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Congratulations to the Class of 2017!

Rain did not appear to dampen the spirits of the more than 400 students or their many guests at the 2017 commencement ceremony held May 13, on the campus’ Townhouse Green. St. Mary’s College of Maryland graduated 414 students with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees this year.

The rain wasn’t the only bit of water discussed at Saturday’s ceremony.

Valedictorian Adeline Schlussel spoke to graduates about St. Mary’s River as an estuary, “a place of convergence where fresh water mixes with salt water. Estuaries are a strange border between the land and the sea, and that makes them places of change,” she said.

Using this analogy, Schlussel told her fellow graduates, “These experiences, and more importantly these people, are the nutrients that will allow us not only to survive, but to thrive, in this strange and scary and thrilling time of transition that we now find ourselves in.”

President Tuajuanda C. Jordan also mentioned the river in her remarks. She told the class of 2017 that they had done well at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, having studied and learned in the finest liberal arts tradition.

“As you move beyond the banks of this river into the world, my expectation is that you will take your passions, your skills, and the knowledge you have gained in this place to create a more just and humane society for all,” she said.

President: Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD

June 2017

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

correspondent at The New York Times and author of “The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire” (Penguin Press, 2013) reflected on some of his fondest memories from when he studied at St. Mary’s College. He then gave students a few words of wisdom: “St. Mary’s College of Maryland has left you with the intellectual tools to shape your decisions.”

Irwin, who served on the College’s Board of Trustees from 2007 – 2013, was presented with an honorary degree from St. Mary’s College’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees Sven Holmes.

The College also presented sisters Elfreda Talbert Mathis and Janice Talbert Walthour with honorary degrees during commencement. Sisters who were born and raised locally during the turbulent time of segregation and the Civil Rights Movement, Mathis and Walthour dedicated their careers to education in St. Mary’s County public schools.

Both are extremely active in the community, serving on numerous boards and committees. Walthour is also the current president of the St. Mary’s County Branch of the NAACP.

Celebration Showcases the Impact of Donor Support On Friday, May 5, St. Mary’s College celebrated the philanthropic support of those who donated $1,000 or more to the College this year with a Cinco de Mayo themed reception. Several student groups and faculty showcased their work, representing some of the many benefits to students made possible through the generosity of donor support. Guests interacted with students on their research projects, explored the Tiny House and enjoyed performances by the Cultural Dance Club and Interchorus, the College’s co-ed a cappella group. Shown here: Trustee Donny Bryan ’73, President Tuajuanda C. Jordan, Randy Larsen ’19.

Congratulations to Tenured and Promoted Faculty

This year’s commencement speaker was no stranger to the St. Mary’s College campus. Neil Irwin ’00, a senior economic

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News, Student and Faculty accomplishments: www.smcm.edu/news Campus Events Calendar: www.smcm.edu/events/calendar 240.895.2000 | www.smcm.edu

On Friday, May 12, four faculty were awarded reappointment with tenure and promotion and four more were promoted to full professor. From left to right: Pamela Mertz (promoted to full professor of biochemistry and chemistry); Sahar Shafqat (promoted to full professor of political science); Diana Boros (reappointed with tenure and promoted to associate professor of political science); Barrett Emerick (reappointed with tenure and promoted to associate professor of philosophy); Provost Mike Wick; Katherine Gantz (promoted to full professor of French); Liza Gijanto (reappointed with tenure and promoted to associate professor of anthropology); President Tuajuanda C. Jordan; Jeffrey Coleman (promoted to full professor of English). Not pictured: Veronica Arellano Douglas (reappointed with tenure, librarian).

Q&A : Tristan Cai, assistant professor of photography based upon common religion names (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Catholicism etc.) certainly does not represent the diversity of beliefs and practices found within each main religion.

How do you, as an assistant professor of photography, help your beginning students who’ve come up using snapchat to understand photography as an art form?

Tristan Cai joined the faculty in 2016.

In your own bio, you write that your work references “the challenging intersections of science and religion and the construct of human normalcy” - as a photographer, how do you manage a balance between documenting a subject and interpreting its meaning?

I tend to start all my projects with research prior to shooting.

Also, keeping an open mind throughout my creation process and photographing with no preconceived notions of my subjects help me to create images that are richly embedded with multiple layers of meanings. The metaphysical themes that I explore in my work more often than not have no singular meaning, so rather than to tell the viewer a certain way to interpret a photograph, I hope that by presenting a wide array of conflicting viewpoints and ambiguity in my subjects allow viewers the contemplative space to take a step back and decipher why they are inclined to think a certain way.

You are interested in how “the authenticity and propagation of visual information may influence our belief systems” - in your international experience as an artist, have you found those influences to be culturally varied or homogenized in humankind?

They are definitely very diverse.

Take Christianity for example, my research of a controversial charismatic faith healing ministry in Florida led me to find its roots in the Toronto revival movement in the 90s which in turn has its roots in a Hindi Yoga guru who practices Kundalini Chakras. There is definitely intercultural influence by seeing how things overlap in different spiritual practices, however, categorization

I introduce them to a wide array of artists to help them understand specific socio-cultural environments that motivate their work and constantly push them to create meaningful personal works. One thing I focus on a lot in my classes is the craft of making a fine art print. It has been great that we have some fantastic prints by established artists in our Fine Art Collection which I am able to show our students. It certainly makes a difference when they can appreciate photographs as art objects in a hands-on manner.

Certification Gives Grads Competitive Edge Rosemary Rhodes ’17 and Jonathan Schuster ’17 were awarded SAS certifications in economic statistics and analysis earlier this week. SAS is an analytical software package that is widely used by Fortune 500 companies and federal agencies. This is the first year St. Mary’s College students have had the opportunity to earn this certification jointly endorsed by the College and SAS. In order to earn the certificate, students must complete a series of courses which provide the opportunity to hone critical thinking skills, develop SAS competency, analyze real-world data utilizing SAS, and present findings publicly in both written and oral form. While Rhodes and Schuster are the first to earn

See Tristan Cai’s work and learn more at www.tristancai.com

What’s Happening in Sports The women’s sailing team finished fifth in the semi-final round and twelfth overall at the 2017 Sperry Top-Sider College Sailing Women’s National Championships held in Charleston, SC on May 2324. As of press time, the coed dinghy racing was underway.

It’s summer sports camp season! Check out the variety of camps for kids, for high school teams and for prospective college students: smcmathletics.com/information/sports_camps/index

the new SAS certificate, several current juniors are on track to earn certifications next year. Students working towards completion of the requirements for certification have already reported receiving positive feedback during interviews.

PBK Internship Provides Student Publishing Opportunity the nation’s oldest academic honor society. Over the course of the fivemonth online internship, Barrett is committed to writing six articles about Phi Beta Kappa members and events.

If you’d been born 100 years earlier, would photography still have been your calling (sans the digital age)?

That would be probable: 100 years ago the first popular consumer camera - the Kodak brownie - would have been in use already for almost two decades. Photography was very popular and accessible to laypeople so I can imagine that my mother would have been photographing me incessantly at every significant milestone of my life and at all familial events. This is important to me, as I got interested in photography through my repeated experiences of being the unwilling subject. It made me want to find out why people have the compulsion to make photos in such a ritualistic manner as an attempt to validate our personal and collective experiences. I also would argue that people take photos for almost the same reasons as 100 years ago, though we display and show them in jarringly different ways today.

Schuster (l) and Rhodes (r) pose with President Tuajuanda C. Jordan in her office after receiving their certifications.

Allison Barrett ’18 (English/ psychology) is serving as a writing intern for The Key Reporter, the publication of Phi Beta Kappa,

Her first article, on Elizabeth Nutt Williams (prof. of psychology) titled “Breaking Down Barriers in the Sciences” has already been published.

Barrett has two additional feature stories planned, one featuring Aileen Bailey (prof. of psychology) and another discussing St. Mary’s College’s Zeta of Maryland Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.

Kudos to...

David Kung (prof. of math) was profiled in the Wall Street Journal to coincide with the March for Science on April 22. Kung’s activism is highlighted among other politically active professors from across the country. Kung also was recognized for organizing a course called “Math for Social Justice,” to help St. Mary’s College students understand, mathematically, issues like voting access and racial biases.

Pam Mertz (prof. of chemistry and biochemistry) presented a poster at Experimental Biology 2017 on April 23 in Chicago. The poster was co-authored by two St. Mary’s College faculty: Kelly Neiles (asst. prof. of chemistry) and Amanda Schech, (visiting asst. prof. of chemistry and biochemistry) as well as two faculty from other institutions. The poster focused on merging student interest in drug design with the foundational and technical skills necessary for biochemistry students to be successful in a novel drug synthesis and analysis project.

Chris Adams ’11, MAT ’12, was honored with an Outstanding Teacher award for his leadership in the field of mathematics. Adams was among 15 recipients who work in the fields of mathematics and science in Calvert, Charles, and St. Mary’s County school systems recognized by Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative. Adams is a mathemat-

ics teacher at Esperanza Middle School in St. Mary’s County. He also taught “Math for Teachers” at St. Mary’s College during the spring 2017 semester.

Elizabeth Johnson ’18 was awarded $1,000 from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology to support her 2017 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF). research project.

Johnson, a biochemistry major, will work with Prof. Pam Mertz and Asst. Prof. Jessica Malisch. Johnson’s project capitalizes on the expertise of biochemical mechanisms and methodology available in Mertz’s lab to help answer important biology research questions explored in Malisch’s lab.

Angelene Colas (public safety officer) was among 11 law enforcement officers to receive an officer of the year award at the 17th annual law enforcement appreciation day ceremony held Tuesday, May 9 at the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center. Colas, who has been a public safety officer for the College since June 2015, was nominated by Tressa Setlak, director of public safety.

Kristy Lewis (visiting asst. prof. of coastal ecology) received a two-year $77,000 subaward through the University of Kansas Center for Research to participate in a collaborative project that examines a community’s ability to self-organize and mobilize after a major disruption such as the oil spill occurring in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.