Maria Velarde Grau Bove Ed. D. has returned to College of St. Joseph after many years to lead its Education Division as Chairperson. Her appointment will begin July 1, 2009. Bove has had extensive international and national experience in education and is known for her expertise in inclusive education and educational leadership.

DuBois & King, Inc., announces that John D. Merrifield, P.E., and Alex M. McGregor, E.I., have joined the firm’s Civil Works Division as Project Engineers in the Transportation Department. Merrifield has returned to Vermont from California where he worked for five years as a civil engineer for the Los Angeles Public Works Department. McGregor has returned to Vermont from South Carolina where he worked as a civil engineer for the past three years. He is living in his hometown, St. Johnsbury. Both engineers work in the firm’s Randolph headquarters.

Vermont Foodbank Board of Trustees is proud to announce the hiring of John Sayles as chief executive officer. Sayles will oversee the state’s largest hunger-relief organization, which annually serves more than 66,000 Vermonters and distributes more than 6.5 million pounds of foo Prior to joining the Vermont Foodbank, Sayles served as the deputy secretary of the Agency of Natural Resources.

Signaltree Marketing & Advertising Inc., announces the appointment of Jenny Duchesneau and Thomas Bergeron to Art Director positions at the Keene marketing and advertising firm.

Award-winning author Andre Dubus III will be awarded an Honorary Degree from Southern Vermont College and will address the graduating class on Sunday, May 17, for the school’s 82nd commencement. Dubus is the author of “House of Sand and Fog” (a Finalist for the National Book Award and an Oprah’s Book Club selection which was made into a major motion picture), “Bluesman” and “The Cage Keeper and Other Stories.” His most recent and widely acclaimed novel, “The Garden of Last Days,” dramatically weaves a tale about the intertwining lives of several characters leading up to 9/11.