From the President
PSU Engaged—Our People, Our Stories
At a recent alumni gathering in Florida,
I asked people to help me learn the history of Plymouth State University by
telling me their stories. What the alumni
recounted
were wonderful memories of faculty, coaches, and staff members who were engaged
with students, who inspired students to achieve, who cared when life was less
than perfect, who continued to mentor students after graduation. One alumnus
wrote afterward to ask that I relay his gratitude to my colleagues: “For
all of us who came to Plymouth with so little, please remember to thank them
for giving us so much. It’s the personal touch and relationships that
make Plymouth such a special place.”
PSU is a special place. In the following
pages, you will read about the University’s
heritage of excellence and commitment to innovation and engagement, with that
personal touch that alumni emphasize. A university is defined in part by its
history over time, and you’ll learn about people from the 1880s and the
1920s and the 1950s and the 1970s and beyond, all of whom have helped to create
the PSU community.
| One alumnus wrote afterward to ask that I relay my gratitude to my colleagues: "For all of us who came to Plymouth with so little, please remember to thank them for giving us so much. It's the personal touch and relationships that make Plymouth such a special place." |
You’ll learn about today’s students, such as
the four Hollings scholars who have been recognized for promise in oceanic
and atmospheric studies; the
composer who is being published while still an undergraduate; the language
student who has been selected by the Spanish Ministry to teach in Andalusia;
the men’s
basketball team members who have been honored for outstanding sportsmanship;
in ice hockey; the student who
has raised money to buy tables for the community’s Meals for Many program;
and the student formerly from Nigeria who is starting a foundation to improve
education and health for those living in the Niger Delta region. PSU students
are succeeding, with the help of faculty and staff mentors with whom students
work side-by-side.
You’ll also learn about faculty and staff across the
campus, who are actively engaged with their fields, with undergraduate and
graduate students, and with
the region, providing real-world solutions to real problems and contributing
to our artistic and cultural resources. There are researchers who have received
funding to study acid rain and surface water quality; scholars and artists
who have received awards, published fine volumes of fiction and non-fiction,
and
released recordings; an anthropologist who is developing new opportunities
for students in forensic studies; and a faculty member who heads a collaborative
program to provide teaching certification for students in the North Country.
A former student, now staff member has developed innovative software to make
library holdings searchable on the Internet and transform libraries’ future
roles; his work has been recognized with a Mellon Award for Technology Collaboration.
Their energy and commitment is impressive, and these are examples of the people
with whom our students have the opportunity to work.
You’ll learn about
alumni, in whose diverse accomplishments we take pride, and about the vital
support of parents, friends, alumni, and donors, who help
to make our successes possible.
In the final analysis, education is about people—their
work and their stories—and
the editors of Plymouth Magazine can present only a small sample of the exciting
achievements that could be showcased.
PSU this fall enrolled approximately
6,000 students, 4,200 residential undergraduates and 1,800 graduate students.
The stories truly are many. After you have read and
enjoyed these glimpses of faculty, staff, student, and alumni accomplishments,
we hope that you will want to visit our
Web site for the
most recent news (or for the Annual
Report that this year will be provided exclusively
online) or come to campus, join in our seminars
and events, and meet our students, staff, and faculty. We welcome your participation.
Sara Jayne Steen, President
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