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Winter Break in Guatemala Lyndon students are once again working in Guatemala at a school. On the way, they hiked and visited cultural sites of the region. Above, Tim Cappalli, who has posted many photos on Picasa, stands on a balcony overlooking a number of volcanoes in the mist. Look for more on the students' work in the April NewsNet.
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NewsLINC Takes Silver
Winner in its First BEA Competition
Less than one year after launch, Lyndon's new online news web site has taken an award in the annual Broadcast Educators Association competition. NewsLINC placed second in the national competition; the award will be presented at the annual meeting next April in Las Vegas, Nev.
NewsLINC, whose name reflects the roots of Lyndon's Television Studies program, carries stories which may have aired on News 7 and other news from around the area. The site is updated daily during the academic year, except for when students are on break, as they are February 22 to 26.
The Broadcast Education Association (BEA) is the professional association for academics, industry professionals and graduate students who are interested in teaching and research related to electronic media and multimedia enterprises.
BEA was established in 1955, initially as the Association for Professional Broadcast Education, but the current name was adopted in 1973. While the BEA organizational name reflects BEA's historic roots in preparing college students to enter the radio and TV business, the members share a diversity of interests involving all aspects of telecommunications and electronic media. Over 1,600 professors, students and media professionals are currently individual members and approximately 275 college and university departments and schools are institutional members. Associate memberships are available for stations, cable systems, advertising agencies, law firms and individual professionals who share BEA's interests and support its goals.
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Lyndon Names Director of Assessment
Assessment is always near the top of the agenda in discussions at Lyndon these days, and it’s not just about student grades. Lyndon is being assessed and is assessing itself at all times, in a growing number of areas and ways. Now, thanks to a $200,000 grant from the Davis Educational Foundation, the College can bring a higher level of expertise and sophistication to its assessment programs.
Using funding from this grant, Lyndon has hired Professor Bruce Berryman as the institution’s first director of assessment. Berryman will provide leadership for guiding and sustaining an environment in which assessment activities are understood and practiced for ongoing quality improvement throughout the institution.
Berryman is not new to assessment. For a number of years, he has successfully managed the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) accreditation procedure, which regularly reviews the college for the quality of its academic programs, administrative operations and achievement of its mission. Other assessment activities at Lyndon include some that are required and some that are not. ROPA, the Vermont Results Oriented Program Approval, is required of Vermont institutions that provide students with licenses to teach in Vermont schools. The Baldrige National Quality Program is voluntary. Originally designed for business and industry, Baldrige is now being used by a few higher education institutions such as Lyndon to measure success in meeting the goals set in mission statements.
Additional assessment activities at Lyndon include those related to the college’s new NCAA athletic programs, external grants, all of which require some sort of assessment and reporting, and individual academic programs, such as Exercise Science Department, which recently received accreditation from its national professional organization.
Berryman says that his role is to provide leadership for campus assessment projects, assist with evaluation of program assessment tools and strategies and provide consulting support for improving institutional and program assessment activities. He will ensure that the tools are properly applied, that assessment projects take advantage of work completed in other areas of the institution to avoid duplication of effort and that all the assessment efforts continue to move forward in an effective and efficient manner. He continues to teach part-time in the Atmospheric Sciences Department.
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Black History Month in the Samuel Read Hall Library
Lyndon State College sophomore Miranda Saunders of Bristol (above) read “On the Pulse of Morning” by poet Maya Angelou during "The Spoken Word" Tuesday, Feb. 16. The noontime event was held in the Samuel Read Hall Library to commemorate Black History Month which ended Feb. 28. Angelou composed “On the Pulse of Morning” for President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration in 1993.
Music Instructor Phil Brown sang Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” Philosophy Professor David Johnston read Gil Scott-Heron’s “Whitey on the Moon,” and Director of Academic Development Deb Bailin read Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” Junior Anjel Robins of Farmington, Conn., closed the program with a solo rendition of “Down by the Riverside.”
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In the Samuel Read Hall Library
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Womens' History Month -- Faces of our Foremothers
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the library will offer a display that goes back to the 19th century, to focus on the individuals who shaped the American women’s rights movement at that time. Some faces will be familiar, some will not, but all should be recognized for their courageous efforts.
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Haiti Relief Concert Raises $1,145.81
Catilyn Kolson of Hull, Mass., and Dave Daly of Danville were lead organizers of the Haiti relief concert at Lyndon State College Monday night. The concert raised $1,145.81 which was donated to Save the Children, a nonprofit based in Connecticut. Save the Children has been on the ground in Haiti for some time, working with the World Food Program to feed earthquake victims.
As of February 26, Save the Children had delivered food to 250,808 people, and the organization had helped 506,581 in other ways. Save the Children has worked in Haiti since 1978 and currently has about 353 staff on the ground.
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Super Computing Computer Cluster Comes to Lyndon
An HPCC, a high-performing computer cluster, sometimes known as super computer, being installed at Lyndon State College, will soon yield weather forecasts with much higher accuracy and coverage than ever before. Lyndon is now home to the HPCC thanks to the efforts of Professor George Loriot, who teaches in the Atmospheric Sciences Department.
The HPCC was formerly in use at the Brown University Center for Computation and Visualization and has been replaced by an even larger cluster. Loriot, who was associate dean at the Center, where he worked for 20 years, retired three years ago and is responsible for bringing the cluster to Lyndon. At the end of January, he and Atmospheric Sciences Data Systems Administrator Mark Tucker drove to Providence and came back with the 32 processor units and the integrating frame in the back of a College van. The cluster is estimated to be worth around $200,000.
The cluster contains 64 integrated processors that work by breaking down very large computational problems into smaller parts and communicating among themselves using Myrinet (specialized interconnecting hardware and associated software) as they process the data. The processing is very fast, so that weather forecasts for road conditions, for example, which are time sensitive, can be much more sophisticated than before. Previously, the forecasters might have had to wait for 24 hours for information that the new cluster will complete in an hour.
Professor Nolan Atkins is very excited about the new capabilities this computer cluster will bring to Lyndon. “This technical advance is huge,” he said. It will be a valuable asset to the students who are, once again, forecasting Vermont road conditions for the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans). The resolution is also much higher, he said, which will result more data for each area.
There are, of course, many other possibilities for the HPCC. Atkins, who is involved in research, can see opportunities for data analysis for his studies, one of which is photogrammetics for VORTEX2.
This is the second year that Lyndon Atmospheric Sciences students have been hired by VTrans to forecast road conditions in the state. The students started in 2009, forecasting for the northeastern region, but their work proved so accurate and helpful that VTrans soon asked them to expand statewide.
This year 15 students are involved in the VTrans forecasting: Kyle Blount (Peacedale, R.I.), Steve Breault (Wakefield, Mass.), Sullivan Brown (Gardiner, Me.), Garrett Combs (Warrensburg, N.Y.), Samantha Couture (E. Hampstead, N.H.), Matt DePirro (Melrose, Mass.), Bob Harris (Staten Island, N.Y,), Kaitlyn Jacobs (Newburyport, Mass.), Ryan Long (Hudson Falls, N.Y.), Tony McGee (Penacook, N.H.), Mike Muccilli (Newton, N.J.), Adam Rutt (Nazareth, Pa.), Jordan Sherman (Bennington, Vt.), Tim Studebaker (Lynn, Mass.) and Matt Willi (Scotia, N.Y.). Each student forecasts for one of the nine Vermont highway districts for three weeks at a time.
Professor Jay Shafer, who oversees the VTrans work, said, “I am excited about the opportunity the cluster provides for us to improve our weather forecasting accuracy. There is a great need for more accurate high resolution forecast models in Vermont’s complex terrain, and the cluster will help us meet this objective.”
The students agree. “I think the new computer cluster will greatly improve the value we can add to our VTrans forecasts,” Junior Atmospheric Sciences major Matthew DiPirro (Melrose, Mass.) said. “For the most part, we are limited to resources available on select websites and sometimes it is hard to get hyper-local when trying to forecast in such diverse terrain. The high resolution and local forecast graphics generated by this computer cluster will not only help us as road weather forecasters but will ultimately lead to a higher quality product aimed at improving road safety.”
At Brown, the cluster was called TROY. Lyndon’s Atmospheric Sciences Department has yet to decide on a new name for the system.
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 Professor Patricia Shine’s article, "White Professors Taking Responsibility for Teaching White Students about Race, Racism and Privilege," has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Progressive Human Services.
Professor Alexandre Strokanov's article responding to political events in Russia on the topic "Back to the Future" appeared in the online journal Russia Profile. Strokanov has been invited to join Profile's panel of experts and will be submitting more articles in the future.
Professor Ben Luce is working in the region to get selectboard approval for a municipal energy efficiency and renewable energy loan program for homeowners and businesses. He presented at the Charles Carter Business Resource Center, and he was successful in getting the issue placed on the ballot for Town Meeting Day in Lyndonville.
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"Hire-Ed" with Former Vermont Country Store CEO
Former Vermont Country Store CEO Bob Allen (above right) spoke to Lyndon students, faculty and staff in a noontime meeting on "Hire-Ed." His appearance was made possible by two students in Professor Linda Mitchell's Principles of Marketing class. Matt Dinneen (above left), a Mountain Recreation Management major from Winchester, Mass., made arrangements for the noontime event, and Gina Villareal, a Graphic Design major from Bennington, handled promotion. Allen spoke about the current business climate and how students can work their education to the best advantage after graduation.
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Internships Mountain Rec Style
 Craig Salvagno (above right) is working, believe it or not. He is completing an internship at Heavenly Valley, Calif., where he is responsible for chair lift interviews and gathering data from guests, among other things.
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Basketball Closes Season
by AID Bill Johnson
The Lyndon men’s and women’s basketball seasons came to an end on Saturday, Feb. 20, with neither program able to secure a berth in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference playoffs.
The Hornet men, who compiled an overall record of 8-16 and a NAC mark of 4-10, were led by sophomore guard Ben Sackett (Lyndonville), who scored 14.4 points-per-game while connecting on 43% (75-173) of his three-point field goal attempts. He also hit a team-leading 75 percent (34-45) from the free-throw line.
Freshman forward Jason Gray (E. Thetford) led the team with 38 blocked shots and 9.6 rebounds per contest. He was also second on the squad in scoring, tallying 13.1 points-per-game in his first season in a Lyndon uniform.
The backcourt tandem of Jose Fortunato (Boston, Mass.) and Logan Calkins (Danville), a pair of sophomores, came into their own in the 2009-10 season by making significant contributions to the program’s success. Fortunato led the team in field goal percentage (.471 – 73/155), assists (147) and steals (36), while Calkins played solid defense and chipped in 10.2 points per outing.
The season also marked the end of the careers of seniors Noah Fink (Marshfield), Jacob Freeman (Derby) and Patrick McCarthy (Hardwick). All three - along with senior Shauna Buck (Newport Center) of the Hornet women’s program - were honored for their service to their respective programs at pre-game ceremonies held on Saturday, Feb. 13, prior to Lyndon’s NAC match-up with Maine Maritime Academy.
After a 4-0 start, the Lyndon women struggled to earn victories the remainder of the season, finishing 7-16 overall and 2-12 in the NAC.
Freshman forward Donna Lawson (Irasburg), who transferred to Lyndon from Keene State College (N.H.) in January, topped the team in field goal percentage (.388 – 95/245), free throw percentage (.806 – 58/72), rebounds (11.3), blocked shots (22) and points-per-game (16.8). Also enjoying a fine season was sophomore forward Naomi White (Danville), who collected 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest.
Rounding out the list of Lyndon standouts were junior guard Stephanie Barclay (Barre) and freshman forward Abby Fadden (North Haverhill, N.H.). Barclay was tops in three-point field goal percentage (.348 – 31/89), assists with 73 and steals with 57. Fadden managed to tally 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds a game while amassing 52 assists and 26 steals in her freshman campaign.
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NEK Students Find Recreation in the Back Country
Gulf of Slides, Mt. Washington, NH - introductory backcountry skiing class, February 2010
Photo by Wes Bell
by Wesley Bell, Mountain Recreation Management
Just before winter break Feb. 22 to 26, students at Lyndon State College ventured into the back country in the Northeast Kingdom and the White Mountains in preparation for a back country ski trip to Utah later in the month.
Professor J.C. Norling of the Mountain Recreation Department led the two-day, introductory back-country skiing class. The class is designed to provide basic knowledge of back-country etiquette and safety. Norling said, “The class addressed avalanche awareness, avalanche assessment and testing, safe travel through avalanche terrain, emergency evacuations and how to use back-country gear.”
Students met Friday evening in preparation for two days on the trail, going over gear, the planned routes and back country safety. Saturday was scheduled for a day of back country travel, familiarizing the students with their equipment on moderate and gentle forested terrain. Sunday’s route was above tree-line, traveling through avalanche terrain, digging snow pits and working in an alpine environment. “These are all valuable skills for embracing the winter safely,” Norling explained.
This training trip was a prerequisite for a planned February break trip to the back country in Utah. It was designed to introduce skiers to the pleasure of the back-country experience.
Lyndon has a tradition of leading trips both inside and outside of the Northeast Kingdom, encouraging and teaching safe, enjoyable and environmentally aware adventuring. If you are interested in similar programs that the college has to offer, please contact the Mountain Recreation Department for more information at 802 626-6200.
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March Events
 Dave Kellor Blues Band, Saturday, March 6, 8 p.m., Alexander Twilight Theatre
Free with Lyndon ID; 748-2600 for tickets. Lyndon's 14th annual Cultural Festival, March 8 to 17, with activities each day. Follow this link for a list of all the events. The schedule includes folk art in the library, "China Rising! Solar Energy, Electric Bikes and More;" a film about design and pop culture; the popular international food court; Thai boxing demonstration; sugar on snow; a Peace Corps presentation; mahjong; Kidz World III and more. The series closes with Lyndon's traditional St. Patrick's Day concert at noon on Wednesday, March 17. Vagina Monologues, Wednesday, March 10, 7 p.m., Alexander Twilight Theatre Leon Thompson reading and signing his latest book, March 21, 12:30 p.m., Samuel Read Hall Library Classics at Noon with Jean Charles, Wednesday, March 24, Samuel Read Hall Library. Richard Wood & Gordon Belsher, Prince Edward Island fiddler and guitar player, Friday, March 26, Alexander Twilight Theatre, $12 Northeast Kingdom Energy Fair II, Saturday, March 27, Lyndon State College. Exhibits, demonstrations, vendors and educational seminars:
Biomass – Solar – Wind – Hydroelectricity – Geothermal
Green Building – Energy Conservation -- Weatherization
Alternative Transportation
Federal & State Outreach - Loans, Rebates & Incentives
NVDA’s 2009 NEK Energy Fair was an unqualified success. Thirty-two exhibitors participated last year and plans are underway to make the 2010 event even more successful. Professor Ben Luce and his students from Lyndon’s Sustainability Studies Program will be active participants – and radio stations WGMT and WKXH will conduct a remote broadcast from the theater lobby.
Presented by Northeastern Vermont Development Association
NVDA Project Manager: Lorna Higgs, 802 748-5181
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