SoundBites newsletter

W • THE P VIE

ORT • U.S. N EP

R

W • THE P VIE

LIBERAL ARTS COLLEGES

WORL D

NCETON RE RI

GER’S • K IN

2017

S& EW

’S • KIPL ER

S potlig ht :

2015

NCETON RE RI COLLEGES THAT

PAY YOU BACK 2015

NCETON RE RI

2016

GREEN COLLEGES

BEST COLLEGES

W • THE P VIE

BEST VALUES

353

S & WORLD EW

T POR U.S. N RE

100

IPL • K ING

TOP

NCETON RE RI

W • THE P VIE

INGER’ S IPL

President: Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD

Department of TFMS

December 2016

Behind the Scenes: A Theater Season is a Thousand Moving Parts

By Sage Burch, marketing & communications intern Over 100 students, from performers to stage crews, are involved in this year’s main stage productions, including the first show of the year, “The Marriage of Figaro.” Mark Rhoda (visiting assoc. prof. of theater, film, and media studies) is directing the play, which will perform December 7-11.

Rhoda has been working continually on “Figaro” since April. Music effects, scene and costume design, blocking, music and sound effects, dances – all of these elements are pieces of the whole. Blocking the play’s five acts was what Rhoda spent the summer doing, before students returned, auditions were held, and casting was complete. Once in rehearsal, blocking inevitably shifts and changes, but the upfront work is critical. “I get the characters’ movement patterns down on paper – where the characters will move in space in relation to each other, to furnishings, to other set pieces, to the audience,” says Rhoda. “These are elements that come to life as the actors rehearse.”

The TFMS Department runs two seasons: main stage performances and the annual film series. Faculty will produce two other plays this academic year: “On Contentious Grounds,” a devised movementtheater piece directed by Daniel Bear Davis (asst. prof. of theater and dance/movement) in March; and “Eurydice,” directed by Amy Steiger (asst. prof. of theater) in April. The department also hosted the San Francisco Mime Troupe in late October to perform the musical-drama, “Freedomland.”

Rhoda congratulates those working to make the theater productions successful: “Our main stage seasons would not be possible without the incredible talents of our students, whether they’re TFMS majors/ minors or from other programs, like biology or history or political science or art, etc.”

As for the annual film series, the programming of the event (contracts, travel arrangements, hospitality, and publicity) is largely Rhoda’s responsibility. “It’s an incredibly involved and timeconsuming process,” he admits. Three films were shown during this year’s film series, which concluded in October: “Spirits of Rebellion,” directed by Zeinabu irene Davis; “Killer of Sheep,” directed by Charles Burnett; and “Bush Mama,” directed by Haile Gerima. All were by filmmakers associated with the Los Angeles School of Black Filmmakers, popularly known as the L.A. Rebellion. These filmmakers “sought to create a new cinematic language that spoke to and for urban working-class Blacks through works of social engagement and critique,” says Rhoda. Their goal was to represent what was absent from Hollywood at that time, images of Black life from an “insider,” or Black, perspective.

Tickets for “The Marriage of Figaro” are available at boxoffice@ smcm.edu or by calling 240-895-4243.

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

A newsletter for the community, faculty, staff and students.

Philadelphia Reception On Tuesday, Nov. 15, alumni joined President Tuajuanda C. Jordan and former president Ted Lewis for a reception at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. Alumni gathered at the gallery to celebrate the College. Shown here are Carolyn Curry (vice president for institutional advancement), Jose Sabalbaro ’06 and Bill Mills ’89.

Prospective students and their families were invited to learn more about St. Mary’s College of Maryland, specifically the College’s unique status as a public liberal arts honors college.

Giving Tuesday: A Stunning Success!

Giving Tuesday, the social media day of philanthropy, took place on Tuesday, Nov. 29, over a 24hour period and it was a recordsetting day for St. Mary’s College of Maryland. While totals are still being calculated, at last count 649 donations catapulted the total amount raised to $152,231, more than $86,000 over last year’s total. The drive was focused on positioning students for success, scholarships, academic enrichment, and the St. Mary’s Fund. The most generous gift came from St. Mary’s College Associate Dean of Academic Services Donald Stabile who pledged a $66,000 dollar-fordollar match.

President Jordan says: “This was a tremendous example of our community - students, alumni, friends, board members, staff, and faculty - coming together to support the students and to provide opportunities that enhance their experiences both within and beyond the classroom.

It was a privilege to witness and experience Seahawk Pride done the St. Mary’s way.”

Sophia Macek ’19 with President Jordan and Joey Haavik ’17 at Giving Tuesday headquarters (above).

Below, Don Stabile with his matching gift, presented to Kelley Hernandez, Jackie Wright, and Karen Raley.

Amy Henderson has been a member of the faculty since 2011.

Take One! Improv competes in Regional CIT College Improv Tournament

You are an economist who is involved in the environmental studies program. Why is it important for our community to be aware of environmental and natural resource economics?

For the first time ever, St. Mary’s Improv club, Take One! Improv, competed in the CIT College Improv Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 12. Hosted at the Single Carrot Theater in Baltimore, St. Mary’s improv team faced off against five other competing improv troupes. Though they did not win, the team hopes to collaborate with the coordinators of the event, Baltimore Improv Group, next semester and have an open workshop and show for the St. Mary’s community.

Spot l i ght :

Amy Henderson, asst. prof. of economics

There are many misconceptions about the discipline of economics.

As a discipline our overarching goal is maximizing the social welfare.

Because – at any given moment in time – we have limited resources, it is essential that we use our resources wisely in order to provide the best outcome possible for society. If we don’t assess all of the benefits and costs associated with a given action – or lack of action – we generally won’t make the best choices.

Undoubtedly some benefits associated with environmental amenities are harder to value – or price – than others. But it is important to do so to the best of our ability – and to continue to develop and refine the tools we use in this arena, because when we don’t assign a dollar value, the default winds up being zero. In other words, when there is no dollar value associated with the benefits of environmental policy, all that is seen are the costs, which are generally far more straight-forward to estimate, and policies that would actually make society better off are dismissed out-of-hand as too costly.

There is a saying “you don’t protect what you don’t value” and it is easy to see the vulnerability of in-situ natural resources when the value of the resource in-place has not been carefully assessed, and communicated to the broader community. For example, the oyster sanctuary in the St. Mary’s River is under threat of being re-opened for short-term gain.

You are a St. Mary’s College alumna who majored in political science.

What fork in the road led you to a PhD in economics?

As a political science major I was required to complete economics coursework through the intermediate sequence. Andy Kozak was such a compelling professor that I wanted to continue taking courses with him. He conveyed the power and beauty of economics in the classroom, and cared deeply about all his students. Eventually I had taken so many Kozak courses that it just made sense to complete the economics major. Andy then mentored my senior honors project, and by the time the paper was completed he had talked me into pursuing my Ph.D. in economics.

What’s Happening in Sports The men’s basketball team fought bravely in an invitational against University of Maryland on Nov. 17. Though the Seahawks were defeated, they were able to score 45 points against the Division I Terps.

You’ve assigned your economic students projects in which they work with local businesses and nonprofits to tackle a business problem. What curricular benefits are you counting on for your students and what benefits for the organization they’re partnered with?

Ultimately our goal is to transition students from learning economics to doing economics.

There is simply no substitute for rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands dirty with real data and consequential statistical analyses. What I have seen in these classes is consistent with what the literature reports: experiential and community-based learning develop intrinsic motivation and deep skill development – in other words, skill development that sticks. Students in the recent Experiential Statistics course all significantly increased their statistical competencies.

Additionally, they developed project management skills that could not be fostered in a typical classroom course. Generating these benefits requires that the project creates value for the partner organization.

The non-profits were treated as clients. They defined the research project, and received free statistical consulting services tailored to meet their own internal needs. Each of the partner organizations has expressed a desire to work with student consulting teams in the future.

Outside of economics, what are some things you enjoy doing?

I love to hike. If you haven’t hiked Old Rag yet I highly recommend it. I mentor a local 4-H Robotics club and really enjoy watching the kids create and collaboratively problem solve. For pure joy, you can’t beat dancing at a Dead show.

Keely Houk ’17, president of Take One! says: “The event was both nerve-wracking and rewarding. The important thing is that we got out and performed. We’ve never done this before, and I think the competition went well for us just going in and performing against seasoned competitive teams. I am so proud of all my members who competed, and to the Take One! club who is nothing but supportive.

The other teams better watch out next year—now we know what to expect, I think we will be some serious competition.”

Photo: “Are you sure you checked under the stool?” Asher Jones ’18 and Robert Dorsett ’20 perform part of a skit with Anna Nelson ’18.

Ethics Bowl Team Competes at Clemson Five St. Mary’s College students, Lauren Therriault ’17, Ivan Messi ’17, Alexis Underwood ’18, Esteban Calbellero ’18, and Maddie Roth ’17, competed on Nov. 19 at the Mid-Atlantic Ethics Bowl Regionals at Clemson University. They ended up placing seventh out of eighteen teams. They were mentored by Michael Taber (assoc. prof. of philosophy).

Kudos to...

Adriana M. Brodsky (assoc. prof of history and history department chair) has had her book published, titled “Sephardi, Jewish, Argentine: Community and National Identity, 1880-1960” (Indiana Univ. Press, 2016). In her book, Brodsky follows the history of Sephardim as they arrived in Argentina, created immigrant organizations, founded synagogues and cemeteries, and built strong ties with coreligionists around the country.

Louis Hicks (prof. of sociology) was co-editor on the recently released book, ”The Civilian Lives of U.S. Veterans: Issues and Identities” with a forward by Robert A. McDonald, secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Through two comprehensive volumes, essays shed light on more than 30 topics involving or affecting former servicemen and servicewomen, offering a blueprint for the formal study of U.S. veterans in the future.

Liza Gijanto (asst. prof. of anthropology) had her book published, titled “The Life of Trade Events and Happenings in the Niumi’s Atlantic Center” (Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2016). “The Life of Trade” utilizes archaeological and historical sources to address the dynamic nature of the Atlantic trade on the Gambia River.

Karen Leona Anderson (assoc. prof. of English) had a review of her second book of poems, “Receipt” (Milkweed Editions, 2016) on Terrain.org: A Journal of the Built + Natural Environment.

The St. Mary’s Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) raised 279 pounds of food and donated it to the food pantry at St. Cecilia’s Church on Monday, Nov. 28.

The drive is an annual one done simultaneously with other student athletes in the Capital Athletic Conference.