Higher Learning

Annie Donahue, assistant professor and library director at UNH Manchester, was elected President of the New Hampshire Library Association (NHLA) in November 2005. As president of the NHLA, Donahue will be the chief executive officer of the association. The mission of the NHLA is to promote good library service from all types of libraries to all people of the state and to cooperate with other groups of similar interest. She has taught research and reference skills to students in academic libraries for nine years. Her research interests include the collaboration between teaching and library faculty, assessing student learning, and integrating information literacy within the curriculum. Donahue received a bachelor's in humanities from UNH (1994), a M.L.S. from Southern Connecticut State College (1996), and an A.L.M. with a concentration in celtic studies from Harvard University (2005). (12-02-05)

Two UNH Cooperative Extension staff recently received awards at the 2005 National Extension Association of Family & Consumer Sciences annual session in Philadelphia. Carroll County Extension Educator Ann Hamilton received the Continued Excellence Award, which recognized Hamilton's strong educational leadership in family financial management and food safety. Christine Parshall, Extension Program associate, Food and Nutrition in Cheshire County, was a Para-Professional Award, Eastern Region finalist. She was recognized for teaching nutrition lessons in individual homes, small community groups and schools. (10-31-05)

A number of staff recently were awarded VPFA Wildcat Awards, which recognize outstanding service in their departments. The award winners were: Individual Award, Brenda Whitmore, project manager, Facilities Design and Construction; and Team Award,        Joe Poulin, Miao He, Nicole Cole and Marc Behan, all Information Technologists with CIS. In addition the staff of Candace Corvey, vice president for finance and administration, who makes the awards, conspired to present her with a surprise Wildcat Award, which touched her deeply. Corvey will retire from UNH at the end of 2005. (10-19-05)

Godfather’s Pizza has recognized UNH Dining for having one of the largest increases in sales revenues among their franchises. Godfather’s, located at the MUB Food Court, Wildcatessan at Stillings Hall and the Philbrook Café at Philbrook, saw an overall 40 percent increase in revenue in a one year period from the previous school year. A plaque and cash award will be presented to UNH Dining for generating outstanding sales. (09-20-05)

UNH Cooperative Extension floriculture specialist Paul Fisher, agricultural program coordinator Dorothy Perkins, and county educators Goeffrey Njue and Tom Buob received national recognition awards last month.

Lighting Up Profits, a book Fisher co-wrote and edited with Erik Runkle, Extension specialist from Michigan State, received a 2005 Blue Ribbon Award for an Education Aid http://www.asabe.org/awards/educomp/index.html from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers. The book, targeted at commercial growers, technical representatives, and university students, covers topics such as the basic biology of how light affects growth, the latest lighting research, and technical and financial information to help guide investment decisions in lighting equipment.

Perkins was honored as one of three national finalists in the 4-H and Youth Recognition category at the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) annual conference in Buffalo July 17-22 for her work on the children’s gardening curriculum Growing a Green Generation http://horticulture.unh.edu/ggg.html. Perkins took the original curriculum developed by horticulture students, revised it, added to it, and tested it on both teachers and children at the UNH Child Study and Development Center (CSDC). The final curriculum represents collaboration among the UNH plant biology department, the CSDC, and UNH Cooperative Extension.

Njue, the Strafford County agricultural resources educator won communication awards for a fact sheet on using the Renaissance Red Poinsettia cut flower, and for a feature article on a Poinsettia variety trial, published in The Plantsman. Buob, Grafton County agricultural resources educator, received a NACAA Distinguished Service Award for 26 years of exemplary Extension programming. (08-03-05)