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President: Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD
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MIPS Publication Includes Three SMCM-Industry Projects March 2018 SMCM’s connection to MIPS didn’t stop with Shore Thing Shellfish, however.
Three projects involving St. Mary’s College of Maryland students and faculty were featured in the Maryland Industrial Partnerships recently released 30th anniversary commemorative collection. According to information on its website, MIPS provides funding, matched by participating companies, for university-based research projects that help the companies develop new products. Sabine Dillingham and Adam Malisch, director and research administrator of the College’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, explained that MIPSsponsored collaborations between the College faculty and local start-up companies are a perfect illustration of liberal arts at work. “It is one of many ways the College’s scholar educators prepare our students for the real word. Essentially, our faculty researchers apply their expertise and engage their students in translational work that results in new company products and in excellent experiential learning and skill training for our graduates,” Dillingham said. “Facilitating these opportunities for faculty and students makes our jobs fun and meaningful.” The earliest MIPS project to involve SMCM was a project granted to Shore Thing Shellfish, an alumniowned business based in Tall Timbers, Md., in 2012. Shore Thing Shellfish aimed to develop and commercialize an underwater, in-situ oyster setting method that differed from the traditional land-based method. The company worked with then SMCM Professor of Biology Robert Paul (retired 2017) and MIPS funded two sequential projects in 2012 and 2013 to achieve their goal. This collaborative project illustrated that the in-situ method was “at least as good” as the traditional landbased method for setting oyster spat and required less labor. Paul went on to co-write an academic paper based on this research titled “Bar Tending — a New Approach to Oyster Spat Setting.”
During the summer of 2016, five SMCM professors and seven students from math, chemistry, psychology, physics, and economics teamed with vCalc, LLC on another MIPS-funded project, in this case the goal was to develop and implement an online library of calculators and equations. The company “sought high-value college-level math formulas to include in vCalc.”
A newsletter for the community, faculty, staff and students.
Kurt Heckman, president and managing partner for vCalc, recently reported that several of the calculators created by SMCM students posted at vCalc.com are generating significant regular traffic to the site.
Left to right: Dave Reumont (VCalc), Josh Grossman (assoc. prof. of physics), Rachel Kaper ’17, Tyler Jones ’18, President Jordan, and Kurt Heckman (VCalc).
In the fall of 2016, MIPS awarded a project to Solar Tech, Inc., a solar panel company based in Hollywood, Md. Working with SMCM Assistant Professor of Chemistry Troy Townsend ’07, the goal of the project was to “develop a proof-of-concept process for printing efficient and stable solar modules using a materials printer.” “We are very excited to partner with the College to develop new solar technology that can be applied both for commercial and residential applications,” said Jeff Croisetiere ’04, project manager for Solar Tech, Inc. last year. This project is still in progress but is already providing invaluable experience in innovative material science and entrepreneurship for two SMCM students. Townsend recently presented information and a demonstration related to it at TedxLeonardtown, a local TED talk series. Dillingham and Malisch said the three MIPS-funded projects have provided 14 students with high-quality paid internships and invaluable professional connections.
Want More? News, Student and Faculty accomplishments: www.smcm.edu/news Campus Events Calendar: www.smcm.edu/events/calendar 240.895.2000 | www.smcm.edu
BSU Launches the Elizabeth Barber Walker Lecture Series On Thursday, Feb. 22, St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Black Student Union (BSU) hosted the inaugural Elizabeth Barber Walker Lecture. White House correspondent and CNN political analyst April Ryan delivered the inaugural address. The lecture series honors Walker, who was the first Black student to enter and graduate from SMCM. Shown above: members of the BSU and faculty and staff with Ryan, Walker, and President Tuajuanda Jordan in front center. (Photo by Chip Dizard)
SMCM Gives Warm Welcome to Future Seahawks
IDEs PFP fellows Haley Jackmon ’21 (left) and Aryana Ware ’20 (center) speak with a prospective student during the Seahawk Fair that was part of Admitted Seahawks Day.
On Friday, Feb. 23, 215 admitted students and their families attended the first of two Admitted Seahawk Days. Prospective students were given a friendly Seahawk welcome by the College community with a Seahawk fair, faculty-led break-out sessions , student and parent informational panels and the always wonderful tours of SMCM. Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success.
Solomon stayed busy taking photos with prospective students in the Great Room during Admitted Seahawks Day.
The next Admitted Seahawks Day is Friday, April 6.
Photos from the event are on the College Flickr gallery.
Q&A: Joanne Goldwater
Associate Dean for Retention & Student Success Joanne Goldwater joined the College staff in 1993.
What is a typical day for you at the office? There is no “typical day” for me. That’s the joy of my position. No two days are alike and I love that! I spend the majority of my time meeting with students or going to meetings about student-related stuff. Depending on the day, I may be working in Glendening 230 or in my “second” office in the Campus Center (in the Office of Student Activities/OSA). Most days start and/ or end with spending time working on Beacon (our early alert system). This involves reading the alerts/ updates and sometimes other reports that come in, reaching out to faculty and/or staff members for additional info, notifying the sender of the original notification that I received it and what action is being taken, sometimes asking for a welfare check, and oftentimes, contacting the student to arrange for a meeting, and then updating Beacon. In some cases, I will request a CARE (Campus Assessment Response and Evaluation) Team meeting if the issues transcend academic, social, behavioral, etc. What is the most rewarding aspect of your job? The most rewarding aspect of my job is helping students. I spend most of my days (and as an On Call Professional, some of my nights.... I do some of my best work at 3 a.m.) focusing on helping students. I try to give them learning strategies (study skills) they can use so they can be academically successful; I connect them with people, resources, activities, services, and support systems that will help them be successful in and out of the classroom and persist to graduation. I get great joy seeing each graduating senior walk by me as they head toward the stage. While it is very hard for me to do exit interviews associated with withdrawals and leave of absence, I do want students to be as happy as possible. If SMCM isn’t filling that space for them, I want them to go where they will be happy
Faculty, Staff Discuss Best Practices at First Research Forum
Scout service project. My Senior troop worked with a Brownie troop at the NY School for the Deaf. I loved it! After trying a couple of different majors in college, I settled on deaf education and loved it!
St. Mary’s College of Maryland held its inaugural Research Forum on Jan. 12 in the Blackistone Room in Anne Arundel Hall. The goals of the multi-disciplinary forum were to:
You are a cancer survivor and longtime participant in the College’s Relay for Life team? Can you tell us a bit about what Relay for Life means for you?
• offer both general advice for faculty and staff seeking external funding and specific feedback for those with developed project ideas, • provide a venue for intentional networking with external guests and among existing colleagues, and • celebrate active awards and recent efforts to secure external funding.
When I got my breast cancer diagnosis in 2010 I thought about my mom who had died of lung cancer. With the love and support of my family, colleagues and friends, and with the help of my wonderful oncologist, my surgeon, the radiation team in Charlotte Hall, and the American Cancer Society (ACS), I quickly believed my cancer was treatable and beatable. I trusted the information I got from the ACS. I appreciated the support they provided. I am grateful for the research they funded that helped make it possible for me to become a survivor. I knew that I needed to pay it forward. I needed to educate others about breast cancer, to help others believe that they could beat it, and I wanted to get involved in a bigger way. I participated in my first Relay For Life at SMCM six months before I got my diagnosis. I’ve been involved ever since. I’m the advisor to the Relay for Life club and a team captain here on campus. This is my second year as the event chair for the county Relay For Life. What is one piece of advice someone gave you that has stuck with you? Never sink down to someone else’s level; bring them up to yours. My mother and grandmother imparted that wisdom on me. If you could spend one day in someone else’s shoes on campus, whose shoes would you fill? I would say Derek Young as the Director of Residence Life (my job for the first 23 years I worked here!) Maybe Todd Mattingly, just to see what a day is like in the President’s office or maybe Kyle Wise in Admissions (without all the travel because I would miss my husband and my cat) because I enjoy event planning and recruiting students and their families.
What got you interested in sign language? I first learned sign language in 10th grade as part of a year-long Girl
What’s Happening in Sports Hailley Baughman ’19 and Andrew Scott ’21 both picked up second-team All-Capital Athletic Conference honors at the 2018 CAC Men’s and Women’s Swimming Championships. Baughman picked up a silver medal in the 100 breaststroke on February 24 with a time of 1:06.93. She also added bronze medals in the 200 breaststroke (2:27.06) and as part of the 400 freestyle relay. Scott broke his own school record in both the 500 and 1,650 freestyle events.
Throughout the day, participants had an opportunity to gain expert feedback on grant proposals via individual consultations, to
From left, James Mantell (asst. prof. of psychology), Torry Dennis (asst. prof. of psychology & neuroscience) and Amanda VerMeulen (research and instructional librarian).
network with external professional and to hear from experts both internally and externally on grant writing, and securing external funding in humanities and arts. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs plans to host this research forum in support of faculty and staff scholarship on an annual basis.
MAT Students Out-Perform Most on Standardized Tests In order to become certified, prospective teachers across the country must pass the following tests: Elementary Education: Instructional Practice and Applications, Principle Learning and Teaching K-6, and Principle Learning and Teaching 7-12. St. Mary’s College MAT students average scores on these required tests are at or above the 75th percentile, meaning that they score higher than 75 percent of all test-takers on these required tests.
Way to be awesome, MAT students!
Kudos to... Sue Johnson (prof. of art) has her artwork featured in “Women with Vision: Masterworks from the Permanent Collection” at The Muscarelle Museum of Art located on the campus of the College of William & Mary. The selection presents works by more than 30 women artists including historically important figures such as Marguerite Gérard, Julia Margaret Cameron, Rosa Bonheur, and Mary Cassatt. Betül Başaran (assoc. prof. of religious studies) will present a lecture focusing on women in the sharia court records of Istanbul during the late 18th century at the Library of Congress on March 13. The discussion will allow for an examination of the nature of Ottoman sharia law and women’s roles and rights. She will highlight the general types of legal cases women took to court or for which they were brought before the court. Andrew Cognard-Black (visiting assoc. prof. of sociology) recently co-authored the article “Institutional Variability in Honors Admissions Standards, Program Support Structures, and Student Characteristics, Persistence, and Program Completion” in the most recent volume of the Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council. Patricia J. Smith and April L. Dove were co-authors.
Maija Harkonen (exec. director, CSD) taught a three-week course in November 2017 at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University). Harkonen’s 50 graduate students are studying to be diplomats or to work in international business fields. Her course topic: “U.S. Foreign Policy and Russia: Challenges and Opportunities.” Adriana Brodsky (assoc. prof. of history) was recently awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship to conduct research at Tel Aviv University in Israel during the fall semster. Ximena Maria Postigo Guzman (asst. prof. of Spanish) has organized a panel of scholars to present “Indigenous practices as strategies of empowerment and self-determination in the Andean Bolivia” at the upcoming International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association to be held in Barcelona, Spain. Angie Draheim (academic program support coordinator & web specialist for psychology) received the President’s Lucille Cilfton Award on March 1. The award recognizes her contributions to creating a campus climate of service, understanding and compassion.