Innovator Interview - Innovate Section - Burlington Free Press

David Finney, President of Champlain College

Written by

Dan D’Ambrosio

• 
  

David Finney took over as president of Champlain College in July 2005 after a headhunter for the Burlington school tracked him down at New York University, where he was dean of the School of Continuing and Professional Studies, overseeing an operating budget of $120 million. After one visit to Vermont to meet with board members and faculty, he was hooked, Finney says.

The transition from the bright lights of New York to the relatively slower pace of Vermont was not as difficult as might be imagined, even after 20 years of living in the city. Finney, 59, is a Pennsylvania farm boy at heart, and felt right at home. Here he discusses topics ranging from Vermont’s scary demographics to giving the biggest bang for the education buck.

READ THE INTERVIEW

Holiday Special

A close encounter this morning with Ken Wade on campus
shows the holiday spirit is in full bloom as the final days
 of classes approach at Champlain College.

Master's of Early Childhood Education at Champlain

Inaugural Masters of Education Class of 2011 Meets in Orlando

Early Childhood Educator Laurel Bongiorno Leads New Champlain College Graduate Program

By Kayla Hedman ’14 / Champlain News

BURLINGTON, Vt. – A new Champlain College master’s degree in early childhood education (M.Ed) began earlier this fall under the direction of program director Laurel Bongiorno. This is the eighth graduate program for Champlain, combining the convenience of 24/7 online courses and face-to-face learning in one short residency experience.

“With each passing year, the bar is being raised in early childhood education regarding which credentials are required to fulfill the different roles and responsibilities,” explained Bongiorno, who has been a full-time faculty member in Champlain’s education program for more than 12 years.

“While an increasing number of states require higher levels of education for early childhood educators, the offerings for graduate-level degree programs that can be achieved while still working full time are virtually non-existent,” she noted.  Additionally, there is a demand for professional administration of early childhood programs—yet few degrees exist specifically oriented toward management. The inaugural class was made up of 20 students from Texas to Germany.  

There are three start points per year in September, January and May. Graduation requires 36 credit hours and a residency, usually being completed in one and a half years. Applications are accepted year round.  To begin in January 2012, applications are due Dec. 9. Visit www.champlain.edu/med for more information.

 READ THE FULL STORY

Credit for Life at Champlain

BURLINGTON, Vt. -- Champlain College students had a chance recently to test their budgeting skills for life after graduation through an afternoon of budgeting simulation.

While graduation is still a few years away, more than 100 first-year students took advantage of a Life Experience & Action Dimension (LEAD) program presented with the help of Champlain's Center for Financial Literacy and sponsorship from People's United Bank.
http://www.champlain.edu/News-and-Events/News/Credit-for-Life.html

The Tent City Experience

It was Tent City week at Champlain College to help raise awareness of the plight of homeless people in Burlington. A series of workshops supplemented the camping out on Aiken Green. A soup kitchen meal was provided and on Thursday, the Reality Bite Hunger Banquet was held. Depending on the admission ticket participants picked, they had a full turkey dinner, a dinner of simple rice and beans or  just rice and "dirty" water.

Leahy Center for Digital Investigation Dedicated

US Sen. Patrick Leahy and his wife, talk with Champlain College senior Meghan Percy
at the dedication ceremony of the new Patrick Leahy Center for Digital Investigation. 

New Educational Forensic Lab Offers

Champlain College Students Real-life Experience

Burlington, VT – A new center of excellence at Champlain College, offering students a fully-equipped, state-of-the-art facility in which to learn and practice digital forensics investigation techniques, will be named in honor of U.S. Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, according to Champlain College President David F. Finney.

The Patrick Leahy Center for Digital Investigation (LCDI) provides a high-tech educational setting and a fully equipped, secure digital forensics lab to bring professional investigators and law enforcement officers together with Champlain’s computer and digital forensics students to work on gathering digital evidence from computer hard drives, smartphones and other digital media storage devices.

“Thanks to your long-standing support, the Leahy Center for Digital Investigation is now fully functional on the third floor of our new Miller Center at Lakeside Campus,” Finney said at the dedication ceremony of the LCDI, adding, “We are poised to build on our technology degree programs and the past successes of the digital forensics center to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system in Vermont.”

The core operating goal of the LCDI, Finney noted, is to give Champlain students the opportunity to work on real-world projects in a supervised environment – enhancing their education and increasing the digital forensic capacity of Vermont law enforcement.

Leahy secured the three-year, $500,000 US Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) grant in 2010 to provide educational and technical support to Vermont law enforcement agencies related to critical digital forensics issues and a $650,000 grant in 2006 to staff the digital forensics program at Champlain College and conduct digital investigations with Vermont law enforcement. After receiving the most recent grant, Champlain College invested additional college funds to build a secure LCDI facility and teaching lab at the new Miller Center. The project has also received material support from, and maintains operational relationships with the Burlington Police Department, Vermont State Police and the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

“Champlain College is building a real-world classroom that gives students careers skills for the 21^st Century, gives Vermont’s law enforcement agencies a revolutionary digital forensics resource, and that once again shows Champlain College’s incredible ability to innovate and implement cutting-edge learning programs,” Leahy said, adding “This is a program that already has proven itself invaluable in putting criminals behind bars.” READ THE REST OF THE STORY


Watch a short video of the event

To learn more about relevant undergraduate programs, visit http://www.champlain.edu/Undergraduate-Studies/Majors-and-Programs.html.

INDIECON 2011 and Champlain

Saturday, Nov. 12, noon — 5 pm at the BCA Center, Church Street Markeplace, free, all-ages


CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE PRESENTS TWO PANELS plus a lot of music.


BUILDING A GLOBAL MUSIC COMMUNITY.
Champlain's Eric Sample hosts a panel discussion exploring globalization, technology, and the future of music. As technology radically reshapes the way music is made and distributed, how can we in Vermont use technology to build global music connections? Topics such as Clouds, live Internet sessions, making and maintaining global connections will be discussed.

Panelists include Jacob Edgar, host of Music Traveler; Jordon Mensha, drummer from Ghana;
Dev Jana, musician and Champlain professor; Gabe Jarrett, drummer; Malcom Francis, composer; Eric Sample, Champlain professor, Sonic Arts Director


MUSIC FOR INDEPENDENT GAMES.
Dev Jana takes you into the workings of the Indie Game world and how to do music for games and find an audience.

Read about Dev Jana in Seven Days

22+ hours of art at Champlain

The "23 Hours of Art" at Champlain College was held this past weekend with the hope of answering the question: what is art?

"Art" means any and all genres and media, Each presentation was roughly 10 minutes in length  and there were only two ground rules:

1. The art work presented cannot be one's own. So you could present a poem by Yeats, a snippet of a Hitchcock film, an image from Georgia O'Keefe, a monologue that your roomate wrote, a sculpture you bought at a yard sale, or even a really beautiful wine bottle. But it's not your own--no need to defend or to prove anything.

2. There is no discussion or debate during the 10 minutes. The presenter presents the work and says why it's art or what s/he likes about it or feels about it or . . . . The audience listens and accepts.

The Art Marathon was a blast according to faculty organizer Eric Ronis. They made it 22 hours of  fascinating and diverse presentations, performances and discussions.

Below is the list of the 72 "official" presentations from the event (though there were many more artists and art works cited and discussed). Thanks to all who participated.

Special shout out to students Andrea Asacker and Taylor Silvestri for helping to coordinate the event. Taylor made it the whole 22 hours, according to Ronis. 

 WHAT IS ART? (list of presentations for the 2011 Art Marathon at Champlain College)

• Whistler’s Mother (painting)
• “Lamentation” by Martha Graham (dance)
• Eagles vs. Giants football game—“the comeback!” (event)
• “Monsters” by Miles Glover, age 5/6 (drawings)
• Art as transcending technique and craft in Film Editing
• Hiroshige (printmaking)
• Jacqueline du Pre playing Elgar’s Cello Concerto  (music)
• “The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even” by Marcel Duchamp
• AlKindi, Arabic philosopher/poet
• Floria Sigismondi’s music video for “Beautiful People”
• Papyrus and Egyptian Hieroglyphics
• Pieter Bruegel’s “Tower of Babel” (painting)
• “The Path” by Tale of Tales (game)
• Helaman Ferguson, Mathematics in Stone and Bronze (sculpture)
• “Daddy” by Sylvia Plath (poetry)
• Damien Hirst’s “Diamond Encrusted skull”
• The Wire (television)
• FLUXUS
• Eileen Mayson, Kate Gilmore, Shannon Plumb (video)
• Bill Morrison, “Decasia” (film)
• The Moog synthesizer
• Music!
• Playing the djembe drum
• Indie music video editing
• Robert Altman’s “Nashville” (film)
• Sonnet XCIV by Pablo Neruda
• “Dead Snow” (film)
• “Adam and Eve” by Tony Hoagland (poetry)
• Louis C.K. “Why?” (stand up comedy)
• Qwaqa “Pencilhead” (animation)
• The art of Hooping—movement precedes thought
• Sintel and Blender (animation)
• Bindlestiff Family Circus (performance)
• “Hush” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (television)
• Cinse’s sugar spoon (object)
• J-pop—language as art (music video)
• The Pigman by Paul Zindell (novel)
• Beyonce, “Single Ladies” (music)
• Chris Cornell, “Two Drink Minimum” (song)
• Patrick Chapin vs. Gabriel Nassif, Magic the Gathering championship (event)
• “The Serpent Tale” by Leonid Andreyev (drama)
• Ocaraina of Time (game)
• “What Teachers Make” by Taylor Molly (slam poetry)
• Eric Leva’s music: “Burn Out Again,” “Fictional Friend”
• John Cage’s  4’ 33” (music? Performance?)
• LasagnaCats Garfield “tributes” (video)
• “Wooden Heart” by Listener (spoken word/music

(Note: perhaps when we have more time, we can link some of these pieces to the websites. We'll also post some photos if available. ) 

International Week Updates

CHAMPLAIN COLLEGE

OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION

PROUDLY PRESENTS

International Education Week – Nov. 14-18

Weekly Events: 

International & study abroad students will share their culture and travel experiences through displays.  Look for these exhibits in IDX during lunch & dinner hours throughout the week. Sodexho will prepare theme lunch meals throughout the week from different continents around the world. 

Monday, Nov. 14

Improv Night - International Coffeehouse, 7-10 pm, IDX Fireside Lounge. Enjoy talented musicians, poets and international students as we celebrate culture.  Music, hot drinks & food. Co-sponsored by CCA- Cultural Community Alliance & Office of International Education

Tuesday, Nov. 15

Zumbathon – World Music & Dance, 6-8 pm, Argosy Gymnasium. Come dance & enjoy international music to raise awareness of hunger & homelessness throughout the world.  Food donation to Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf. Co-sponsored by Student Life & Center for Service

Wednesday, Nov. 16             

ChinaTownHall, 7-9:30 pm, Hauke Conference Room, Champlain College. ChinaTownHall  - Local Connections, National Reflections  –   A live webcast featuring Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor followed by China: Contradictions of an Emerging Superpower – A presentation by Champlain College’s Assistant Professor, Craig Pepin and discussion with the local audience. Co-sponsored by Office of International Education, The Vermont Council on World Affairs & National Committee on U.S. China Relations

Thursday, Nov. 17

A Third Culture?  Globalization’s Impact on Cultural Self Image & Self Expression, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Noon, IDX Fireside Lounge. A look at the impact of Hip Hop and International Beauty Pageants in Nigeria.

Reality Bite - Hunger Banquet Experience, 8:30-10 pm, Hauke Conf. Room. Participants will gain awareness of local & global hunger & poverty issues through an interactive & discussion-based experience. Co-sponsored by Office of International Education & Center for Service

Designated by the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, this week is part of an effort to promote programs that prepare Americans for a global environment and attract future leaders from abroad to study, learn, and exchange experiences in the United States.  

Invisible Children in the News

Activists Support U.S. Move Against Uganda Rebels
by MICHELE KELEMEN

NPR NEWS - Human rights groups don't usually cheer military forays. But they have offered loud applause for the Obama administration's decision to send 100 military advisers to several countries in Africa to help those nations fight one of the continent's most notorious rebel groups, the Lord's Resistance Army.

The Lord's Resistance Army, or LRA, is led by Joseph Kony and has been terrorizing Uganda and surrounding nations for decades. Advocacy groups say this is a case where military intervention is needed, and it comes at a time when the LRA has been weakened and is estimated to have only a few hundred active fighters.

But there are concerns. Kony's army has specialized in kidnapping children and forcing them to fight. These children could be caught up in any operation to find Kony.

As President Obama put together his plan to help African countries track down Kony, activists have put together their own innovative ways to focus attention on the conflict. Read more

.... The LRA's widespread use of children is one reason this issue has drawn so much interest from young Americans, including Poffenberger, 28, who went to Uganda first when he was a student at Notre Dame University.

Ben Keesey, who runs Invisible Children, says he was inspired by three of his friends who went to Uganda to make a film and happened upon terrible scenes.

"On one night in March of 2003, our founders, when they were in northern Uganda saw the phenomenon called 'night commuting,' where children out of fear of abduction left their home and slept in the downtown city center," he said. "And they kind of changed all of our lives."

 Read more

NOTE: Invisible Children representatives have visited the Champlain College campus twice in the past year. 

Listen to the NPR Report from Oct. 25 

Getting Ready for Tent City - Nov. 14-18

Annual Tent City Spreads Awareness of Hunger and Homelessness

Kayla Hedman ’14 / Champlain News

BURLINGTON, VT. – Tent City will be held Monday through Friday, Nov. 14-18. The annual event hopes to have about 100 Champlain College students give up their smart phones, laptops, and warm beds to highlight the struggles of homeless families and individuals to the greater Champlain community.

 It is all part of National Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week. The event, organized by members of the College's Center for Service and Civic Engagement (CSCE), is a solidarity event for Champlain College students to learn about this ever-increasing local and national plight.

During the week, Champlain students, faculty and staff will sleep in tents, provided by Student Life and St. Michael’s College, in the center of campus on the Aiken Green. Participants are asked to give up all technology, shower in the gym locker rooms and use public resources such as internet in the library. Each evening in the dining hall, they are provided with a typical "soup kitchen" dinner menu, similar to those served in homeless shelters and food shelves.

The weeks of and prior Tent City, participants will be fundraising on campus to raise money for COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter), an all-service shelter providing support services in Burlington. Following night classes, guest speakers from local-nonprofits, such as COTS and the Howard Center, will discuss the constant struggle for many people in Vermont. Participants will then partake in nightly reflections conducted by volunteer student leaders. Evening discussions and film screenings are open to the public.

CSCE Work Study, Hannah Andersen, and volunteer, Shelby Dickinson, hope that this year will be as successful as the last. “In the past we have raised over $2,000 for COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter). It is not all about the money though. Tent City raises awareness on campus about homelessness," explained Andersen, "it is important to support individuals and families who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless."

Tent City fulfills a portion of the College's community service requirements for first-year students who participate in one or multiple nights.

If you are interested in participating in Tent City or other service events visit www.go.champlain.edu/service

To learn more about COTS (Committee on Temporary Shelter), please visit www.cotsonline.org

Everyone (faculty, staff, and students) is invited to attend nightly speakers, film screenings and events. You do not have to sleep out to be involved in the movement. The schedule is as follows (all events begin at 8:30p.m. in Hauke Conference Room):

·         MONDAY Nov. 14:  Focus on Veterans and Homelessness

o    Film Screening of “When I Came Home”

·         TUESDAY Nov. 15: Focus on Youth and Homelessness

o    Speaker Justin Verette – Youth Outreach worker and Community Interventionist (collaboration between Burlington Police Department and Howard Center)

o    Zumbathon 6-8 p.m., Argosy Gymnasium. Canned good entry fee

·         WEDNESDAY Nov. 16: Focus on Families and Homelessness

o    Panel/spoken word from COTS

·         THURSDAY Nov. 17: Focus on Hunger and Homelessness

o    Rite Bite Hunger Banquet with International Education Week (closed to the public)

·         FRIDAY Nov. 18:

o    10 a.m. Tent clean up

o    12:30 p.m. Celebration lunch for participants

Students to Party for Make a Wish

BURLINGTON, VT - Four local college students; Kayla Couturier ‘13, a Champlain College Hospitality and Tourism/Events Management major, Sarah Becque, a senior at UVM majoring in

Public Communications; Adrianna Bilancieri, a junior at St. Michaels College majoring in business, and Darko Jeftic, a senior at UVM majoring in Business have joined together to create a multi-campus fundraising event. They have volunteered their time and skills over several months to develop a Halloween costume dance at Higher Ground to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Vermont (MAWVTt. Their goal is to sell out the space in order to fund the wish of a Vermont child.

The event titled One Wicked Night will be held at the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge on Saturday, Oct. 29 from 8 p.m. to midnight. Tickets are $20, or two for $25 and all proceeds benefit the MAWVT. This is an 18+ event.

Three of the four students (Couturier, Becque & Bilancieri) interned with Make A Wish over the last year. Notably, each continued their involvement with Make a Wish after their internships were completed, in order to create a fundraising event that would appeal to their fellow students and aim for a goal of raising funds to adopt a wish. They worked on this event in addition to their busy academic, athletic and work schedules.

With support from the MAWVT office, the students took on this ‘out of classroom’ project as a real world test of their ideas, putting classroom learning to practice. None of these students will receive school credit for their efforts. “We hope this event will inspire other students to be as generous and community-minded.” Couturier stated.

John Thomas of Make-A-Wish Foundation of Vermont noted that the students have put together this event on virtually no budget. Music will be provided by UVM Senior and WRUV DJ, Darko Jeftic and guest. Switchback Brewery signed on to cover the cost of the venue. The students secured donated prizes and have been sponsored by Small Dog Electronics. They have marketed their event largely through word of mouth, social media and flyers. “It would be great if they could sell out the show and raise enough funds to adopt a wish,” said Thomas, “This means a lot to them.”

Andrea Asacker ’13, a Champlain student eager for the event, declared, “I cannot wait to get together with friends and peers from other local schools off-campus and have fun, all while helping a great cause.”

Tickets can be purchased on Champlain, UVM, and St. Michael’s campuses from MAWVT representatives or at Higher Ground box office. Group discounts available by contacting Kayla Couturier at kayla.couturier@mymail.champlain.edu.
For more information please visit https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=252244738147010 or http://www.highergroundmusic.com/2011/09/one-wicked-night/

Reported by Kayla Hedman ‘14/ Champlain News

Social Media is a Science on VPT

Vermonters might be surprised to learn that Vermont has an aerospace community working to launch a satellite into lunar orbit. That mathematicians are using Twitter to gauge the mood of societies. That local scientists are sequencing the genome of a creature that is so like humans it may have a role in regenerative medicine.

Scientists based in Vermont are working to expand human knowledge and solve problems everywhere from down the road to outer space. Vermont Public Television introduces viewers to their remarkable neighbors in its “Emerging Science” project. The project features broadcast and online programs, community events and educational resources to help teachers spark students’ interest in scientific careers.

A new season of three TV shows will premiere Wednesday, Oct. 26, on VPT and on demand at vpt.org. Focusing on science Wednesday evenings, VPT will air a new episode of “Emerging Science” at 8 p.m. and repeat the previous week’s episode in the 8:30 p.m. slot. “Nova” and other science programs follow at 9 and 10 p.m. in the broadcast schedule.

Vermont EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) is the project’s funder. Located at the University of Vermont, Vermont EPSCoR supports Vermont scientists and business leaders through funding, outreach and technology development.

On the Oct. 26, 8 p.m. premiere, “Emerging Science” tells the remarkable story of researchers at four Vermont schools collaborating to send a tiny, 10-centimeter satellite called a CubeSat into orbit around the moon. In this post-shuttle era, NASA’s EPSCoR program helps fund work on dramatically cheaper ways of exploring space, including CubeSat research at institutions around the country. At Vermont Technical College, Carl Brandon leads the effort to design and build Vermont’s satellite. He predicts Vermont will be first to launch a CubeSat into lunar orbit. Colleagues Danner Friend at Norwich University; Jeff Frolik and Jun Yu at UVM; their students and students from St. Michael’s College are working on the propulsion, navigation and communications that will enable the CubeSat to gather information. The program will re-air Nov. 2, 8:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 8 p.m., “Emerging Science” meets scientists at work to make sense of the cyber world people now inhabit. Mathematicians Chris Danforth and Peter Dodds at the University of Vermont and their students use masses of Twitter data to measure the happiness of society. At Champlain College, Elaine Young explains the social media explosion and the basic human need to connect. Marketing professional Nicole Ravlin guides her clients in using social media in business. Jonathan Rajewski of the Champlain College Center for Digital Investigation and Renee Hall of the Vermont State Police explain the importance of following digital fingerprints in solving crimes. The program will re-air Nov. 9, 8:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, Nov. 9, at 8 p.m., a sea creature called the little skate is the star of the show. A consortium of scientists in the Northeast, including James Vincent and Kelvin Chu at the University of Vermont, find that its genome is strikingly similar to humans’. They are trying to understand how it regenerates body parts and why humans lost most of that ability as they evolved. Rachel Phillips, who has a serious genetic disorder, watches the research on regenerative medicine in the hope that it can save her life. The program will re-air Nov. 16, 8:30 p.m.

Producer Anya Huneke said, “Working on ‘Emerging Science’ showed me how science in Vermont has changed from the days when individuals here could contribute only a piece of a puzzle. With the communications technology available now, Vermonters are doing big-picture research.”

Executive producer of “Emerging Science” is Kathryn A. Scott.

Champlain Theatre - 'Playing Hard to Get'

Champlain Theatre’s Playing Hard to Get:
Short Works 2011 Opens Nov. 2

Champlain Theatre’s second show of the fall season, Playing Hard to Get: Short Works 2011, directed by Joanne Farrell and Kim Jordan, will highlight the talents of Champlain College students, presenting six short contemporary plays about identity, attraction, romance, misunderstanding, and balancing on the precipice of possibility.

Each play flirts with the themes of desire, misunderstandings, and relationships. Strung together, Playing Hard To Get portrays a series of characters' bizarre and daring strategies to win a tug-of-war of the will and the heart. The six plays featured are:

• Precipice by William Mastrosimone,
• Daniel on a Thursday by Garth Wingfield,
• The Problem by A.R. Gurney,
• Anything for You by Cathy Celesia,
• Rosie in the Shadow of the Melrose by Craig Fols,
• Acorn by Daniel Graziana .
• There will also be an original devised theatre piece created and performed by the cast.

The Champlain College student actors in Playing Hard to Get: Short Works 2011 are: Sam Notelovitz, Molly O'Brien, Julia Kehr, Brian Arsenault, Will Saxe, Kayleigh Blanchette, Ashley Cook, Mike LeTourneau, Matt Hollar, Kristen Orlando, and David Bender.

Playing Hard to Get: Short Works 2011, runs Nov. 2-5 at 8 p.m., at the Flynn Space, 147 Main St., Burlington. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $5 for Champlain faculty and staff, and free for Champlain students with an ID. Some mature content. To purchase tickets, call the Flynn Regional Box office 863-5966 or visit www.flynntix.org

Dispatches from Montreal

https://champlainmontrealfall2011.wordpress.com/

Here's a little sample of the Champlain Montreal Study Abroad blog for this fall.

Entries have included reflections on trips to Quebec City, electronic music, game design company visits and more.

"When I told my friends from back home that I’d be spending a semester abroad in Montreal, they were skeptical. “Montreal? Isn’t that like two hours away from Vermont? That’s not studying abroad; that’s studying next door!” Things like that. I guess I can understand where they’re coming from, but then again, the ones who say that have never been here before.

While Montreal may not be impressively far away when measured by miles (or kilometers!), it is truly a completely different world, offering endless new experiences. Why, as I sit in this café downtown, sipping on my moka glace (iced mocha) and write this blog post, a small contingency of birds are hanging out with me, like it’s no big deal. Alarmed, I look around at others to share my amazement at these unusual customers. Nobody else seems to care. Apparently, sharing the newspaper and coffee with feathered friends is just part of daily life here." Read more...

Rusty DeWees Leads Salon Series

Champlain Alumni Rusty DeWees will lead off the new Salon Series, a chance to meet and hear local favorites in an intimate interview setting at August First Bakery on Oct. 27, at 7 p.m..

TICKETS: Limited Seating!

$20 advance – $22 at the door
(includes a $5 coupon towards food, beverages and wine)
Special price for all 4 nights: $70.
For more details or tickets, www.kingdomcounty.org or call 802-357-4616.

Thursday, October 27 at 7 PM

Performer Rusty DeWees
Interviewed by Bess O’Brien
Rusty DeWees is Vermont’s gem of an entertainer, comedian, actor and performer, Rusty has been performing his One Man Comedy Show “The Logger” for 15 years to
sold out houses throughout New England and has appeared in more than 25 films. Join us for a rollicking and intimate look at how Rusty crafts VT stories and film characters.
BUY TICKETS

Thursday, November 3 at 7 PM
Writer Katherine Paterson
Interviewed by Bess O’Brien
Katherine Paterson is the author of more than 30 books including16 novels for children and young people. She has twice won the Newbery Medal, for Bridge to Terabithia in 1978 and Jacob Have I Loved in 1981. She is the winner of two National Book Awards. Her novel, The Day of the Pelican was the Vermont Reads selection for 2010. Learn about how Katherine develops character and story and what it was like to have one of her books adapted into a Hollywood movie.
BUY TICKETS

Thursday, November 10 at 7 PM
Writer Howard Frank Mosher
Interviewed by Jay Craven
Using ironic humor, complex characterization, and surprising dramatic twists, Howard Mosher has written 10 novels that invite readers into his magical world of Kingdom County, Vermont. (Sneak Preview! Howard will read from his new story, Nights of Temperance.) Filmmaker Jay Craven has adapted four Mosher stories and is about to take on another–Northern Borders. Tune in to go behind the scenes.
BUY TICKETS

Thursday, November 17 at 7 PM
Journalist Jane Lindholm
Interviewed by Jay Craven
Vermont native Jane Lindholm returned home after stints at public radio’s Talk of the
Nation, Weekend Edition, and Marketplace. At VPR, she has developed Vermont Edition into a probing and revealing radio journal that connects and informs listeners throughout the region. Join us as we interview the interviewer.
BUY TICKETS

Imagination Panel - With Laurie Anderson

Imagination Panel, (l-r) Jostein Solheim, CEO of Ben & Jerry's Homemade; Laurie Anderson, performance artist; President David F. Finney, Champlain College; Jane Lindholm, Vermont Public Radio; and Tiffany Bluemle, Vermont Works for Women. A panel discussion on innovation, creativity and imagination at the FlynnSpace, Oct. 14, 2011. (Photo by Stephen Mease)

Perry Hall Revisited

A lovely post from Diana, a Champlain alumni who now lives in Texas, but returned to campus recently for a visit.
Her Down Home Travel Blog chronicles her food, music and travel adventures.

http://downhometravel.blogspot.com/2011/09/champlain-college.html

Champlain College - Perry Hall

About five years ago, I graduated from Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. It is by far the best decision that I have ever made in my ENTIRE life. Looking back, it was one of the greatest times of my life. I worked in the Student Life Office and in the Residential Life Department, loved the faculty that taught my classes and I make it a point to go back and visit just about every time I go home to Vermont.

When I was home in September, I set aside an afternoon to go visit campus. There has been a lot that has happened in the past five years since I've graduated, even more if I look back to what it was like my freshman year. Before I headed home, I had contacted my old boss in the Student Life office (more on her in a post to come) and asked if she could give me a tour. "Of Course" was the response. I was pretty excited.

To provide a bit of background, the below picture (May 2009) is the Perry Hall that I knew when I attended Champlain. I lived in a dorm across the street and a few of us would go over and play softball in the HUGE yard behind the house. Oh how it has changed. READ MORE

• Read the entire blog posting and her other travel and food tales.
• Read her review of American Flatbread

National Student Day at the Bookstore

The Champlain College Bookstore hosted its first National Student Day to show appreciation for students and their volunteer work. Music by The Hardscrabble Hounds and some of Champlain's book authors, Rita Murphy, Linda Urban and Erik Esckilsen were on hand for the afternoon to talk with students.