NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jan Fiderio at 603.283.2107

April 27, 2009 for Immediate Release

Newsworthy Students from Antioch University New England 45th Commencement

Keene, NH - On May third, Antioch University New England will proudly confer master's and doctorate degrees on two hundred and sixteen of its graduating students. Notably, AUNE is graduating the first co-hort of Green MBA grads on Sunday. These individuals have completed two to six years of rigorous course and fieldwork in the areas of education, environmental studies, management, and psychology (applied and clinical). The following are brief descriptions of just a few of the graduates with interesting stories.

If you would contact information about these students, please contact Jan Fiderio at 603-283-2107.

Scott Rogers, Department of Education, MEd for Experienced Educators. Scott heads up the culinary arts program at Keene High School's Cheshire Career Center. Under his guidance, Scott's culinary students are catering the 'after commencement' celebration for AUNE's Department of Education. They are working hand-in-hand with Stonewall Farms to use local foodstuffs for the meal. In addition to this 'localvore' feast, the horticulture department of Keene High School is providing the centerpieces for the tables and Keene High School musicians are providing background music for the party.

Karen LaRoche, Department of Education, MEd in Foundations of Education with a concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Karen is the director of the preschool program for children with autism spectrum disorders at Deerfield Elementary School in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Karen's work touches children and families in extraordinary ways. As director of a pre-school program for children on the autism spectrum, she provides the instruction that children need and the guidance that helps families understand their child's special qualities. In addition, her program at Deerfield Elementary integrates typically developing children to create a unique social environment. Karen coordinates and supervises a staff that provides children and their families with the foundation for a wonderful start in life. Her pre-school program is at the forefront of theory, research and practice using innovative techniques to address profound special needs. Karen's commitment to children and families shines through the work she does.

Anne Nordstrom, Department of Organization & Management, MBA in Organizational and Environmental Sustainability (Green MBA). You might consider Anne a life-long learner. She received her PhD from Boston College; her MA in Community Social-Psychology from the University of Massachusetts - Lowell; her BA from Boston College; and she will graduate with the first Green MBA cohort from Antioch University New England on Sunday.
In addition to finishing her studies, Anne is the Antioch New England Institute project director for Vision 2020, a community-based public health initiative spearheaded by Cheshire Medical Center/Dartmouth-Hitchcock that aims to make Keene the healthiest community in the nation by the year 2020. Antioch New England Institute support the evaluation and assessment work connected to the Vision 2020 project.
For her Green MBA practicum, Anne implemented an organics (composting) recycling program in Sullivan County, New Hampshire.

Jason Estes, Department of Environmental Studies, MS with a Concentration in Conservation Biology. Jason designed his master's thesis research with the specific intent to explore scientifically the Lower Kinabatangan landscape while making real and tangible contributions to elephant conservation and human-elephant conflict mitigation in Sabah, Malaysia. Jason worked very closely with Dr. Marc Ancrenaz, co-director of the Kinabatangan Orangutan Conservation Project (KOCP) and the local people that make up the Elephant Conservation Unit (ECU) in Sukau village to work out the details of his thesis.
Jason demonstrated his dedication to his project through hard work and a self funded trip to Sabah to spend time with his partners, identify local needs, work out methods and gain official support from the Sabah Wildlife Department. He then secured research funding from four sources to support his actual thesis research. The research is timely because the Sabah Wildlife Department will soon draft an elephant management plan for the Lower Kinabatangan region. This project will go beyond basic research by providing important information for conservation action in the study site. Jason will be continuing his graduate education going on for a PhD at U Mass this fall.

Meg Fairchild, Department of Environmental Studies, MS with a Concentration in Environmental Education. In the fall of 2008, Meg Fairchild began working with the Monadnock Ecological Research and Education Project (MERE) as the first ever project coordinator. In this role, Meg was instrumental in laying a foundation for MERE that will allow the project to continue to provide opportunities for graduate and high school students and to inform the public about the amazing regional resource that is Mount Monadnock.
Meg took on an exciting master's project of her own design related to sustainable food systems, educational efforts, and identifying ways Antioch can be of service to the broader community in this regard. She has networked with a variety of individuals and organizations to identify existing sustainable farming efforts already underway and possible directions for the future. As one example, Meg collaborated with Libby McCann (Antioch University New England), Deb Habib (Seeds of Solidarity), Amanda Costello (Chesire County Conservation District), and the Monadnock Farm and Community Connection to design and facilitate the Grow Food Everywhere community forum, which drew more than 60 plus participants. Her project will help to highlight and enhance food-related initiatives happening in the Monadnock region.

Jennifer Weymouth, Department of Environmental Studies, MS in Resource Management and Conservation. Jennifer is conducting comprehensive energy efficiency and carbon footprint analyses for Landmark College as part of her experience while in the RMC program. This is an important piece of work and will allow her to use this project both as a portfolio piece and as a consultancy on her vitae. More importantly, this is exactly the type of applied research endeavor that allows her to tap the theory and skills she has developed while in the RMC program and implement them in real world situation.
Jennifer has taken the lead in framing the approaches, developing the data collection choices and independently interfacing with operational staff and faculty. The feedback we have received from the landmark staff overseeing this effort has only been of high praise about her efficiency and ability to communicate and interface with the facility's personnel. For this project Jennifer had initially developed a detail timeline and a list of deliverables, and has met these projected deadlines. Jennifer is, without a doubt, the type of student we expect to accept and assist as she moves along her critical path into the professional environmental field of energy and materials sustainability.

Jocelyn Smith, Department of Education, MS, Concentration in Science Teacher Certification. Jocelyn Smith is intellectually savvy, compassionate, articulate, and creative. The Mt. Abraham Union Middle/High School in Bristol, Vermont is lucky to have hired her as their new seventh grade biology and eighth grade physical science teacher for this fall. Jocelyn is able to translate scientific knowledge into compelling hands-on, minds-on, student-centered and directed, and conceptually rich problems that captivate even the most disinterested students.
Just step into her classroom and you will see students acting like scientists. For example, when learning about projectile motion, Jocelyn's students carry out self-designed catapult launching experiments to figure out if an object launched parallel to the ground will take longer to hit the floor than an object simply dropped from the same height. To learn about plate tectonics, Jocelyn's students cluster in small groups around a variety of maps like volcanology and seismology maps, in search of patterns in order to develop their own theories as to why the continents appear to fit together.

Jennifer Elder, Department of Organization & Management, MS in Organizational Leadership and Management. Jennifer brought her interest in human resources and sustainability issues together in her AUNE practicum project. Jennifer will present two seminars with Organization & Management chair Polly Chandler at the May 12 Granite State Human Resources conference. Their first seminar, What is a Green HR office, explains what 'green' means to the human resources professional. They will describe the language of sustainability and explore ways organizations can make offices green, while also leveraging the green movement for hiring, performance evaluations, and retention. Their second seminar, Strategic Development of HR Policies, will discuss the role of sustainability in the organization, why HR is uniquely positioned to lead the process, how HR can use backcasting to develop strategy, and how to make a business case to sell the strategy to management.

Sarah Gates, PsyD, Department of Clinical Psychology. Sarah has served as the research assistant with the AUNE's Center for Research on Psychological Practice (CROPP) for four years. She has helped conceptualize, implement, analyze, and present research on psychotherapy training in community mental health settings. In addition, she is now directing the program evaluation activities for a large suicide prevention grant awarded to a local college counseling center. She also serves as the primary statistical consultant for student dissertations in the department. Sarah has given several, well received conference presentations emanating from these activities.

About Antioch University New England
This is Antioch University New England's forty-fifth year as an institution of higher education. The graduate school was founded in 1964 and is now one of the five graduate campuses of Antioch University. A pioneer in adult education, Antioch University New England offers practice-oriented, values-based graduate study that is distinctive, socially relevant, and academically rigorous. All master's, doctoral, and certificate programs reflect an acute awareness and responsiveness to our communities, acknowledging and addressing problems and needs.

Graduate degrees are offered in five disciplines with master's degrees in applied psychology, education, environmental studies, and management, and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology, environmental studies, and marriage and family therapy. The integration of internships and practica with academic study is a fundamental aspect of all programs. Programs balance the academic with the experiential, and action with reflection.

About Antioch University New England (AUNE)
This is Antioch University New England's forty-sixth year as an institution of higher education. Located in Keene, New Hampshire, AUNE offers rigorous, practice-oriented, values-based master's, doctoral, and certificate programs to more than one thousand students. Degrees in education, leadership and management, environmental studies, and psychology reflect a dedication to activism, social justice, community service, and sustainability. Antioch University New England is the oldest and largest of Antioch University’s graduate campuses. For more information about Antioch University New England visit our web site at: www.antiochne.edu.

About Antioch University
Antioch University, a visionary academic community composed of five campuses in four states, is uniquely capable of bringing its students' brightest ideals and highest ambitions to life. Each campus has its own distinct academic programs, community life, and regional or national identity. Antioch University is founded on principles of rigorous liberal arts education, innovative experiential learning and socially engaged citizenship. The multiple campuses of the University nurture in their students the knowledge, skills and habits of reflection to excel as lifelong learners, democratic leaders, and global citizens who live lives of meaning and purpose. For more information visit: www.antioch.edu.