MOMENT OF SILENCE HELD AT LYNDON STATE

9/11 Was National Day of Service and Remembrance

Lyndon Ctr., VT.: Lyndon State College students, faculty, staff, administration and community guests convened in the Vail student center for a moment of silence and reflection on the anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Since 2009, September 11th has been designated a National Day of Service and Remembrance.

The day is now set aside as an annual opportunity for Americans to unite in charitable service as a tribute to the 9/11 victims, survivors, and those who responded in service to the attacks. There will be service and remembrance activities in all 50 states and numerous opportunities for volunteers to get involved in their community. This anniversary is anticipated to be one of the largest days of charitable services in U.S. history.

The services were opened with a welcome by LSC President Joseph Bertolino, who was living in New York City on 9/11. He exhorted the crowd to “perform random acts of kindness” and exhibit an “ethic of care.”

Bertolino was followed by guest speaker, James Nagle, president of the LSC Veterans Club. Nagle asked the assembled group to “honor the men and women who perished on that fateful day.” He opined that every person has the “choice to serve good or evil” and that “charity, understanding, and education are weapons for good.” Nagle concluded by noting “our community benefits by rejoicing in our collective humanity.”

Sean Siciliano, Student Government Association president led the moment of silence as Professor Beth Norris rang a bell eleven times. Professor Britt Moore closed the ceremony by leading the crowd in singing the national anthem.

VERMONT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA COMING TO LSC

Made in Vermont Music Festival Tour

Lyndon Ctr., VT.: The Vermont Symphony Orchestra will be in concert Thursday, September 27 at the Lyndon State College Alexander Twilight Theatre. The 7:30 p.m. show is part of the annual Made in Vermont Music Festival statewide tour. Anthony Princiotti will conduct.

This year’s performance will feature Symphony No. 25 in G Major by Joseph Haydn’s younger brother Michael, Sinfonia for String Orchestra by Shostakovich, and Symphony No. 5 in Bb Major by Schubert. University of Vermont composer David Feurzeig will present the world premiere of his commissioned piece, “High Water”.

Tickets are available through the Flynn Box Office online or by calling (802) 86-FLYNN and from these local outlets: Green Mountain Books in Lyndonville; and Catamount Arts Regional Box Office in person, online, or by calling (802) 748-2600. Ticket prices are: Adults $26; Seniors $22; Under 18 $13; Vermont State College Faculty/Staff $13; Vermont State College Students $6.

The Made in Vermont Music Festival tour is supported in part by grants from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support has been provided by the Lintilhac Foundation and Vermont Life Magazine.

The Vermont Symphony Orchestra is the nation’s oldest state-supported orchestra and one of the finest of its size. It gives around 40 annual performances statewide. The VSO serves year round with outreach programs, children’s concerts, and composer residencies, as well as choral and chamber music concerts.

WELCOME TO LYNDON’S 2012-13 ACADEMIC YEAR! I would like to welcome back our returning students and say hello to a wonderful group of new students.  As a newcomer myself, I had the pleasure of participating alongside incoming students at orientation earlier this month, and I was continually reminded of what attracted me to Lyndon in the first place—this great community.  Relationships matter here, an ethic of care matters here, and people matter here.  I look forward to growing these relationships.

As we embark on Lyndon’s second century, we are poised to become the best college in the Vermont State College system and a premiere college in New England.  Our spectacular location, the world-class outdoor recreation at our doorstep, some of the best academic and professional programs in the nation, and an amazing faculty and staff are just some of the College’s many strengths.  We will all work together to make your experience an excellent one.  Students come first at Lyndon, and it is our mission to prepare each and every student for personal and professional success.

This is an exciting time for Lyndon State College, and I am honored to begin the academic year in my new role as the College’s 15th President.  I hope you’ll share in this excitement as we move forward together, and join me in instilling a sense of pride in LSC as we celebrate the green and gold!

Best wishes to all for a terrific fall semester.

Warm regards,

Joe Bertolino

President

LARGEST ALPHA LAMBDA DELTA GROUP. Lyndon State College inducted 44 freshmen into Alpha Lambda Delta before a packed house on April 22nd. ALD is a national honor society for students who have maintained an average GPA of 3.5 or higher and are in the top 20% of their class during their first year of higher education. The Alpha Lambda Delta has members in more than 250 institutions and awards 35 yearly scholarships of $1000-$6000.

LSC President Steve Gold exclaimed, “These 44 students make up the largest ALD inductee-class in the 100-year history of LSC. We had a full house; no extra seats. Such an amazing turnout!”

They are: Anthony Andrews, Nicholas Aresco, Cody W. Brackett, Chalaun Blanchard, Matthew Bryan, Josh Cingranelli, Kaytlin J Conley, Geena Contrada, Paul Donais, Ashleigh Downing, Katheryn Ebner, Jena M Finnegan, Katrina Floranza, Emily Foehring, Kayla Franklin, Emily C Gray, Matthew Green, Olivia Hamel, Nathan Harvey, Megan Hassan, Brandon Heanssler, Bonnie Hiliadis, Emma Kaplan, Milan Krainchich, Jeremy MacDonough, Karisa Macomber, Alexandra Main, Christopher McCray, Julia McNeil, Emelia Newkirk, Laura Noddin, Kelly O’Brien, Stella O’Donnell-Leach, James Otto, Shawn Redmond, Ilayna Roy, Nathan Scoggins, Josh Searles, Emily Slayton, Chelsea Smith, Justin Tomaselli, Dylan Toothaker, Monica Vigneault, and William Wilson.

LSC’S TOUGH MUDDERS!  The name says it all. Start with a British Special Forces-designed course with 29 obstacles. Throw in a 12 mile vertical run over Mt. Snow’s rough terrain. The result is an annual international event called the Tough Mudder. On May 6th, a 15-member team from Lyndon State will measure their mettle in the Mudder.

The Tough Mudder is not a race but a challenge. It doesn’t reward those who finish first, but praises those who stick together and finish as a team. It tests an individual’s stamina and mental grit while prizing camaraderie. The end result is an enormous sense of accomplishment.

“The event last year was probably the stupidest thing that I have ever done, but I would have signed up again at the finish line if I could have,” Team LSC Captain Jonathan Dame explained.

“I grew interested and entered last year because of the uncontrollable desire to push myself to both physical and emotional limits. [Add in] my pure brute force and ignorance. I’m not a tri-athlete. Tough Mudder is my sport.”

The obstacles range from the ridiculous to the frightening. They include a series of 12-foot walls, pitch-black body-squeezing mud-filled tunnels, monkey bars, dunks in ice-water, huge “slip-n-slides”, and sprints through 10,000 volts of electricity and fire. Dame muses, “Do we strength train, endurance train, interval train, or just pray for mercy?”

The team consists of students, faculty, and staff from a variety of departments. Team LSC includes Jason Clark, Aaron Cornell, Jonathan Dame, Stuart Farina, Joe Kill, Greg Ledoux, CJ Mauro, Darcie Miles, Leah Morgan, Allison Poulin, Takuya Shimamura, Anthony Sgherza, Meagan Swahn, Sara Swahn and Jaclyn Toney.

In the photo: Exercise Science student Mathew Wells sprints through a forest of wires that deliver 10,000 volts of electricity during the 2011 Tough Mudder competition at Mt. Snow.

JOSEPH BERTOLINO TO BE 15TH PRESIDENT of Lyndon State College. Vermont State Colleges Board Chairman Gary Moore made the announcement February 20.

Moore stated, “I am pleased that Joe Bertolino will be the next president of Lyndon State College. He is a very enthusiastic individual who impressed the faculty, staff, and students during his two-day campus visit. I am sure his enthusiasm will prove to be contagious and look forward to great things happening at LSC during his tenure.”

A 13-member Search Committee made up of LSC faculty, staff, students, VSC Trustees and members of the Lyndon community at-large began a national search in October 2011. Four semi-finalists visited the campus in late January for two days of meetings and interviews. The search committee recommended the two finalists who returned to LSC on February 15 for interviews with the VSC Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees selected Bertolino, who formally accepted the appointment on February 17. The president is responsible for executive leadership and the operation and management of the College within the policies of the Vermont State Colleges.

Bertolino, 48, comes to LSC after eight years at Queens College, part of the City University of New York. As vice president for enrollment management and student affairs, he was primarily responsible for supervising 22 departments including Admissions, Career Services and International Student Services. Under Bertolino’s leadership, a new Veteran’s Services Office and a Health and Wellness Center were created. He was also the executive assistant to the president, and an associate professor and chairman of the Department of Student Personnel.

In 2003, he earned his Doctorate in Higher Education Administration and Organizational Leadership from Columbia University. Bertolino said in a letter to the search committee that working with first-generation college students from modest income and immigrant families in New York City has been among his professional focuses. He goes on to mention a “particular passion” of his, “the pedagogy of service learning,” about which he wrote his dissertation.

Bertolino says, “I am deeply honored and humbled to have been invited to serve as Lyndon’s 15th president. I truly felt welcomed, comfortable and at home while visiting the College, and was struck by the authenticity, genuineness and sense of community the people at Lyndon possess. Time and time again, I was reminded that relationships and students matter here. As one student told me, ‘I love Lyndon because people here care about me.’ This is a message I will be proud to deliver as president.”

“It is Lyndon’s mission to serve first-in-family and modest income students that I find particularly appealing. This is an institution with a wonderfully dedicated faculty and staff, and with premier academic programs. I am excited about the possibilities of what Lyndon can and will be–innovative, dynamic, entrepreneurial–an institution serving students, the community, the Northeast Kingdom, Vermont, and the nation. As president, I will be committed to ensuring that LSC is no longer New England’s best kept secret, but instead a nationally recognized and respected college with strong partnerships and institutional pride.”

Bertolino lives with his partner of eighteen years, Bil Leipold, and their two dogs. His greatest joy is his eight godchildren.

Bertolino steps in at an exciting time in LSC’s history. The College recently capped off its centennial celebrations with the successful completion of an ambitious $10 million fund-raising campaign; the Athletic Department just finished its third year as a full member of the NCAA; and the College is enjoying near-record enrollment—due in part to the growingpopularity of programs in Atmospheric Sciences, Criminal Justice, Electronic Journalism Arts, Exercise Science, Mountain Recreation Management, Music and Business Industry, and Visual Arts.

“The goal of any presidential search is to find the right leader for the institution’s time and circumstance” noted Vermont State Colleges Chancellor Tim Donovan. “The Board of Trustees and I believe that Dr. Bertolino is just that leader. I’m confident that Lyndon State College is poised for great things and that thecollege will embrace the leadership Joe will bring.”

Lyndon State College enrolls more than 1400 students and employs 270 full- and part-time faculty and staff. Bertolino takes the helm from Steve Gold who served as Lyndon’s interim president since Dr. Carol A. Moore’s retirement in June, 2011.

RICK COCHRAN, LYNDON ’06, U.S. SMALL BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR.

Congratulations go out to Rick Cochran, founder and CEO of Mobile Medical International Corporation (MMIC) in St. Johnsbury, who was named the U.S. Small Business Person of the Year by the Small Business Association in ceremonies held late May in Washington, D.C. MMIC manufactures self-contained, mobile surgical and health care facilities that can be deployed quickly anywhere emergency medical care is needed.

Rick started the company in the basement of his Walden, Vt., home in 1996. Today he employs 54 people in St. Johnsbury… and has a global reach. Way to go Rick!