campus news and events

Colby-Sawyer College to Celebrate 2010 Commencement

NEW LONDON, N.H. – Colby-Sawyer College will celebrate its 2010 Commencement on Saturday, May 8, graduating 152 students and honoring the graduating class and other individuals for academic excellence, outstanding contributions to society, and service to the college and community. The ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. under a tent on the college's front lawn.

Ms. Janice Wilkins '41, a long-time resident of E. Walpole, Mass., will receive the college's highest award, the Susan Colgate Cleveland Medal, for her service, leadership and philanthropy at Colby-Sawyer. Ms. Wilkins earned an associate's degree in liberal arts and sciences at Colby Junior College and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in history and government from the University of Maine and a law degree from Boston University.

Ms. Wilkins wrote the initial bylaws for Colby-Sawyer's Alumnae Association and later joined its Board of Directors (1955 to 1976), serving on many committees and as vice chairman. She was then elected to the Board of Trustees, serving from 1976 to 1985, and in 1992 she was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2002, Ms. Wilkins contributed a major gift and bequest to the college's capital campaign.

The Commencement keynote speaker, Assistant Professor and Chair of Business Administration Christopher Kubik, will receive the Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching. The award, the college's highest recognition for faculty, acknowledges the central importance of teaching and honors a faculty member who encourages intellectual curiosity within and across disciplines, communicates high expectations, and inspires students to do their best work.

Professor Kubik, a resident of Hanover, N.H., who joined the faculty in 2006, teaches classes in finance, computer applications for business decision-making, introduction to organizations and strategic management. At the 2009 Commencement, Professor Kubik received the Nancy Beyer Opler Award for Excellence in Advising. He holds a D.B.A. in Finance from Anderson University, M.B.A. from the University of Detroit and B.S. in International Business and Economics from Madonna University.

Amy Lynn Hebert, a Sport Management major from Keene, N.H., has been selected as the Class of 2010 Commencement Student Speaker. An outstanding student-athlete, she has been a tireless high achiever in both her academic and cocurricular pursuits. Hebert plans to pursue graduate studies at Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., in the field of student personnel administration in higher education.

Assistant Professor of Fine and Performing Arts Brian Clancy has been selected as the 2010 recipient of the Nancy Beyer Opler Award for Excellence in Advising. The award recognizes outstanding service in assisting students in adjusting to the academic community and in their college and professional planning.

A resident of Lebanon, N.H., Professor Clancy joined the faculty in 2006 and teaches courses in the history of art and architecture, and specializes in 19th- and 20th-century American architecture, urbanism, and city planning, including research on the social history of opera houses and other building types. His research interests also include local history, historic preservation and music history. Professor Clancy earned his B.A from Yale University and M.A. and Ph.D. from Rutgers University.

The Town-Gown Awards recognize Colby-Sawyer College and the New London area communities' long history of working together to enhance the quality of life in this region. This year the awards honor two individuals, Jerod Rockwell, a business owner and resident of Sutton, and Mary McLaughlin, the director of Residential Education at Colby-Sawyer College and a Wilmot, N.H., resident.

Mr. Rockwell, executive chef and owner of Rockwell's at the Inn at the New London Inn, sees education as the foundation of our individual and community life and is extremely supportive of the Colby-Sawyer College community. In recent years he has hosted six fund-raising dinners at his restaurant for several different college programs. Ms. McLaughlin will receive the Gown Award in recognition of her extraordinary service to the world-wide community of parents, teachers and friends of children with autism. Through her blog and essay in a new book, Gravity Pulls You In: Perspectives on Parenting Children on the Autism Spectrum, Ms. McLaughlin shares the joys and challenges of life with a family member with autism.

In recognition of her loyal commitment to the college and service to the health care community, Colby-Sawyer honors Dr. Joan “Pete” Peterson, Class of 1949, with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Dr. Peterson, a resident of Dedham, Mass., has lived an admirable life enriched by her dedication to the valuable work she performed as a medical doctor.

Student Achievement Awards

Colby-Sawyer will recognize the following members of the Class of 2010 for outstanding achievement as scholars, campus leaders and student athletes.

Amy Lynn Hebert and Jonathan Joseph Pappalardo will receive the Senior Achievement Awards. Hebert is a Wesson Honors student from Keene, N.H., who is known for her high level of achievement. She was a valued member and captain of the Women's Basketball Team, a member of the Community Service Club, Exercise and Sport Sciences Club, Psychology Club, and the Cross Cultural Club.

Pappalardo, from Hingham, Mass., was on the Dean's List and was a member of Lambda Pi Eta Honor Society, the Community Service Club, and was treasurer of the Faith Club. He was on the staff of The Courier for his four years at Colby-Sawyer, and he served as news editor in both his junior and senior years. Pappalardo was also station manager for WSCS-FM and president of the Radio Club.

The Alpha Chi Award recipient, Rachael Kelsey Smith of Milford, N.H., is a nursing major who distinguished herself through her commitment to the development of her clinical scholarship. At the recent Alpha Chi Super Regional Convention, Smith won an award for her research paper, “Cardiotoxicity Secondary to Anthracycline Use: What Every Nurse Should Know.” She will soon enter practice at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in the inpatient surgical area.

Amy Lynn Hebert is the recipient of the Colby-Sawyer Award, presented by faculty to a student whose intellectual growth and contributions to campus life have positively influenced her fellow students.

Hebert, a sport management major, is an outstanding student and role model. She will also receive the Wynne Jesser McGrew Scholar-Athlete Award, which recognizes the female graduate who has made significant contributions to the college's scholastic and varsity athletic programs.

In addition to her cocurricular activities (see Senior Achievement Award), Hebert has been in the Wesson Honors Program all four years, is a member of the Alpha Chi Honor Society, and has been on the Dean's List. She has garnered numerous awards, including two Sawyer Fellowships, a James Duane Squires Book Award, and the Barbara Johnson Stearns Award for Outstanding Leadership. A true student-athlete, Hebert has twice been the recipient of the Class Academic Award given each year to the student with the highest grade point average in the class.

A Scholar-Athlete Award is also presented to a graduating male senior who has made significant contributions to both the scholastic and varsity programs of the college. A Wesson Honors student and member of the dean's list, Ryan Martin of Chester, N.H., was a child development major and finished his college career with an impressive academic record. He was a four-year member of the Swimming and Diving Team and was also a member of the Alpha Chi and the Psi Chi Honor Societies.

The David H. Winton Baccalaureate Award, which recognizes the graduating student with the highest cumulative grade point average, will be announced at the Commencement ceremony.

Baccalaureate Awards in Each Academic Major

Baccalaureate Awards will be presented to students who have demonstrated the highest degree of dedication and excellence in their fields of study. The award recipients include the following students: Anthony Thomas Marrone of Tamworth, N.H. (Studio Art); Shelagh Marie Costello of Canton, Mass. (Athletic Training); David Paul Mikita of Ansonia, Conn. (Biology); Jennifer Lee Sullivan of Newbury, N.H. (Business Administration: Dr. Margaret “Marnie” Kurtz Award); Kellie Sarah Tingle of Thomaston, Conn. (Child Development); and Jonathan Joseph Pappalardo of Hingham, Mass. (Communication Studies).

Baccalaureate Awards will also be presented to the following students: Megan Michelle Ruggiero of Merrimack, N.H. (English: Carl M. Cochran Award); Amy Lea MacMahon of Newport, N.H. (Environmental Science); Devin Maye Zylak of Dunbarton, N.H. (Exercise Science); Abbie Mae Morse of Littleton, Mass. (Graphic Design); Sandra Deanna Guglielmi of Billerica, Mass. (Nursing: Grace Adella Sheldon Graves Award); Ashley Marie Jones of Center Barnstead, N.H. (Psychology) and Amy Lynn Hebert of Keene, N.H. (Sport Management).

Read more about the award recipients here.

Read more about the student award recipients here.

Learn more about Commencement 2010 here.


Colby-Sawyer, founded in 1837, is a comprehensive liberal arts and sciences college located in the scenic Lake Sunapee Region of central New Hampshire. Students learn in small classes through a select array of programs that integrate the liberal arts and sciences with professional experience.

Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London, N.H. 03257 (603) 526-3000