Impact: Advancing Southern New Hampshire University

im­­­pact Advancing

Southern New Hampshire University

In this Issue

Advancing Gender Equity at the Deborah L. Coffin Women’s Center New Dean’s Bold Vision for the School of Education Sneak Peek at the Library Learning Commons Music Business MBA Hits the Right Notes Volume 6 | 2014-2015

Letter from President At Southern New Hampshire University, our faculty, staff, and alumni are dedicated to cultivating enriching learning environments that empower students to improve their lives. Throughout this issue of Impact magazine, you’ll find stories of members of our community making good on that promise, one opportunity at a time.

Our cover story highlights the newly formed Deborah L. Coffin Women’s Center and the vision of gender equity shared by students, administration, and the extraordinary alumna whose generosity made the center possible. The center was formed through a collaborative effort at every level of the community, and it will provide a safe place for all people to engage in open, honest dialogue to advance social justice. In particular, it will address the need for a central hub of resources, programming, advocacy, and support for the women in our community to pursue their greatest potential. As a father of two daughters leading a campus full of amazing young women, I am excited to see us address issues of equity and empowerment in a more thoughtful and concerted way.

In these pages, you’ll also meet the new Dean of the School of Education, a visionary and nationally known figure whose leadership will help equip the next generation of teachers with innovative ways of approaching teaching and learning. We’ve highlighted one of our newest programs, the Music Business MBA, a creative partnership with the famous Berklee School of Music.

And you’ll learn about a rain garden project led by a team of faculty and service staff that provided SNHU students with opportunities to complete valuable fieldwork, mentor local schoolchildren, and address a pressing environmental need.

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We’ve also profiled some of our finest students, from a dedicated young woman who will stop at nothing to complete her degree, including switching from a traditional undergraduate experience to an online pathway in order to care for her ailing mother; to a campus student whose only rival in Penmen Pride may be Petey Penmen himself.

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I hope these stories inspire you as they do me. We will continue working to provide rich, diverse, challenging opportunities for SNHU students to make their mark on this beautiful, complex world.

President: Dr. Paul J. LeBlanc Managing Editor: Audrey Bourque Editor: Jerri Clayton ’10, ’12 Contributors: H attie Bernstein Pamme Boutselis Kristi Durette Kathryn Growney

Linnae Selinga

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inside

Advancing

Southern New Hampshire University

Graphic Design: Karen Mayeu Photography: Jeremy Earl Mayhew Printing: Printers Square Proofreader: Susan Morgan Impact is published by the

Office of Institutional Advancement Don Brezinski, Vice President Changes of address may be sent to alumni@snhu.edu or to the

Advancing Gender Equity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Disrupting Higher Ed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Office of Institutional Advancement Southern New Hampshire University

From On Campus to Online. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

2500 North River Road Manchester, NH 03106

Making Music Together . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Visit us online at alumni.snhu.edu for more university news and information about upcoming events.

College for America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Motivis Learning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Right as Rain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Engaging Alumni – Event Photos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Making an Impact on SNHU: Logan McCarthy ’16 . . . . . . 18

Join the conversation online with #SNHUimpact

A Whole New Ballgame: Michelle Cowels ’14. . . . . . . . . . 19 Mission Accomplished. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

/SNHUalumni

First in the World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 @SNHUalumni bit.ly/SNHUcommunity

The New Library Learning Commons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Clockwise from upper left: the SNHU Softball Team, 2014 Northeast-10 champions; Deb Coffin ’85 and Brooke Gilmore; SNHU Field Hockey player; Amanda Cronin ’13 and Sarah O’Keefe ’14; the SNHU Women’s Basketball Team; and a student meets a potential employer at the Internship Expo.

Advancing Gender

Equity

By Audrey Bourque

The Deborah L. Coffin Women’s Center at Southern New Hampshire University was created to raise questions about gender equity and to catapult ideas into action. The Center’s founding principle is that so-called ‘women’s issues’ – things like pay-gap, work/life balance, or bystander education – are phenomena that concern not only women, but rather everyone who interacts with or cares for women. They are social justice issues that belong in a greater dialogue that involves society as a whole.

“Students are more interested in talking about these issues than ever before, and it is essential to include the voice of the student body in crafting the strategic plan and physical space for the center, so it is a place of empowerment that directly addresses students’ needs.”

Gilmore plans to leverage the culture of support and inclusion that is already in place to advocate for individuals experiencing gender-related issues such as sexual harassment or gender discrimination; implement educational and prevention programming; and advance social justice as part of a broader movement that dismantles oppressive structures and unifies people.

Community Support In the quest to find a Director who was up for this

Associate Director of Athletics Patricia Cote brought her experience as the senior women’s athletic administrator to the search committee, as well as her own personal experience as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field. “I come from a feminist family.

It never occurred to me that I couldn’t do something.

But in the real world – I see that it can be much harder for women to grow, develop, lead, and grab ahold of the same opportunities as their male counterparts. I want this center to prepare students to gracefully handle gender-based hurdles that they will inevitably encounter in their lives, and hopefully my kids will know an even more level playing field than my generation does.”

Gavin Telfer, Associate Director of Student Involvement, represented Student Affairs on the search committee.

He anticipates partnering with the Women’s Center through his work in leadership programming on campus and as chair of the President’s Commission for LGBTQ+

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Brooke Gilmore took the helm as Director of the Women’s Center in October. Over the next year, her primary focus will be to build a long-term strategic plan to develop women’s leadership opportunities and celebrate women who can serve as role models and mentors to challenge, motivate, and inspire members of the SNHU community.

monumental task, Lorenz handpicked a diverse search committee with voices at the table from students, faculty, and staff. “The Women’s Center is going to collaborate with faculty and student organizations, as well as with departments already committed to similar work, like Wellness, Diversity, Athletics, Career Development, Residence Life, Public Safety and the Center for Women’s Business Advancement [an independent B2B consulting organization newly acquired by the School of Business].” Lorenz wanted to ensure that these key stakeholders had a say in finding the ideal candidate to lead the charge.

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While many offices and departments at SNHU have already been delivering programs and advocating for women’s rights, Dean of Students Heather Lorenz says the Women’s Center will be a central hub to coordinate and amplify these efforts. “It’s an additional safe space for support, programming, advocacy, curricular engagement, and leadership development.”

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Advocacy. “The Center is designed as a space for everyone, even and especially those who don’t know they need it,” he says. “It’s a place to explore issues together, somewhere students can think big about how to change the world and then act on it.”

Telfer points out that perhaps never before have the ideas of gender equity and social justice been so prevalent in public discourse. Movements like Lean In, Miss Representation, #HeForShe and #YesAllWomen are gaining momentum on social media and airtime on traditional media, making terms like ‘impostership’ and ‘gender equality’ part of the vernacular of change.

“The time is right for a center like this at SNHU, and I hope the conversations started here will resonate with our community and address everything from the tragedy of sexual assaults on campus to the patriarchal idea of ‘male privilege’ to exploring the reasons some people have negative reactions to the word ‘feminism.’”

The Woman Behind the Curtain This is a tall order that grew out of a simple idea.

At the very core of this project, alumna Deborah L. Coffin ’85 wanted women to have a dedicated place to build confidence and become leaders, to be inspired academically, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, to blossom into their full potential.

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She considers herself lucky to have been surrounded by intelligent, powerful, creative women from an early age. “As the president of Dexter Corporation, my father was decades ahead of his time, having hired a woman as treasurer of his company throughout the 1950s and 1960s. This was a time when there were no female executive officers in big corporations. She was an inspiration, showing me from the time I was a little girl that women can be just as competent, successful, and powerful as men in business.”

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When she married at the age of 30 and became a stepmother of two, Coffin found her life unexpectedly full at a time when she was still determined to complete her education. She was drawn to the School of Continuing Education at New Hampshire College (now SNHU’s College for Online and Continuing Education, or COCE) for the flexible schedules for adult learners

“” “I’m a ‘show me, don’t tell me’ kind of person, and I want the women using this Center to march and be heard and make meaningful changes in their lives.”

and the affordable coursework - attributes she says have been paramount to the institution’s continued success. Receiving her degree equipped her with the foundational skills she needed to lead a full life committed to her passions - continuing the proud traditions of local craftsmen; sustaining the New Hampshire environment, and empowering women to develop into leaders.

Coffin’s decision to invest in a women’s center at SNHU was deeply personal, invoking her passion for the cause as well as her drive to action over talk. “I am grateful, at this point in my life, to be able to provide the means for students to be exposed to successful women, role models in business, philanthropy, passion projects and personal pursuits. But most importantly, I am excited that this will be a place of action. I’m a ‘show me, don’t tell me’ kind of person, and I want those using this Center to march and be heard and make meaningful changes in their lives and in the lives of others.”

The Next Generation Melanie Friese ’16 is the kind of galvanizing force Coffin is hoping will help kick start community engagement at the Women’s Center. In addition to excelling at her studies in English Language & Literature and nailing her internship at ProActive Travel in Nashua, N.H., Friese is a Presidential Ambassador, a University Honors Student, and a dedicated volunteer at Jamie’s Fund for Social Justice in Manchester. She also started the official women’s club on campus after a startling discovery about women-against-women criticism.

After reading Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In, Friese was inspired to conduct her own version of the Heidi/ Harold study for a sociology class. She wrote two versions of a narrative describing a student involved in a group project – but the only difference between the two versions was the student’s name, Amber or Andrew. She then polled SNHU students on their reaction to the fictional student, asking what it would be like to work with this person. To her surprise, male students used the same kind of words to describe both Amber and Andrew; but female students were much harsher on Amber, using words like ‘pushy,’ ‘stressed,’ and ‘hard to work with.’

the Women’s Leadership Ambition so we’d have a nonjudgmental place to hash out issues that really do affect us all. Now, with the Women’s Center, I hope that we’ll have more panels and programs to guide and inspire our discussions, as well as support for trips to places like the Human Rights Museum [in Winnipeg, Canada].”

“ ” “This a place to explore issues together, somewhere students can think big about how to change the world and then act on it.”

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“This made me realize that we need to talk about these issues and women’s position in society. I started

Gilmore emphasizes that, “ultimately, we want the entire community to know that gender equality is not exclusive, angry, or dismissive. It’s a movement that includes women and men alike, and we want everyone who visits the Deborah L. Coffin Women’s Center to be inspired to make an impact.”

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It is an exciting time for women in Penmen Athletics. The Softball team won its first Northeast-10 title in the 2014 season, Women’s Golf began competing in the 2013-14 academic year; Field Hockey returned as a varsity sport this fall for the first time since 1981, with world-class coach Julie Munson leading the team through its inaugural season; and the Women’s Track and Field program is set to begin competition in the 2015-16 academic year, led by Lex Butler, a former All-American athlete and nationally recognized coach.

Women’s Basketball was named to the

WBCA Academic Top 25 for the second straight year (2014)

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Varsity Programs for Women

(2014-15 academic year)

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Northeast-10 Title (2014 Softball)

150 Women Student Athletes

(2014-15 academic year)

Women in Sport

Women’s Lacrosse Received the

Team Academic Excellence

Award Highest Team GPA

in the Northeast-10 conference (2014)

Disrupting

Higher Ed

By Audrey Bourque

As a nationally recognized leader in education, Dean Ray McNulty took the helm of the School of Education this fall with the goal of examining the ways we teach and learn, methods that have been entrenched in the educational system for centuries.

“I’m a disruptor. I’m not a traditionalist. I’m here to understand the landscape and honor the work of those who came before me, to identify our best practices and then to explore our next practices. That’s where we’re headed. Our next practices will take us to the outer edge of our field, where the work is about redefining the role of the educator.”

McNulty describes a gradual release of the traditional role of educators as content curators. Instead, he says, educators must focus on equipping students with the skills they will need to excel in our modern, frenetic world: confidence in their ability to reason through and solve complex problems. And the voice of the 21st century student must be involved in the conversation about how to teach and how to learn. “We should not be asking ourselves how to teach something. We should be thinking about how we would learn it. The teachers who graduate from our program will be able to educate their students so, ultimately, they don’t need us.”

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A revolutionary idea, to be sure: the student-centered, competency-based learning that McNulty is helping to foster challenges many of the foundational tenants of the

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American educational system. But the political culture of New Hampshire is hospitable to competency-based education, in which students set the pace of their own learning track, according to their ability to demonstrate mastery over a series of measurable outcomes.

McNulty has more than 30 years of experience in public education, from elementary school teacher to principal to superintendent. More recently, he served as the Commissioner of Education for the State of Vermont; a Senior Fellow for Education at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; a variety of roles at the International Center for Leadership in Education; and, most recently, as the Chief Learning Officer for Penn Foster Education, a career school that allows students to earn certificates and career diplomas at their own pace through online and hybrid programs.

“My life’s work has been to surround myself with the best and brightest minds in the field of education, to find ways to make schools that work for students. I’m a passionate learner, and I’m surrounded by great thinkers here at Southern New Hampshire University. Together, we’re going to inspire generations of lifelong learners.”

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“Our next practices will take us to the outer edge of our field, where the work is about redefining the role of the educator.”

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“SNHU’s financial aid, career services, and advising offices have all been exceptional in helping me strive toward my goal of becoming the first in my family to graduate from college.”

from

On Campus to

Online

By Jerri Clayton ’10, ’12

Machia began as a traditional day student living on campus and loved it. During this time, one of her most influential teachers, Professor Micheline Anstey, inspired her to go into marketing because Antstey’s “passion and enthusiasm about what she does made me excited to explore that career path.”

After just one semester on campus, Machia received the devastating news that her mother was very ill, and she left school to care for her. But, according to Machia, “because of a Sponsored Scholarship, I was able to stay in school, taking classes online and using the money I made working to buy food and help pay off some of my bills.”

Currently a full-time student in the College of Online and Continuing Education (COCE), Machia is doing

With the help of the Career Development team, Machia landed her first internship with a start-up firm in Boston.

“I’m a marketing associate for the company and have been doing a lot of promoting, and also designing event invitations and a new website for the company. So far I love it!”

Fortunately, things have taken a turn for the better at home, and Machia is happy to say that her mother is doing remarkably well. “She no longer requires that I be home twenty-four hours and is eating, walking, talking and moving on her own. As she continues to progress, my father has found a job much closer to home and can be with her more, giving me some free time.”

Machia attributes her accomplishments to the help of donors and the scholarships she has received.

“Scholarships have made a tremendous difference in my life by allowing me to stay in school. Everyone who supports both online and on campus students is making a tremendous impact. I can’t wait to give back one day, too!”

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Machia came to SNHU as an on-campus undergraduate student in the fall of 2013. She faced many struggles in her college career, but as a first generation college student, Machia was determined to stay in school and become the first in her family to graduate. “SNHU’s financial aid, career services, and advising offices have all been exceptional in doing everything they can to help me reach that goal.”

very well. “While at first I missed the classrooms and face-to-face social interaction with professors and other students, I transitioned quickly and feel strongly I am receiving a quality education in a way that best fits my life. The flexibility is very important to me.”

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Overcoming hurdles is nothing new for Heather Machia ’15.

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Together

Making Music

By Hattie Bernstein

Why would a musician want an MBA? Ask Danny Smith, a composer and songwriter who runs Soul Resurrection Music, LLC, in Salisbury, N.C., with his wife, Shameka Henderson Smith, a lyricist and singer.

The couple began writing songs 10 years ago. While they enjoyed a measure of success — including two singles played on the radio — they were at a loss when it came to promotion and marketing.

“We had all this material and we said, ‘What are we going to do with it?’” Smith said.

When he heard about the newly launched MBA in Music Business, a partnership between SNHU’s College of Online and Continuing Education (COCE) and Berklee College of Music’s Berklee Online, Smith knew he’d found “the perfect fit for us.”

He began classes last January.

“We knew we were on the right track, but the program gives us some good tools in the marketing aspect of the business,” Smith said.

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An Evolving Industry In the old days, a musician with a dream had just one path to success: getting signed by a record label. Today, thanks to digital technology and platforms such as CD Baby, PledgeMusic and other online services, artists are becoming their own record labels. They assume the risks and the rewards that were once fixed in a top-down hierarchy, usually with the artist at the bottom.

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It was the recognition of these changes that sparked the collaboration between COCE and Berklee Online, producing what Gerard Ross, associate vice president for Digital Marketing at SNHU, said was the only music business MBA in the country when it was started last fall.

Nineteen enrolled in the first class — a diverse group

of artists and businesspeople who were looking for an education and an edge on the competition.

“There’s an opportunity now for musicians to control every aspect: performing, touring, music publishing, placement in film, TV, other media,” observed Debbie Cavalier, vice president of Online Learning and Continuing Education/CEO for Berklee Online.

Composing a Duet COCE markets, recruits and handles admissions. It also provides a student portal, academic and career advisors, and other student services and support.

Students select nine courses from the traditional MBA offerings that include Managerial Accounting and Economics, Operations Management, Finance, IT and Marketing Strategies, and they are required to take four music business courses from Berklee Online — Music Business Structures and Strategies, Music Marketing Strategies, Music Business Finance, and Music Business Leadership and Ethics.

Berklee’s Cavalier said the teams found common ground, philosophically and in practical ways. For one thing, both institutions emphasize “putting students first.” For another, each has developed a reputation for excellence — SNHU in business education and Berklee for music.

“The SNHU/Berklee Online partnership is an excellent example of two schools leveraging each other’s strengths to bring a great educational opportunity to students,” said Scott Durand, vice president of Graduate Marketing and Student Recruitment at SNHU. “I am immensely impressed with how well both teams work together for mutual benefit and, above all, a focus on our students.”

The partners also recognized that student success would depend on support, both academic and career. No matter a student’s background or experience, developing

“The music business MBA is the perfect blend of business and passion.” a career plan early and staying connected with an advisor would be critical.

for on-campus concerts and played music as a hobby. His childhood dream was to work in the music industry.

Hitting the Right Notes Berklee Online music business instructor Chandler Coyle, a web developer for over a decade before he joined his brother, Jay, running Music Geek Services, couldn’t agree more. In today’s music industry, he said, there are plenty of opportunities for someone looking for a challenge.

“I turned 48 this year and when I grew up, getting a job in the music business was the ultimate goal,” he said.

“There are problems that need to be solved, someone (needed) to jump in to figure stuff out,” Coyle said.

“Through the MBA program, a student will acquire a solid foundation of knowledge and a list of industry contacts to take their Berklee (and SNHU) education to the next level.”

Coyle, who graduated from Syracuse University in the late ’80s with a business degree, worked in the student-ownedand-operated record shop, volunteered as concert security

Today, that goal may be even more attainable.

Jennifer Brady, associate vice president of Marketing and Student Recruitment for SNHU’s online graduate programs, said she sees the new music business MBA as a means to that end — and an example of best practices in a rapidly changing industry.

“Musicians are entrepreneurial and creative by nature, with strength on the creative side,” she said. “But they (often) need the formal education to launch and sustain a business, generate revenues. The music business MBA is the perfect blend of business and passion.”

by Linnae Selinga

Southern New Hampshire University’s College for America (CfA) partners with employers nationwide to provide competency-based programs for working adult students. Since its 2013 launch, CfA has enrolled more than 1,000 students from more than 60 employers, including McDonald’s, Goodwill, and some of the nation’s largest hospital and health systems. In 2013, CfA became the nation’s first competency-based, fully accredited higher education provider to be approved for federal financial aid independent of the traditional credit hour model. In May 2014, the school announced the approval of the first nationally available, accreditor-approved $10,000 bachelor’s degree.

Fueling Career Success with Competency-Based Education Tammy Kruger is bright and motivated, but like many others, she didn’t opt to go to college right after high school. She had her first daughter, born with cerebral palsy, at a young age, and decided to focus on her family first. She explained, “I think I was afraid. I thought, ‘Can I do this? And how do I go about doing it?’ My mother never discussed college with me, and the counselors never discussed college.”

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So instead of going to college, Tammy started working the cash register at Cumberland Farms, part of the Cumberland Gulf Group of Companies. Over the next 15 years, she moved up to assistant manager, then manager, and then training manager—meaning that she trains other store managers in addition to running her own store. Tammy beamed, “I pride myself in being one of the best managers the company has. Last year, I was awarded Store Manager of the Year.”

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As she climbed her way up the ladder, Tammy set her sights on upper management. “I already look at my job as a career, it’s definitely not just a job to me,” she said. But top leadership positions require levels of communication, teamwork, and critical thinking skills that aren’t always acquired through day-to-day operations. She admits that she’s always struggled with her writing, but she’s also always taken initiative to improve herself. So when one of her mentors raved about her experience with a new degree program designed for working adults, Tammy knew she wanted in.

Tammy enrolled in College for America in January 2014, and only five months later, she’s halfway to earning an Associate of Art in General Studies with a Concentration in Business. Her husband is taking on more of the household and family needs so she can focus on her CfA projects when she gets home from work. Her mentor has also been supportive: “She helped me with a couple of questions in the beginning, but mostly with the fear of getting the process going. She eased my mind.”

With just a little boost of confidence, Tammy’s on her way up again. Between the projects and a little extra support from the CfA Writing Center, she’s shown such dramatic improvement in her communication skills that she’s been asked to help with the company newsletter.

Tammy has noticed improvements in the way she listens to her employees and communicates with them: “The projects are helping me understand that each of my employees is different in every different aspect. It’s done tremendous things for work.” And her supervisors are taking notice.

Now that she’s pursuing her degree, managing her responsibilities with more confidence, and interacting with employees with more poise, Tammy’s supervisors have started to groom her for a regional manager or area field manager position. “My boss has been teaching me things all along as a part of his job, but I think having him know that I’m actually going to earn a degree has further reinforced that I’m serious about my career.”

Motivis Learning:

Managing Learning & Student Outcomes As trailblazers in competency-based education, the team at College for America (CfA) needed a back-end system to manage student data that was nimble enough to accommodate their innovative approach to learning and tracking student success outcomes. So they built their own platform.

LeBlanc says that Motivis was launched as a separate business from CfA to allow the software development team to help other educational institutions with their needs, and also to keep College for America focused on its nonprofit mission and continued growth path.

“I think this next generation of systems is really going to be about data and analytics and relationship management,” LeBlanc said. “The whole shift in conversation, it seems to me, is about studentcenteredness.”

Motivis Learning CEO Brian Peddle, formerly Chief Technology Officer at CfA, leads a team of software engineers dedicated to providing next-generation technology for educational institutions. Peddle says that Motivis Learning can address the needs of the growing number of institutions interested in offering competency-based programs.

The system is user-friendly and familiar, with a dashboard reminiscent of a social network–complete with an activity feed, a running to-do list, ‘connections’ with avatars and discussion boards, and a progress bar to measure competencies mastered. Students interact with faculty and administration as they move through their curricula, and the system captures outcomes and

“Education should not be one size fits all; it should be one size fits one. Modern technology enables us to design true Learning Relationship Management platforms which are built not around courses, but instead around students, their educational experience, and their outcomes – and that’s what Motivis Learning is pioneering.”

“ Learning Relationship Management platforms are built not around courses, but instead around students, their educational experience, and their outcomes – and that’s what Motivis Learning is pioneering.”

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SNHU President Paul LeBlanc says that Motivis Learning balances technical elements such as cloud hosting and software-as-service solutions with studentcentered elements that educators love.

mastery in each student’s record. With more than 1,000 CfA students currently using LRM, Southern New Hampshire University has been fielding calls from peer institutions and K-12 systems interested in learning more about competency-based education.

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Conceived in the Innovation Lab at CfA specifically for competency-based programs, Motivis Learning was spun off last summer as an independent business owned by Southern New Hampshire University. The proprietary, student-centered Learning Relationship Management (LRM) system is built on the powerful SalesForce platform, and offers functionalities more focused on human interactions than content management.

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Right as

By Audrey Bourque

Rain:

Building a Better Future

Dr. Michele Goldsmith is passionate about raising awareness and community engagement around environmental issues.

Goldsmith, associate professor of Science and former Papoutsy Ethics Chair, is an influential figure in behavioral ecology and conservation. Her work studying mountain gorilla populations and the ethical implications of ecotourism in Central Africa has informed her commitment to live a conscious, respectful life in harmony with the environment–a philosophy she challenges her students to consider.

“Southern New Hampshire University has a high commitment to being green and developing community ties.”

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In the 2013-14 academic year, Goldsmith partnered with an interdisciplinary team of university and community partners closer to home to plan, prepare, and plant a rain garden that is now helping to control storm water runoff and stop pollutants from reaching the Merrimack River.

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This particular project was appealing to her, she says, because it laid out a series of tangible steps that aligned students with SNHU’s mission to be a conscious consumer institution. As a professor in the fledgling Environmental Science major, Goldsmith is proud to have contributed to a project that offers students the chance to complete fieldwork that affects the entire community.

Kelley Hobbs, assistant director of the Center for Community Engaged Learning at SNHU, originally heard about a call for projects from Campus Compact for New Hampshire that would increase campus and community awareness of environmental issues and create a plan to help. She knew she could pull together a team to make an impact, and soon recruited Goldsmith, along with fellow science faculty member Dr. Joseph Corbin and Dr. Allison Cummings of the English department, whose composition class created a children’s book about the project. The SNHU team also partnered with a third-grade class at Beech Street School in Manchester.

Together, the team identified test sites, performed soil and water analysis, researched beneficial and indigenous plant life, mentored elementary school students in planting seedlings and building birdhouses, and planted the garden, and will continue marketing their efforts to the greater community.

“This project was a success–in terms of planning and execution, in terms of community involvement, and in terms of our providing experiential learning opportunities. Our efforts beautified campus.”

Goldsmith and the entire team hope that the gardens will further infuse a ‘green mindset’ on campus. The rain garden will remind the SNHU community that the ground beneath our feet can impact a waterway overlooked by most. “Making a small step in the right direction will cause a snowball effect for all to follow in years to come.”

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“I challenge my students to think about ways to live conscious, respectful lives in harmony with the environment.”

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Engaging Alumni 1

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“ From celebrating reunion milestones, to reconnecting with classmates and faculty at Homecoming Weekend, to networking at the Business Indicator Series events, SNHU alumni have engaged and shared their experiences, expertise, and time throughout the year. Advising students as part of career panels, serving as guest speakers in classes or hosting interns, and hiring graduates have benefited SNHU students and alumni alike. In the coming months, we look forward to growing our regional SNHU communities across the U.S. and internationally.”

Kristi Durette, Director of Alumni Relations

1. A lumni, students, and staff on Alternative Break in Washington, D.C., March 2014.

2. L aToya Bonner ’14 traveled with her husband from Tennessee to the SNHU-Maine Commencement ceremony, May 2014.

3. A lumni employers recruit top talent at the Career Expo, October 2014.

4. H eidi Quigley ’13 speaks with a current student at the Internship Expo, February 2014.

5. Alumni employers at the Career Expo, October 2014.

7. E d Ithier ’87, ’93 and Men’s Basketball Head Coach Stan Spirou, Athletic Hall of Fame Induction, January 2014.

8. P resident Paul LeBlanc, alumni, students, and staff at a community event in San Francisco, CA, March 2014.

9. A lumni and their families come back for Superheroes’ Homecoming, October 2014.

2014-2015

6. P etey Penmen leads the pack at the SNHUperheroes’ 5K at Homecoming, October 2014.

Impact

9

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Making an

Impact

on SNHU

By Jerri Clayton ’10, ’12

Name: Logan McCarthy | Class Year: 2016 | Major: Graphic Design & Media Arts | Minor: Video Production | Hometown: Wrentham, MA

Logan McCarthy ’16 is majoring in Graphic Design & Media with a minor in Video Production, and has found time to dedicate to so many clubs and organizations that – other than Petey Penmen – he is the most seen person at campus events.

Why did you choose SNHU? My original plan was to transfer my second year, but I fell in love with this school in the first week. I especially grew to love the student community–as I always say, it’s the friendliest tier of people I have ever met. I would never transfer from this place.

What clubs and organizations are you involved in and why?

Impact

2014-2015

University Honors Student Admission Student Leader Photographer/Advertiser, Student Involvement Orientation Leader General Manager, Radio SNHU President, Media & Design Club Vice President, Music Club Vice President, Creative Writing Club

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Ad Editor/Co-Treasurer/Layout Editor, The Penmen Press Trip Coordinator, Outing Club Design Committee Member/SNHUStock C ommittee Member/Street Teamer, C.A.P.E. SNHU Design Team SNHU Cousin

I learned how to say ‘No’ in my time here at SNHU, but that was awhile after my first Club Day experience when I signed up for everything that matched my fancy.

As I signed up for more and more clubs over the years, it never occurred to me that I would climb up a bunch of E-Board ladders. But I have gained so many talents from my involvement. I can DJ a dance floor, set up a concert venue, run a radio station, send out invoices, plan zip-lining trips, set up a budget and itinerary, make panoramas, convert raster images into vectors, make flyers, service customers, speak my mind on a panel; the list goes on.

How did the scholarships and financial aid you receive make SNHU possible?

I am both honored and humbled to be awarded a scholarship every year for being a University Honors Student. In a time where I might not be able to afford next year at SNHU, these scholarships encourage me to try my very hardest and helped me financially in securing my first two years here. These donors are supporting a better, brighter future and changing lives for those who are struggling. If more people did the same, the whole world would be a much happier place.

What/who has positively contributed to your SNHU experience?

Everybody. From orientation to today, I am motivated to make others smile and encourage people to try their best because they do the same for me. I’m excited to work with others on involvement projects, not just for the experience and teamwork, but also for the bonding and memories.

My days are long, but they’re jam-packed and filled with so many wonderful, inspiring minds. I say this about students, faculty, administration, and staff.

What do you like to do in your free time?

I spend my free time writing long novels I never finish, making music I keep looping, shooting videos, and playing games. When I’m not doing these, I’m up and about hugging and saying “hi!” to pretty much everyone in all the buildings.

AWhole New

Ballgame

By Jerri Clayton ’10, ’12

Name: Michelle Cowels | Class Year: 2014 | Major: Sport Management | Minor: Sports Special Event Planning | Hometown: Derry, NH

Since graduating in May with a Bachelor’s degree in Sport Management and a minor in Sports Special Event Planning, Michelle Cowels ’14 landed two jobs. Currently she works at the YMCA in Winsted, CT, and as the Assistant General Manager for the Torrington Titans, a team in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League.

“School involvement, previous experience, the Career Development Center, networking, and getting out of my comfort zone all helped me in the job process.

Networking was one of the biggest assets that I found to be most helpful. If not for the networking I did, I would not have gotten these jobs,” said Cowels.

Joey Abis, a former SNHU classmate, is the Titans’ General Manager. “I brought Michelle in to be my right hand person after she interned with the Silver Knights. I saw how hard she was working, and in baseball we often hire within. Hard work pays off, and Michelle deserves every minute of her success.”

Working with the Silver Knights last year, Cowels put her knowledge and skills to use. “I built crowd interaction and excitement, and the work I did as an intern got noticed – to the point that I was offered the job as the Assistant General Manager before I graduated college. I did not have a traditional job search; rather, these opportunities came my way from all my previous hard work during my four years at SNHU.”

Cowels finds that both of her jobs are directly tied to her studies and experiences at SNHU, albeit in different ways. “For the Titans, there is a clear and direct relationship. I plan events on game nights, as well as community service activities. At the YMCA, I’m helping to improve sports and athleticism in youth and running special events at the branch.”

2014-2015

“With so much excitement in the last few months, I can’t wait to see what the future holds!”

Impact

Cowels found out about the Silver Knights opportunity after Jon Goode, Executive Vice President at Nashua Silver Knights, came to SNHU as a guest speaker for the Sport Management department, and another SNHU connection helped her land at the Titans.

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2014-2015 Impact 20

“

”

“I have had many doors that have opened for me lately, and it is due, in no small part, to the opportunity given to attend your college through the G.I. Bill.”

Mission

Accomplished:

Former Marine Powers through Academic Goals

By Pamme Boutselis

With solid support, particularly from his mom and his SNHU military academic advisors Makoto Hirata and Karl Marston, Ryll threw himself full force into his academic workload. He took two, then three, and finally four courses a term to complete his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Small Business Management in half of the time an online student generally would.

He also earned his residential real estate appraisal license at the same time, and is now a small business owner in South Carolina.

Ryll said that it is a very big deal, having gone from a former Marine with no direction to a college graduate who knows exactly what he wants to do with his career.

He noted his growth as a man and as a professional, and wanted to thank LeBlanc, his military advisors, all of his professors and everyone at Southern New Hampshire University–and he had an opportunity to do so in person, prior to Commencement, when he enjoyed a visit with LeBlanc and a surprise meeting with his military academic advisor, Karl Marston.

Commencement was particularly special for Ryll, as he had 16 relatives from throughout the country travel to N.H. to proudly celebrate his success at Southern New Hampshire University.

2014-2015

Ryll is a military veteran who served eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps, deployed during that time in Afghanistan. He had started college many years before in a traditional setting, and found that he lacked the maturity and focus to see it through. Upon return to civilian life, Ryll looked for an academically robust online degree program at a respected university that was not only military friendly, but that also had a physical campus where he could one day walk across the stage to receive his degree. Southern New Hampshire University fit those needs and then some.

Ryll’s success at SNHU has led to opportunities to pursue a graduate degree at John Hopkins University and M.I.T. He wrote to President LeBlanc in late March, saying, “I wanted to thank you personally for the opportunity that your university has given me to be able to graduate from college. I have had many doors that have opened for me lately, and it is due, in no small part, to the opportunity given to attend your college through the G.I. Bill, and for that I am sincerely appreciative.”

Impact

As Paul Ryll ’14 neared completion of his academic program and began thinking about traveling to N.H. for Commencement, he had one important mission in mind–meeting SNHU President Paul LeBlanc, so he could thank him in person for all that the university allowed him to accomplish.

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First

in the

World

This fall, College for America (CfA) at Southern New Hampshire University was awarded a highly competitive $3.9 million “First in the World” innovation grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

Twenty-four institutions of higher education received one of the four-year grants, including the University of Southern California, Purdue University, and UNCChapel Hill. Nearly 500 schools applied. According to the Department of Education, “the grants will fund the development and testing of innovative approaches and strategies at colleges and universities that improve college attainment and make higher education more affordable for students and families.”

Impact

2014-2015

Through this grant project, CfA is set to tackle one of the most intractable and damaging problems in higher education: the failure of developmental education.

The project will help underprepared, underrepresented, and low-income working adults reduce the time to degree and obtain a postsecondary credential by wholly reimagining the remediation process.

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Current estimates identify 60% of college students as unprepared to do college-level work. Many of these students are diverted to developmental programs where they expend precious and limited financial aid on courses that do not earn credit toward a degree. In the current approach, students learn in a bubble that does not allow application of these skills in real time, and for those who actually complete remedial education and start college-level courses, they have often forgotten what they learned. At a price tag of $2.3 billion annually, developmental education in the United States

represents a very low return on investment for students, states, and taxpayers.

CfA team will develop a new learning support structure that bypasses remedial education classes entirely and instead provides just-in-time, contextualized academic assistance. Instead of requiring students to take a sequence of developmental courses before they can attempt college-level work, this new system will enable all students to attempt college-level work and provide them with the help they need concurrently.

Because the model is competency- rather than creditbased, no penalty is imposed on students who need additional help. Because that help is “just-in-time,” students do not struggle to remember what they learned one or two or more years back. Furthermore, because the help is contextualized, students can easily make connections between the extra help and its application.

Best of all, there is no shame or stigma–any student can access the help on demand from within the Learning Management System (LMS) using a laptop or mobile device. In fact, the system incorporates user-centered design and gamification, so students will be more likely to remain engaged and on-task.

SNHU’s project was designed and will be directed by Cathrael Kazin, Chief Academic Officer of College for America. “The well-documented failure of remedial

“We will develop a new layer of support to help academically underprepared adults become successful college students.” and developmental education has had terrible personal and economic consequences for underrepresented and lowincome working adults, as well as for our nation as a whole,” said Kazin. “We are developing and testing the approach within College for America’s model, but it will be applicable to more traditional higher education institutions as well. This new approach has the potential to change the lives of the students who are now diverted into developmental education instead of college-level, credit-bearing courses.”

“Above everything else, Southern New Hampshire University is dedicated to student success,” said SNHU President Paul LeBlanc. “With this major innovation grant, we will build on our competency-based College for America model by developing a new layer of support to help academically underprepared adults become successful college students.”

New

The

Library Learning

Impact

2014-2015

“ The newly opened Library Learning Commons houses a collection of 100,000 books and an array of digital resources to keep pace with the needs of 21st century learners.

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With stunning views, settings to accommodate both collaborative and quiet learning, and 2.5 times more seating than the former Shapiro Library building, the

Commons

– Kathryn Growney, Dean of the University Library

Impact

The space I’m most excited about is the Innovation Lab – there’s nothing else like it on campus. All students, regardless of major, have access to new technology such as 3D printing, 3D scanners, and laser cutting.”

2014-2015

Library Learning Commons is already a destination for students to study, innovate, and create.

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NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID MANCHESTER, NH PERMIT NO. 6025

Office of Institutional Advancement 2500 North River Road Manchester, NH 03106-1045 Address Service Requested

snhu.edu on campus. on location. online.

Why I

Give

My undergraduate career at NHC / SNHU was four years filled with positivity, encouragement, opportunities and resources from peers, faculty, and staff. To this day, however, I still find myself immersed in the excitement of growth and success that this institution perpetuates.

Impact

2014-2015

The experience that SNHU provided was fundamental in preparing me for real-world expectations and responsibilities while uncovering my strengths and abilities as a professional. Through philanthropy, engagement, and utilization of the school’s far-reaching resources, I’ve always given back.

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No matter the amount, every gift makes a difference, and if alumni whose experiences were similar to mine gave back even a little – the impact on our younger professional generation’s success will be substantial. Let’s come together and give back to the institution responsible for the foundation to our continued success.

– Mike Warenda ’02 alumni.snhu.edu/giving