joined the
Thomas
Athletic
Department
on August 18
as the head volleyball coach.
Huntley brings over eight
years of experience to Thomas
after working in athletic and
recreational program development, sport camps, and adventure-based programs. Huntley
has a B.S. degree in Outdoor
Recreation Leisure/Tourism with
a minor in Coaching & minor in
Management from the University
of Maine at Presque Isle. She
served as head volleyball coach
at the University of Maine at
Presque Isle for two years, and
assistant coach for one. She also
conducted her own volleyball
clinics.
Huntley operates her own
business as a director/associate
with Pre-Paid Legal Services.
Jill Lathan
joined the
Thomas
College administration on
July 14 as the
director of
recreation and intramural programs. Lathan brings over 18
years of experience to Thomas
after working in athletic and
recreational program development, curriculum development,
sport camps, adventure-based
programs, and clinical supervision and administration.
Lathan has a B.S. degree in
Theater and Film and an M.S.W.
from the University of Kansas.
She has served as a program
director at Kids Across America
& Kanakuk Inc. Sports Camps
in Branson, Mo. and at The
Children’s Place in Kansas City.
She served as the clinical coordinator at the Community Health
& Counseling Center in Bangor,
Maine. Most recently, Lathan
was employed at Eastern Maine
Healthcare System in Brewer,
Maine.
Terry Parlin
joined the
Thomas
College faculty
on July 21 as
the head softball coach and
assistant women’s soccer coach.
Parlin is not new to Thomas
College—he served as the head
baseball coach in 1978 and the
assistant women’s soccer coach
in 2002.
He is a graduate of the
University of Maine at Farmington. Parlin most recently coached
softball at Winslow High School
and prior to that, he coached
softball for 10 years at Messalonskee High School. Parlin also
served as the athletic director
at Messalonskee for one year.
Parlin is currently a selfemployed home builder.
N E W S
Charity Short
joined the
Thomas
Institutional
Advancement
Department
on October
8 as the database coordinator.
Prior to Thomas she worked
at Bangor Savings Bank in the
Trust Department as the Trust
Operations Specialist. She has
also worked at Sweetser in
Plymouth as the Family Focus
Supervisor. While working full
time as a supervisor she went
to KVCC part-time and completed all of her pre-requisites
for an A.S. in accounting. In
addition, she went to NTI to
get her Class A license and has
driven part-time for the past two
years, (not as a career choice,
just for fun).
Andrea
Thebarge
joined the
Thomas
College
Athletic
Department on
August 4. Thebarge is the head
field hockey coach, women’s
lacrosse coach, and assistant athletic director. Thebarge has
served as an interim head coach
and assistant coach in field hockey at the University of Maine at
Orono. She also coached field
hockey, basketball, and softball at
Buckingham, Browne, and
Nichols School in Cambridge,
Mass. Thebarge played Division
I field hockey at Northeastern
University where she received
her B.S. in Math. She was also
the assistant to the Director of
Math for the Boston Public
Schools system.
THOMAS COLLEGE
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Conrad L. Ayotte ’77, H’98
Chair
George R. Spann
President
Douglas L. Cutchin
First Vice Chair
H. Allen Ryan H’08
Second Vice Chair
Kenneth P. Viens
Secretary/Clerk
Brian Bernatchez ’88
Edwin P. Carboni
William Dubay ’72
David M. MacMahon
Gregory Piper
William Purington
Susan Roche
William J. Ryan
Paul J. Schupf H’05
Charles Shuman
Todd Smith, ’92, M.B.A. ’99
Jay T. Snider H’04
Lawrence J. Sterrs
OFFICERS OF THE COLLEGE
George R. Spann
President
Robert Callahan ’88, M.B.A. ’96
Vice President for Enrollment
Management
Deborah Cunningham
Dean of Retention Services
Fran Day
Vice President for
Institutional Advancement
Lisa Desautels-Poliquin
Vice President for Student Affairs
Thomas Edwards
Vice President for
Academic Affairs
Beth Gibbs, M.B.A. ’93
Vice President for Financial
Affairs and Treasurer
Christopher H. Rhoda ’88,
M.B.A. ’89
Vice President for
Information Services
SPRING 2009
47
A T H L E T I C S
A T H L E T I C S
L E T T E R F R O M T H E AT H L E T I C D I R E C T O R
GREETINGS! AS I WRITE THIS LETTER, I hear the faint sound of squeaking
sneakers on the basketball gym floor and the gentle prodding, and sometimes pleading,
of men’s coach T.J. Maines as he implores his athletes to finish a play, get to a spot and
to box out. The teams are closing in on the end of the basketball regular season and the
men’s team is completing one of the most successful campaigns since Thomas College
entered the NCAA.
They are holding on to the first winning record since 1992, the first win over rival
Husson University since 1991, and the number one position in the North Atlantic Conference. The excitement surrounding this successful season has left the team, the Thomas
community and fans wondering: Could this be the year that the Terriers break into the
NCAA tournament for the first time?
Thoughts like these could only mean one thing . . . tournament time for winter sports
and the start of spring seasons has arrived. What could be more exciting?
Besides taking this opportunity to share this exciting news, I also want to introduce
myself as the new athletic director at Thomas College and to communicate the enthusiasm
and energy surrounding our athletics program.
Having been at Thomas for less than a year, I learned quickly that one thing is apparent,
Terriers are excited about athletics. Pride in the program is the very first thing that I experienced—from students, faculty and administration, all the way to the President who, by the
way, may hold the attendance record for home intercollegiate contests.
The community support is contagious and we are trying to continue the momentum and
positive experience that athletics brings to the College. Thomas’ mission is to prepare students for success in their personal and professional lives, and athletics is a powerful vehicle
to empower our students in this mission.
As a department, we embrace the mission and our coaches are on the forefront of this
important work. Words like academic integrity, personal responsibility, leadership, mentorship, commitment, community involvement and service are not just catch phrases, but
words that are put into action and reinforced with our athletic teams on a daily basis. I am
very fortunate to be able to watch it unfold. I couldn’t be at a better place at a better time.
I hope that you will find time this year to make it to one of our contests (see the teams’
schedules on page 52) and support our student athletes in all that they do. If you come,
please make a point of introducing yourself and telling me your connection to the Thomas
community. I look forward to it.
Yours in Red and Black,
DEB BICHE
Director of Athletics
48
THOMAS MAGAZINE
Fall Season Review
T
HE FALL SEASON AT THOMAS ended successfully
with four out of five teams achieving post-season playoff
berths. Thomas continues to grow its athletic program with
the addition of men’s and women’s cross country and women’s
tennis as club teams. The teams are scheduled to move into
varsity status in the fall of 2009. Look for more information
on Thomas’ newest teams in a future edition of the Thomas
Magazine.
Men’s soccer finished the season at 7-12, with notable wins
over Maine Maritime Academy and Unity College. The Terrier
men lost in a first round North Atlantic Conference (NAC)
tournament game 1-0 in a rainy, muddy contest against the
Beavers of the University of Maine Farmington. Thomas had
four players recognized with all-conference honors: Tom
Desjardins ’10, Jim Grant ’10 and Cory Underwood ’11 were
all named to the second team and Captain Tim Costa ’10 was
named as a first team all-conference player.
Women’s soccer ended the season at 7-10-1. They were prevented from obtaining a post-season appearance in the NAC
quarterfinals during their last regular game of the season against
Maine Maritime Academy (MMA). The women lost to the Lady
Mariners 2-1 in a double overtime match when MMA scored
with just three minutes left in the match. The women’s team
looks strong for next year though, with only one senior leaving
the squad and junior Jamie Lockett earning Honorable Mention
All-Conference Honors.
Field hockey, ending with a 3-12 record, also looks strong
for next year with only one senior leaving the team. Three
athletes were honored by the conference with Amy Miles ’09
being named to the second team, Kellie Martel ’11 receiving
honorable mention and Kristin Masessa being named Rookie
of the Year. The team did achieve a post-season position in
the NAC quarterfinals where they were defeated by Saint
Joseph’s College, 3-1.
Volleyball finished the season with a 4-20 record, being
eliminated in the NAC Quarterfinals by the University of
Maine Farmington. First-year Sarah Marckoon received honorable mention in the North Athletic Conference. The team will
bring a great deal of experience back next year with only one
member graduating this year.
Men’s golf finished a respectable fifth overall in the conference championship this fall. The team had one member,
freshman Tim Costain, named to the NAC Second Team AllConference. A highlight of the past season was Thomas’ hosting
of the Maine Intercollegiate Golf Championship at Natanis Golf
Course in Vassalboro. The contest was a two-day tournament
that featured 12 teams from across the state of Maine.
NAC Fall
All-Academic Honorees
T
HOMAS IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE that
four fall athletes were named as North Atlantic
Conference (NAC) 2008-09 Fall All-Academic honorees. Sixty-five student-athletes across the conference
who participated in a fall sport received the recognition.
To be honored, a student-athlete must have reached
junior academic standing, have competed a minimum
of two years in their sport with a cumulative grade point
average of at least 3.50.
The Thomas honorees were: Nicole Grant ’10, an
accounting major from Lewiston who plays on the
field hockey team; Amy Miles ’09, a criminal justice
major from Waldo who also plays field hockey; Cory
Daigneault ’10, an accounting/M.B.A. student from
Biddeford who is on the men’s soccer team; and Tim
Hartin ’09, of Island Falls who is a Sports Management
major and member of the men’s golf team.
Amy Miles
Cory Daigneault
Nicole Grant
Tim Hartin
SPRING 2009
49
A T H L E T I C S
A T H L E T I C S
S T U D E N T
A T H L E T E
P R O F I L E
Winter Season Review
50
Kristin Masessa ’12 and Tim Costa ’10
F
ALL ATHLETIC TEAMS AT THOMAS had
a total of 10 players receiving first or second team
mention on North Athletic Conference All-Conference
squads. Among these players, Kristin Masessa and Tim
Costa stood out as student athletes and leaders for their
respective sports. Luckily for Thomas, both will be
returning next year for another season of play.
Kristin Masessa, a first-year student, began her field
hockey career at Mount View High School in Thorndike,
Maine. Upon being accepted to Thomas, Masessa was
unsure if she would play field hockey. She intended to
play basketball and softball, and decided late that she
would be a three-sport athlete.
Masessa has made the transition from high school to
Division III Athletics well. In her first year at Thomas, she
was named NAC Rookie of the Year and all-conference
honorable mention. Though Masessa was surprised by the
awards, head field hockey coach Andrea Thebarge was not.
“I am very excited for Kristin being named Rookie of the
Year. This honor is one of the top two honors that our
conference gives out.” Thebarge added, “Kristin played
center midfield for us, which is a huge position for a firstyear player. She was the playmaker of our team and her
defensive and offensive threat is definitely evident with her
being selected by other conference coaches. Kristin scored
four goals this season and had a major role in both our
offensive and defensive corner units.”
The Sports Management major continues to balance
academics and athletics as she plays her first college basketball season at Thomas this winter and moves into softball
season this spring.
THOMAS MAGAZINE
Pelham, New Hampshire native Tim Costa continues
to strive for excellence both on and off the soccer field at
Thomas. He is studying Management as a senior in the
five-year M.B.A. program on campus.
Costa was named to the NAC second team in 2007
and this season was honored as a first team all-conference
player. He led the men’s team in scoring and assists with
a total of ten goals and six assists.
Costa looks forward to returning for a final season of
play next year: “We had success as a team this year, but
were disappointed to lose in the opening round of the
NAC playoffs. We plan to set the standard to work hard
in the offseason in order to get to the top of the NAC
next season.”
He will play again with his younger brother, Richard,
who will return as a sophomore. Outside of soccer and
academics, Costa works in the Athletic Department as a
work-study student and assists with game management
and scheduling for a number of Thomas teams.
“
Kristin Masessa and
Tim Costa stood out
as student athletes and leaders
for their respective sports.
Terrier Men Clinch Number One Position
in North Atlantic Conference
T
HE TERRIER MEN’S BASKETBALL
team created quite the surge of excitement
on campus this winter—and for good reason.
Coach T.J. Maines led the team to an impressive
11-3 record within the North Atlantic Conference,
clinching the number one position in the conference over Husson University (#2). Overall, the
team went 14-10, which is especially impressive
considering this season was the first since 1986
that the team has achieved ten wins.
Thomas hosted the conference championships
during the last weekend of February. Thomas was
able to overcome the Eagles of Green Mountain
College (number four seed) in the first round of
the championships with a final score of 90-84. The next day,
Thomas played Husson for the title of NAC champions. The
first half of action was back and forth, featuring five ties and
eleven different lead changes. However, the Husson Eagles
would outscore the Terriers 41-27 behind a 15-3 scoring run
that would come very late in the second half. The Eagles’
defense would hold the Terriers to just 29 percent shooting on
the afternoon, while the Eagles themselves would
shoot 44.3 percent in the game. Though the
Terriers put up a good fight, they fell to Husson
(73-60).
The outstanding record was not the only thing
that the Terriers had to show for this season.
North Atlantic Conference (NAC) honors inlcuded Terrier Andrew Duncanson being named
Player of the Year while teammate Shawn
Rodgers was named conference Rookie of the
Year. Head Coach T. J. Maines rounded out
the awards for the Terriers being named Coach
of the Year.
As the winter season came to a close, both
the men’s and women’s basketball teams were able to look
back on a series of successes and challenges. The women’s
team went 2-12 in the North Atlantic Conference. Coach Joy
Charles and her team lost a handful of close games that were
decided in the final minutes. With eight out of twelve players
being either freshmen or sophomores, the women will bring
a very experienced team back next year.
Thomas Wall of Heroes
HONOR A LIFE, HONOR A MEMORY, LEAVE A LASTING LEGACY
T
HOMAS COLLEGE HAS TEAMED UP with
Get Etched, a leader in world-class laser etching, to
bring you the Wall of Heroes.
The Wall of Heroes will be a powerful way to create a
lasting tribute to the people who have made a significant
difference in your life. These distinctive and timeless keepsake granite plaques will be mounted on the outside wall
of the Laurette Ayotte Auditorium.
Whether you want to honor a student athlete and their
team, celebrate a professor whose teaching is carved into
your memories, memorialize a loved one who has passed,
or commemorate the accomplishments of a future graduate,
the Wall of Heroes will be an excellent way to honor those
who have made an important impact on your life. For
generations to come, these plaques will create a history of
Thomas College bringing past and future students together.
This is a gift that will last a lifetime . . . and then another.
Anyone can purchase a plaque. For more information
on purchasing or pricing, please contact Cathy Dumont
at 207-859-1167 or [email protected].
SPRING 2009
51
A T H L E T I C S
A T H L E T I C S
SPRING 2009 V A R S I T Y A T H L E T I C S S C H E D U L E S
SOFTBALL
Date
3/11
3/11
Time
8:00 AM
10:30 AM
Date
Opponent
Date
Opponent
3/26
TBD
vs. Farmingdale State College
(Farmingdale, N.Y.)
vs. Oberlin College (Oberlin, Oh)
(Double Header)
3/21
2:00 PM
vs. Lyndon St. College (Lyndonville, Vt)*
3/21
12:00 PM
3/26
TBD
vs. Oberlin College (Oberlin, Oh) (JV)
3/22
11:00 AM
vs. Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vt)*
@ Worcester State College
(Worcester, Ma)
vs. Johnson State College (Johnson, Vt)*
12:00 PM
@ Pine Manor College (Chestnut Hill, Ma)
TBD
1:30 PM
3/22
3/27
3/28
vs. Buena Vista University
(Storm Lake, IA) (Double Header)
3/29
1:00 PM
vs. Castleton State College (Castleton, Vt)*
3/25
6:15 PM
@ Saint Joseph's College (Standish, Me)
3/28
TBD
3/28
1:00 PM
vs. Westfield State College
(Westfield, Ma)
vs. Colby College
(Waterville, Me) (Double Header)
3/30
TBD
vs. Williams College (Williamstown, Ma)
3/29
1:00 PM
@ Daniel Webster College (Nashua, N.H.)
3/31
TBD
vs. Williams College (Williamstown, Ma)
4/4
1:00 PM
@ Castleton State College (Castleton, Vt)*
4/1
TBD
vs. Williams College (Williamstown, Ma)
4/5
11:00 AM
@ Green Mountain College
(Poultney, Vt)*
4/7
4:30 PM
@ Becker College (Worcester, Ma)
4/9
3:30 PM
vs. Elms College (Chicopee, Ma)
4/14
4:00 PM
@ Husson University (Bangor, Me)*
4/16
4:00 PM
vs. University of Maine Farmington
(Farmington, Me)*
4/18
1:00 PM
4/21
4:00 PM
vs. Husson University (Bangor, ME)*
4/23
4:00 PM
4/25
11:00 AM
4/26
TBA
NAC Finals
4/29
TBA
NEWLA 1st round
5/2
TBA
NEWLA Finals
vs. Post Universit y (Waterbury, CT)
vs. Penn State Hazleton Campus
(Hazleton, Pa)
Time
4/3
2:00 PM
@ Johnson State College (Johnson, Vt)*
4/4
12:00 PM
@ Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, Vt)*
4/16
3:30 PM
vs. Universit y of Southern Maine
(Gorham, Me)
vs. Post Universit y (Waterbury, CT)
3/13
4:00 PM
vs. Guilford College (Greensboro, N.C.)
4/18
2:00 PM
@ Castleton State College (Castleton, Vt)*
3/13
6:00 PM
vs. Guilford College (Greensboro, N.C.)
4/19
1:00 PM
@ Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vt)*
3/14
9:00 AM
vs. Mitchell College (New London, CT)
4/25
TBA
NAC Championship
3/14
11:00 AM
vs. Mitchell College (New London, CT)
4/26
TBA
NAC Championship
4/8
2:00 PM
@ Maine Maritime Academy
(Castine, Me)*
4/9
3:00 PM
@ Lesley Universit y (Cambridge, Ma)
(Double Header)
Date
Time
4/11
1:00 PM
@ Husson Universit y (Bangor, Me)
(Double Header)*
3/14
2:00 PM
3/16
5:45 PM
@ Saint Joseph's College (Standish, Me)
3/18
4:00 PM
@ Daniel Webster College (Nashua, N.H.)
3/21
1:00 PM
vs. Universit y of Southern Maine
(Gorham, Me)
3/23
3:30 PM
@ Husson Universit y (Bangor, Me)*
3/25
4:00 PM
@ Maine Maritime Academy (Castine, Me)*
4/14
3:30 PM
@ Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Me)
(Double Header)
4/16
3:30 PM
vs. Universit y of New England
(Biddeford, Me) (Double Header)
Opponent
@ Becker College (Worcester, Ma)
1:00 PM
@ Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, Vt)
(Double Header)*
4/19
12:00 PM
@ Johnson State College (Johnson, Vt)
(Double Header)*
3/28
12:00 PM
@ Green Mountain College (Poultney, Vt)*
4/4
1:00 PM
vs. Johnson State College (Johnson, Vt)*
vs. Bates College (Lewiston, Me)
(Double Header)
4/11
1:00 PM
@ Castleton St. College (Castleton, Vt)*
4/15
4:00 PM
4/25
4/26
3:00 PM
3:00 PM
12:00 PM
vs. Universit y of Maine Farmington
(Farmington, Me) (Double Header)*
vs. Castleton State College
(Castleton, Vt)*
vs. Green Mountain College
(Poultney, Vt) (Double Header)*
4/28
NAC Quarterfinals
5/1–3
NAC Final Four
52
THOMAS MAGAZINE
Time
MEN’S LACROSSE
4/18
4/22
vs. Middlebury College (Middlebury, Vt)
Opponent
vs. Penn State Hazleton Campus
(Hazleton, Pa)
3:30 PM
TBD
vs. Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, Ill)
8:00 AM
4/21
3/25
TBD
3/12
2:00 PM
Opponent
3/25
vs. Post Universit y (Waterbury, CT)
3/12
Time
WOMEN’S LACROSSE
12:30 PM
10:00 AM
Date
MEN’S TENNIS
3/11
3/12
BASEBALL
4/5
12:00 PM
vs. Bowdoin College (Brunswick, Me)
(Double Header)
4/7
4:00 PM
@ Colby College (Waterville, Me)
4/8
3:30 PM
vs. Bates College (Lewiston, Me)
4/10
11:00 AM
vs. Husson University (Bangor, Me)
(Double Header)*
4/11
12:00 PM
vs. Husson University (Bangor, Me)
(Double Header)*
4/14
4:00 PM
@ St. Joseph's College (Standish, Me)
(Double Header)
@ University of Maine Farmington
(Farmington, Me)*
4/15
TBD
vs. Fitchburg State College (Fitchburg, Ma)
4/18
2:00 PM
@ Castleton State College
(Castleton, Vt) (Double Header)*
4/19
12:00 PM
@ Castleton State College
(Castleton, Vt) (Double Header)*
4/22
TBD
4/23
3:30 PM
vs. University of Southern Maine
(Gorham, Me)
4/25
1:30 PM
vs. Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, Vt)
(Double Header)*
4/26
12:00 PM
vs. Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, Vt)
(Double Header)*
4/28
5:00 PM
@ University of Maine (Orono, Me)
4/29
4:00 PM
vs. Colby College (Waterville, Me)
5/1–3
TBD
vs. Bridgewater State College
(Bridgewater, Ma)
vs. Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, Vt)*
4/18
3:00 PM
vs. Mount Ida College (Newton, Ma)
4/20
3:00 PM
vs. Emerson College (Boston, Ma)
4/22
4:00 PM
vs. Husson Universit y (Bangor, Me)*
4/25
TBA
NAC Quarterfinals
4/29
TBA
NAC Semifinals
5/2
TBA
NAC Finals
indicates home game
*
indicates North Atlantic Conference game
indicates spring training games
(baseball in Arizona and softball in Florida)
@ U. Maine Farmington (Farmington, Me)
(Double Header)*
@ U. Maine Farmington (Farmington, Me)*
NAC TOURNAMENT
SPRING 2009
53
C L A S S
1970—Thomas Nale’s son,
Thomas J. Nale, has recently
joined the family law firm. Nale’s
son graduated cum laude from
Colby College in 2005 and from
the Maine Law School in 2008.
Nale’s daughter, Tracy, also graduated from Colby in 2007 and is
in her second year at Maine Law.
1972—Stephen Reid, M.B.A.
’76 is the managing director,
North America for Delta
International RTM Limited
since leaving IBM in 2006. He
is managing the North American
operations and development of a
specialist consulting firm helping
computer industry clients optimize their business partner
routes-to-market channels
through research, strategy/
partner development, personnel
recruitment, enablement and
ecosystem teaming.
1974—Dave Acks retired
from 30-plus years of service as
a Civilian Auditor with the
Department of the Army. He
will be splitting his time between
his two homes in Georgia and
Alabama.
Alan “Ollie” Bolman gave
an update of what he’s been
doing since graduating. From
1976–1980 he re-enlisted in the
U.S. Navy as a Quartermaster 1st
Class. From 1980 until 2002 he
worked as an able-bodied seaman
for Exxon Shipping Company,
retiring after 22 years of service.
In 1986 he married Eileen on
Monhegan Island, Maine. Since
2002 he has been a USCG
licensed captain with Harbor
Tours in Gloucester, Mass. He
summers in Gloucester and heads
to Venice, Fla. during the cold
winter months.
Marjorie “Midge” (Waynen)
Concannon has a home party
business selling lia sophia
jewelry. Her Web site is:
liasophia.com/midgec. She
invites all Thomas alumni to
check it out.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
Pauline (Harding) Gorham is
the proud grandmother of Bella
who was born June 13, 2007,
and Dagen, born August 28,
2008. Both are children of her
daughter Kim who lives in San
Angelo, Texas. Another daughter, Katie, is a teacher at
Messalonskee High School and
lives in Waterville, Maine. Her
third daughter, Kelly, died unexpectedly in August of 2007.
Currently, Pauline is teaching
eighth grade mathematics at
Massabesic Junior High School
in Waterboro, Maine.
1977—Glenda (Grover)
Crosby continues to work in
Education as a Title I educational
technician at Enfield Station
School. She is currently teaching
Math, Reading and Writing in
4th grade. She and her husband,
Kenton have two granddaughters: JayLyn Emma Crosby and
Shay Belle Ireland. She is also an
advisor with the direct sale company lia sophia jewelry, and has
been doing this for more than
four years and has met many
wonderful women.
1979—Diane (Beaulieu)
Chiarantona was named new
operations officer at Depositors
Trust Co., where she has been
employed since 1979. She will
be responsible for overseeing
the installment loan processing
department, and coordinating
and implementing special projects in the retail lending area.
1981—
Cynthia
Dubois-Cote
has been a
Realtor for
the past four
years. She
and her
husband, Don, have been married for 20 years and have a
daughter, Christine, who is a
senior in high school. Please
look up Cindy at Prudential
Prime in Saco if you or someone
you know needs assistance with
real estate and are moving into
the southern Maine area.
1982—
Scott
Danner is
the chief
operating
officer of a
produce
company,
Liberty Fruit Co, Inc. and living
in Olathe, Kan. with his wife of
25 years, Karen (Burpee)
Danner ’81,
’83, and their
two boys Nate,
21, and
Michael, 18.
Karen (seen
zip-lining in
the photo
above) teaches
fitness classes, Nate is a junior
and Michael is a freshman at
Kansas State University.
Kenneth Fogg is working for
the U.S. Customs Service, now
called Customs and Border
Protection after 9/11. He has
been working there since 1984.
He currently lives in the Atlanta
area and has a 17-year-old son.
1986—Mike Hachey, M.B.A.
’97 was recently promoted to
senior vice president of
Ambulatory Services & Network
N O T E S
Development at Mercy Health
System of Maine in Portland.
Mike was most recently chief
financial officer at Mercy.
Allen Sterling ’80, ’86 is the
President and CEO of Auburn
Savings Bank and has been elected to the Board of Directors of
Auburn Savings Bank, FSB and
its parent company, Auburn
Bancorp, Inc. He is active in
many area organizations and
resides with his family in
Lewiston.
1987—Tony Sicurella was
recently promoted to store manager at JCPenney in Salem, N.H.
after four-and-a-half years as the
store manager in Manchester,
N.H. He also just celebrated his
24th anniversary with JCPenney.
Tony and his wife Leslie live in
Nashua, N.H. with their 13-yearold daughter, Danielle, and 11year-old son, Shane. Sicurella
enjoyed reading the article about
Kathy (Veilleux) Chassie ’93
and John Ranney ’88 in the
summer 2008 issue of the
Thomas Magazine and shared
this note: “I just received my
magazine and thought I should
send in information on my recent
promotion with JCPenney.
Alumni, are you connected?
The Thomas Alumni office is increasingly using online
communication as a primary means of reaching our graduates.
In order to make sure you receive our e-newsletter and not
miss out on exciting news, events and more, please make sure
that your contact information is up-to-date. Log on now to
check that we have your current e-mail address. Also, while
you are online, add us as a friend on MySpace and become a
fan on Facebook. Stay connected!
You can update your information anytime by visiting the
alumni Web site (www.thomas.edu\alumni). Click on the
“Services” option and then select “Update Your Information”
to make changes.
Become a fan of Thomas College on Facebook!
Add us as a friend on MySpace: Thomas College Alumni
SPRING 2009
55
Kenneth R. Dorr ’26
Kenneth R. Dorr, 101, of Cumberland passed away on September 3, 2008. He was
born in Ellsworth, the son of James and Bertha Dorr. After working his way through
college he married Esther Donovan, on Dec. 31, 1929. They settled in Cumberland in
1931 in a home built by Dorr’s father, where they raised their 11 children and lived out
their life together. Dorr practiced good health through the use of vitamins, nutrition,
exercise, Tai Chi and yoga. He cared for Esther, his wife of 72 years, in the final years
of her life until her death at age 96. Dorr is predeceased by his wife and one son Charles
Dorr. He is survived by 10 children: daughters, Esther Safford, Joan and spouse William
Brown, Donor Dorr, and Mary and spouse Sonny Chipman; sons, Kenneth Jr., James
and spouse Prisilla, Robert and spouse Barbara, John, Michael and spouse Rose and
William and spouse Sue; 30 grandchildren; 53 great-grandchildren and six great-great
grandchildren.
David J. Mahan ’70
David J. Mahan, 61, alumnus and generous supporter of Thomas College, passed
away on January 14, 2009 of cancer.
Mahan, a Naugatuck, Conn. native and
Watertown, Conn. resident, had earned
local recognition through his catering
businesses, first with Mahan’s Crystal
Room in Naugatuck, and later with
Mahan’s Lakeview Fine Catering in
Wolcott. His fame went international
when, in 2003, his horse, Funny Cide,
won the first two legs of horseracing’s
Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby and
the Preakness. Funny Cide came within
one second of winning the elusive Triple
Crown by finishing third at the Belmont
Stakes. Mahan was a 20 percent owner of
Funny Cide, and part of the boisterous
racing partnership known as Sackatoga
Stable. Considered a working-man’s stable, the Sackatoga crew became almost as famous as their horse, especially after the
owners and their families pulled up to Churchill Downs on Derby Day in a bright,
yellow school bus. That stroke of marketing genius was “all Mahan.” As he explained
later, this wasn’t a publicity
gimmick; it was simply the cheapest way to get the Funny Cide people from the hotel
to the track. By his side when he passed, was his favorite photo. The picture, snapped
by Mahan’s wife Nadine, shows Mahan on his beloved horse. Phone calls and e-mails
flooded the Alumni Office when Mahan passed. Several classmates commented on the
character of Mahan—his zest for life, his humbleness and his sense of humor were
among the many qualities his friends will recall of him. He had the ability to brighten
any room. Mahan will always be remembered for the joy he brought to others.
56
C L A S S
N O T E S
THOMAS MAGAZINE
I noticed a great article about
Kathy Chassie ’93 and John
Ranney ’88. I’m not sure if
you’re aware of this, but two
other Thomas graduates that I
know of are JCPenney Store
Managers; Steve White ’90 is
store manager in Portland,
Maine and Wendy JacquesMorrissette ’85 is store manager
in Waterville, Maine. Like Kathy
and John, my Thomas education
has been very instrumental in my
professional growth with the
JCPenney Co.”
1988—Stacy (Welch)
Dickinson just celebrated 20
years of marriage and changed
careers from an insurance agent
to a receptionist at Coastal
Veterinary Care in Wiscasset,
Maine. Her oldest son, Alex,
will be graduating from high
school this year.
Richard “Rick” Nelson was
elected by his peers on the Board
of Governors of the Society of
Financial Examiners (SOFE)
at their annual meeting in
Nashville, Tenn. in August of
2008. He obtained his professional designation of Certified
Financial Examiners in 1995 by
meeting educational and experience requirements and passing
a series of examinations. Rick
started his career with the State
of Maine Bureau of Insurance in
1988 as an insurance company
examiner. Nelson currently is a
principal in charge of the
Insurance Regulatory Consulting
Practice of Eide Bailly LLP, a
national accounting firm with its
home office in Fargo, N.D. and
works out of his home in Maine.
He and his wife Jo-Ellen reside
at their home in Wilton, Maine.
1989—Wendy Bonsant,
M.B.A ’95 was promoted to
investment officer at Maine
Housing in February 2008
where she has been working
for 19 years. She currently
resides in Windsor, Maine
with Tracy, her husband of 19
years, and their two children,
Courtney, 12, and Noah, 9.
N O T E S
Alumni Events Held
The Thomas Alumni office has sponsored many successful
events for graduates and their guests in recent months. The
end of summer 2008 brought a large group of alumni, and
their family and friends together to cheer on the Boston Red
Sox. The group had a wonderful time despite the Red Sox’s
loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Other recent events included
a Portland Sea Dogs game and an alumni social at Sky in
Boston, as well as the annual alumni athletic games.
The weather was perfect for those who attended the
annual men’s alumni soccer game on October 4. The game
proved to be very exciting, as both sides battled to the very
end. Although the alumni put up an incredible fight, they
fell to the current Terrier team in a sudden death playoff
with a score of 4-2.
The annual men’s and women’s basketball games were
held on November 1. Both games were enjoyed by both
participants and spectators as the current Terrier teams
took two wins.
named the new head coach of
Women’s Soccer at MassBay
Community College in
Wellesley, Mass.
1994—Lindsay (Shepard)
Harris purchased a new home in
Scarborough in September 2008.
Lindsay returned to commercial
lending last October with Northeast Bank, after spending several
years at home with her two sons,
Wyatt, 5, and Blake, 2, while also
running a part-time business.
Harris had previously been a
commercial loan officer at Banknorth in Portland for eight years.
Alumni events are a great way to enjoy some fun activities
while reconnecting with old friends…and perhaps making
new ones! We hope that you will join us for one of our next
events. Once again, we will be hosting an alumni day at the
Boston Red Sox. This year’s game will be played on July 25,
2009. Details to come!
1997—Sharon (Emery)
1993—Rachel Davis will be
Jeffrey Gosselin, M.B.A. ’99
is now a vice president at
Mechanics Private Bank.
Thomas alumni/Boston Red Sox fans take in a game at Fenway Park.
University of Maine and Caroline
is a professor of Environmental
Economics at the University.
1991—Guy Reynolds was
obtaining her M.S.W. from the
University of New England in
May of 2009.
Courtesy of Erica (Gallant) Whitten ’03
I N
M E M O R I U M
C L A S S
1995—Rachel (Pomerleau)
Frost works for the University of
Southern Maine as a senior technology trainer. She has two sons,
Mason, 1, and Tanner, 4.
Kim (Duncan) Glowa and her
family welcomed a new son,
Calder, on May 10, 2008. His
older brother, Hunter, 7, and
older sister, Brook, 4, are loving
the new addition to the family.
Kim is in her 10th year as a senior accountant at Medical Care
Development. Kim’s husband,
John, is in his first year of teaching Chemistry at Gardiner High
School. The family resides in a
log home in the woods of Mount
Vernon.
1996—Michael Noblet and
his wife, Caroline, are expecting
their first child in April. He is the
purchasing manager at the
Corson is close to completing
her bachelor’s degree after
receiving her A.S. at Thomas.
In November 2005 she retired
from Central Maine Power and
headed southwest with her husband, Gordon. This past summer
they sold their home in Maine
and are permanently living in
Baja California, Mexico. They
plan on visiting New England in
the spring of 2010.
Michelle (Cobb) Steward began
working at Central Maine Power
a few months after graduation
and has enjoyed her work with
CMP for the past twelve years.
She married Chad Steward in
2000. Michelle’s daughter,
Brittney, is interested in possibly
attending Thomas in the fall of
2009.
1998—Dena-Lee (Michaud)
Darveau began a new position
within the past year as a financial
manager for the DHHS WIC
Program.
Derek and Lori (Calley)
Gervais celebrated the birth of
their second child, Madison
Taylor, on November 3, 2007.
She was welcomed home by big
sister Olivia.
Dean Newell has worked for
Sirius Computer Solutions for
the last nine years as the help
desk manager. Dean and his wife,
Melissa, have two kids: Connor,
6, and Ariana, 2. The Newell
family resides in San Antonio,
Texas.
Christopher Parsons was named
the head men’s soccer and
lacrosse coach at the University
of Maine Farmington. He was
the assistant coach of the University of Maine men’s soccer
team last season and he also
spent two seasons as an assistant
coach at Bowdoin College.
2000—Meredith (Pray)
Bastian and her husband, Jon,
welcomed their first child, Avery
Louise, on October 7, 2007.
Meredith is currently working
for Citigroup in Portland. The
couple resides in Scarborough.
(continued on pg. 60)
SPRING 2009
57
A L U M N I
P R O F I L E
C L A S S
C L A S S
N O T E S
Thomas Alum’s
Entrepreneurial
Spirit Leads to
Highly Successful
Business Record
Todd D. Smith ’92, M.B.A.’99
I
F YOU ASK TODD D. SMITH ’92, M.B.A.’99 what
his motivation is for his success, he answers, “You cannot
foster change by sitting on the sidelines…get involved.”
Smith is a leader in the commercial nuclear decommissioning
field having run the business operations for the recovery and
completion of the decommissioning of three New England
power plants. He currently owns and operates TSSD Services,
Inc. of Oakland, Maine, specializing in the supply of project
management and engineering personnel to the nuclear power
industry nationwide. With 2008 revenues projected to be in
excess of $27 million, TSSD has grown to a workforce of over
130 professional employees providing services in all stages of the
nuclear plant lifecycle.
Ask Smith why his company is so successful and he will tell
you, “We develop a relationship with our employees and from
there we gain mutual loyalty and longevity from them. We try
very hard to have a place for them to go after they finish a big
job, where other shops tend to say ‘goodbye and we’ll call you
if we find something else.’ ”
Smith grew up in Howland, and has lived in Maine most of
his life. He currently resides in Oakland with his wife, Kelly,
and two sons, Cole, 9, and Hunter, 7. Smith attended Thomas
College and holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a
Masters in Business Administration.
Smith feels that he owes much of his success to Thomas.
“It’s a college where you don’t get lost in the student body
because of the small campus community,” Smith explains.
“While at Thomas I was involved in numerous activities, which forced me to become very effective in
time management. I participated in academics,
athletics, and a job both on and off campus. This
skill becomes invaluable when you carry it over
into the professional world,” he says.
That skill mastery can definitely be demonstrated by a quick review of Smith’s resume.
TSSD Services, Inc. was founded in 1999 with
a mission to provide top quality management
and technical staff resources to the nuclear
industry. The company’s focus is on the overall
lifecycle of nuclear power plants. This includes:
construction, operations, capital improvements,
and transferring spent nuclear fuel from a wet
Courtesy of Todd Smith
58
THOMAS MAGAZINE
N O T E S
storage to a dry storage environment. Smith says, “Because
TSSD got its start with decommissioning, you might say we
started from the end of the nuclear life cycle and worked our
way backwards. I have never been the traditional type.”
According to Smith, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) is present at all operating and decommissioning nuclear
facilities as the regulatory body. “Although we do not work
directly for the NRC, we certainly abide by their guidance at
each nuclear plant we do business in,” says Smith. “We also
have worked for the Department of Energy (DOE) in the past
on the Rocky Flats Environmental Clean Up project. This
was an old DOE facility in Colo. which was an eight-year
$4 billion project.”
Smith spent over six years in the positions of Executive
Director of Business Operations, Business Manager, Project
Controls Manager, and Decommissioning Waste Manager at
Connecticut Yankee, Yankee Rowe, and Maine Yankee. He
also has over 15 years of professional experience in the heavy
construction industry including construction management,
contract management, corporate management, and project
controls. And besides his duties as President of TSSD, he
currently owns five different companies in differing capacities.
“Effective time management allows me to move each company
forward,” says Smith.
Smith’s effective time management skills also allow him to
spend time with his family and to pursue hobbies and interests.
You might call Smith’s family, a “soccer family.” Smith played
for Thomas’ nationally-ranked soccer team while he was attending, and Kelly was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at
St. Joseph’s College for her soccer accomplishments. Kelly also
coached soccer and softball at Thomas College for eight years
from 1994 until 2002. Smith’s sons Cole and Hunter both
play soccer year-round at a facility close to the College.
Smith plays golf and is an avid snowmobile driver. At 14,
true to his entrepreneurial spirit, Smith saved his own money
and purchased his first snowmobile. He’s also spent a good
amount of time snowmobiling in Canada and knows his way
around both Southern Quebec and north of the St. Lawrence
River. Smith has spent many miles on the trails with Team
Maine Racing and has ventured out West numerous times
for back country riding.
With time still left on Smith’s busy schedule, he also
serves on the Thomas College Board of Trustees. He says
that his personal and professional career was motivated by
two leaders at Thomas; former athletic director Jim Evans
and Professor Nelson Madore.
Because of his love of sports, Smith began serving on the
board to provide input on the sports program. “Evans and
Madore both inspired me to not sit on the sidelines when
you feel strongly about something,” Smith explains. “The
principle that they taught me is ‘don’t complain about it
from the sidelines, but get involved to understand the issues
and try and help.’ ”
Smith values his time spent on the board and as to
Thomas’ future he says, “I want Thomas College to be
known as a place that gives the average high school student
with a great work ethic a chance to be great in the professional world.” He continues, “Thomas has a history of
doing this and I would like to see this theme become the
niche that separates Thomas from other colleges we compete against.” Smith coined this theme: “Thomas College…
we turn good students into great professionals.”
No doubt that Smith sets an excellent example for
Thomas students, and with his success in business and his
entrepreneurial track record, he is helping Thomas achieve
this goal.
“
”
I want Thomas College
to be known as a place
that gives the average high
school student with a great
work ethic a chance to be great
in the professional world.
SPRING 2009
59
C L A S S
N O T E S
(continued from pg. 57)
2002—Melissa (Ramsey)
Calkins and her husband, Travis,
welcomed a daughter, Kaci
Morgan, on January 27, 2008.
Older brother Cooper is 3.
Melissa works as the student
advisor and office manager at
Community College of Vermont.
The family resides in West
Danville, Vt.
Ian Moriarty married Elizabeth
Kent on July 19, 2008 in South
Freeport. Ian works as a controller and Elizabeth is employed
by the Social Security Administration. The couple resides in
Standish, Maine.
Betsy (Pratt) Sibley and husband, Scott Sibley, welcomed
their second child, Trent Jackson
Sibley, on November 24, 2008.
Trent joins older brother, Reid,
2. The family resides in Turner,
Maine. Betsy is a certified insurance counselor at the Northeast
Bank Insurance Group.
Andrew
Whitten
and Erica
(Gallant)
Whitten ’03
became the
proud parents
of a baby girl,
Alyssa Lynn,
on September
8, 2008.
Andrew is a systems consultant
with S.J. Rollins Technologies in
Bangor. Erica is the director of
sales of the Holiday Inn in
Bangor. The family resides in
Corinna, Maine.
2003—Bert Audette, M.B.A.
’05 and Janet (Pennington)
Audette ’06, M.B.A. ’08 welcomed their first child, Isaac
Joseph Audette, on February
13, 2009.
Kathleen (Grant) Dykhuis and
her husband, David, welcomed
their first child, a baby girl,
Roslynn Alexandria Dykhuis,
on August 7, 2008.
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THOMAS MAGAZINE
Traci Willette is working as a
bookkeeper for Capital Area
Technical Center. She is also
working as a distributor for
PartyGals and received an award
at the national convention in
March 2008 for being the number one distributor in Maine and
ranked 41st nationally.
2004—Marisa (Ellsworth)
Alcaraz was married to Joel
Alcaraz on March 22, 2008.
Jonathan Brown is a cardiovascular specialty representative with
a molecular cardiology biotech
company, CV Therapeutics. He
spends most of his time in Cardio
Cath Labs and CCU’s speaking
with doctors about their drug,
and various cardiac disease states.
2005—Ryan O’Connor
married Anna (Callahan)
O’Connor on September 30,
2005 in Harpswell, Maine. On
October 7, 2007 the couple
welcomed their first child,
Jackson Clark O’Connor. Ryan
is attending graduate school at
Gonzaga University in Spokane,
Washington and is studying
Organizational Leadership.
2006—Ron Dexter passed his
exam and was granted the designation of Certified Information
Systems Auditor (CISA) by the
Information Systems Audit and
Control Association in September
2008. He and his family have
added laying hens and a llama to
their small farm in Leeds, Maine.
Lisa (Cook) Madore earned her
Professional in Human Resources
(PHR) Certification in May.
Jonathan Roberston was promoted in October 2008 to operations manager for CSC at Bath
Iron Works in Bath. He is living
in Harpswell, Maine.
Matthew Rogers received his
Security+ certification as he
continues to work as a programmer analyst for Hannaford Bros.
He and Marissa (Radcliffe)
Rogers ’07 own a house in
Beverly Hills, Fla.
2007—Kari Grant is currently
1996—Andrew Grover,
working for Martin's Point
Health Care in Portland as a
market researcher. She will be
finishing her M.B.A. from
Thomas College in the spring
of 2009. In addition, she was
recently engaged to RJ Gagnon.
They are planning a September
2009 wedding. RJ is working as
a staff accountant at Robustelli,
Rotz, & Soucy, CPA in Lewiston.
He is currently attending Thomas
College for his M.B.A. and plans
to be finished in the winter of
2009. Kari and RJ are living in
Lewiston in a lovely colonial
purchased in 2008.
M.B.A has been hired as vice president and risk manager at
Androscoggin Bank. He is also
currently an adjunct faculty
member at Thomas College
and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
University-Worldwide, teaching
graduate and undergraduate
courses in accounting and
business.
2008—Jared Downing works
for Worldwide Acquisitions, a
direct marketing and sales company, in Woburn, Mass.
Nick Hills started teaching at
Nickerson Elementary School
in Belfast in September 2008.
Corey Munsey is a third grade
teacher as well as a technology
coordinator at Hebron Station
School.
G R A D U AT E
PROGRAM
1994—Tom Sorel, M.B.A was
appointed commissioner of the
Department of Transportation.
He is the first engineer to head
MnDOT in 22 years. He currently resides with his wife, Laura,
and son in Woodbury, Minn.
Your small change
can make a difference.
2003—Timothy Thompson,
M.B.A. has been promoted to
senior vice president at the
Farmington Community Bank.
He also has been promoted
to treasurer and will serve as
the bank’s clerk. Timothy has
worked in the banking industry
for 15 years.
2004—
Katrina
(Merrifield)
Shaw, M.B.A.
was promoted
to senior
revenue agent
with the Maine Revenue Services.
She and her husband also welcomed a baby girl, Isabella Rose,
on November 10, 2008.
2007—Bridget Madden,
M.B.A is the executive director
of the Community Health Center
of Franklin County. She is responsible for the overall operations
of the health center and charged
with providing primary care
services in undeserved urban
and rural communities.
Attention Alumni!
Thomas College is bringing back the Alumni
Association. Benefits of being a member of the Alumni
Association include receiving the Thomas Magazine as
well as getting the opportunity for special discounts,
promotions, incentives and much, much more.
By becoming a member of the Alumni Association you
will automatically be entered into a drawing for a pair of
Boston Red Sox tickets. Look for more information to
come soon about benefits and membership!
Thomas
COLLEGE
Financial aid makes a college education accessible to students who
otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity. At Thomas, over 94% of
students receive financial aid and a large part of the funds come from
donors like you. Your spare change can make a difference.
Give now at www.thomas.edu/secure/alumnigift.asp
SPRING 2009
61
PERSPECTIVE
Technology as a Tool
Greg Savard ’89
Courtesy of Greg Savard
T
Greg Savard graduated from Thomas College in 1989 with a
B.S. in Computer Information Systems. Savard is currently vice
president of Technology Research at Tyler Technologies in
Falmouth, Maine. He has been at Tyler since 1995.
Tyler Technologies is the largest local government solution
provider in the United States. Tyler solutions include appraisal
and tax, citizen services, courts and justice, document management, education, financial solutions, land and vital records,
pension management and public safety. Tyler has customers in
all 50 states and offices across the country.
Savard works on the financial solutions team based in
Falmouth, Maine. Financial solutions includes traditional
enterprise resource planning (ERP) software as well as tax,
education, pension and citizen services. Their customers are
primarily cities, counties and school districts. Savard’s primary
responsibility is ensuring Tyler has a competitive product that
takes advantage of emerging technology. Savard also manages
the user experience team, oversees the development of products
that can be leveraged across all Tyler solutions and facilitates
collaboration across the development teams for the different
solution families.
Savard is married to Gale (St. Onge) Savard ’91. They and
their two daughters live in Windham, Maine.
62
THOMAS MAGAZINE
o say that technology has changed dramatically since I
was a student at Thomas College might be the understatement of this decade. The explosion of tools and
information has dramatically changed the learning process. At
the same time, business has changed at least as dramatically.
Billion-dollar companies dominate markets that weren’t even
imagined 15–20 years ago. Technology allows people to work
from home as efficiently as those in the office, while helping
the environment by reducing the commuter footprint. The one
constant is change.
In many ways, the technology used to facilitate learning
incorporates the same tools that have transformed business.
Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn allow people to build out their network and communicate with that network in real time. Online classrooms
are, conceptually, the same as working from remote offices.
Tools like Webex and Go2Assist allow help desks to see the
computer issues first-hand, rather than relying on the user to
accurately describe the problem. Information about competitors is immediately available online 24/7. The Internet enables
businesses to remain “open” even when all their employees are
out of the office.
“
”
The Internet enables
businesses to remain ‘open’
even when all their employees
are out of the office.
“
”
Mash-ups allow developers
to combine applications
while empowering users to make better
and faster decisions.
From a software development perspective, the changes in
technology are a double-edged sword. Millions of people use
MySpace and Xbox Live everyday without any formal training.
Developers can leverage the user experience of these sites to
assist them in improving the designs of their own sites. Mashups (see Glossary) allow developers to combine applications
while empowering users to make better and faster decisions.
On the other side of the equation, it can be difficult to confirm
the accuracy of the information one finds on the Internet.
The anonymity allows dishonest people to misrepresent facts.
Developers must also give careful consideration to the
devices their applications will be viewed on. A Web page that
might display perfectly on a PC or laptop could be a disaster
on a SmartPhone.
The article in this issue of the Thomas Magazine about the
benefits of educational gaming is interesting. I believe the
potential for practical learning and skill development from
gaming extends beyond the classroom. Online gaming provides
the opportunity to identify problem-solvers and potential leaders. It also affords collaboration opportunities for people that
have never met in person before. The phenomenon is large
enough that IBM commissioned a study to see how massively
multiplayer online role playing games might impact the way
enterprises do business. The study yielded some interesting
correlations between these games and business practices. The
potential exists for companies, especially smaller and younger
ones, to forgo traditional organizational hierarchy and, instead,
determine leadership by those who are best-suited to address
the task at hand. Beyond leadership potential, competitive
games can teach people about appropriate risk taking, teamwork, innovation and problem solving.
I believe that Thomas is appropriately positioning technology not as a magic bullet, but instead as a powerful tool
that changes the way all of us think and operate. Effective
communication and problem-solving skills are at least as
important as the latest technological tool. The one thing
we can all be certain of is that technology will continue to
change, probably at an ever-increasing rate. To be successful one has to be comfortable in changing along with technology, communicating verbally and in writing, making
thoughtful decisions, and solving problems, in addition to
knowing when and how to apply technology to the process.
SPRING 2009
63
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Permit No. 121
Alumni, this could be your last issue!
Starting with our Fall 2009 issue, the Thomas
Magazine will only be mailed to those alumni who
are members of the Alumni Association (see inside
for details). Non-members will have access to the
content of the magazine on the Thomas Web site,
www.thomas.edu/alumni/magazine.
If you look forward to receiving your printed
issue in the mail and reading the stories about
the happenings at Thomas, please be sure to
sign up and renew your Alumni Association
membership each year. We appreciate your
understanding and hope to see your name on
the mailing list for the next issue!