Presidents’ Good Steward Award

Dan Forbes has been serving Saint Anselm College and the surrounding community for over 35 years. His work has built the infrastructure that allows students to deepen their learning while working collaboratively with community.
When he came to work at the college in the 80’s he brought service-learning with him. Over the years it has spread across disciplines and impacts over half of the student body before they graduate. In addition to service-learning, he has created a strong student leadership program, built on the idea of “students as colleagues.” His compassionate demeanor and collaborative approach places an emphasis on the needs of the community and our students. This approach has enabled the Meelia Center to grow from 5 community partners and a handful of students to over 50 partnerships and 100 student leaders. This enables over a quarter of the student body to engage in the community weekly.
Also through this work, he has created much needed programs that then have been sustained by the community and the college. One of Dan’s greatest gifts to the college and the community are his ideas. For example, the creation of the Access Academy Program, a credit-bearing after school program for refugee, immigrant, and underrepresented high school students. This program helps these high school students both graduate and attend college, while providing a unique learning opportunity for the college students working in it.
Dan’s impact is far reaching; it is hard to quantify the number of students, colleagues, and community members who have been impacted by his work, but it is easy to see that the college and the community are better because of his work.

Great Bay Community College would like to nominate Steve Dockery for the Presidents ‘Good Steward Award.’

As a Campus Safety Officer, Steve has successfully developed meaningful relationships with GBCC students and, through these relationships, he has been able to recognize students who are in need. Each semester, Steve subtly identifies a student or two who is experiencing food instability and provides a home-made lunch for the student(s). Steve does this act of service and generosity in a sensitive manner that enables the students to accept these acts of kindness and generosity with dignity. Steve is a dependable resource for GBCC students and may be providing the only complete meal these students may eat all day. Steve’s contributions to GBCC’s community enables the college to feed the students success.

Rob has a reputation as an engaging and powerful professor that requires his students to think critically about the world around them. One student says, “For a white man teaching about social problems and injustices, he does an incredible job at understanding his limitations and teaching from what he knows. He is the true definition of an ally. Not only is he committed to service and the community, but he cares about giving the most to his students. He always makes time for us. In our class we have journals that go along with our service learning to tie class concepts back to whatever service we are performing. His love and dedication to service motivates all of us to fall in love with it too. I always recommend Rob to my friends when thinking about what sociology classes to take because I know his classes mean so much to him.” He regularly incorporates service learning into his classes and encourages his students to break out of their privileged comfort zones. In 2018 and 2019, he took students to Malawi and South Africa, respectively, to work with refugees. While in South Africa, he met a stateless refugee and he is currently working with another faculty member on creating a documentary on the issue of statelessness, which affects 10 million people worldwide. In his off time he continues to advocate for refugees by volunteering with the refugee resettlement efforts in Greece, travelling and working in Japan, and creating opportunities for students to get real world experiences of social issues. Rob epitomizes what it means to be an active citizen and it is our honor to recognize him for all the contributions he has made to SNHU and our community.

Raelyn Viti, Professor of Outdoor Education at New England College, is heavily involved in helping provide service to the wider community. Raelyn has developed the Henniker Race Series, a trail run race series showcasing Henniker trails, bringing students and the community together to get outdoors, and also supporting local non-profits through the proceeds. Raelyn helps to challenge individuals and groups to grow through her time as the NEC Ropes Course Instructor. She also teaches Wilderness Medicine to students and community members. In addition, she coordinates with the Army Corps of Engineers and other local committees and clubs to help maintain trails in the area for the benefit of the wider community.

As the Director of Library Services at WMCC, Melissa has joined a CCSNH task force to provide open educational resources to students. She has created a task force specific to WMCC which has facilitated workshops and presentations to faculty and staff, educating those groups on the importance of providing no or low cost course materials to students in an effort to provide better access to a college education. The number of courses that are now coded as NOLO (no cost, low cost) at WMCC continues to increase with her work. We look forward to her continued work with this effort and providing an affordable education to the greater northern New Hampshire communities. In addition to her NOLO work, Melissa serves as Title IX Coordinator and is a member of the It’s On Us Task Force. Melissa is a true asset to the WMCC community.

Kristen Nevious, Ph.D., Director of the Marlin Fitzwater Center for Communication, framed the mission of the Fitzwater center: to engage intellects, challenge perspectives, teach skills, and help people find their voices in the public discourse that is essential to the health of our democracy.

Since 2004, Dr. Nevious has established numerous initiatives and programs that give students access to leaders in political and media fields, and hands-on opportunities to help shape the public discourse. These include the Pierce Media Group, PoliticsFitzU, Fitzwater Honors and Medallions, Pizza & Politics, Presidency and the Press, the Fry Lectures, and Franklin Pierce University Polling.

During the 2020 election cycle, Dr. Nevious has expanded the nationally recognized Franklin Pierce University Polling operation to include media partners The Boston Herald and NBC10/Telemundo/NECN, providing highly visible opportunities for students and faculty to participate in analysis and coverage of poll results. Students have hosted candidates from both parties at Pizza & Politics events, covered the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary events as reporters, videographers, photographers, and provided studio production services for events including candidate meetings and the New Hampshire Primary Mock Election.

As a member of New England Newspaper and Press Association (NENPA), Dr. Nevious has promoted the participation of students by facilitating free annual conference registration and a free year of membership for new college graduates. Because of her efforts, Communication faculty at Franklin Pierce participate in a Conference Panel Presentation on Sports Media and Journalism.

Jodi Wolbert ‘18 has worked for Granite State College for eighteen years, the Treasurer for the New Hampshire Women in Higher Education Leadership, and is currently in Leadership Greater Concord.

As the Director of Student Accounts, Jodi has been an advocate for our military student population. She has seen us through accreditation processes, earning us U.S. News & World Reports Best Online Programs: Veterans Bachelors, Military Advanced Education & Transition Top Colleges & Universities, and Military Friendly™ Bronze School. She has also secured partnerships with Air Force General Education Mobile (GEM) and the Air University Associate-to-Baccalaureate Cooperative (AU-ABC).

Jerry is an exemplary employee in so many ways. He cares deeply about River Valley Community College and the community that we serve. In his role as our Early College Coordinator, he works to provide access to college level courses for high school students in our area. His positive attitude and innovative ideas make him someone that students, faculty, and staff all want to work with. At our small college, space is at a premium, and recently we were looking for a confidential yet accessible place for mental health counselors and community advocates to meet with students. Jerry selflessly offered up his office to this cause, arranging both his schedule and his space to accommodate three different providers. Jerry is constantly in the community seeking ways that high schools, tech centers, and the community college can partner for the benefit of students and the enrichment of the community. We are honored to nominate him for this award.

I wish to nominate George Martin, Athletic Director and Women’s Basketball Coach, for the President’s Good Steward Award. For over twenty-five years, George has developed student athletes into campus leaders and student leaders into citizen leaders. George has been instrumental in ensuring that all of our student athletes participate in at least one service project per year. By connecting our students to the community and vice versa, providing opportunities for learning and growth, and guiding students towards their vocation, George has advanced student development and expanded community service significantly.

Dr. Ermioni Karachaliou has served as a faculty member and the Director of Student Affairs and International Programs at Hellenic American University since 2018. While her impact on the University extends far beyond her title, Dr. Karachaliou has made a lasting impression through her contributions to campus life and study abroad programs. Because of her leadership and selflessness, Hellenic American University has continued to develop into a welcoming community with a positive student culture. Due to her involvement with Politis Program, Dr. Karachaliou leads by example as one who places value in helping others and being an upstanding citizen in the global community. Finally, thanks to her academic background, Dr. Karachaliou has forged many institutional partners and engineered countless study abroad programs that enrich the lives of both full-time and visiting students.

In addition, Dr. Karachaliou’s contributions to important University events such as New Student Orientation, Student Achievement Day, and Graduation have been instrumental. From start to finish and everywhere in between, Dr. Karachaliou’s presence is felt by the University’s student body and community at large. She is a major pillar for Hellenic American University and her impact is truly immeasurable.

Dr. Suzanne Gaulocher is a fairly new faculty member here at PSU (3 years), but she has paved the way for a lot of innovations here in our community already. She has helped add the Public Health major to our curriculum, as well as a service trip/class in Alabama focused around restorative justice. She is a lead investigator in multiple qualitative and quantitative research projects that have been approved through PSU's IRB. Suzanne has connected us to our close partnerships with local non-profit community organizations such as the Communities for Alcohol and Drug Free Youth (CADY) and the Pemi Youth Center. She does these things to engage us as students and to better our community to spearhead innovative solutions to some of the biggest Public Health concerns that we face. She is an amazing person and a professor. She captivates a room when she lectures, and it is even better when she motivates students to be engaged. Examples include barriers to physical activity & binge-drinking. Dr. Gaulocher is an extremely motivated and oriented person who helps give her students opportunities that they probably would not have been able to find on their own. She is an outstanding character and deserves to be recognized for the research she has done and for being the professional inspiration that she is.

In recognition of Dartmouth College’s 250th anniversary, Cheryl Bascomb and her team in Alumni Relations devised The Call to Serve- a year-long celebration of the deep traditions of community engagement and service at Dartmouth. The successful Call to Serve campaign set an ambitious goal of 250,000 hours of service by the Dartmouth community in 2019. In the end, Dartmouth easily surpassed its 250,000 hour goal with service completed by alumni, staff, faculty, parents and students in 37 countries and all 50 states. Even more than meeting its goal, the Call to Serve inspired members of our college community to find ways, large and small, to come together and engage with the local and global community. Alumni Relations was the backbone of this effort: they publicized the call across the Dartmouth community, created service events for various stakeholders, built a platform to collect and track hours across the Dartmouth community, and celebrated the successes. Alumni relations breathed life into the Call to Serve campaign and allowed our Dartmouth community to look beyond its own 250 years, and to see how our collective impact can make the world a better place for the next 250 years.

Dr. Cheryl Abel displays continual passion as regards community outreach. She and her APPE students have prepared, coordinated, and delivered multiple presentations regarding the safe use of medications to members of the senior community in collaboration with the local branch of AARP. Cheryl has been an ardent campaigner regarding the dangers of vaping and e-cigarettes, providing presentations to over 400 middle and high school students. She has also been involved with other various outreach initiatives at MCPHS involving local middle school students. This includes visits by students from surrounding schools, to learn about the health profession degrees awarded by the University.

#Natalia’s dedication to service is unique and far-reaching. From our own community in Greater Nashua to Colon, Panama, Natalia makes it possible for many students to do service for Rivier. If there is a barrier, she educates on how to overcome it. She provides transportation for students to get to their service-learning hours at our community partners. She takes students to volunteer at the soup kitchen when they were “bored” in their dorms and volunteers at blood drives. She was trained by the NCAA to teach bystander intervention and volunteers to hold this course multiple times on campus to be sure as many as possible are educated. With this training, she serves as an advisor to many of our student-athletes and is truly an invaluable support system to them. These are just a few of the many ways she serves and encourages others to serve. One of Natalia’s biggest contributions on campus is organizing Fresh Check Day, which is the signature program of the Jordan Porco Foundation. FCD is an uplifting mental health promotion and suicide prevention event that includes interactive expo booths, peer-to-peer messaging, support of multiple campus departments and groups, free food, entertainment, and exciting prizes and giveaways. She chaired this event for two years and engaged more than 20 student volunteers to provide the campus a safe education and a safe place to talk about real issues. During Spring Break of 2020, Natalia co-lead a Service trip with 9 Rivier Students to an orphanage in Colon, Panama. The students were able to teach English classes and provide important resources to the orphanage under her direction. Natalia is also an alumni of Rivier University and truly lives our mission of transforming hearts and minds to serve the world.

Stuart Wallace is Professor of History at the NHTI—Concord’s Community College. He has a Ph.D. in Early American History from the University of New Hampshire, and he initiated the courses in New Hampshire history currently being taught at UNH. Dr. Wallace is former Director of the New Hampshire Historical Society, former Director of the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources, and former Director of the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium. He is currently completing a one volume history of New Hampshire. He also spent 16 summers between 1954 and 1975 as a camper and counselor at Camp Pinnacle. He lives in Concord with his wife Ruth Weeden Wallace whose grandparents once owned the Lyme Hardware Store. Students have said of Dr. Wallace: ``He is one of the most knowledgeable people you will ever get a chance to hear in your life....if you like history, this man is THE professor to take classes from.

Professor Joanne Jagodowski, not only encourages her students to engage in service opportunities offered through Student Life, but she brings the service opportunities into the classroom. She engages her students in real-world projects whereby they develop and practice the skills mastered in the classroom, at the same time meeting a need for a non-profit agency or service project. In addition, Joanne serves as a role model and mentor in the area of community service; by serving as the trip advisor to the MCC Give Kids the World service trip, and by sharing her talents with multiple charitable organizations. Making a difference in the lives of others is clearly a cornerstone in Joanne’s life and she is an exemplary honoree for the MCC President’ Good Steward Award.

Women's and Gender Studies has always been a program with lots of connections to other groups on and off campus, and Avary Thorne has sustained and amplified these relationships tremendously--ensuring that our faculty and staff are communicating with on-campus organizations, such as the President's Commissions and the MUB, as well as outside organizations such as the Waysmeet Center, the Freedom Cafe, and Feminist Oasis. She's a tremendous connector. But perhaps most stunning of all was Avary's work this year with some of our star students on the Social Justice Leadership Cohort. Avary formed this group after quickly assessing the program's history, our relationships with external donors, and student interest. She has her Master of Public Policy degree from the Carsey School of Public Policy, and she shared with the students her expertise in public policy to help them identify a campus social justice issue that concerned them most. For the students, this was campus food insecurity. Avary mentored them to run focus groups, conduct surveys, assess food waste and operations on campus, and research best practices at comparator institutions. At the end of the semester, she and the students sat with President Dean to present an executive summary of their findings, and concrete suggestions for improvements to the Swipe It Forward program. This work goes above and beyond the expectations of a program administrator and academic advisor - an act of profound generosity in sharing expertise and vision for how to make our campus community a better and more just place.

Lisa cares deeply for her students and colleagues, which is consistently evidenced by the passion and empathy she brings to her role—a role that she so often goes above-and-beyond to better serve the community. She is a tireless advocate for mental health services and resources for the food-insecure, which has led to community wellness becoming a cornerstone of the college’s mission.

Lisa uses her professional expertise in positive psychology to create meaningful and impactful experiences for UNH Manchester students. She promotes student wellness as a critical component of their time at UNH and an integral part of their academic success. She has worked tirelessly to build both informal and formal partnerships with community health and wellness organizations in order to best support UNH Manchester students. She developed the first wellness fair in 2019, which brought local community partners like the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester, NH Food Bank, NAMI, and many others to campus to offer health and wellness resources and information to students. She has built relationships with SHARRP and the YWCA and invited them to lead classroom activities and discussion in our First Year Seminar around consent and establishing healthy relationships. She has reinvigorated our peer mentoring program to provide students the opportunity to become nationally certified Peer Educators. This program has provided valuable leadership training for the mentors and has also resulted in the creation of peer to peer health and wellness education programming and support. UNH Manchester students are better supported as a result of Lisa’s commitment to holistic student wellness.

Due to the efforts of this innovative team, Keene State College is the only college or university in the United States to heat a college campus with 100 percent purified waste vegetable oil. The biofuel is a product of a proprietary refinement process used by a New England-based producer. The purified waste vegetable oil is carbon neutral and heats 100 percent of the College campus, a goal achieved ahead of the team’s spring 2020 timeline.

In October, 2016, Cary Gaunt, Director of Campus Sustainability, spoke to the far-reaching impact of this effort: “By choosing to replace polluting No. 6 heating fuel oil with an innovative new fuel derived entirely from waste cooking oil, we are taking bold steps to demonstrate our values by significantly reducing our greenhouse gas footprint and improving the well-being of the people on our campus and the surrounding community.”