Newsmakers

Eight New Members Appointed to Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees welcomed eight new members during its October meeting: Susan J. Gearey ’79; Theresa R. Harrison; Thomas A. Kleinhanzl; Matthew C. McGreevy; Philip S. Renaud II, M.S.’83; Thomas H. Truitt, MBA’02; Aldan T. Weinberg ’75; and Kathleen Weslock ’77.

Gearey worked at Tiffany and Co. from 1998 until 2009, finishing as regional vice president of the Northwest and Pacific regions. She has been an active volunteer in San Francisco as a leader in several community organizations and events.

Harrison is an entrepreneur, speaker, mentor to women, author and community servant. She is the founder/president of George Street Services, Inc., a technology, cybersecurity and workflow automation and management services company headquartered in Maryland.

Kleinhanzl is president and CEO of Frederick Regional Health System. He has more than 29 years of hospital administration experience and is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. He has volunteered in leadership positions with several Frederick nonprofits.

McGreevy is a financial adviser and vice president at Morgan Stanley. He has served on Hood’s Board of Associates since 2014 and is an adjunct instructor in The George B. Delaplaine Jr. School of Business. He also volunteers his time to several Frederick organizations.

Renaud is a managing director at The Risk Institute at The Ohio State University and has more than 25 years of experience in risk management departments for domestic and international companies. Renaud is a regular speaker at national, regional and local risk management forums.

Truitt has 25 years of progressive leadership responsibility and is now CEO of MidAtlantic Farm Credit, a Frederick loan agency that offers agricultural financing for agribusiness, home, land and farm loans in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Weinberg was the first male to enroll in classes at Hood. He is a professor emeritus of journalism at the College, where he led the English department and founded Blazer Radio. In his newspaper career, he won several journalism awards from his time at the Frederick News-Post, the Carroll County Times and the Hagerstown Herald-Mail.

Weslock is executive vice president of Frontier Communications, where she helped the company double in size, growing from a $5 to a $10 billion corporation. She often speaks on career advancement and has been awarded some of the top recognitions in the industry. She is an expert in human resources, and she earned a Juris Doctor degree from Pace University.

New Hires Fill Positions Across Several Offices

Seven new members have joined the campus professional staff across six offices: Ashley Anderson, Nikki Swartzlander Bamonti ’00, Ted O, Jennifer Schum, Kellye Greenwald ’86, Malinda “Lindy” Small ’81 and Brooke Winn, MBA’18.

Anderson, registrar, has focused her career on providing exceptional service to enhance the student experience. She brings a wealth of knowledge in identifying how departments can effectively collaborate to streamline processes and data collection.

Bamonti, director of undergraduate admission, oversees first-year and transfer admission and operations, and works in collaboration with departments across campus to invigorate recruitment efforts.

O, Ph.D., director of international student services and principal designated school official, provides valuable support to all of Hood’s undergraduate and graduate international students.

Schum, Ph.D., dean of academic services and director of the Center for Academic Achievement and Retention (CAAR), oversees Hood’s entire academic services team, leading the academic advising program and collaborating with faculty advisers, students and staff members.

Greenwald, Small and Winn are filling positions in the Office of Institutional Advancement.

Greenwald, director of alumni and constituent engagement, has more than 20 years in leadership and managerial career roles. Coming from corporate America, she brings fresh ideas and strategies to strengthen ties with Hood’s alumni and friends.

Small, executive director of individual giving, has extensive experience providing fundraising consultation to the health care and higher education sectors. She has served on Hood’s Board of Associates and is Board of Trustees Emerita.

Winn, director of annual giving, has spent the past three years working within the advancement division. Prior to this role, she served as communications manager, associate director of annual giving, and, most recently, the interim director of annual giving.

Frederick Food Security Network Launches to Fight Food Insecurity

The Center for Coastal and Watershed Studies has launched the Frederick Food Security Network (FFSN) to combat food insecurity in Frederick County. This initiative aims to provide healthy produce to those who live in food deserts—areas where a high percentage of people fall below the federal poverty line and where there isn’t an easily accessible grocery store—which affects an estimated 500-plus families in Frederick City.

The FFSN has partnered with Frederick Memorial Hospital, the Islamic Society of Frederick, the Boys and Girls Club of Frederick County, and the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs to build garden beds that grow fresh produce for those affected by food insecurity.

In 2018, this network engaged 200 community volunteers in more than 1,300 volunteer hours to grow more than 1,500 pounds of produce that has reached approximately 400 Frederick families.

“We are very proud of the work our network members and volunteers have put into this effort over the last year and a half,” said Connie Ray, CCMA AmeriCorps VISTA member, who is working for Hood as the FFSN project lead. “Still, our work is only just beginning. We continue to plan for ways to grow the program, improve its outcomes and expand its impact.”

The Chesapeake Bay Trust honored the project with the Melanie Teems Award for environmental engagement, which recognizes a project or program that engages residents in efforts to improve the Chesapeake region’s natural resources, serves as a model for other organizations, and motivates and inspires others by promoting environmental engagement throughout the community.

The rapid growth and complexity of the FFSN will soon require a full-time program manager to coordinate all daily activities and improve the long-term sustainability of the program. The Helen J. Serini Foundation has granted Hood College $10,000 to help fund this position. The Chesapeake Bay Trust has also provided funding for this position as part of a larger $65,136 Green Street, Green Jobs, Green Towns (G3) grant.

Grants from the Rotary Club of Carroll Creek, Aramark Dining Services, and jointly the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the EPA Region III have also contributed to the construction and management of the gardens.

Kelly Schulz ’06 Appointed Secretary of Maryland Department of Commerce

Governor Larry Hogan appointed alumna Kelly Schulz as secretary of the Maryland Department of Commerce where she will help grow the private sector and continue to foster an environment where businesses thrive and create more jobs. She previously served as secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation where she was responsible for managing an agency with nearly 2,000 employees and an operating budget of more than $375 million. She has received wide praise for initiatives to grow the state’s workforce and support Maryland’s small businesses. Schulz graduated from Hood with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2006.

Students Present Research at Humanities Conference

The second annual “Discovering the Humanities” conference in September provided students the opportunity to experience an academic conference, practice presenting their research and get to know others with similar interests. Nine students from Hood College presented, along with students from Shepherd University, St. John’s College, West Virginia University, and the University of Maryland College Park, on topics including art and archaeology, English, global languages and cultures, history, music, philosophy and religion.

Jessica Berman, Ph.D., professor of English and director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities at UMBC, delivered the keynote address, titled “Humanities Research as Public Practice: Asking, Listening, and Learning Across Disciplines.”

New Residence Hall Coming to Campus

Computer rendering of the new residence hall.

In an effort to accommodate the anticipated growth of the residential student population, construction on a new, 200-bed residence hall will begin in spring 2019 with the razing of the Marx Center. With feedback from students, administrators and the director of residence life, the new living space will include two-, three- and four-bed suites and semi-suites. The main floor will feature a common-area lounge, kitchen, and multi-purpose and seminar rooms. Each floor will include group study rooms and reading nooks. The new hall will also be home to the Honors Program.

The location of the new hall, behind Memorial Hall and adjacent to Coffman Chapel, will create a second residential quad for student life. The new building will feature a covered porch and patio to add to social opportunities for students. It will open in fall 2020.

EYP Architecture and Engineering, which has a history of creating modern academic and residence halls on college campuses, designed the building. For computer renderings of the new hall and a video fly-through, visit hood.edu/newresidence-hall.

Partnership Bolsters Health Care Services for Students

Through a partnership with Frederick Regional Health System (FRHS), campus health services have moved to Frederick Memorial Hospital’s Toll House facility on 7th Street, across the street from campus. Monocacy Health Partners will provide expanded hours and services there, including primary care, urgent care, sports physicals, women’s health, men’s health, health and wellness, and mental health.

The partnership will also expand upon the existing relationship with FRHS as a practicum site for students pursuing a master’s degree in clinical counseling, and it will facilitate access to urgent care and mental health services for College employees—at a minimal fee generally covered by insurance—and area residents.

This partnership is the result of a year-long study exploring alternative models of delivery for health and counseling services that included national benchmarking and consultation with the American College Health Association, as well as Hood faculty who oversee the counseling program.