乐播传媒

In text, photographs, and video, here’s a selection of stories and moments from the 2015 college year, a very good year, at 乐播传媒.

Women鈥檚 rowing wins 乐播传媒’ first-ever NCAA team championship

乐播传媒 headed into the NCAA Championships ranked No. 1 in the land, and after a number of runner-up finishes at the national regatta, the pressure was on.

But head coach Peter Steenstra says his team wasn’t “rattled by all the attention of being ranked No. 1. They wanted that. They liked being in the position of being expected to win, and they wanted that top spot.”

And they got it.

Back home at 乐播传媒, the big win was announced during Baccalaureate by Cody Tracey ’15:

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乐播传媒 achieves a college-record 19 Fulbright U.S. Student fellowships

Already celebrated as a perennial top producer of Fulbright U.S. Student fellowships, 乐播传媒 seniors and young alumni collected 19 new grants this year 鈥� a record for the college.

Fourteen current seniors and five graduates won the 19 prestigious awards for teaching and research abroad in 2015-16.

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Class of 2019 drawn from record applications

More students than ever 鈥� 5,636 鈥� sought admission to 乐播传媒 for the Class of 2019 entering this fall.

The record application pool, a 12 percent increase from last year and a 15 percent increase since 2012, also reflects strategic 乐播传媒 Admission recruiting efforts as U.S. population demographics shifts steadily west and south.

In fact, in terms of applications, the state of California is now the college’s third-largest producer. And in terms of students in the incoming Class of 2019, California ranks fifth behind Massachusetts, New York, Maine, and Connecticut.

“Our results speak to the college鈥檚 increased standing among high-achieving students,鈥� said Leigh Weisenburger, the college鈥檚 dean of admission and financial aid, “and we are seeing growing interest from students in regions where we have increased聽our recruitment, such as California, Florida, and Texas.”

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Alex Bolden ’15 delivers the 2015 Senior Address

This year’s Senior Address at Commencement was a love letter to 乐播传媒. But for Alex Bolden ’15, 乐播传媒 was not love at first sight.

“I did not come to 乐播传媒 after being intrigued by the beautiful campus…. I came to 乐播传媒 because it made financial sense despite my desire for a large university in a big city,” said Bolden, of Cleveland, Ohio.

But, “little did I know that the next four years would become my answer to this question as I fell in love with a community that I had denied as my own.”

Falling in love with 乐播传媒, Bolden said, was a parable for how we can use love to fight against injustice, by “loving those who are in need of love”:

And while, much like my experience at 乐播传媒, the loving of a community that is different from you might be hard at first, submerging yourself in their culture will provide you with moments, big and small, which over time will make you fall in love, which is the only weapon we have against injustice.

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乐播传媒 Modern Dance celebrates Marcy Plavin

In 乐播传媒 circles, Marcy Plavin is celebrated not just for the dance program she established, but for doing so with a warmth and inclusiveness that made her a legend among her students.

to perform in a reunion concert and pay tribute to their remarkable teacher and friend.

The reunion was a testament to what Plavin created, a strong and inclusive dance community, said Carol Dilley, associate professor of dance and Plavin鈥檚 successor as dance program director.

“If she could get you in the room, you were going to dance, and if she could keep you in the room, you were going to dance for all four years. And we still have a very open door.鈥�

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鈥楪reat Day鈥� is a bellwether for a robust giving year

By June 30, donors had given more than $21 million in gifts to the college, a 31聽percent increase over fiscal 2014.

One of the bellwethers for the robust giving year was March 31, when 乐播传媒 received a one-day record 1,675 gifts.

The outpouring occurred on the last day of the month-long Great Day to be a Bobcat giving campaign, and the surge brought the 31-day total to 3,917 gifts. By beating the goal of 2,500 gifts in March, 乐播传媒 collected a $250,000 challenge gift from an anonymous donor.

Throughout March 31, a campus livestream featured real-time thank-yous to donors, and more than 2,100 viewers tuned in from around the world including cities like Helsinki, Brisbane, Munich, Sao Paul, Beijing, New Delhi, and Hanoi, among many others.

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Two of 111

乐播传媒 and the NCAA became fast friends in 2014-15, as a record number of Bobcats competed in national championships this year.

All told, 111 乐播传媒 men and women went to the NCAAs in basketball, cross country, lacrosse, rowing, skiing, swimming, tennis, and track and field.

Here are two, basketball players Marcus Delpeche ’17 (left) and Malcolm Delpeche ’17, identical twin brothers from Wilmington, Del.

With the most wins in program history (21), men’s hoops advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division III tournament.

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Honors granted to 36 seniors

Going strong since 1927, the college’s honors program saw 36 seniors conduct yearlong honors theses in 2015.

Not so long ago, you’d have to personally visit Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library to read a 乐播传媒 honors thesis. Now, to promote greater access by the 乐播传媒 community and the world beyond 乐播传媒, honors theses

That means you can read about:

• “” (rhetoric, 2012)
• “ (psychology, 2013)
• (philosophy, 2014),
• “ (mathematics, 2015)

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Women鈥檚 basketball coach Jim Murphy ’69 retires

As a coach, Jim Murphy ’69 brought a simple, hard-boiled ethos into his coaching philosophy, and his players were known for their mental toughness.

In sports, he once said, “everything has to be earned. If you鈥檙e a member of varsity or a starter, you should be proud, but come fall or spring, it鈥檚 something you have to earn.”

Murphy retired on June 30 after 21 seasons, 343 victories and six NCAA appearances.

鈥淭he things in life that are earned are to be cherished and treasured and are much more valuable than something that鈥檚 given to you,” he said.

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Alex Dauge-Roth, receiving the Kroepsch Award for Teaching, asks, “What do we owe genocide survivors?’

In his lecture on March 18 to celebrate the Kroepsch Award, Dauge-Roth analyzed that question, specifically as it pertains to his decade of engaging 乐播传媒 students with survivors and their stories of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

What we owe, in part, is the promise that we will hear the personal narratives from the genocide as members of a true “listening community.”

That means moving beyond pity and compassion, 鈥渟ince these are just part of the strategy for maintaining the status quo.鈥� Second, it means incorporating into one’s own histories the history of pain that is encountered.

Third, it means that listeners 鈥渟ee themselves as indirect witnesses, whose responsibility is to develop a critical self-awareness regarding their own agency and inadequacy as they respond to survivors鈥� stories.” That means “learning with the survivors鈥� 鈥� not merely from” them.

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Noontime demonstration brings Ferguson to 乐播传媒

At noon on Dec. 2, more than 50 乐播传媒 students put their outrage about the outcome of the Michael Brown case in Ferguson, Mo., in a place where it could not be overlooked: Commons at the height of lunch hour.

The protesters lay silent and motionless on the hard Commons floor as their fellow students stepped around and over them in pursuit of a hot meal.

Demonstration organizer Annakay Wright ’17 of Brooklyn, N.Y., said the goal in interrupting the daily flow of life at 乐播传媒 was “to interest people and to get them to think.”

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Short Term gets real with Purposeful Work

Mike Lydon 鈥�04, an internationally recognized urban planner and advocate for livable cities, was a practitioner-in-residence during Short Term

A new breed of Short Term teachers, these successful young adults 鈥� most of them 乐播传媒 alumni 鈥� come to campus to share the skills and applied knowledge they’ve accrued during their careers.

Lydon’s course was the 鈥淧racticum in Urban Planning,鈥� and he guided his students on several projects, including the creation of a demonstration bike lane on a Lewiston side street that the students publicly presented on May 21 鈥� to participants in a statewide urban development conference, no less.

Danielle Munoz 鈥�15 of Bedford, N.H., said that “the experience has been invaluable for all of us,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e really get a greater understanding of a field that we wouldn鈥檛 have known very much of otherwise.鈥�

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Ahmed Abdel Khalek ’16 wins men’s U.S. squash title

Abdel Khalek to defeat Columbia University freshman Osama Khalifa 3-2 to capture the College Squash Association men’s individual championship, the first for 乐播传媒.

How did he do it?

“I took a break and forgot the fact I was down two,” Abdel Khalek said. “I tried to calm myself down and think of the match as being tied 0-0. If I had allowed myself to believe I was behind, I couldn’t have kept going.”

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Taylor Blackburn ’15 and Matt Summers ’15 finish debate careers with a flourish

At the World Universities Debating Championship in early January, Taylor Blackburn ’15 solidified her status as arguably the best female debater in North America.

Meanwhile, in April, Matt Summers ’15 of Short Hills, N.J., was named top speaker at the annual U.S. Universities Debating Championship, held at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

At Worlds, Blackburn,聽of Sonoma, Calif., emerged as the top-ranked female speaker of all North American debaters, and 41st overall of the tournament鈥檚 742 speakers.

As a team at Worlds, this year held Dec. 27 to Jan. 4 at the Universiti Teknologi MARA in Malaysia, Blackburn and Summers finished in a tie for 30th out of 371 teams, the best 乐播传媒 finish ever.

 

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Garcelon鈥檚 prime-time NCAA debut was a night to remember

All agreed: There鈥檚 been nothing like it in Garcelon Field’s 116-year history.

May 6: the first playoff game on Garcelon, and an NCAA playoff game (in men’s lacrosse) to boot. At night. During Short Term. When it鈥檚 balmy (72 degrees!) and clear.

乐播传媒 rolled out the green carpet that night, and the show didn鈥檛 disappoint.

With the packed Garcelon grandstand rocking and teams trading hard knocks on the field down below, the first-round NCAA men鈥檚 lacrosse playoff game between 乐播传媒 and Keene State wasn鈥檛 decided until late in the second half when 乐播传媒 pulled away for a 16-11 victory.

And here’s what the celebration on Garcelon Field looked like as time ran out:

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Purposeful Work Unplugged sets the upbeat tone for a big 乐播传媒 initiative

JP Maheu, Twitter’s head of global branding and agency strategy, and George Gallate, CEO of the international marketing firm RKG, got one of the biggest laughs of the year as they traded stories and gave advice about careers and work during their Purposeful Work Unplugged session on Jan 29.

The speaker series is one program of Purposeful Work, an institution-wide initiative built on the premise that preparing students for lives of meaningful work is central to the liberal arts mission.

Take a look:

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乐播传媒 engages with a timely MLK Day theme

In a day filled with talks and discussion about the MLK Day theme, “From Selma to Ferguson: 50 Years of Nonviolent Dissent,” one set of panelists answered questions about the Michael Brown case and related issues of race, social justice, and equity.

鈥淓very protest I鈥檝e been to has been led by college students,鈥� said moderator Alex Bolden 鈥�15 of Cleveland. 鈥淒on鈥檛 relegate your power to simply here on campus鈥�. You have more power than you think.鈥�

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$791,480 National Science Foundation grant supports acquisition of confocal microscope

Larissa Williams, an assistant professor of biology, says that in terms of 乐播传媒鈥� teaching capacity, the college’s powerful new confocal microscope is a game-changer. 鈥淚t鈥檚 incredibly important that students have access to this state-of-the-art technology,鈥� she says.

Called a 鈥渃onfocal鈥� microscope because of the optical technology it employs, the new Leica SP8 is a versatile, user-friendly device that gives 乐播传媒 a variety of important new or improved imaging capabilities.

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Mellon grants advance faculty diversity on campus and beyond

Two grants totaling more than $1.4 million will advance faculty diversity, both on 乐播传媒鈥� own campus and as part of a collaborative effort with other institutions.

The two grants are from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

One grant, worth $1 million, will bring promising faculty candidates from underrepresented groups onto the tenure track at 乐播传媒 over the the next five years, as well as build the college鈥檚 long-term capacity for recruiting superior faculty from all walks of life.

An additional grant of $419,360 comes as 乐播传媒 takes on a leadership position in the Creating Connections Consortium, a national partnership and initiative designed to advance faculty diversity.

乐播传媒 is the fourth liberal arts college, and sixth lead institution overall, in the consortium, joining Connecticut, Middlebury and Williams colleges and two research institutions, the University of California at Berkeley and Columbia University.

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Construction on Campus Avenue reaches new heights

After months of sitework and below-ground work, two steel skeletons began to take shape in April as construction of two new 乐播传媒 residence halls moved forward rapidly after a tough winter.

On June 19, the college hosted a topping off party to celebrate and symbolize the end of the steelwork. The ceremony included putting into place a beam with signatures of members of the 乐播传媒 community, a spruce tree, a 乐播传媒 banner, and an American flag.

Here’s the view that students will have, by fall 2016, from the third floor of the new residence hall at 65 Campus Avenue, across from Chase Hall and the Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library.

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乐播传媒 retires Chick Leahey鈥檚 No.聽 11 baseball jersey.

William Leahey 鈥�52, known as “Chick,” wore No. 11 during his 36 years as head baseball coach, during which time his teams won 300 games.

His number was retired during a Homecoming ceremony on Oct. 25.

鈥淗e was nothing less than my father while at 乐播传媒,鈥� said Jim Sylvia 鈥�84. 鈥淥n the field, he taught me the importance of hard work and commitment. He disciplined me when I got out of line 鈥� a lot 鈥� and praised me when I succeeded.鈥�

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‘Interest across majors’ marks 2015 Senior Thesis Exhibition

Artwork by 11 studio art majors in this year’s Senior Thesis Exhibition offered “evidence of studio students鈥� interests across several majors,鈥� said Robert Feintuch, an internationally esteemed painter and a senior lecturer in art and visual culture who works with the students during the winter semester.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 exhibition includes two-dimensional work ranging from small, intimate photographs to larger than life-sized paintings, and three-dimensional work ranging from tea kettles, influenced by rococo ceramics, to pots whose surfaces were inspired by chisel marks on the walls of Ethiopian churches.鈥�