The Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching
The Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching is the college's highest teaching award. Each year the award honors a teacher who communicates high expectations and encourages intellectual curiosity within and across disciplines; respects diverse talents and ways of learning and uses variety in instruction; and engages students and inspires them to do their best work. It also recognizes teachers who hold students accountable and encourage both faculty-student contact and cooperation among students. The award is named for the late Professor Jack Jensen, who through his dedication to teaching, inspired faculty and students alike.
William Thomas
Professor of Natural Sciences
Professor William “Bill” Thomas has been selected as the recipient of the Jack Jensen Award for Excellence in Teaching. Professor Thomas is a cellular and developmental biologist whose interests lie in developmental neurobiology with an emphasis on cell-to-cell and cell-to-substratum adhesion. He has expertise in biochemical purification; developmental, cellular and molecular biology; immunochemical techniques; and microscopy. In addition to teaching, he conducts research on cell adhesion at the Curie Institute in Paris nearly every summer. Since 2010, he has involved students in his NIH-funded research and assisted them in developing related independent research.
A passionate educator known for his energy, enthusiasm and the high standards he sets for students, Professor Thomas has deep expertise in his field of cellular biology but also embraces and champions the necessity and beauty of a liberal arts education. Professor Thomas's inquisitive thinking inspires his students to make connections – whether between cells, human beings, or seemingly unrelated topics – and channel the information into conclusions that enlighten and open minds.
“It takes years to learn to see,” he told his first-year Pathway students who will graduate this May. Before birth, there's just light and shades of darkness; the world gets bigger from there. But sight is only part of vision, it's learned. You can look but not see. Information has to be unfolded – you can't have every book in the library open at the same time.”
By igniting his students' own interest in their studies and making himself available at all hours to work with students, writes one nominator, Professor Thomas models lifelong learning: “He has high expectations for his students and they come out of his classes with a strong foundation in critical thinking, problem-solving and biology…he pushes students outside their comfort zone, challenges them to expand their knowledge, and creates self-directed and lifelong learners.”
Another student nominator, who says Professor Thomas has an unmistakable love for learning, believes he demands much from students. “As far as Bill is concerned, there is always room for improvement, which is why students at all levels find interactions with him valuable,” the student says. “Students respect Bill and his teaching because they understand what they have gained. Bill provides constant support and feedback. He is truly committed to teaching students.”
Another student, who studied in Strasbourg, France, with Professor Thomas as a first-year student, says, “Professor Thomas puts an extraordinary amount of time and commitment into teaching and mentoring students. Thanks to this man, I get to do something that matters and have the chance to change the world.”
Professor Thomas joined the faculty in 1991. He received a B.A. from Hamilton College and a Ph.D. from Princeton University.
Nancy Beyer Opler '56 Award for Excellence in Advising
The award recognizes a faculty member who is accessible to advisees; makes a meaningful connection with advisees that continues over time; supports advisees in academic and professional planning; and facilitates advisees' adjustment to the community. The recipient will have a good understanding of the college's policies and procedures, advocates for the advisees' best interests and supports their autonomy and responsibility.
Sondra C. VanderPloeg
Reference and Instruction Librarian
Sondra C. VanderPloeg joined Colby-Sawyer College as a reference librarian and cataloger in 2007, but since then she has moved into information literacy, which involves teaching students research and critical thinking skills for the internet age. VanderPloeg encouraged the library to subscribe to LibGuides, online instruction sites that can be customized for each class. Additionally, she has spearheaded the Embedded Librarian Program, in which reference librarians provide students in every section of Writing 105 with support and direction relative to library resources.
VanderPloeg serves as an advisor for students who have not yet declared their major. One of her advisees nominated VanderPloeg because “she has had the largest impact on my academic career of anyone on campus.” The student described VanderPloeg as “accessible, organized and professional, responding to my needs promptly” and said “she has made an unmatched effort in understanding my goals as a student here at Colby-Sawyer.” The student wrote that “our meetings are always productive and leave me feeling well prepared to tackle whatever task may be ahead of me.” But while VanderPloeg provides answers—no matter how complex the issue—the student appreciated that “she advocates for my responsibility to make decisions for myself as a student.”
What another advisee found most remarkable about VanderPloeg is that “she has connected with me on a personal level, as an individual with unique aspirations who requires unique opportunities to achieve.” In the nomination, the student wrote, “Sondra has gone above and beyond her duties as an academic advisor and provided the strongest foundation possible for my career as a student and even after college.” The student wished to express her gratitude through nominating VanderPloeg for the award. “Thank you for impacting my college experience, my career and my life in ways that few others could. Thank you for helping me build the foundation for the rest of my life.”
A resident of Wilmot, N.H., VanderPloeg earned a B.A. in International Relations from Brown University, a Master of Library Science Degree from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Simmons College and a Master of Arts in Education in Secondary Social Sciences at the College of William & Mary.
Town Award
The Town Award is presented to a resident or organization in the New London Area that has shown extraordinary involvement in, and made noteworthy contributions to, the college.
The Town of New London
Colby-Sawyer College honors the Town of New London in recognition of 175 years of shared history and to honor its community members, past and present, who have been integral to the school's founding, evolution and success.
Since 1837, when local citizens established New London Academy, the school has evolved from a coeducational preparatory school, to a women's junior college, to its current status as a coeducational baccalaureate college. Similarly, New London has grown, changed and prospered, and our shared interests and strong mutually beneficial relationships have deepened over time.
New London residents have demonstrated unflagging support for our teaching and learning community as the college has evolved in accordance with students' needs, economic realities and trends in education. The college and community have always been powerful partners, standing together through the fires of the 19th century, when townspeople took in displaced students after the brick academy building burned, and the ice storms of the 20th and 21st, when the college sheltered townspeople who were without heat or electricity, as well as through world wars, the Great Depression and recessions, and the changing landscape of education and our state.
New London businesses, organizations and institutions have generously hosted our college students as interns, sharing their expertise and experience to help our students test the knowledge and skills they learn in the classroom. Our students also benefit greatly from their volunteer service in the fire department, local schools and hospital as they learn from local professionals and experience the rewards of community service. College-community partnerships also abound, ranging from joint theater productions and concerts, to educational and recreational programs, to myriad ways of working together to share our resources in ways that enrich, educate and protect our communities.
“Colby-Sawyer College is fortunate to have such a wonderful hometown,” says President Thomas C. Galligan Jr. “We are thankful for all the partnerships and the collaborative relationships and friendships we share with community members which enrich our lives and strengthen both our communities.”
Gown Award
The Gown Award is presented to an individual from Colby-Sawyer College whose work and contributions in the New London area are extraordinary.
Robin Burroughs Davis
Associate Dean of Students
The 2013 Gown Award, which honors an individual from Colby-Sawyer College for extraordinary contributions to the New London area, will be presented to Associate Dean of Students and Director of Citizenship Education Robin Burroughs Davis.
Colby-Sawyer College's 175th anniversary offered the opportunity to celebrate the college's connections to the town of New London and led to an initiative involving students, faculty and staff in community service. Dean Davis and her colleagues coordinated the effort to engage Colby-Sawyer community members and commemorate the anniversary with 175 Acts of Service.
Dean Davis sought and selected volunteer opportunities with a focus on the college's strategic themes of Engaged Learning, Living Sustainably, Linking to the World and Dynamic Devotion to Excellence. The college community was invited to participate in local service projects in public schools, the arts, pediatric and elder care, sustainability and the environment, historic preservation, and cancer fund-raising and awareness, as well as global service projects including a relief mission for Hurricane Sandy victims and support for overseas troops.
Vice President and Dean of Students Dave Sauerwein, who nominated Dean Davis for the award, emphasizes that she deserves recognition for her leadership at the college and in New London, as well as for her own commitment to service.“Robin's commitment is strong,” says Dean Sauerwein. “In addition to her work in developing good citizens on campus, she volunteers to support victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.”
Since 1997, Dean Davis has volunteered at Crisis Center of Central New Hampshire, which serves the greater Concord area and Merrimack County. In addition to staffing the agency's crisis line, she has served on the center's Board of Directors as vice chair and chair and is currently its secretary. “I am very proud of the work that the agency does,” says Dean Davis. “We have a small staff and a small budget and rely heavily on volunteers, but we make a huge difference in the lives of those who come to us.”
With her devotion to service and experience in leadership at the college, Dean Davis was well prepared to lead the successful 175 Acts of Service initiative and strengthen the college's ties with New London. She began her career at Colby-Sawyer in 1996 as director of citizenship education. In 2002, she was promoted to assistant dean of students and then to associate dean of students in 2005. Today, in addition to her leadership roles, Dean Davis is an adjunct faculty member in the Social Sciences and Education Department. She has also been involved in the college's Quantitative Literacy efforts, has participated as a Leadership Program speaker, and serves as advisor to Student Government Association and class boards.
Dean Davis holds a B.A. in English Literature and a M.S. in College and Community Counseling from Longwood College in Longwood, Va.
Susan Colgate Cleveland Medal for Distinguished Service
The Susan Colgate Cleveland Medal for Distinguished Service is the college's highest honor. It is presented to individuals who exemplify Susan Colgate Cleveland's attributes, ensuring that her work, dedication and influence will be remembered by future generations.
Joyce Juskalian Kolligian '55
Colby-Sawyer College Trustee
As Joyce Juskalian Kolligian '55, a resident of Belmont, Mass., and Long Boat Key, Fla., completes her 18th year as a member of the Board of Trustees, Colby-Sawyer College honors her with the Susan Colgate Cleveland Medal for Distinguished Service.
During her time at Colby Junior, Kolligian was active in student government and the Key Association, was a singer in the Buzzin' Dozen, and served as class president. She graduated with an Associate of Arts degree in 1955 and in 1956 received the Graduate Award, given to the member of the preceding graduating class whose character and influence most constructively affected the senior class.
Joyce married Michael Kolligian in 1960, and they raised two children, Valerie and Michael III. She remained involved in her alma mater, holding numerous positions on the Alumnae Association from 1974 to 1980, including Annual Fund chair, Alumnae in Admissions representative, class agent, reunion chair and president. In 1980, she was invited to give the Convocation Address, in which she emphasized the importance of participation and leadership and encouraged students to “remember the instinct to care.”
Kolligian's commitment to the college grew as she joined the Board of Trustees, serving as an alumni trustee from 1982 to 1985 and a term trustee from 1986 to 1991. She was the executive secretary for the Executive Committee and chair of the Board's Advancement and Student Development Committees and the fund-raising effort, Partners for the Future—The Next 150 Years. Kolligian is especially proud of her roles on the Presidential Search Committee that hired Dr. Peggy Stockand the Research Committee on Coeducation. Her outstanding service was recognized by the college in 1997 with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Joyce and Michael Kolligian have also strengthened Colby-Sawyer through their philanthropy. In 1986, Michael established the Joyce J. Kolligian Scholarship Fund at Colby-Sawyer in honor of his wife's birthday. After Michael's death in 1998, Joyce created a second endowed fund, the Dr. Michael and Joyce Kolligian Scholarship Fund, as part of their enduring commitment to making a Colby-Sawyer education possible for more students.
Kolligian has always been active in civic and cultural activities. She sang in the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston, served on the Lawrence Memorial Hospital Auxiliary, and has led fundraising projects for the Armenian Church of New England. In 1982, she chaired a successful fund-raising effort for the Friends of the Speech and Hearing Foundation in Boston.
After her children were grown, Kolligian earned a Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude at Simmons College in 1987 and a Master of Business Administration degree with distinction from Simmons School of Management in 1989. At age 49, she established Carlyle Associates, Inc., a consulting business in marketing and communications. Kolligian was appointed the executive director of the Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston in 1998 and was awarded the school's Rappaport Alumnae Award for Outstanding Achievement.
Kolligian returned to Colby-Sawyer's Board of Trustees from 2004 to 2013 and participated on numerous committees, including as vice chair and chair of the Advancement Committee, and on the Arts Center Steering Committee. In 2009, she established the Joyce J. Kolligian Distinguished Professorship in the Fine and Performing Arts, to which Chair and Professor of Fine and Performing Arts Jon Keenan was appointed.
Professor Keenan expressed gratitude for Kolligian's commitment to the Fine and Performing Arts. “Joyce's dedication and service extends throughout the college, and she has been especially generous in her appreciation and support of our Fine and Performing Arts programs,” he said. “She is an inspiration to us.”
With intelligence, humor and grace, Joyce Kolligian has provided wise counsel, fresh thinking and generous support to her alma mater for six decades. Colby-Sawyer College is proud to recognize her deep devotion and extraordinary leadership with its highest award.
Distinguished Alumni Award
The Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes an alumna or alumnus who has made a distinctive and unique contribution to his or her profession and to society.
Pamela Stanley Bright '61
Colby-Sawyer College Trustee
As Pamela Stanley Bright '61 completes nine years of service on the Board of Trustees, Colby-Sawyer College recognizes her professional achievements, generous philanthropy and outstanding contributions to her alma mater with the 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award.
Bright was raised in the New York suburbs, completing high school in West Hartford, Conn. She summered in New London, N.H., part of an extended family of Colby Academy and Colby Junior College graduates. She earned an Associate of Arts degree from Colby Junior College in 1961, and later that year she married Stanley Bright. Together they have raised three children: Deborah, Bruce and Todd.
Over many years, Bright has provided leadership to institutions and organizations that are important to her, serving as a trustee of Loudoun Country Day School in Virginia, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library Association, Friendly House and Bettendorf Community Schools Foundation in Iowa, as well as the Critchlow Adkins Day Care Centers in Maryland. She also continued her education, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Sociology from St. Ambrose University in 1989.
In 2003, Bright and her husband Stanley established the Horace Clough Stanley Memorial Scholarship at Colby-Sawyer, named for her grandfather, who graduated from Colby Academy in 1901 and served as a trustee of the academy and then Colby Junior College from 1915 until his death in 1954. They have consistently supported college priorities, including the Windy Hill School, student scholarships, and the proposed Fine and Performing Arts Center.
Bright joined the Colby-Sawyer College Board of Trustees as an alumni trustee from 2004 to 2007, and a term trustee from 2007 to 2013. She has provided leadership and service on numerous committees, including Buildings and Campus Planning; Board Organization; Enrollment Management; Executive; and Student Development. Throughout her tenure as a trustee, Bright has been a strong voice for maintaining and honoring the college's strong history and traditions, while also supporting its innovations and growth.
“Pam is incredibly deserving of this award. She has been a fantastic Board member, bringing intelligence, insight, good humor and positive spirit to our discussions,” says President Tom Galligan. “In addition she has chaired important Board Committees like Student Development and Board Organization. Along with her husband, Stan, she has become a true champion of Colby-Sawyer, her alma mater. We are both lucky and fortunate that Pam has dedicated herself to our very special college — it is better because of her.”
Honorary Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies (A.B.)
Gwenyth Hall Dunbar
Colby-Sawyer's honorary Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies degree recognizes an individual of humanitarian character and superior intellect whose life and work have brought about positive, far-reaching consequences for individuals and organizations.
Gwenyth Hall Dunbar
Gwenyth Hall Dunbar, who entered Colby Junior College's Medical Technology Program with the Class of 1950, follows the strength of her convictions and acts to support the causes and people she believes in – especially education and young people who seek to reach their potential through education.
Because of the personal connections she forged as a student and her staunch belief in the mission, leadership and future of Colby-Sawyer, Mrs. Dunbar has been a generous, sustaining force in the college's academic life. For this and other service to her family, the college and society, Colby-Sawyer College recognizes her humanitarian character and dedication to shaping her own and others' intellectual development with an honorary Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies degree.
While attending Colby Junior College as a scholarship student, Mrs. Dunbar was a counselor and a member of the Key Association and the Athletic Association. While she was unable to return for her second year to graduate and her unfinished formal education remains a regret, her personal growth and civic involvement continued as an active community volunteer and church member.
Mrs. Dunbar admires brilliance, dedication and down-to-earth ease in others, and those are all qualities she shares with the world. She and Jim, her husband of 61 years, raised three children and taught them, as well as their grandchildren, the importance of education. Helping young people get a good start in life is a point of pride for the Dunbar family, who have supported educational institutions at all levels. When their adult son James Jr. passed away, they chose to honor his memory with a scholarship at his alma mater to give other students the chance to pursue their dreams, and they also chose to support cancer research at John Hopkins University.
Mrs. Dunbar divides her time between Maryland, Connecticut and Florida, but her ties to Colby-Sawyer remain strong. She and husband have made a significant estate provision while steadfastly supporting college priorities, including the proposed Fine and Performing Arts Center. To recognize their arts center support, a Graphic Design Studio will be named in their honor, and her legacy of giving will reverberate in generations of future students.
