The Upperclass Dean's office announced on Tuesday that Kent Yrchik-Shoemaker will be serving as class dean for the Class of 2010. Yrchik-Shoemaker, who holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in counseling psychology, previously worked for Brown University, the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the University of Rhode Island. At Brown, Yrchik-Shoemaker held the position of assistant dean in the Student Life Office, where he was responsible for counseling students with psychological problems. Mary Liscinsky, the acting associate dean of the College, pointed to his experience with youth and counseling. "I feel really lucky that we're getting him here," she said. Yrchik-Shoemaker plans to take up his new position in late July.
James Sheridan was canoeing in the Connecticut River Tuesday when high winds and chop capsized his boat, the Valley News reported on Wednesday. Sheridan, an 84-year-old resident of Kendal at Hanover, a local retirement community, abandoned his overturned canoe and swam to shore before heading back home to shower and change clothes. Meanwhile, local police responded to a report of an abandoned canoe floating down the Connecticut with a search and rescue team and began combing the river for a lost or drowning swimmer. Police called off their search when they contacted Sheridan's wife, who informed them that he had survived his swim in the 51-degree water and had returned to the river to search for his vessel. Man and boat were reunited at the Ledyard Canoe Club on Wednesday.
Frederic Upton '39 will receive the Frank Rowe Kenison Award from the New Hampshire Bar Foundation Thursday. According to the New Hampshire Bar Foundation's website, the award will recognize Upton for his "substantial contributions to the betterment of New Hampshire citizens through the administration of justice, the legal profession, or the advancement of legal thought." Upton worked to protect Franconia Notch, a New Hampshire state park, by lobbying to limit Interstate 93 to two lanes as it passes through the area. He also served for 20 years on New Hampshire's Judicial Conduct Committee, which looks into possible ethical violations by judges.
