Plymouth Mountain, with the name of the town upon its rugged brow, and with its southern slope extending towards Bridgewater, is the highest and most prominent elevation. In the rosy glow of morning, rejoicing in the earliest rays of the rising sun. the grim old herald of returning days each morning reviews the awakening energies of the town.

– from Ezra Scollay Stearns & Moses Thurston Runnels’ History of Plymouth, New Hampshire (1906)

This beautiful village lies just on the outskirts of the White Mountain region north of Lake Winnepesaukee. The scenery in the immediate vicinity is most charming and the distant views of the White Mountains are unsurpassed.

– from Appletons’ Illustrated Hand-Book Of American Summer Resorts (1877)

Plymouth is one of the most beautiful villages in New Hampshire and is situated near the confluence of the Pemigewasset River and Baker River.

– from Moses Foster Sweetser’s The White Mountains: A Handbook For Travellers (1882)

The winter scenery of the New Hampshire highlands has a wild Alpine beauty which merits the admiration of all lovers of Nature and calls forth the attention of increasing numbers of tourists every year.

– from Moses Foster Sweetser’s Views In The White Mountains (1879)

Too wonderful the April night,
Too faintly sweet the first May flowers,
The stars too gloriously bright,
For me to spend the evening hours,
When fields are fresh and streams are leaping,
Wearied, exhausted, dully sleeping.

– from Claude McKay’s Spring in New Hampshire

Christian Bisson
Associate professor of adventure education
Co-editor, Teaching Adventure Education: Best Practices, 2009

Photo by PSU adventure education major Chris Grosjean

Six years ago, Christian Bisson was a tenure-track faculty member at a small college in Wisconsin. He and his wife had recently had a child. He certainly wasn’t looking to move halfway across the country.

But Plymouth State University—and Plymouth, N.H.—were too good to pass up.

“When I saw this position, by chance, I thought it was perfect,” says the associate professor of adventure education. “The location is excellent. We’re between the mountains and the Lakes Region, but also right on the highway. So we’re near mountains, lakes, forests … but can also easily get to urban areas, like Boston or Montreal.”

It’s an understatement to call Bisson an avid outdoorsman. The Quebec native has spent nearly two decades working in outdoor and adventure education with the National Outdoor Leadership School. At PSU, he teaches classes in rock climbing, canoeing, wilderness expedition, and adventure leadership, as well as theory classes in adventure education. He has led expeditions all over North America and a service learning trip in Nepal, while his personal travels have brought him to Australia and New Zealand.

And from this well-traveled perspective, he has a great appreciation for everything the Plymouth area has to offer. “This region has a beautiful history, connected to both our natural environment and the birth of this nation,” Bisson says. “There is also a deep connection to the history of mountaineering and adventure. There is a passion for outdoor recreation that is fed by the physical geology: the mountains, cliffs, forests, rivers, lakes.

“The White Mountain National Forest is a hub for adventure in the northeast,” he says, noting that the area receives more visitors each year than the nation’s most beloved national parks. “But even though it’s a popular place to visit, or for people to have second homes, I never feel it’s overcrowded.”

As important as PSU’s natural surroundings were to Bisson’s decision to move, however, location alone would not have been enough. “The university itself was a good fit,” he says. “It’s a good size—not too big, not too small. The students in the adventure education program are like an extended family.”

Adventure education students on the trail in the White Mountains. Photo by PSU student Arlin Goss.

Bisson found his own values reflected in the university. “I did my research and discovered the motto, [Ut prosim] ‘That I may serve,’” he says. “It fit perfectly with my own personal philosophy and the philosophy of the field of adventure education. Here, it is easy to involve students in service projects as part of their course work.”

PSU’s efforts toward environmental sustainability are important to Bisson as well. “The year I arrived, there was a theme of sustainability on campus,” he says. “Then it grew beyond a one-year theme, and there has been a commitment from the administration and faculty to work toward becoming a sustainable university.”

He lists a supportive administration, academic freedom, and an atmosphere of collegiality and respect as other reasons why PSU is right for him. “I also find excellent role models in other faculty members. Whenever I think I’m doing a lot, I look at the people around me and see the work they’re doing, their involvement in the community. It’s very inspirational.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education named Plymouth State University among its 2009 Great Colleges to Work For, earning a place in the top 10 in eight categories.

“A lively college town set amidst nature at its most serene …” – New Hampshire Magazine, “Why Plymouth Rocks,” 2008

In naming Plymouth among their 2008 list of “50 Best Places to Live: The Next Great Adventure Towns,” National Geographic Adventure noted “Life in Plymouth is like a master class in recreation.”

New Hampshire has “some of the prettiest roads for cycling in the U.S. — or any other country, for that matter,” says National Geographic Adventure.