Excellence 2013

excellence 2013Honoring Plymouth State University’s Distinguished Faculty and Staff

The only way to do great work is to love what you do.

—Steve Jobs

from the president

IntroductionIN THESE PAGES, WE HIGHLIGHT some of the extraordinary professionals from departments across

the campus who have been honored by their colleagues this year with awards for excellence. As you learn

about them and listen to their words, what becomes evident is their excitement about, dedication to, and

joy in what they do. Excellence is the result.

It is because of people like those profiled here that Plymouth State University is nationally recognized for

innovation and commitment to student success. Plymouth State is a comprehensive university, with both

liberal arts and professional programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Faculty and staff members

focus on vibrant teaching and learning, and strong mentorship of students; on scholarship, research, and

creativity that extends across all levels of students and faculty; and on genuine engagement with our

community, region, and world. As we often say on campus, it is all about the people, and Plymouth State

has wonderful people.

I would like to thank these award-winners for their dedication and their ongoing contributions and also

welcome readers to this sample of the excellence that is Plymouth State University.

Sara Jayne Steen

Distinguished Professional, Administrative, and Technical (PAT) Staff Award

Jeff FurloneAssociate Dean of Student Affairs

CONCORD, NH, NATIVE JEFF FURLONE came to Plymouth State expecting to stay only two or

three years, just long enough to earn his master’s of education in human relations.

That was 14 years ago.

In those 14 years, Furlone has worked for the Office of Residential Life in a variety of roles, overseeing

operational and programmatic activities in various residences across campus, supervising community

advisors and residence directors, adjudicating student conduct issues, and working with students with

mental health concerns. With each successive position he has held at PSU, he has increased the level of

interaction with students. “I found my niche in the caring and nurturing side of working with students,”

says Furlone, who earned his MEd in 2003. “I often work with students in crisis, and my focus is on

helping them through some of the more difficult times and helping them stay here and be successful.”

Furlone recently accepted a position as associate dean of student affairs, which will allow him to serve as a

resource for all PSU students, not just those living in the residence halls, in good times and difficult times.

“It’s my goal to keep all PSU students informed about the services we offer to help them be successful, and

to remind them that we care about them and we’re here for them.”

While Furlone has created a rewarding career for himself supporting students at PSU, he has also made a

point of serving the University by volunteering his time for various committees. “I had really good mentors

early on who urged me to get involved,” recalls Furlone, who has served as PAT speaker, Parking

Committee chair and member, observer to Operating Staff, and PAT Welfare Committee member. He

currently serves on the Garrett Lee Smith Campus Suicide Prevention Grant Advisory Board, which helps

increase mental health awareness on campus and implements evidence-based trainings for faculty, staff,

and students on how to help someone in need of support.

Although he didn’t come to PSU expecting to stay, Furlone couldn’t be more pleased with the direction

his career, and his life, have taken. “I fell in love with the people, the campus, and the surroundings,” he

says, noting that he, his wife Holly ’02, ’07G, and their young daughter, Lily, take every opportunity they

can to enjoy the outdoor activities the Plymouth area has to offer, from hiking and running to even taking

an early morning surfing trip to the seacoast. “I try not to take for granted that some people need to take a

vacation just to do what we have the chance to do here every day,” he says.

Excellence 2013

I found my niche

in the caring and nurturing side of working with students.

Plymouth State University

Award for Excellence in Faculty Service

Mary CornishProfessor of Early Childhood Studies

IT WAS WHILE SHE WAS pursuing her doctorate at the University of North Carolina that Cornish

first had the opportunity to serve, as part of a committee charged with launching UNC’s undergraduate

early childhood teacher certification program and Professional Development Schools initiative. These

experiences, she says, were transformative. “I realized the necessity and value of people working together

to impact teaching and learning.”

After earning her doctorate, Cornish became a founding faculty member of the University of Arizona

South. With her colleagues, she designed curricula and created the campus’s governance structures,

programs, and policies, and forged partnerships with community programs and schools. In the process,

she says, “I discovered how service is essential to growing a successful university.”

In 2000 Cornish joined the faculty at PSU, having been attracted to the University’s emphasis on

excellence in teaching and service. Since then, she has made many contributions to PSU through service,

from advising the Early Childhood Studies Club to chairing the Interdisciplinary Studies Council, the

Faculty Welfare Committee, and most recently the Early Childhood Studies Department Promotion

and Tenure Committee. She served as codirector of the Plymouth Writing Project, helped establish the

PSU Early Childhood Studies/Newfound Area School District K–3 Professional Development School,

and provided professional development and led reflective practice groups for K–12 teachers. She also is a

member of the Coos Coalition for Young Children and Families, which is comprised of representatives

from health, mental health, family support, and early childhood care and education organizations in

Coos County.

Cornish has a national reputation in early childhood education. Her book, Promising Practices for Partnering

with Families in the Early Years, focuses on practices of family involvement aimed at improving outcomes for

children birth through age 5. She is published and presents widely on effective practices in early child-

hood education reform and curriculum development.

While it can be challenging to find the time and energy for service, Cornish says it’s well worth the effort.

“Service is as enriching and engaging as my teaching and scholarship. It’s something I do because I feel

compelled to engage in my work.”

Excellence 2013

Service is … something I do

because I feel compelled

to engage in my work.


SOME PEOPLE DECIDE WHAT THEY WANT to do with their life before they even enter college.

Esther Kennedy says that she knew before starting middle school. “My very first classroom was when I was

in fifth grade and I asked to teach Sunday school.” As the years went by, she found herself teaching in

a pool, on a tall ship, in a field, through a ropes course, and in special education settings, traditional

classrooms, and universities.

Since 2005 Kennedy has been a member of the Plymouth State special education faculty, teaching

graduate courses in language and learning disabilities, special education curriculum development, autism

and spectrum disorders, and legal and ethical issues of working with children and families. She also serves

as director of student services in the Gilford School District and is a member of many statewide task forces

and committees in the area of special education.

One of Kennedy’s strengths as a teacher is creating a space where students from diverse backgrounds

can work together and learn from each other. Some are just starting out in the field; others are changing

careers; and still others are currently teaching and getting their master’s degrees. “When we first start the

class these individuals are not sure that they should be in the same room together,” Kennedy says.

“In the end they are supporting each other on projects, technology, ideas for the field, and professional

relationships outside of class.”

Preparing her students to work in special education has a unique set of challenges, Kennedy says. The

system is dependent on local, state, and federal policies and procedures, and is constantly changing. She

believes that the best way for students to learn is to “live” their education through knowledge exchange and

hands-on activities. She brings in families dealing with special needs issues, as well as state officials, so that

her students can ask questions and share ideas. On the first day of her classes on learning disabilities, she

puts students through a role play of being a student with a learning disability. “Some of the class will catch

on in the first 10 minutes,” she says. “Some will take up to 30 minutes, and some will become very

frustrated before they realize what is happening.” In the end, she says, every student will reflect on that

experience at some point during the course. “My goal is that when my students walk into their own class-

room they will be able to start to relate to a disabled student because for one hour they lived disability.”

Esther KennedyProfessor of Special Education

Distinguished Graduate Teaching Award

Excellence 2013

My goal is that when my students walk into their own classroom they will be able to start to relate to a disabled student because for one hour they lived disability.


AFTER ALMOST THREE DECADES working with Plymouth State undergraduates, one of Deb

Tobine’s happiest moments is seeing students who have overcome their struggles. “It is such a treat to see

them walk across the stage at graduation, knowing that their persistence and determination have paid off,”

she says. Tobine can be proud of herself too; as educational assistant of the Undergraduate Advising

Center she has played an important part in many students’ success over the years.

Although her official role is to prepare degree reviews for undergraduates and help students stay on track to

graduate, Tobine’s day-to-day life is much more complex. Showing up at her office on any given day might

be a perplexed undergraduate wondering why his coursework doesn’t seem to apply to his major; a parent

seeking a reason for her child’s difficulties; a member of the financial aid team needing a degree review for

a student; or a recent alumnus stopping by to share the happy news of his first post-PSU job.

“A lot of this position is problem-solving and detective work,” Tobine says. Some of the puzzle pieces

Tobine finds herself putting in place with students include matching up coursework to degree require-

ments, ensuring that the proper paperwork has been completed to allow students to move forward in their

majors, and keeping students informed about scholarship expectations.

Tobine is pleased that so many students rely on her office for support. “They trust our advice and know

that we’re here for them,” she says. “If they’re running into a problem they’ll come talk it out. They are also

usually the students who keep in touch with us after they graduate.”

She also supports the financial aid team, the teacher certification office, and the registrar’s office and

appreciates that these partnerships give her a broad perspective on students’ situations, which is especially

helpful when a student is struggling with a tangle of academic, financial, or bureaucratic issues.

Tobine is passionate about supporting the University through service as well. She volunteers her time

with the enrollment management group; the PAT scholarship committee; the professional development

committee; Healthy PSU; and the Holmes Group, which brings together members from every department

that works with student services. These organizations’ common mission of improving student services is no

coincidence. Tobine makes a point of seeking out “any group that helps make life better for our students.”

After making life better for countless students over the years, Tobine reflects on her own measure of

success: “The students are so much fun to work with,” she says. “Just to feel their energy, and to know that

you’re a part of helping them to achieve their goal, that’s really what makes me happy.”

Deb TobineEducational Assistant, Undergraduate Advising Center

Patricia Storer PAT (Professional, Administrative, and Technical) Award

Excellence 2013

[Students] trust our advice and know that we’re here for them. If they’re running into a problem they’ll come talk it out.


Distinguished Operating Staff Award

Nikki-Ann NunesAdministrative Assistant, Department of History and Philosophy and Department of Social Science

“I LOVE NEW CHALLENGES—they keep me on my toes,” says Nikki-Ann Nunes. It’s safe to say that

over the past 13 years, Nunes has certainly been kept on her toes as the administrative assistant for the

Department of Social Science, which has grown tremendously over the past decade. With that growth

has come a growth in Nunes’ responsibilities. “When I started working for PSU, I was the administrative

assistant for social work,” she recalls. “Then, I worked solely for social science for a few years, until history

merged with philosophy to become its own department. Now I support two departments.”

Since fall 2009, Nunes has supported both the Department of Social Science and the Department of

History and Philosophy—which together comprise more than 50 faculty and hundreds of students. “On

any given day, I could be doing anything from budget work to web updates to scheduling, all while respond-

ing to requests of faculty and students,” says Nunes, who is known around campus for making those with

whom she works feel respected and valued.

While she enjoys all aspects of her job, Nunes says the best part is supporting the faculty, who specialize in

a wide variety of disciplines including political science, anthropology, tourism management, and more. “I

love the diversity and complexity of the people I work for,” she says.

Beyond her daily contributions to the University as an administrative assistant, Nunes has been part of

a number of campus committees over the years, including the Operating Staff Scholarship Fundrais-

ing Committee and the OS Welcoming Committee, which helps acquaint new operating staff with the

University. This fall, she will begin her term as the Operating Staff Speaker. According to Nunes, it’s PSU’s

close-knit and supportive culture that keeps her passionate about her work and her service. “I love

Plymouth State University,” she says. “I wake up every morning and think, I get to go to work!”

Outside of PSU, Nunes is a devoted volunteer and board member of Keeping You Me and Memories

Alive, Inc., a Plymouth-based nonprofit dedicated to raising funds to fight cancer and help those living

with cancer. “The gratification I get from knowing that I helped someone in my community not have to

make a choice between spending money on gas to go for treatments or spending that money on groceries

or heat is overwhelming,” says Nunes of her decade-long association with KYMMA. “I am humbled to be

part of such a caring group.”

Excellence 2013

I love Plymouth State University. . . . I wake up every morning and think, I get to go to work!


LIKE SO MANY GREAT DISCOVERIES, William Hett’s teaching career came about by accident.

During a stint as a teaching assistant while getting his master’s degree at the University of New Hampshire,

he helped out in the math lab for Calculus I and II. “I found that my presentations needed enhanced

explanations, so I started to teach the sections again and it was fun,” he says. His students “responded

positively,” as Hett says in his understated way. His first job out of graduate school was a mathematics

position at the Tilton School, and he never looked back. Thirty-six years later he retired from his private

boarding school secondary education career and joined the mathematics department at Plymouth State.

Since arriving at PSU in 2007, Hett has earned a well-deserved reputation as a fair, kind instructor who

wants his students to succeed. He arrives on campus at 6:30 every morning to provide extended—and

much-used—office hours, developing individual plans with his students to build confidence and improve

skills. He also likes to get to know students outside of class in the HUB, the field house, or downtown

Plymouth, and tends to break the ice with new students through humor and understanding. “I am

respectful of their needs, especially those non-traditional students who have families or have to work, or

both,” he says.

Throughout much of his teaching career Hett served in the US Coast Guard Reserve, taking on critical

responsibilities. He worked closely with active commands after the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and assisted

the Secret Service and other officials on security issues during the 2004 Democratic National Convention

in Boston before retiring as a chief warrant officer in 2005. He also served in the US Naval Reserve during

his undergraduate years at Plymouth State. Hett spent many of his prep school teaching years as chair of

the mathematics department and was also active in athletics as coach of basketball, lacrosse, and football.

Most recently he was the recipient of the PSU Mathematics Association’s 2011–2012 Distinguished

Professor award. But accolades and ranks, though welcome, are not his measure of success.

“My philosophy has evolved over the years to help my students achieve their success with confidence in

mathematics,” Hett says. “It’s very satisfying to me when students get up early before their first class and

come for extra help during the week … I call this excellent class participation.”

William Hett Adjunct Faculty, Department of Mathematics

Distinguished Adjunct Teaching Award

Excellence 2013

It's very satisfying to me when the students get up early before their first class and come for extra help during the week.


TIPPING HIS CANOE INTO a late-October river isn’t actually on Christian Bisson’s job description as

professor of adventure education, but it might as well be. “I believe in the power of teaching through direct

experiences, authentic context, small and supportive learning communities, and through nature,” Bisson

says. So when it comes time to discuss how to manage a cold immersion situation, what better way than to

dump himself in the frigid water?

A member of the Plymouth State faculty since 2004, Bisson has taught courses in outdoor adventure

education for his entire professional career, from working with juvenile offenders in wilderness therapy

programs to teaching technical skill, outdoor pedagogy, and risk management in adventure education

to undergraduates. He has spent most of his summers since 1990 teaching at the National Outdoor

Leadership School (NOLS) in Wyoming. Bisson has a national reputation for effective teaching strategies

in adventure education. He is the former chair of the Association for Outdoor Recreation and Education’s

Research Committee and coeditor of Teaching Adventure Education Theory: Best Practices, a textbook used in

adventure education programs across the nation.

One of the most surprising challenges Bisson faces as an educator is the regular need to clarify with his

students what adventure education is—and isn’t. “At PSU, we are not training outdoor recreation

specialists; we do not introduce students to leisure studies or the administration of park and recreation

programs,” he says. “We train students to be educators. It just so happens that their main classroom will be

the great outdoors.”

Invariably, Bisson’s students come to him with a love of the outdoors and a hope of finding work that

will bring them outside. But “wanting to work outdoors is not enough to become a successful student

or professional in the field of adventure education,” Bisson says. “They also need a genuine passion for

working with people, helping others, and teaching.”

Bisson’s passion for working with students extends to his service on campus, where he is active in

the Curriculum Committee, Campus Wellness Committee, the President’s Commission on Diversity, and

the Adventure Education Club. And every year he invites students to join him in planting 600 trees in the

White Mountain National Forest.

As he begins his fourth decade of teaching outdoor education, Bisson continues to find support and

evidence for what he has always instinctively felt was good and effective education. “I still teach to help my

students grow personally, learn to work with others, and connect or reconnect with nature,” he says.

Christian Bisson Professor of Adventure Education

Distinguished Teaching Award

Excellence 2013


I believe in the power of teaching through direct experiences, authentic context, small and supportive learning communities, and through nature.

GROWING UP IN CONCORD, MA, a town steeped in American history and literature, Professor of

English Robin DeRosa became fascinated with these subjects at an early age.

As an undergraduate at Brown University, she completed a double degree in English and Women’s

Studies, connecting her interest in literature with her emerging concern for social justice. At Tufts, where

she earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in English and American Literature, she started to explore

how particular historical accounts gain cultural traction and become historical truths.

DeRosa’s work is a model of the kind of interdisciplinary research motivating much of English studies

today. She is interested in how we perform and construct the world around us, whether it be through

her work on the Salem witch trials or tourist destinations like New Hampshire’s historic Old Man in the

Mountain site. DeRosa’s work, which includes dozens of publications and presentations, not only taps into

highly popular subjects, particularly for New England audiences, but also examines the ways in which we

interpret and experience the past.

Although DeRosa acknowledges it can be difficult to balance her teaching responsibilities with the

demands of scholarly inquiry, she’s grateful to her colleagues in the English department for their support

and inspiration. “We attend conferences together, review each other’s work, and discuss how we can

integrate our research into our curriculum,” she says. “I’m lucky to be surrounded by friends who make

PSU a place where intellectual life is valued and enjoyed.”

DeRosa also appreciates the impact her scholarship has on her teaching. “Staying current in my field and

researching new avenues of thought helps me remember that the best scholars are also the best students,”

she says. “I like thinking of my classroom as a collaborative space where we are all learning together.” She

has even involved some of her more ambitious students in her work as editorial and research assistants.

While Colonial New England abounds with research opportunities, DeRosa has decided to explore new

territory: the Old West. She recently traveled to Bodie State Historic Park in California to begin work

on a tour book focused on the history of the women who lived in the infamous mining town in the late

nineteenth century. Delving into a new area of research is exhilarating for DeRosa. “It’s nice to get to

this point in my career and feel like I can do something different,” she says, adding that now more than

ever she’s embracing the notion that research often yields more questions than answers. “The past isn’t

something we can recreate with certainty,” she says, “but that’s what makes it a complex and rich subject

to explore.”

Robin DeRosaProfessor of English

Award for Distinguished Scholarship

Excellence 2013

I like thinking of my classroom as a collaborative space where we are all learning together.


“I WAS SHOCKED—SPEECHLESS, which doesn’t happen very often,” laughs Brenda Clayton, a

student services assistant in the registrar’s office, recalling how she felt when she learned that she had won

the Sara Jayne Steen Operating Staff Service Award.

Clayton came to PSU in 1995, after a friend had learned of an opening in the registrar’s office and urged

her to apply for it. While Clayton’s previous experience—which included working as a telephone operator

and as an innkeeper—wasn’t exactly a perfect fit for the student services assistant position, her gregarious-

ness and openness certainly were. Nearly 18 years and thousands of students later, Clayton still loves her

job. “It’s because of the students,” she says. “We have the best students, and I really enjoy helping them

make the right choices on their path to academic success.”

In her work, Clayton sees students at their best, their worst, and everything in between, and constantly

strives to provide the service they need, along with a healthy dose of caring and understanding.

Clayton’s compassion and respect for students and her desire to do more for them have inspired her to

become part of the Fundraising Scholarship Committee, a group of PSU staff members who raise money

for student scholarships. Over the past six years, the group’s awards have gone from one $500 scholarship

per year to three $1,000 scholarships and two $500 scholarships, a feat achieved in 2011 thanks to

the hugely successful Festival of Trees event. Each December, Clayton and other committee members

encourage offices and departments throughout PSU to design and decorate their own artificial Christmas

trees, which are displayed at the Plymouth Senior Center and raffled. Organizing this event, says Clayton,

“is a lot of work, but a lot of fun. And the money raised helps students pay part of their tuition, get their

books, or pay for gas so they can get to and from internships—every bit helps.”

Considering her work with students, and her devotion to their success, it’s no wonder that one of Clayton’s

favorite events at PSU is Commencement. For her, attendance at this very special occasion is mandatory.

“I meet our students when they come to orientation, and help them throughout their time here,” she says.

“How can I not be there when they graduate?”

While she is honored to have her work and her service recognized with an award, it’s all in a day’s work for

Clayton. “I just do things,” she says. “If a student comes to me and says ‘I need help,’ I say, ‘Okay, let’s see

what we can do.’ That’s my job.”

Brenda ClaytonStudent Services Assistant, Office of the Registrar

Sara Jayne Steen Operating Staff Service Award

Excellence 2013

We have the best students, and I really enjoy helping them make the right choices on their path to academic success.


editorBarbra Alan

writingBarbra Alan

Emilie Coulter

photographyJon Gilbert Fox

designLisa Prince

printingRAM Printing

East Hampstead, NH

plymouth, nh 03264plymouth.edu

Documents

Excellence 2013