◀ I N WITH THE BLUE: The new Chargers mascot went for a walkabout this fall to encourage students to join him in the Hogan Sports Center and support athletics.
PHOTO: KATE SEAMANS
in the loop
Child Development Program Expands Career Options Child development majors have a new career option thanks to a collaboration with Ready, Set, Connect! (RSC) Autism Treatment Program at Crotched Mountain in Concord and Manchester. Student interns at RSC learn the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis under the close, ongoing supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Child development majors who complete internships with the program are eligible for Registered Behavior Technician credentials and the opportunity to work for RSC in the future. – Diane Edwards, director of Windy Hill School
Tell Me Your Story: Recapturing Colby-Sawyer’s (Oral) History
NEW VICE PRESIDENT FOR ADVANCEMENT
The Oral History Project — started in 2012 to celebrate Colby-Sawyer’s 175th anniversary — sends students out to interview alumni during Homecoming (previously known as Alumni Fall Festival). The audio recordings help fill gaps in the college’s history, particularly from the sparsely documented 1970s and ’80s.
This fall, Colby-Sawyer appointed Kathleen Bonavist as vice president for Advancement. Vice President Bonavist comes to the college from Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio, where she was vice president for Institutional Advancement. She succeeds Vice President Elizabeth Cahill, who held the position for 13 years.
Oral histories are “a tool to balance the scales,” says Professor and Chair of Social Sciences and Education Randy S. Hanson, “particularly as history and other forms of scholarship move into areas where there aren’t necessarily a lot of archives kept.” Kelli Bogan, college archivist, says it is one thing to review documents from the college’s past and rules in student handbooks; it is another to sit down with alumni who can share anecdotes of how they got around such rules. Bogan hopes that alumni can provide information about lost traditions such as Ski Day. Oral histories, she says, have been helpful in providing more information about this costumed ski day, but it is still unknown how it started or when, what it was like and why it stopped. Bogan also hopes alumni can provide information about Junior Day, another tradition the Archives is rediscovering. To participate in an oral history interview, email reference@colby-sawyer.edu or call 603.526.3360. – Aaron Records ’15 8 colby-sawyer magazine
Vice President Bonavist is responsible for the development and implementation of the college’s comprehensive advancement strategic plan and for maintaining the infrastructure that maximizes philanthropic investments in the college’s educational mission. She also participates in college governance while overseeing staff in development, alumni relations, annual giving and the Adventures in Learning program for area residents. Vice President Bonavist joined the college during its Power of Infinity Campaign, the third and largest comprehensive campaign in Colby-Sawyer’s history. With a goal of $60 million, the campaign was launched in April 2015 after a 21-month silent phase. Commitments to date total more than $24 million. “It is an honor to join such a wonderful organization at such an auspicious time — to be able to share in Colby-Sawyer’s traditions and help shape its future through the Power of Infinity Campaign,” said Vice President Bonavist.
Vice President Bonavist has more than 10 years of experience in higher education administration and consulting, most recently at Muskingum, where she raised significant funding for capital projects and increased annual giving. Additional leadership roles in higher education include enrollment management positions at Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y.; Paul Smith’s College in Paul Smiths, N.Y.; and The Sage Colleges in Troy and Albany, N.Y. She also has extensive business experience. Vice President Bonavist earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Siena College in Loudonville, N.Y., and she attended the Harvard Graduate School Institute for Educational Management at the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education in Cambridge, Mass. – Kellie M. Spinney