Terp Magazine: Winter 2013

winter 2013  /  Connecting the University of Maryland Community

GR E AT AC H I E V E D

UMD raises $1 billion for students, faculty,

innovation and campus facilities / pg. 17

Letter from the alumni association president winter 2013 / vol. 10, no. 2 P U B L I S H E d by Division of University Relations A DV I S e R S

Peter Weiler

Vice President, University Relations

Brian Ullmann ’92

Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Communications

Margaret Hall

Executive Director, Creative Strategies

Brian Shook

interim executive director, Alumni Programs m ag a z i n e s ta f f

Lauren Brown Universit y Editor

John T. Consoli ’86 Creative Direc tor

Joshua Harless Art Direc tor

Monette A. Bailey ’89 Kelly Blake ’94 Crystal Brown Beth Cavanaugh Kimberly Marselas ’oo Karen Shih ’09 Ellen Ternes ’68 Tracey Themne ’97, M.A. ’98 Tom Ventsias writers

Brian G. Payne Amy Shroads Ashley Stearns ’08 designers

Kelsey Marotta ’14 Sabrena Sesay ’13 interns

Gail Rupert M.L.S. ’10 photography assistant

Kathy B. Lambird ’94 Produc tion Manager

Letters to the editor are welcomed. Send correspondence to Managing Editor, Terp magazine, 2101 Turner Building, College Park, MD 20742-1521. Or, send an email to terpfeedback@umd.edu.

The University of Maryland, College Park is an equal opportunity institution with respect to both education and employment. University policies, programs and activities are in conformance with pertinent federal and state laws and regulations on non-discrimination regarding race, color, religion, age, national origin, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

E m ail

terpfeedback@umd.edu

o n li n e video news

terp.umd.edu

terpvision.umd.edu umdrightnow.umd.edu

fac e b o o k .c o m /UnivofMaryland

This issue of Terp is practically bursting

with historic news. In fact, we had to add eight pages to hold it all!

In December, we officially marked the completion of our ambitious Great Expectations campaign for the University of Maryland. Together, over 100,000 of our alumni and supporters contributed to the campaign and raised an incredible $1 billion for our great institution. It’s an impressive figure—the largest campaign for a public institution in state history. Even more impressive is the impact those funds will have on our students and faculty. For stories on the ways your support is already making a difference, turn to Page 17.

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, we’re moving to the Big Ten Conference! The announcement that UMD would be leaving our longtime home in the Atlantic Coast Conference caught many of you by surprise.

The benefits of this move are significant— financial, athletic and academic—and will positively contribute to the continued ascendancy of our university.

We’ve heard from many of you and know that questions linger. The special feature that starts on Page 2 answers many of them. For more information, you’ll also want to visit a Big Ten transition website at www.umd.edu/ Big_Ten. The site contains news clips, FAQs and a special feature that allows you to ask questions about the move to the new conference.

We encourage all of our alumni to use the site and let us know what you think.

Between the landmark completion of Great Expectations and the pending move to the Big Ten, there is much to look forward to in the coming years. If you supported the Great Expectations campaign, thank you. If not, now is a great time to reconnect with UMD and the Maryland Alumni Association.

It’s going to be a great year to be a Terp!

Go Terps!

f li c k r .c o m /photos/wwwumdedu t w i t t e r .c o m /UofMaryland

7

9

16

41 Departments 6 In Brief 9 Ask Anne 10 Class Act 14 Campus Life 36 Innovation 38 Faculty Q&A 40 Giving 44 Interpretations

v i m e o.c o m /umd yo u t ub e .c o m /UMD2101

cover photos by john T. consoli

Timmy F. Ruppersberger ’77 President, Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors

dickinson photo courtesy sam carlo / mary poppins illustration by jeanette j. nelson / trail illustration by kelsey marotta / poster courtesy of the art gallery

17 2

Feature

12

17 Great Expectations Achieved

photos by John T. Consoli / “ellen� photo by michael rozman, warner bros.

Eight years. Nearly 130,000 donors.

That's what it took to raise an unprecedented $1 billion for the University of Maryland. Here's how that giving helped transform the campus and beyond.

The Your eyes popped. Your mouth dropped. Yes, Maryland’s decision to move from the Atlantic Coast Conference to the Big Ten Conference was a stunner. ¶ The changes start going into effect July 1, when Maryland joins an elite academic partnership of the conference institutions and the University of Chicago that provides research and education opportunities, shares assets and saves

What happened, and why?

Maryland and Big Ten leaders negotiated the university’s entry starting at a conference table in Chicago and ending at a kitchen table in College Park.

The two first came together in mid-October near the Big Ten’s Midwest headquarters, where conference officials laid out their vision to President Wallace Loh, Athletics Director Kevin Anderson and two deputies: financial stability for members, expansion into the East Coast, the highest level of athletic competition and academic alignment.

Loh had signed a nondisclosure agreement that prevented large-scale outreach, but he approached about two dozen people for feedback and guidance, including University System of Maryland Chancellor (and former UMD president) Brit Kirwan, the Board of Regents leadership, the foundation’s Board of Trustees chairman, a former conference

2 terp winter 2013

commissioner and financial consultants.

A particular draw was the Committee on Institutional Cooperation, the academic consortium of research and flagship institutions like UMD. It provides collaborations in research, educational opportunities for students and professional development for faculty.

Another appeal was, of course, the money.

Last year, a severe budget deficit in Athletics forced Loh and Anderson to cut seven teams, which Loh called “the most painful thing we have ever had to do.” (Private support later allowed men’s track and field to continue until the switch to the Big Ten.) University officials say the substantial profits from the Big Ten’s TV network will pull Intercollegiate Athletics from the red to the black, allow at least some teams to return and even fund academic scholarships and programs. (The nondisclosure agreement

also prevents the university from discussing revenue predictions publicly.)

While guests at University House enjoyed a pregame football party on Nov. 19, Loh hunkered with advisers in the kitchen, and he verbally agreed to the move. He knew he’d face criticism from alumni who revel in the traditions and rivalries of the ACC, which Maryland helped found 60 years ago. His office received hundreds of negative emails within 24 hours of the announcement. But as emotions subsided and people considered the benefits of the move, the emails turned positive—with many coming from the same people who had first blasted his decision.

He hopes Terp supporters will understand his responsibility to consider the long-term well being of the university. “As hockey great Wayne Gretzky put it, ‘I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.’”

Move money. Athletic competition in the Big Ten begins in the 2014–15 academic year. ¶ University officials have made a strong case for the academic, athletic and financial benefits, and they hope you’ll keep rooting for the Terps. ¶ But maybe you haven’t heard the whole story. And maybe you still have questions about what this change means to Maryland. We’ve got answers.

What Can the CIC Do for UMD? It’s not all about the sports. Maryland’s about to be welcomed into the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), the premier consortium for top-tier research universities. The university will soon get connected to a big array of unique resources and opportunities: New research partnerships

CIC institutions pool their resources in areas such as traumatic brain injury, international public policy and information technology. The combined research strengths of the CIC, which brings in about $9 billion a year in external funding, will help Maryland secure large federal grants that require involvement by multiple institutions.

Library resource sharing

Maryland will have easy access to a combined collection of more

than 80 million books, with millions more digitized, thanks to a CIC-Google partnership.

Combined buying power saves those libraries millions of dollars on databases.

Faculty professional development

The CIC offers career boosters such as the Academic Leadership Program for those interested in deanships or department head positions.

Greater networking opportunities

The committee organizes activities for nearly 100 different peer groups, including finance officers, student government association leaders, study abroad directors and federal relations teams, which meet monthly in D.C.

times faster than commercial Internet connections.

More study abroad

Access to big data, faster

The Alliance for Expanded Study in Overseas Programs (AESOP) means expanded opportunities for Maryland students, including semester- and yearlong programs in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa.

The CIC’s dedicated fiber optic network allows the transmission of large data sets used in weather and climate prediction, astrophysics and bioinformatics up to 100

Students will be able to choose from more than 100 less-commonly taught languages, which

Expansion of language study

include government-designated critical languages like Pashto and Uzbek, Native American languages and heritage languages such as Vietnamese and Hindi.

Many courses are offered through videoconferencing.

Group purchasing discounts

The combined purchasing power of CIC institutions produced $6 million in savings in 2011. These commodities and services include everything from routers to lab supplies to travelers’ health insurance.

winter 2013 terp 3

What’s the Big Ten, anyway?

The Terps are headed into unfamiliar ter-

ritory with entry into the Big Ten, the nation’s oldest Division I athletic conference. Like the ACC, it has a rich history as well as traditions, legends and heroes. Here’s your primer.

It was founded as the Western Conference in 1896 by the presidents of Purdue, Northwestern, Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. By 1912, Indiana Iowa and Ohio State had joined.

Chicago withdrew in 1939, and Michigan State got on board a decade later. It grew to a “big 11” in 1990 with Penn State. In 2011,

Nebraska’s membership expanded the conference to 12—many of them land-grant institutions like Maryland.

As part of the trend of the four national “superconferences” extending beyond traditional geographical boundaries, the Big Ten is expanding beyond its Midwestern persona, welcoming Maryland and Rutgers starting in Fall 2014.

There’s also lots of conference customs, icons and lore: the pink visitors’ locker room at Iowa, the Ohio State marching band spelling “Ohio” in script on the field, Michigan

big ten points of pride

University of Michigan Serves more than 1.8 million patients a year through its medical school, three hospitals and 120-plus health centers and clinics; in 2012, became the first college football program to tally 900 victories.

Michigan State University No. 1 in study abroad participation among U.S. public universities.

University of Wisconsin Researchers there discovered Vitamin D and were the first to isolate and culture human embryonic stem cells.

Stadium that seats nearly 110,000, Michigan State’s big-chinned mascot, Sparty.

The Big Ten is a groundbreaker, first implementing instant replay in football in 2004, as well as a powerhouse, with its teams winning more than 280 national championships.

Plus, it’s the only conference with its own TV network, broadcast in 51 million U.S. and Canadian homes and available in 20 countries.

The national exposure makes cheering for the Terps easier than ever.

Penn State University Home of the largest student-run philanthropy program in the world, with its 2012 dance marathon raising a record $10.7 million to fight pediatric cancer

University of Iowa First U.S. public university to admit men and women on an equal basis when it opened in 1855.

University of Illinois Where Netscape, the first Internet browser to show images, was invented.

Rutgers University Founded in 1766, the nation’s oldest Division I-A school.

Northwestern University Founded to serve the people of the original Northwest Territory, from which Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and part of Minnesota were carved.

University of Minnesota Uses 115-year-old rally cry, “Ski-UMah,” which incorporates a Sioux battle yell, campus nickname the “U,” and a rhyme of “rah.”

Purdue University Its “All-American" Marching Band has the world’s largest bass drum, measuring 8 feet across and nearly 4 feet wide and requiring six people to move and strike it.

Indiana University Alumni include “Hunger Games” author Suzanne Collins, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and “Glee” creator Ryan Murphy; home of highly respected Jacobs School of Music.

Ohio State University The school's “Buckeye Bullet” electric car broke the world record for speed on Oct. 3, 2004, clocking 271.737 mph.

University of Nebraska Founded the discipline of ecology; alumni include investor Warren Buffett and comedian Johnny Carson.

What do you think? The university wants to hear from you. ¶ Maryland has launched a website, www.umd.edu/big_ten, with the latest developments on the Big Ten move. It will include media coverage, a list of FAQs and a feature where visitors can comment and ask more questions.

4 terp winter 2013

How Does This Shake Up Sports?

Where Will the money Go?

Joining the Big Ten gives Maryland a unique chance to create new rivalries, revive old ones and pack the stands, say athletic officials.

“This presents a new opportunity to expand our base in new states and reach alumni that we haven't connected with in the past,” says Director of Athletics Kevin Anderson. “We recognize how passionate our fan base is about our university and traditions. We feel these exciting matchups against outstanding universities in the nation’s top conference makes this a perfect fit for the University of Maryland.”

Maryland doesn’t start playing in the Big Ten until the 2014–15 school year, but it’s not too early to look ahead. The conference gets the most attention in football and basketball, but the Terps may thrive on many other fronts—or fields. Here are just a few examples:

A new panel appointed by President Wallace Loh will make recommendations on how to allocate the expected windfall from Maryland’s move to the Big Ten. The 22-member President’s Commission on UMD and Big Ten/CIC Integration will consider how Maryland can get the most out of its membership in the conference in athletics; education, research and innovation; finance and business administration; and communications, fundraising and marketing.

Led by Maryland supporter Barry Gossett and Vice President for Student Affairs Linda Clement, it will review the operations and finances of Intercollegiate Athletics and come up with a plan to ensure its financial health for at least 20 years. The panel is expected to suggest whether any teams cut last year should be reinstated, and when.

“Finding the right opportunities, balancing the opinions and viewpoints of lots of different people, that’s going to be our challenge. I expect there to be healthy discussions among commission members, and the entire university community,” says Gossett, vice chair of the Board of Regents.

The panel, comprising faculty, administrators, students, coaches, alumni and donors, will submit its report to Loh by June 30.

Football The Big Ten is one of the strongest conferences in college football, featuring giants Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Bringing these teams to Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium will pack the stadium and fire up the crowd. In particular, Maryland fans can look forward to playing Penn State again, restarting the rivalry that ended in 1993. “In athletics, you’re always trying to challenge yourself to be the best and compete against the best, and we’re going to face this new challenge head-on,” says Coach Randy Edsall. “This is something that will enhance our football program.”

Men’s Basketball The Big Ten is best known for football, but its basketball tradition is strong, too. Six Big Ten teams are currently ranked in the top 25, including four among the top 10. Traditional powers include Indiana, which Maryland beat to win the 2002 NCAA championship, and Michigan State, which knocked Maryland out of the 2010 tournament at the buzzer.

Field Hockey With the addition of Maryland and Rutgers, the Big Ten will have the largest field hockey conference in the country, with nine teams.

The Terps have won five of the last 10 national championships.

Women’s Lacrosse Northwestern has taken seven of the last eight national championships. The one year it didn’t win was 2010, when Maryland captured the title. Since 1999, the two teams have combined to win 11 championships.

Men’s Lacrosse Big Ten men’s lacrosse teams compete in the Eastern College Athletic Conference. It features strong contenders like Loyola University Maryland, which the Terps played in the last NCAA championship. With our addition, the Big Ten will be just one school away from having its own conference championship tournament.

Men’s Soccer Maryland, a perennial powerhouse, joins the conference with three titles, including championships in 2005 and 2008. Indiana captured its eighth national title in the fall, the most in NCAA history.

Wrestling Maryland has dominated the ACC for years, holding four of its last five titles. Big Ten schools have won the last six national championships, however, giving the Terps a chance to prove their mettle.

What about the Exit Fee? Maryland is challenging a lawsuit the conference filed in North Carolina to collect a $52 million exit fee, arguing that state's court has no jurisdiction over the matter.

Attorney General Douglas Gansler in January moved to dismiss the ACC suit on behalf of the university and the university system's board of regents. The ACC sued the university the week after Maryland publicly announced its move to the Big Ten, seeking a fee three times the total operating budget of the ACC. Loh stresses that he and other UMD officials factored payment of the fee into the evaluation of the academic, athletic and financial benefits of moving to the Big Ten. The money for any exit amount will come from future athletic revenues. No tax or tuition dollars will be used; Maryland’s athletics department covers all of its own expenses.

winter 2013 terp 5

in brief

Class of Thousands

With Massive Online Open Courses, UMD Enters New World of Learning If you think planning a class for a lecture hall of 200 students sounds challenging, imagine an enrollment of 10,000 or even 100,000.

Five Maryland professors are teaching massive open online courses (MOOCs) this semester as the university tests the waters of a new trend in higher education.

Maryland is among the latest institutions that have signed on with leading MOOC provider Coursera to try the new online teaching platform, which has sparked both excitement and skepticism among educators.

“None of us know what the future looks like for MOOCs, but working with Coursera is an exciting challenge, an experiment of sorts, and we’ll learn a great deal from this experience,” says Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin.

“Ultimately, I expect that learning as we go will strengthen our efforts in blended learning and identify new ways of teaching.”

The allure of MOOCs is that anyone can sign up to take a free class, condensed to five to eight weeks long, and often taught by top professors in their fields at leading institutions. But questions persist about the long-term viability of this model.

Students don’t receive credits for courses they complete.

MOOC registrants also defy generalization. They include 6 terp winter 2013

graduate students and working professionals brushing up on particular skills or learning new ones; community college and international students augmenting their studies; and ambitious high school students exploring topics and interests they wouldn’t have access to otherwise.

James Green, Mtech’s director of entrepreneurship education, who is teaching a MOOC on developing innovative ideas for new companies, says it’s an “amazing” opportunity to recruit prospective undergraduate and graduate students from all over the world—the best, the brightest and the ones most interested in entrepreneurship.

Green says he’s learned to rethink his teaching style to adhere to the Coursera delivery model, which includes thematic lectures of eight to 12 minutes with a summary quiz at the end. “Preparing for this Coursera course has challenged me to think about how to deliver material online, in digestible, divisible segments, with interactive quizzes.”

Charles Clark, one of two scientists co-teaching a course in quantum physics, says MOOCs provide an opportunity to discuss new developments in the field with a broad international audience. “There is no other platform available in higher education that allows for that.”–cb illustration by brian g. payne

The Eyes Have It Professor Brings Rare Dickinson Photo to Light An English professor’s effort to confirm only the second

known photo of Emily Dickinson is offering scholars and fans a new look at the reclusive poet.

For more than three years, Martha Nell Smith worked to authenticate the image, found by a daguerreotype collector with the pseudonym “Sam Carlo” in a shop near Springfield, Mass.

The 1859 photo captures a forthright Dickinson (top) in her late 20s with her arm linked with that of friend Kate Scott Turner. One other photo of Dickinson exists, and it conveys a timid, teenage version of the prolific writer in 1847 (below).

“The most important thing is what this photo does to our readerly imaginations,” says Smith, author of five Dickinson books.

To confirm Dickinson’s identity, Smith and colleagues at Amherst College turned to Dr. Susan Pepin, a Dartmouth ophthalmologist.

She found the women depicted in the 1847 and 1859 photos had similar eyelid shapes and signs of astigmatism, the probable cause of Dickinson’s debilitating vision.

Smith is taking the image on tour via conferences and an online exhibit.–km

To read Pepin’s report or comment on the research, visit the Dickinson Electronic Archives at www.emilydickinson.org.

dickinson photos courtesy sam carlo (above); amherst college special collections (right)

NASA Awards UMD $36M for Earth Systems Research How air pollutants travel across continents and oceans. The effects of Chesapeake Bay breezes on surface pollution levels. How satellite data and ground-based sensors can improve drought monitoring.

The university has received $36 million from NASA to continue these kinds of research, examining how the earth’s connected systems—atmosphere, oceans, land

surface and frozen regions—affect global and regional environment, weather and climate.

The five-year agreement funds an established partnership between NASA’s Earth Sciences Division at the nearby Goddard Space Flight Center and the university’s Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), located in the University of Maryland Research Park.

NASA Visualization: Trent Schindler, NASA/Goddard/UMBC

“With NASA’s space-based observations and our expertise in earth systems science, we are developing more accurate forecasting tools that can be used by both the private sector and government officials,” says Antonio Busalacchi, director of ESSIC and professor in the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science.–tv

winter 2013 terp 7

The grant will enable us to make a great leap forward in the national movement for health equity.

”

—Stephen B. Thomas, M-CHE director and professor of health services administration

infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births

Geographic Disparity in Maryland Average Infant Mortality Rate / By Jurisdiction / 2006–10

3.65.0 5.19.0 9.117.5

BALTIMORE CITY

data source md vital statistics administration, 2011

HOWARD County

A former Silicon Valley

MONTGOMERY County

Closing the Health-Care Gap $5.9M Grant Funds Research on Racial, ethnic Disparities

M

PRINCE GEORGE’S County

Compared to whites , African Americans in

Maryland are three times more likely to die in infancy, twice as likely to die from diabetes, and much less likely to get flu vaccines than whites.

The Maryland Center for Health Equity (M-CHE) in the School of Public Health (SPH) is driving new efforts to eliminate such racial and ethnic minority health disparities through a $5.9 million grant from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.

It has designated the M-CHE a Center of Excellence on Race, Ethnicity, and Health Disparities Research, supporting the center’s major new research, education and community outreach efforts.

“This will enable us to make a great leap forward in the national movement for health equity,” says Stephen B. Thomas, M-CHE director and professor of health services administration.

New research includes studying the cultural beliefs that fuel African Americans’ distrust of medicine, resulting in lower vaccination rates for preventable diseases, and developing strategies to increase those rates. A second study will use the

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Chang Leads New I&E Academy

social networks in barbershops and beauty salons to help African-American women increase physical activity and reduce obesity, diabetes and related chronic diseases. A third study will launch a black men’s health initiative with a focus on the role fathers can play in reducing infant mortality.

“We’re proud to be creating innovative solutions for Maryland and best practice models that could be used to promote health equity in communities across the country,” says Sandra C. Quinn, M-CHE senior associate director and an SPH associate dean.–kb

capitalist who has led nationally recognized venture creation programs is now in charge of the university’s Academy of Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Dean Chang was named associate vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship in January, charged with coalescing and expanding entrepreneurial activities on campus. The academy, which launches this fall, will incorporate classes, workshops and outside-the-classroom experiences to infuse a culture of innovation, entrepreneurship and creativity across campus.

“We want students to be passionate about their ideas, and take that enthusiasm and turn it into something that can benefit others,” says Chang, who for the past five years directed incubator and venture accelerator programs in the A. James Clark School of Engineering.

As a doctoral student at Stanford University, Chang was involved with a startup whose gaming technology raised $51 million in its initial public offering. He has master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering from Stanford and an M.B.A. from the Wharton School.–tv

chang photo by John T. Consoli

Q.

Q.

I heard that Julie Andrews was given an honorary degree at Maryland. Is this true? What other famous people have received honorary degrees here?

—Sameer “Sammy” I. Popat ’02

In light of the recent success of the Nationals and the Orioles, which member of the Terps baseball team had the most success in the big leagues?—Roy Alvarez

According to the 2012 baseball media guide, 23 Terps have made it to the major leagues. Of them, perhaps the most notable was Charlie Keller, the only Terp to ever play in the All-Star game and the World Series. Keller was an outfielder for the Yankees and the Tigers from 1939 to 1952 and set a number of batting marks. The Yankees even honored him with a “Charlie Keller Day” at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 25, 1948.

➳

ASK ANNE

Questions for Anne Turkos, the University Archivist

Q.

Julie Andrews, best known for her roles in “The Sound of Music” and “Mary Poppins,” was awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree at the June 6, 1970, commencement.

Since 1921, Maryland has awarded honorary degrees to many authors, scientists, political and business leaders, musicians, artists, historians and members of the military, marking their contributions to the world at large. Among them are former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, science fiction author Isaac Asimov, comedian Bill Cosby and lyricist Ira Gershwin.

During my time at Maryland, I took photographs for the Old Line magazine, including the “Girl of the Month” for the November 1959 issue. It almost got me expelled

by Adele H. Stamp, who was dean of women at the time. Are there any copies left?

—William “Bill” W. Bride III ’60

The Old Line, a student-run literary and humor magazine, was published on campus from 1930 through 1962. We do have a collection of them, including the issue you worked on. It’s sometimes amazing what was considered risqué in those days.

Questions may be sent to terpmag@umd.edu or @UMDarchives on Twitter. online

lib.umd.edu/univarchives • b l o g lib.umd.edu/blogs/univarch_exhibits

fac photos e b o o kby University John T. Consoli of Maryland / photo University credits Archives

winter 2013 terp 9

class act

 alumni profile / REGINALD BETTS ’09

Making Up for Lost Time Former Inmate Finds Success as Poet Before Reginald “Dwayne” Betts ’09 had completed his bachelor’s degree in English and literature, he had published his memoir, was one year into an M.F.A. program at Warren Wilson College, and was married with a young son.

Betts says he had a lot of time to make up after spending eight years in prison.

At the age of 16, he held a handgun for the first time and carjacked a sleeping driver in a mall parking lot. With his first offense, the honor roll student was sentenced as an adult.

Yet Betts never doubted he’d go to college, despite the fact that he’d be the first in his family to earn a degree. “I knew I had no blueprint, but I also knew I had nothing to lose,” he says.

Betts came of age in his cell, learning to survive in an unforgiving place, and discovering poetry. At first, he read as 10 terp winter 2013

much as he could—Etheridge Knight, Robert Hayden, Sonia Sanchez—then he began to write as well.

“My poems don’t come from inspiration,” Betts says. “The ideas come from the world and arguments I am having with myself.”

Betts enrolled at Prince George’s Community College and after two years earned a scholarship to Maryland. At a summer writers’ conference, Betts met Michael Collier, an English professor at Maryland. The two bonded, and Collier discovered Betts was an intuitive and disciplined writer.

At Maryland, where Collier was a mentor, Betts went on to earn nearly perfect grades and won a full scholarship to pursue his master’s in North Carolina.

Betts, who has been researching and writing about juvenile justice since

his days in prison, began speaking and lecturing on the topic and was named the national spokesman for the Campaign for Youth Justice. More recently, President Obama appointed him to a three-year term on the Federal Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

“The last line of one of Rainer Maria Rilke’s poems reminds me of Dwayne: ‘You must change your life.’ Not only has he changed his own life, but he has helped transform others’ lives as well,” says Collier.

Not one to sit still, Betts recently completed a prestigious Radcliffe Fellowship at Harvard University and won a $15,000 2012 Lilly Poetry Fellowship. He published his second book, a collection of poems, in 2010, awaits publication of two more books and hopes to begin law school this year.–BC photo by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

class notes  alumni profile / Stacey Trock ’04, Ph.D ’08

To submit notes, send an email to terpmag@umd.edu.

A Career in Stitches

’00s

Stacey Trock ’04, Ph.D ’08 has one perky blog on knitting and crocheting stuffed animals,

two books, 16 how-to videos, hundreds of patterns for sale—and a leading role in a subculture that goes gaga for cute and cuddly.

Crocheting was a hobby for Trock as she pursued her degrees in linguistics, but she decided after graduation to carve out a niche in the crafting market. She launched FreshStitches, offering plush-animal designs for everything from teddies to a hedgehog and a Christmas pickle.

Trock blogs almost daily with fun commentary on her work and globetrotting with her husband, Tim Hunter Ph.D. ’10. Now she has more than 6,000 followers on Facebook and 3,000 on Twitter.

With crochet guilds in Connecticut and Virginia, she rallied this “handmade” community after the Dec. 14 fatal shootings in Newtown, Conn., urging people to create animals for surviving students at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The response was “enormous,” Trock says, but because Newtown was already inundated with donations from well-wishers, she has urged followers to send their creations to groups such as Stuffed Animals for Emergencies.

“It’s easy to feel hopeless when such awful events occur, but making an item that’s going to someone who will love and care for it is a fabulous feeling,” she says.–lb

John Romano ’01

wed Aqila Clement on Sept. 22 at the Primate House at the Philadelphia Zoo. The setting was appropriate: Romano is head of science and an instructor of biology, evolution and comparative anatomy at Girard College, a boarding school in the city.

’80s Sandra Smyser ’80

was named the 2013 Colorado Superintendent of the Year, honoring her work to close the achievement gap among students in Eagle County Schools.

’70s CARL Nathe ’74, announcer

BO OKSHELF

Across God’s Frontiers: Catholic Sisters in the American West by Anne Butler M.S. ’75, Ph.D. ’79 shows readers how nuns not only delivered social services and education in this rugged environment, but also helped shape the west by creating social services and building relationships with Native Americans.

With humor and insight, Beth Terry ’87 shares a contemporary journey in

Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too. The book is filled with stories, tips, recipes, DIY instructions and more to encourage life with less plastic.

Carousel zoo photo by Austin Sweazy / book photos by john t. consoli

In The Limits of Détente: The United States, The Soviet Union, and the ArabIsraeli Conflict, 1969-1973, Craig Daigle ’98 takes readers through the intricate policies and competing interests that led to the October 1973 Arab-Israeli War.

for University of Kentucky football home games for the past 16 years, has received the Al Temple Award from the Kentucky Broadcasters Association, honoring outstanding contributors to the association. Nathe will enter his 10th season this spring as the voice of the Wildcats’ baseball home games. But even his co-workers say he’s still a Terp at heart.

Want to see more Class Notes? Visit w w w.t e r p.u m d. e d u/cl a ss n o t e s .

winter 2013 terp 11

Snuff Out the Sniffles

Alumni Travel AUG. 7–15, 2013

Allergist Talks Nationwide About Aggravators, Tests and Treatments Dr. Clifford Bassett ’80, director of Asthma & Allergy Care of New York, uses his psychology degree from Maryland and good communication skills to dispense advice beyond medicinal solutions for allergy sufferers. He frequently appears on “ABC World News,” “The Today Show” and “The Dr. Oz Show.”

He also pulls from what he learned here in nutrition, geriatric health and botany courses to shape his holistic approach. Bassett offers a few tips for winter:

Recognize nontraditional triggers What you do is as important as what allergens you expose yourselves to.

“Stress can be blamed for some reactions,” he says. He might prescribe dance therapy or other stress-reduction techniques.

Go to a professional Get tested by an allergist so that you have an individual action plan that identifies and treats your allergies, rather than rely on guesswork.

BOOST YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM “For many of us, vitamin D levels are lower during the winter,” he says. “In asthma, lower levels may correlate with more severity.” He suggests adding salmon, cod liver oil, breakfast cereals and supplements to your diet.

Think beyond the obvious If you have seasonal allergies, some foods cross-react with tree and ragweed pollens. Apples, pears, carrots and even hazelnut-flavored coffee can cause itchy eyes and throats, something called oral allergy syndrome. Again, see a specialist. Also, consider using houseplants such as snake plant and corn plant to help clean the air.–MAB

Teacher’s Dedication Pays Off First-grade teacher Rachel Faust ’09 was handed a check for $100,000 on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in September to support her school, Van E. Blanton Elementary in Miami. Faust, an education major, had written the show about the positive attitude of her students, 99 percent of whom live in poverty. The education major started working at the school through Teach for America and stayed on, spending her own money to buy supplies for the children. The gift from the JCP Cares Program is expected to go to a playground, building repairs and technology.

12 terp winter 2013

Explore Celtic, Norse and Norman cultures, and enjoy festive Highland dancers, bagpipe playing and a traditional haggis ceremony.

 alumni profile / VERONICA O. DAVIS ’01

Transportation Maven Entrepreneurial Alumna HONORED for Dedication to Access, People-Centric Engineering Veronica O. Davis ’01 didn’t mean to start a social movement. But when she rode through a public housing community in D.C. one day, a young African-American girl pointed at her and said to her mother, “Mommy, Mommy!

There’s a black lady on a bike!”

Was she surprised? Yes and no.

“It’s not that women of color don’t bike, it’s that we’re underrepresented,” Davis says. She shared the story on Twitter, and Black Women Bike began. It’s swelled to more than 650 members in one year, attracting cyclists of all levels. They go on regular rides and hold workshops on

fixing flat tires, cycling in the winter and even bike fashion.

That’s just one reason Davis was named a 2012 White House Transportation Champion of Change. She’s also active on a number of local transportation boards and founded a sustainability and environmental consulting company, Nspiregreen LLC, with friend Chancee Lundy.

They work with the District Depart– ment of Transportation, as well as other local governments and nonprofit organizations to give community members a voice in and stay informed on construction projects.

Forging her own path as an engineer hasn’t been easy.

“It’s challenging to be a person of color, and being a woman in a very white maledominated industry,” she says. “But we know what we’re talking about, and we’re passionate about our business.”

She credits Maryland with her dedication to people-centric engineering.

“I’ll always remember when I took ῾Introduction to Transportation Planning᾿ and my professor told me, ‘It’s not enough to design a road—you have to figure out that road in the context of the people,’” she says.—KS

“ellen” photo by michael rozman / warner bros. / bassett photo courtesy of clifford bassett / ILLUSTRATION by JEANETTE J. nelson

winter 2013 terp 13

campus life

play by play

From Acclimation to Adulation Basketball Star and Ukrainian native Alex Len Strengthens Skills on, off Court / BY ANNA LABONTE ’13 Alex Len came to Maryland with more

than the average freshman’s reasons for anxiety.

The 7-foot-1 basketball recruit was already being eyed for a future in the NBA. His family was nearly 5,000 miles away. And he didn’t speak English.

Over the next year, the former center on the Ukrainian national team emerged as a breakout star on the team, after boning up on American culture and the language and bulking up to play its more physical version of the sport.

“I had some struggles last year with language, adjusting to a new culture, to the game,” he says.

“Now I feel much more confident.”

Len grew up with different career aspirations.

With Jackie Chan as his role model, the scrawny kid too tall for his age practiced gymnastics in the hopes of becoming an action star. One day, a high school basketball coach walked into Len’s gymnastics center, grabbed the towering 10-year-old and gave him a basketball. When the shot went in, the coach said, “See, you were born to play basketball.”

14 terp winter 2013

After seeing Internet highlights of the Terps’ upset over Duke in 2010, Len decided Maryland was where he’d take his game.

Terp fans got a taste of Len’s acrobatic abilities at Maryland Madness in 2011, where he introduced himself by cartwheeling before easily slam-dunking a ball. The crowd at the Comcast Center exploded.

While fans, NBA analysts and coaches discussed his potential, Len found a support system at Maryland. His roommate and teammate, John Auslander, not only helped Len with English and basketball but also acquainted him with American collegiate dining: The two started with a bagel before moving up to Boston Market and Chipotle.

“I always talk to him in English, help him out with that,” Auslander says.

Len also began dating Essence Townsend, a 6-foot-7 center on the women’s basketball team.

The two bonded over their love of the game, and figure they must be the tallest couple in the world.

After sitting out the first 10 games of the season for violating NCAA amateurism rules, Len was itching to get on the court. In his regularseason debut last year against Albany, he netted the first of four dunks just 54 seconds into the game and totaled 14 points and eight rebounds.

“After the game, in the last 10 seconds, everyone was chanting, ‘We love Alex! We love Alex!’” he says. “It was kind of special for me; I got goose bumps.”

He averaged 13.3 points and nine rebounds in his first four games, but as the season wore on, Len became lost. The rail-thin center dropped passes and scored in double-digits only twice in the last 18 games. Len finished the season averaging six points and 5.4 rebounds per game.

“

After the game, in the last 10 seconds, everyone was chanting, ‘We love Alex! we love Alex!’ It was kind of special for —ALEX LEN me; I got goose bumps.

Constrained by the language barrier, Len was often unaware what play was called.

Instead of hanging his head, Len began meeting with English tutors more, and also gained about 25 pounds of muscle over the summer to be ready for this season.

And he was. At press time, Len ranked 12th in the ACC with 13.8 points per game. He was also fifth in rebounding and second in blocked shots.

”

Coach Mark Turgeon likes to talk about the importance of grinding, and Len has become the prime example.

“Now that everyone’s seen him,” says Turgeon, “It’s like, ‘Wow, he did grind it this summer. He worked at it.’

Masterpiece

Digital Art Goes “Commons” Place Part IMAX movie, part screensaver—in the new digital art installation in McKeldin Library, data becomes art.

The vibrant display projected along the 70-foot corridor of the new Terrapin Learning Common showcases the computer programming skills of six students who sought to make art out of life’s everyday events.

“The works are dynamic visualizations that are generated in real time,” says Associate Professor Brandon Morse, who led the project. “As such, they will change and evolve over time on their own, and will never look the same twice.”

The exhibit provides students’ perspectives on themes ranging from the human condition to vanity and creativity. Matthew Starsoneck ’12 revealed lines from great literature by gradually accumulating and layering letters of the alphabet. Brian George ’12 graphically represents real-time computer use by showing arcs emanating from Maryland to places around the globe where students are accessing servers.

The Terrapin Learning Commons, the second-floor space in McKeldin Library that encourages collaboration, is a perfect place for such an installation and partnership, says Pat Steele, dean of University Libraries.

“Libraries are so much more than books— they are environments to engage and inspire,” she says. “We contribute to student learning in many ways, and in this case it’s especially satisfying to be able to display and enjoy the results.”–tt

Watch a video on this program at http://ter.ps/1pv. photos by John T. Consoli / photo credits

photos by John T. Consoli

winter 2013 terp 15

Many Happy Trails Club Celebrates long history Outdoors

president’s march » The Mighty Sound of Maryland strutted from the Capitol to the White House during the Jan. 21 inaugural parade for President Barack Obama. The 255-member marching band, debuting its new uniforms, was selected from more than 2,800 applicants to perform in the parade. The band was last tapped to appear in President Ronald Reagan’s second inaugural parade in 1985, canceled due to extreme cold. The Terps marched before presidents Woodrow Wilson in 1917, Dwight Eisenhower in 1953 and John F. Kennedy in 1961. See a gallery of photos at www.umd.edu/Inauguration2013.

16 terp winter 2013

club photos courtesy of university archives and terrapin trail club / band photo by Charlie Neibergall, Associated press

For 75 years, they’ve climbed, hiked, kayaked and more throughout Maryland and places as far-flung as Belize. The Terrapin Trail Club is the oldest non-Greek student organization on campus, and with around 50 active members this year and outings nearly every weekend, it remains popular.

Members also give back: Each month, they do trail maintenance at Great Falls Park, removing invasive plants or clearing paths.

“To our knowledge, the first hike the Trail Club went on was at Great Falls,” says President Sarah Katz-Hyman ’13. “It’s so cool that we’re taking care of it now, and I like imagining that we’re walking where they walked.”–KS

Thank you. And you. And you.

We couldn’t have raised $1 billion for the University of Maryland without you. ❡ The number is almost mind-blowing. In fact, the fundraising goal of Great Expectations, The Campaign for Maryland, publicly launched in late 2006, was the largest ever announced by a public institution in the D.C. region. ❡ To continue the university’s rise among the world’s best, the campaign called for investments from individuals, corporations and nonprofits to attract the best students, provide scholarships to those in most need, and fund outside-the-classroom experiences; to hire and retain outstanding faculty; to build, update and equip facilities; and to support innovation. ❡ Nearly 130,000 of you responded to that call, donating $864 million for these priorities, plus $136 million for unrestricted use and program support. In the following pages, we set out to show the impact of those gifts. Here are a few of the stories of students, past and present, and faculty who saw their lives change, who’ve gone on to change others’, who’ve advanced their fields. ❡ This is how you’ve fulfilled Maryland’s Great Expectations.

photos by John T. Consoli / photo credits

winter 2013 terp 17

INNO TS N E D STU

the achiever The Incentive Awards Program pulled Janiceia Adams out of Baltimore, then empowered her to return to inspire others Broken glass crunches under Janiceia Adams’ feet as she stands in front of her family’s old one-bedroom apartment on Saratoga Street in Baltimore. The plywood covering the windows and door is faded and warped. The stoop is buried under empty bottles, grimy fast-food cups and other trash.

When Adams ’07 lived here, she never lingered outside. She commuted an hour to Northwestern High School in the city and stayed late for her clubs and community service activities, on her way to becoming valedictorian.

Adams knew the escape from the poverty binding her, her mom and younger brother was education. She was accepted at 14 of the 15 universities where she applied. (“I wasn’t playing around,” she says.) She chose Maryland because of the Incentive Awards Program (IAP).

Founded by former university president Dan Mote, the privately funded program provides not only four years of full financial support for 17 outstanding incoming students from difficult backgrounds in 18 terp winter 2013

s one of the nation’s top public research universities, Maryland wants to attract outstanding students intent on changing their lives and the world around them. Private giving through Great Expectations lifted the financial barriers for some of these students.

Scholarships have also helped Maryland compete for the best students, whether undergraduates seeking a special learning experience outside the classroom or graduate students raised developing life-saving technologies. $253 million

TS N E D U ST

Prince George’s County and Baltimore, but also a support system to develop character, responsibility and leadership. Sixty-five students are now enrolled in IAP. “It wasn’t just the money,” says Adams, now a manager of institute support with Teach for America. “It provided a sense of community and of duty, to go back and show how kids growing up in Baltimore can be successful.”

Adams’ parents divorced when she was 2, and her father wasn’t in the picture until she was at Maryland. Her mother, Myra Smith, spent 25 years as a geriatric nurse at Sinai Hospital, supporting Adams and her brother, Janeal, now 21.

Her mom’s back and knee problems frequently forced her to cut back to parttime or even more sporadic work. They moved from one sketchy Baltimore place to another, then down to the Orlando area, and back. They left Saratoga Street after a police shootout in the public housing community that faced their rowhouse.

Smith insisted that her daughter go to college. Teachers pushed her, too.

That goal doesn’t sound so ambitious without context: There were more than 1,000 students in her freshman class at Northwestern, Adams says. Only 200 graduated. About 150 planned to enroll in college—the highest number in seven years. A total of five earned a bachelor’s degree in four years.

As an Incentive Awards Scholar, the

shy Adams was pushed out of her comfort zone, practicing public speaking, networking with D.C. professionals, volunteering in the community and visiting her alma mater to motivate students there.

A criminology and criminal justice major, she joined the Student Government Association and advocated for a film studies major, which starts this fall.

“She’s a quiet storm, somebody who is constantly making progress, but not out there in your face,” says IAP Director Jacqueline Lee. “She’s a wonderful example of what IAP is all about.”

Through a connection with one of her high school teachers, she secured an internship at Teach for America, which she kept all four years. Then she joined the program, teaching fourth grade in the South Bronx, N.Y., for three years while earning her master’s in education at Pace University.

But it bothered her that she wasn’t giving back to Baltimore, the way she did through IAP. She shifted to coaching teachers in Baltimore for Teach for America and, now, organizing training events in the city and other areas. Adams recently moved to the Bronx with her mom and brother, and hopes to work in public school administration someday, supporting teacher autonomy and inspiring students like her.

“It’s about knowing no matter what experiences you have in life, you can have goals,” she says, “and we’re going to help you achieve them.”–lb

(IAP) provided a sense of

community and of

duty to go back

and show how kids growing up in

Baltimore can be successful.

—Janiceia Adams ’07

Photo by John T. Consoli

winter 2013 terp 19

ts studen

the quotables Hundreds of scholarships were funded throughout Great Expectations: for undergraduates and graduate and transfer students, for merit and for need, for study abroad and many other opportunities. Here's what scholarships meant to just a few of the recipients:

I received grants, some scholarships.

I still had a humongous chunk that wasn’t covered. I got ‘Keep Me Maryland’ last year. I was just super relieved and excited and thrilled. Just to have this unexpected bundle fall out of the sky, it was the greatest thing.

—Nicole Prentice ’13, sociology Keep Me Maryland

Getting Banneker/Key was a dream, but it’s also making sure that I give back. I wouldn’t be here if somebody didn’t do something for me. Last semester, a friend and I started a B/K community council, which focuses mostly on building the community of B/K students and across campus.

We’re going to bring in alumni to network and work together to do some community service.

—Ed Waddill ’15, marketing Banneker/Key Scholarship

My sister and I moved out on our own when I was 18 and she was 16. With this scholarship, I’ve been able to continue my education against all odds and keep my internship. It’s also inspired my sister to continue her studies at Montgomery College.

She can see there are resources out there for students who are struggling.

—Nicholas Garcia ‘13, management Clifford and Camille Kendall Endowed Scholarship (at the Universities at Shady Grove)

I was applying to graduate schools while in the Peace Corps in Thailand, and I knew I wanted to work in international development, preferably in the government. Maryland’s School of Public Policy’s program with the Robertson Foundation provided unparalleled support to accomplish my goals.

—Kent Elliott M.P.P. ’13 Robertson Fellowship Program

I went to Costa Rica in summer 2011 to study sustainable community design.

I really enjoyed what I learned about how easy and affordable you can make some systems in the built environment.

It really helped influence how I want to direct my future career.

—Lucy Wang ’12, landscape architecture Eric B. Young, MD International Travel-Study Award

I always wanted to study abroad, so when I heard about this opportunity from my department at Tel Aviv University to come teach Hebrew and continue my work in Jewish studies, it was amazing. Once you are seeing so many diverse ways of thinking, and meeting so many international students, it broadens your horizons and enriches you as a person. It just makes you a better student.

—Shirly Malachi M.A. ’13 Morningstar Scholarship in hebrew language pedagogy

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Photo by John T. Consoli

the voice Opera Graduate Student Benefits from New School of Music Scholarship Soprano Amber Schwarzrock was prepared to take out loans to cover her graduate education in the Maryland Opera Studio. She’d already signed the papers when the opera director told her she’d received a newly established scholarship.

“I burst into tears,” she says. “The cost definitely put a strain on our family, because we’re essentially paying for three households.”

The Suzanne Beicken Memorial Scholarship, named for a lecturer who taught for 32 years in the School of Music and died in May 2011, covered part of her tuition.

Schwarzrock’s husband, Kristofer, is in the Army and stationed in California, and her children, Trysten, 8, and Leila, 3, live with her parents and in-laws in Minnesota, defraying the costs of child care and allowing her to focus on her studies.

The scholarship was established by Beicken’s husband, Germanic studies professor Peter Beicken.

“He’s been to all of my performances and has been a wonderful supporter,” Schwarzrock says.–KS

photos by John T. Consoli / photo credits

winter 2013 terp 21

ts studen

the veteran After two tours in Iraq, respiratory damage, Roel Mora perseveres with Tillman Scholarship Raised in rural Yuba City, Calif., Roel Mora ’13 didn’t want his future to include picking any more peaches in 100-degree heat or planting endless rows of tomato plants.

“When I was going through high school, I heard all of the negative statistics about minorities, how 50 percent of us wouldn’t graduate,” he says. “I thought, ‘I’m not going to be one of those.’”

Mora, 29, became an Air Force staff sergeant who served two tours of duty in Iraq, and he’s about to complete his bachelor’s degree in economics as a Tillman Military Scholar. The scholarship funded by the Pat Tillman Foundation in honor of the late Army Ranger recognizes service members and their spouses who demonstrate leadership potential, military and personal achievement and service. Mora, now a reservist, is one of five Maryland Tillman scholars; the funds cover a portion of their in-state tuition.

He’s persevered despite a recent diagnosis of constrictive bronchiolitis. Regular exposure to toxic fumes from garbageburning pits overseas scarred a portion of his respiratory system.

“There’s nothing they can give me to make it better,” he says, “but it doesn’t worsen.”

His no-wallowing attitude motivated the Mexican-born Mora to earn U.S. citizenship and two associate’s degrees while stationed at Andrews Air Force Base.

Mora hopes to combine his military experience and aptitude for “seeing how things work” to land a position with the Air Force Executive Office of Combat and Missions Support.

Terry Zacker, who works closely with Maryland’s Tillman scholars in her role in the Division of Student Affairs, says Mora’s future is so much brighter than the one he faced working in the fields.

“I know he'll be successful,” she says. “He loves learning and what he's doing.”–MAB

I know he’ll be

successful. he loves learning

and what he’s doing.

—Terry zacker, coordinator of development and student relations, Division of Student Affairs

22 terp winter 2013

photos by John T. Consoli

LTY U C A F

he success of any great university depends on recruiting, retaining and advancing great faculty. They make a profound impact through teaching, research, scholarship and service. Private support for faculty during the campaign took on many forms: providing world-class research and teaching facilities; endowing chairs that offer a financial incentive to relocate or remain at UMD; and creating programs that help faculty raised soar to the forefront of their fields. $132 million

TS N E D U ST

the motivator William Fourney breaks tradition by recruiting the best faculty to excite freshmen through a novel approach: teaching them about engineering It’s a common warning heard by freshmen in engineering schools: Look to your right, then to your left. Only one of you will graduate.

The coursework is particularly tough, says Professor William Fourney, and freshmen often have to run a gauntlet of physics, calculus and chemistry courses before even learning what engineers do.

Looking to buck this national trend, Fourney and Nariman Farvardin, then dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, decided in 2005 to overhaul Maryland’s curriculum for freshmen and transfer students. With support from Lockheed Martin and the Clark School’s board of visitors, they launched the Keystone Program, which features dedicated lab space and a core set of classes to give new students a solid engineering foundation while piquing their interest.

The most essential step in getting the program up and running, Fourney says, was recruiting some of the engineering

Challenging engineering freshmen to excel in problem solving is an important part of the Keystone Program led

by William Fourney (background center, brown sweater) and Kevin Calabro (kneeling center, brown jacket).

winter 2013 terp 23

y facult

the communicator

school’s top faculty to teach these fundamental courses.

“We wanted [faculty] who were convinced beyond a doubt that it’s extremely worthwhile to motivate students, challenge students and have them understand just how rewarding a career in engineering can be,” says Fourney, a former chair of two departments.

With Fourney as the lead Keystone professor—he teaches two freshmen courses every semester and is joined by 17 other Keystone professors and four instructors—the program has blossomed. In six years, Maryland’s firstyear engineering retention rate jumped from 81.9 percent to almost 91 percent, and the Clark School now graduates nearly two out of every three students who enter engineering.

The most visible of the Keystone courses is ENES 100, an introductory course that challenges teams of students to design, build and test an autonomous hovercraft.

“We try to make it as realistic as possible for what they’ll be doing after they graduate,” says Kevin Calabro ’05, a Keystone instructor and associate director of the program. “The students have an impossible problem; they’ve got a deadline that has to be met; they have a limited amount of knowledge; and they have to come together as a team to make this thing work.”

It doesn’t always pan out, Calabro says, but most students report the experience was invaluable nonetheless.

“Our craft failed every time,” recalls Zachary Dane, now a third-year electrical and computer engineering major. “But I learned more from that one class about teamwork, time management and critical thinking than in all my other freshman classes combined.”

That’s the point, says Calabro.

“One of the greatest things we provide these students with is the ability to analyze and solve problems,” he says. “And that is going to allow them to be successful in almost anything they choose to do in life, including engineering.”—TV

gift list

Thousands of donors came together to meet the Great Expectations goal. Here are just some of those gifts that changed the face of Maryland:

24 terp winter 2013

An author and peace activist, Fatemeh Keshavarz hopes to expand appreciation for Persian culture in the U.S. Fatemeh Keshavarz, new director of the Roshan Center for Persian Studies, isn’t thinking small: She wants to move her field “to the center of humanities on campus,” she says.

Keshavarz, who is also the first Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute Chair in Persian Studies, is planning projects such a first-time translation of the seminal “Our Bodies, Ourselves,” a collaboration with the Department of Women’s Studies, and awarding fellowships to train academic leaders who broaden the field’s scope by working across disciplines. Keshavarz also hopes to improve digital access to poetry, music, lectures and scholarly texts.

“The Iranian community in the United States is just coming to realize that it has a lot to offer,” she says.

Keshavarz brings her own impressive record to Maryland. An internationally respected interpreter and scholar, she spoke before the United Nations in 2007 on the importance of cultural education to world peace.–MAB

Iranian community in the United States is just coming to realize

The

that it has a lot to offer.

—Fatemeh Keshavarz

2005

Robert H. Smith ’50 donates $30M to support students, faculty and programs in the business school that now bears his

name and at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

A. James Clark ’50 donates $30M to support scholarships at the engineer-

ing school named for him.

John B. Colvin ’69 and his wife Karen give $3M to establish the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development,

the legacy Endowed professorship lures computer science pioneer Mohammad Hajiaghayi to expand his work while honoring its namesake What would happen if every smartphone user in New York City tried to simultaneously view this year’s Super Bowl halftime show?

Absolutely nothing, says Mohammad Hajiaghayi, who addressed the problem of congested wireless networks as a senior research scientist at AT&T Labs. The solution, Hajiaghayi says, lies in identifying the intent of individual users; which are texting, sending photos, talking—or watching a live broadcast—and then directing their data to specific cell towers with enough capacity to meet their needs.

He helped pioneer this concept, known as incentive-aware algorithm design, and he was lured to Maryland in 2010 to continue the work as the Jack and Rita G. Minker Professor in computer science.

“I’ve always been driven to work on real, large-scale data problems that require practical solutions,” Hajiaghayi says.

The chair at Maryland offers Hajiaghayi a platform to expand this quest for practical knowledge, providing funding for new research and support for graduate assistants and postdocs. He also has access to the university’s technology commercialization network to keep developing his ideas; Hajiaghayi already holds several patents from his work at AT&T. “Mohammad brings a strong background in network optimization and an entrepreneurial mindset that he readily shares with students and colleagues. We’re very fortunate to have him,” says Amitabh Varshney, director of

home of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation’s Master’s in Real Estate Development program.

Robert A. Facchina ’77, CEO of

photo by John T. Consoli

yogurt and beverage maker Johanna Foods, establishes a $1.2M endowment to help create the Center for Food Safety and Security Systems in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Chevy Chase Bank (now Capital One) announces $2M to create endowment for scholarships for business students.

Robert E. Fischell M.S. ’53, with

help from his three sons, donates $31M to establish the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Robert E. Fischell Institute of Biomedical Devices.

winter 2013 terp 25

y facult

the evaluator Ritu Agarwal explores how health information technology is altering the medical landscape Bringing together advances in digital technology and medicine sounds like a cure for much of what ails doctors’ offices, hospitals and labs. But accomplishing that has challenges, and Ritu Agarwal studies them.

As the dean’s chair of information systems in the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Agarwal benefits from discretionary funding that assists in her research and scholarship.

She explores how health information technology (IT) can expand health-care access, improve quality and reduce errors and costs—as well as barriers to its success, including usability and privacy.

“If there isn’t any rigorous evaluation of what the benefits of using these technologies are,” she says, “people are reluctant to make investments of both time and money.”–TV Mohammad Hajiaghayi is the Jack and Rita G. Minker Professor of computer science.

the university’s Institute for Advanced Computer Studies.

The chair endowed by Jack Minker, professor emeritus and founder of Maryland’s computer science department, carries name recognition in the international scientific community: He was at the forefront of early research in artificial intelligence, and his late wife was a noted computer scientist. He’s also known for his efforts in the 1970s and ’80s to assist scientists worldwide whose human rights were violated, including Soviet physicist Andrei Sakarov.

“Having a chair named for Dr. Minker means that anything I do will reflect on his legacy. That is important to me,” Hajiaghayi says. “I hope I’m successful enough that one day there might be a chair in my name, and people will remember my work, too.”–TV

2006

A $1.5M gift from Joseph ’51 and Alma ’53 Gildenhorn enables a major expansion of the Israeli studies program, renaming it the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies.

26 terp winter 2013

The David H. and Suzanne D. Hillman Family Foundation gives $1.7M to launch the Hillman Entrepreneurship Program, supporting promising transfer students from Prince George’s Community College.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation announces grants totaling $5.4M to the Philip Merrill College of Journalism, prompting the college to name its planned new building for the Knights.

2007

T.K. “Patrick” Sung ’69, Ph.D. ’72 and wife Marguerite Sung ’70 donate $2M to endow two chemical engineering professorships in the A. James Clark School of Engineer-

Hajiaghayi and banisky photos by John T. Consoli / Agarwal photo courtesy of smith business school

the journalist Students investigate tough urban issues in Baltimore with former editor of The Sun As a brand-new reporter, Holly Nunn, M. Jour. ’11 relished the chance to go into the heart of Baltimore and do on-the-ground reporting. Sandy Banisky’s class was just the ticket.

“I knew I could sit in a classroom with amazing professors all day long and never learn how to be an actual reporter,” says Nunn, now a politics reporter for The Gazette of Politics and Business. “Sandy’s class is designed to make you go do the work. She makes her students look at tough issues from all sides.”

Banisky, a former deputy managing editor at The Baltimore Sun, came to Maryland in 2008 as the Abell Professor in Baltimore Journalism.

The position is the result of a gift from the Abell Foundation, which is dedicated to enhancing quality of life in Baltimore and Maryland.

“It’s been extraordinary to watch young reporters, particularly many suburban students, explore a city that is in many ways struggling to reinvent itself,” she says.

Over the last four years, her classes have explored issues including obesity, poverty, juvenile justice and even the impact of the Orioles’ then-13-year losing streak. All their work goes up on an interactive site, for which they create graphics, slideshows, videos and more.

“Sandy’s class taught me that journalism isn’t easy work, and that I will do this job for years and years and still have a lot to learn,” Nunn says.–KS

ing and a mathematics fellowship in the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences.

Former business school dean and UMD Foundation board of

directors chair William E. Mayer ’66, M.B.A. ’67 donates $5M, a portion of which created William E. Mayer Mall outside Van Munching Hall.

Sandy Banisky, center, with students at The Baltimore Sun.

Sandy’s class is designed to make you go

do the work.

She makes her students

look at tough issues

from all sides.

—Holly Nunn, M. Jour. ’11

A $3M gift from the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, an independent charitable foundation, significantly expands the Persian studies program.

Jean Mullan ’68 donates $500,000 to create the endowed Jeffrey and David Mullan Professorship in Teacher Education-Professional Development, named for her sons.

winter 2013 terp 27

ION T A V INNO

raised aryland encourages creative thinkers and $173 million entrepreneurial ideas, nurturing them from research and development into the marketplace. Private giving has been central to this focus on turning ideas into impact. It’s allowed faculty and students to take a “high-risk high-reward” approach and means for outreach to the state and beyond, including community-based wellness groups, clean energy or the next generation of surgical implants.

NTS E D U T S

the bone healer Bionengineering research to regenerate bone structure holds promise for victims of severe facial injuries, defects John Fisher is an engineer who designs bridges. Not for cars. For bones.

In his Tissue Engineering & Biomaterials Laboratory, Fisher is designing bioengineered materials that may one day form a “living scaffold” to regenerate bone structure in people who’ve suffered severe facial injuries.

He’s using a patent-pending bioreactor that can nurture human bone cells and biodegradable materials that, when combined, offer physicians an alternative to metallic implants that are prone to infection.

This groundbreaking work is just one of the projects under way in the Fischell Department of Engineering, launched in 2006 with a $31 million gift from biomedical inventor Robert Fischell M.S. ’53 and his three sons.

Alice Horowitz Ph.D. ’92 gives $2M to create the Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy and the Herschel S. Horowitz Endowed Chair in Health Literacy in the School of Public Health.

28 terp winter 2013

Barry and Mary Gossett give $10M, with $8M designated for Intercollegiate Athletics, making it the largest private gift in Maryland Athletics history, and $2 million for scholarships.

2008 Bill Longbrake ’76

and his wife Martha give $1.5M to expand the Smith School, including creating the Longbrake Ph.D. Suite and Director’s Office in Van Munching Hall’s North Wing.

2009

The Clarice Smith

Performing Arts Center receives $1M from the Morris & Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation to support the technology and equipment infrastructure.

photo by John T. Consoli

“The private support [from Fischell] has moved my research forward from day one,” Fisher says.

He cites the establishment of the department itself, the addition of a bioengineering wing to the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building in 2008 and Fischell’s support of graduate students, who are vital to any research project.

Diana Yoon Ph.D. ’08 was the first graduate student in Fisher’s lab, working on earlier research involving bioengineered materials to help regenerate cartilage growth. She completed her doctoral degree with a full fellowship established by Fischell and is now at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“The fellowship allowed me to choose a lab that inspired me, rather than one where funding just happened to be available,” Yoon says.

Fisher’s work to help heal catastrophic facial injuries is several years from clinical trials, but he foresees a day when physicians will take a 3-D scan of an injured area and literally “print out” a support scaffold made of his bioengineered material.

“We take the approach of the engineering discipline and apply it to biological problems where we can help people,” Fisher says. “That’s really what bioengineers bring to the game—helping people and solving problems.”–TV

the private support has

moved my research forward

from day one.

—john fisher

With a $1M pledge, Lisa and George Zakhem establish the Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace to address the concerns, issues and principles reflected in the work of the Lebanese poet.

the futurists

Druin

chinoy

Seed grants help students and Alliance grow bold ideas about how to address contemporary information challenges 24-hour radio programming for the deaf look like? Could state prison officials use cell phones confiscated from inmates to identify and track outside criminal networks? How can the National Park Service improve public access to millions of its photos and other items documenting American history and culture?

These are just a few of the ideas floated as part of a seed grant competition launched last fall by the Future of Information Alliance (FIA), an eclectic group of students, faculty and staff who are teaming up with 10 outside organizations to address some of today’s most perplexing information challenges. fia partners The seed grants—funded for at least three uG ov. Martin O’Malley and the state of Maryland years as part of a $1 million gift from the uL ibrary of Congress Robert W. Deutsch Foundation—will support uN ational Archives and teams of UMD students tasked with developRecords Administration u National Geographic Society ing novel concepts and prototypes or coming u The Newseum up with research findings that lead to practiuS esame Workshop cal information applications. uW AMU 88.5 “We challenged them to dream big, to uT he Barrie School think of ideas and solutions that have the u U.S. National Park Service uS mithsonian Institution potential to change lives,” says the iSchool’s Allison Druin, who with journalism’s Ira Chinoy is leading the alliance.

Four teams of students and their faculty mentors were expected to be selected in February to each receive up to $25,000 to carry out their projects this spring.

Part of the rationale behind the seed grants is to develop ideas to the point where they might spark interest from other funding sources, says Chinoy. Another focus is on finding cost-effective solutions for organizations with limited resources.

National Public Radio affiliate WAMU 88.5, for example, has broached the idea of offering 24-hour programming that is easily accessible for people who are hearing-impaired.

There are already information tools that can quickly translate voice communications to closed captioning, says Brendan Sweeney, who produces WAMU’s “Kojo Nnamdi Show,” but much of that technology is proprietary and can’t be duplicated.

“We don’t have the resources of a tech giant like Google, so we’re hoping to work with Maryland students and others to come up with an effective solution to improve and expand the WAMU experience for our audience,” Sweeney says.–TV What would

2011

Baltimore developer and philanthropist Edward St. John ’63 pledges $10M to build the Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center.

The Philip Merrill College of Journal-

ism creates the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism, following a $1M challenge gift from the legendary sportswriter’s children, Lynn, David and Maury (who’s married to journalist Connie Chung ’69).

Bruce and Karen ’76 Levenson provide funding to create the Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership.

winter 2013 terp 29

ION INNOVAT

TION INNOVA

the empowerers “Wellness circles” help diabetic Latinas take charge of their health

the energizer Young entrepreneur makes solar power cheaper A new method to improve solar power efficiency may be looking Andrew Oles ’10 in the face.

With support from a Warren Citrin Graduate Fellowship, awarded to outstanding graduate students focused on innovation and sustainability, the mechanical engineering student seeks to upgrade solar thermal power plants. The up-and-coming green energy source uses large solar mirrors that can rapidly heat water for steam-powered generators.

The biggest challenge is the cost associated with building and mounting the solar mirrors, known as heliostats. “We need to go from heliostats that cost $140 per square meter to units at about $100 per square meter to effectively compete against coal and other fossil fuels,” says Oles, a Hinman CEOs program alumnus.

He’s refining the design of the motors and infrastructure used to swivel the mirrors toward the sun. Then he wants to commercialize a system that he believes will be 20 percent cheaper and 30 percent more efficient.–TV

2012

Professor Michael Brin and wife Eugenia Brin give $3 million to endow a mathematics postdoctorate fellowship program.

30 terp winter 2013

An anonymous donor pledges a $1M planned gift to create the Col. Robert A. Stewart USAF Veterans Scholarship Fund, honoring the 1962 graduate who was killed in combat in Vietnam.

After watching her grandmother, mother and uncles succumb to diabetes, Tatiana Quintanilla considered her diagnosis a “death sentence.”

Participating in a seven-month wellness program with other diabetic Latinas helped the mother of two improve her health and outlook. She was one of 20 women selected for bi-weekly wellness circles, a collaboration between the Primary Care Coalition of Montgomery County, the School of Public Health’s Horowitz Center for Health Literacy, the Spanish Catholic Center, Impact Silver Spring and others.

The Horowitz Center was founded through a gift from research associate professor Alice M. Horowitz Ph.D. ’92, a former member of the NIH Committee on Health Literacy who wanted to help Americans better understand and use health information.

Aided by bilingual facilitators, low-income and lowliteracy participants in the wellness circles improved self-care habits like glucose monitoring and shared tips with their peers, such as how to cook brown rice.

“They were learning so much, partly because they formed strong friendships,” says Izione Silva, program director at Primary Care Coalition. “It brought that empowerment piece of getting patients to view diabetes as a disease they can manage.”

Routine glucose testing among Latinas, says Horowitz Center Director Linda Aldoory, tends to be “significantly lower” than among African Americans or Caucasians.

Monitoring can minimize complications. Wellness circle participants reduced their hemoglobin A1c an average of one percentage point, enough to lower heart disease risk.

Aldoory has applied for a $20,000 grant to establish a virtual wellness circle that combines formal reminders and factoids with “peer cheer” text messages.

Quintanilla is eager to participate. Today, she walks up to five times a week and makes sure her family avoids sugary foods.

“I want to teach them from a young age the good habits I didn’t learn until I was an adult,” she says.–KM

photo (left) by John T. Consoli / photo (center) by thinkstock.com

IES T I L I C FA

raised

ricks and mortar can help ensure that $306 million learning, teaching, research and achievement flourish. Private giving during the campaign has allowed Maryland to design and build hightech buildings and to upgrade labs and classrooms and arts and athletic facilities. Gifts also have enhanced the campus grounds, so they’re more vibrant, visually appealing, pedestrian friendly and environmentally sensitive than ever.

Garden of Reflection and Remembrance The nonprofit Open Spaces, Sacred Places supported construction of a granite labyrinth, two sustainable fountains and green spaces outside Memorial Chapel.

photo by John T. Consoli

winter 2013 terp 31

ies facilit

Maryland Neuroimaging Center

A state-of-the-art facility normally seen only in teaching hospitals allows Maryland researchers to examine the human brain in real time using noninvasive techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG).

The Design Studio

This comprehensive space in the Art-Sociology Building for working and learning, supported in part

by Nancy Clarvit ’78, features tables for art students to sketch on, laptops with software to design on, and printers, a scanner, a projector and a critique board.

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center Technology

Funding from the Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation supports new technology and equipment infrastructure needed to present nearly 1,000 performances and events each year.

32 terp winter 2013

counterclockwise from top: John T. Consoli / courtesy of clarice smith performing arts center / john t. consoli

Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center

The first new building on campus in 50 years dedicated solely to classroom space will be outfitted with technology designed to meet the needs of the future.

Fischell Bioengineering Wing

STAINED GLASS OCULAR

A 7,400-square-foot addition to the Kim Engineering Building houses new laboratories and office suites for Maryland’s rapidly growing bioengineering program.

The unique ocular in the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center’s Orem Hall was a gift from A. Ford Hall Sr. ’68 and June B. Hall. It features a design based on the Maryland state flag and measures nearly 8 feet in diameter.

St. John Rendering courtesy of Interface Multimedia Inc. / fischell photo by John T. Consoli / ocular photo by lisa helfert

winter 2013 terp 33

ies facilit

Tyser Tower

Men’s Lacrosse Locker Room

A major renovation to the five-story tower included the addition of 64 luxury skyboxes, 400 new mezzanine-level seats, an upgrade to the press box area and enhanced seating for disabled fans.

Alumni of the men’s lacrosse program stepped forward to refurbish the space in Gossett Team House, reconfiguring the space, replacing the steel lockers with solid wood ones and installing new carpeting.

Mayer Mall

An expansive green space with benches, landscaping and a stately clock tower outside Van Munching Hall was funded by former Smith School dean William E. Mayer ’66, M.B.A. ’67.

UNIVERSITY HOUSE

Funded by private donations, the new facility includes ample public space where the university president can host events.

Michelle Smith Collaboratory for Visual Culture

Using virtual reality and multimodal displays, the facility allows users to “visually immerse” themselves in subjects ranging from 12th century Japanese art scrolls to European architecture.

tyser and lacrosse photos by greg fiume

thank you Campaign Co-Chairs u David C. Driskell,

Professor Emeritus u Alma Gildenhorn ’53, Philanthropist u Barry P. Gossett, CEO, Acton Mobile Enterprises u William E. Mayer ’66, M.B.A. ’67, Partner, Park Avenue Equity Partners u Lowell R. Glazer ’55, President, A&G Management

Honorary Campaign Co-chairs u A. James Clark ’50,

John S. and James L. Knight Hall

High-tech classrooms and advanced multimedia labs help one of the nation’s leading journalism school’s prepare students for a rapidly changing industry.

Chairman and CEO, Clark Enterprises Inc. u Robert E. Fischell M.S. ’53, Chairman, Fischell Biomedical LLC u Robert H. Smith ’50, Chairman, Charles E. Smith Commercial Realty and Charles E. Smith Residential. He passed away in December 2009.

Scholarship co-chairs u Connie Chung ’69,

Journalist u Gary Williams ’68, Former

Men’s Basketball Coach u Buno Pati ’86, M.S. ’88,

Ph.D. ’92, Chief Executive Officer, Sezmi Corp.

University Golf Course

A privately supported renovation fund helped with reconstruction of all tee and green complexes to USGA specifications, new concrete golf car paths, construction of new bunkers and expanded practice facilities.

photos by John T. Consoli

Silent Phase: July 2004–October 2006

Public Phase:

October 2006–December 2012

winter 2013 terp 35

innovation

Wonder “Worm” Researchers Developing Mini Robot for Brain Surgery Removing any brain tumor is a delicate proposition. Deeply embedded tumors raise the stakes: Even the subtlest disturbance during neurosurgery can lead to disability or death.

An engineer, a radiologist and a neurosurgeon are combining their expertise to develop a tiny robotic tool that, aided by magnetic resonance imaging, one day could offer greatly improved visuals of brain tumors and pinpoint accuracy for safely removing them.

Jaydev P. Desai (left), University of Maryland associate professor of mechanical engineering who specializes in surgical robotics; Rao Gullapalli, associate professor of diagnostic radiology and nuclear medicine; and neurosurgeon J. Marc Simard, both at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, head a research team that recently won $2 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop their prototype.

They’ve been working on the metal wormlike tool for several years in the kind of joint UMD-UMB research that the two institutions are encouraging through the MPowering the State initiative.

23,000 The National Cancer Institute reported nearly

new cases of brain tumors in the U.S. in 2011.

36 terp winter 2013

photos by John T. Consoli

“It allows our engineers and others to see firsthand the problems that physicians face, further motivating them to innovate new solutions in health care and design the next generation of biomedical devices,” says Patrick O’Shea, UMD’s vice president for research and chief research officer.

Type, location and size of tumors are all factors in patients’ long-term outlook, as are advances in surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The National Cancer Institute reported nearly 23,000 new cases of brain tumors in the U.S. in 2011, and 13,700 deaths.

In conventional neurosurgery, surgeons make a corridor that may be nearly as large as the tumor itself through normal overlying tissues.

“Obviously, this is potentially harmful to the patient,” says Simard. “It

would be much better if a very narrow corridor could be made to introduce a miniature device to remove the tumor.”

The Minimally Invasive Neurosurgical Intracranial Robot (MINIR) may be that device.

About a half-inch in diameter and the length of a finger, MINIR would be inserted into the brain through a small opening. By watching continuous magnetic resonance images, the surgeon would be able to see the precise sites of the tumor and the robot.

The robot then electrocauterizes the tumor and sucks the debris through another suction tube, causing minimal trauma to normal brain tissue.

“This technology has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of patients with difficult-to-reach intracranial tumors,” Desai says.–et

Microgreens carry four to six times the nutrients of their mature counterparts and are a great source of cancer-fighting antioxidants.

NewsDesk

University of Maryland faculty are the source news media turn to for expertise.

“Just as the Taliban scare us with terror, we must scare them by making them unable to operate. We must terrorize them by investing more than ever before in educating girls.”

—Madiha Afzal, public policy, on the outrage following the Taliban’s shooting of a 14-year-old girl, in an op/ed in the (Pakistan) Express Tribune, Oct. 11, 2012 (Excerpt in CNN.com Oct. 13).

Microgreens top the Hawaiian Hearts of Palm Salad at D.C.’s Restaurant Nora, the nation’s first certified organic restaurant.

Microgreens Pack Nutritional Punch The baby shoots of arugula, red cabbage and other veggies dressing up your restaurant dinner plate can also add pizzazz to your diet.

A Maryland researcher has found that these microgreens carry four to six times the nutrients of their mature counterparts and are a great source of cancerfighting antioxidants.

“We were a bit surprised the numbers came back so high. We used several different [testing] methods to make sure,” says Qin Wang, an assistant professor of nutrition and food science who conducted the research with graduate student Zhenlei Xiao and scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The researchers are currently working on a follow-up study to see how storage, light and other factors might affect the nutritional value of microgreens.

But don’t expect to see microgreens at your local fast-food joint anytime soon. Because they’re difficult to grow and transport, Wang says, the small shoots are usually seen only in fine dining establishments.

“We use them for flavor, color and texture, but also because they’re good for you,” says Nora Pouillon, executive chef and owner of Restaurant Nora in Washington, D.C. “Food, after all, is about both presentation and nutrition.”–tv

microgreens Photo courtesy of Maureen Quinn / newsdesk illustration by brian g. payne

“There is no line item in these departments that reads ‘waste, fraud and abuse.’”

—Phillip Joyce, public policy, on the challenges the president and Congress face in cutting the federal budget, in Bloomberg Businessweek, Nov. 8, 2012.

“Just as music can stir the emotions, language that appeals to the ear can lift people’s sights and spirits, inspiring them to do things that they would otherwise not.”

—Stephen Cohen, communication, on charisma in oratory, in The Financial Times, Jan. 2, 2013.

Hear more University of Maryland experts in the media at twitter.com/UMDNews.

winter 2013 terp 37

faculty Q & A

a talk on the dark side

Students flock to hear Scott Roberts Ph.D. ’08 talk about deviant behaviors and why being bad sometimes feels good. His popular new course, “The Psychology of Evil,” delves into topics such as morality and religion and nurture vs. nature. It might sound like a change in direction for someone who’s done cognitive research on chimpanzees and trained dolphins. Roberts, lecturer and director of undergraduate studies in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, explains why it’s not.–mab

Q. How did you make the transition from a working in a chimp lab in Ohio to exploring the dark side of human nature?

A. There is a common thread: wanting to understand why. The fundamental nature of psychology is to understand what we see. Primates and dolphins evolved separately, so why are their capabilities similar to each other, and to ours? With evil, it’s not sufficient to say, “They’re bad people.”

A. They had a hard time understanding why people would do these things and are convinced they wouldn’t. When we are confused, stressed and afraid, we do not behave rationally.

These were not crazy people in a normal situation; it is the other way around.

Q. On the flip side of this gloomy work are your other interests: photography, graphic design and developing some entrepreneurial endeavors. How do they fit in?

Q. You warn students in the syllabus that some of the materials may be graphic or disturbing, such as photos of murder scenes or a discussion of what motivates people to harm others. Did planning the course give you pause?

A. It’s so important for students to really understand what we’re talking about. I want to be sensitive. But to understand it in a scientific way, you have to have the emotional experience, too.

I definitely don’t do it for shock value, but this is not something that you can learn about in abstract.

A. The balance is all about being creative. I’m lucky because teaching gives me that as well. I’m creating a learning experience that challenges and engages students. I certainly wish that there were more time in the day for the creative projects and business ventures.

Q. You live next to and commute to work with your younger brother, Andrew (associate director of marketing and communications for the college). Is that a togetherness overload?

Q. You and the director of the disturbing thriller “Compliance” participated in a Q&A at an early screening this summer. The film was based on a true story of how an authoritative stranger persuaded several people to assault a young woman. What did the attendees want to know?

38 terp winter 2013

A. We have so much in common, the same sense of humor and the joint entrepreneurial interests. We both relish in the fact that we get to contribute to this overall thing [the university] we believe in. We have too much fun together for it to be an overload.

photo by scott roberts

Paving the Future Civil Engineers, Afghans to Improve ravaged Roads Decades of conflict and unstable leadership have left Afghanistan’s outdated and limited infrastructure crumbling. As the country starts to rebuild, Maryland’s Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) is lending valuable expertise.

“There are challenges because it’s still very much a war zone,” says CATT Director Tom Jacobs. “But we’ve certainly offered our technical support and want to help them.”

In the new three-year partnership, the Afghanistan Ministry of Public Works is interested in CATT’s work on the Maryland State Highway Administration’s cuttingedge virtual weigh station. Sensors on the highway collect data including

truck classification, gross weight and axle weight, making it harder for drivers to avoid being weighed and helping officers target overweight vehicles for enforcement. The Afghan ministry hopes to use this system to keep super-heavy trucks—sometimes more than 150,000 pounds, nearly double the U.S. weight limit—from damaging roads.

The Afghan government is also looking for ways to monitor the Salang Tunnel, an essential north-south route through an extensive mountain range that cuts a three-day journey to just one. The ministry wants to be able to act when snow, avalanches or other problems cause blockages or congestion.–ks

MIPS

heavy medal

Physics Professor Awarded National Medal of Science President Barack Obama has named physics Professor Sylvester James “Jim” Gates Jr. a 2013 recipient of the National Medal of Science.

Along with the National Medal of Technology, it’s the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists, engineers and inventors.

Gates is known for his groundbreaking work in string theory as well as for popularizing science among young people.

Commercial products generated via MIPS include: Martek Biosciences’ nutritional oils Hughes Communications’ HughesNet high-speed satellite Internet

Years

A unique partnership that joins university experts with Maryland-based companies seeking to develop new products celebrated a quarter-century of success in November.

afghanistan photo by ADEK BERRY/AFP/GettyImages / gates photo by John T. Consoli

MedImmune’s Synagis to prevent respiratory syncytial virus infections in infants Black & Decker’s bullet speed-tip masonry drill bit

winter 2013 terp 39

“ The University of Maryland has proven to be incredibly fertile ground for talented entrepreneurs.”

Giving

A Bigger Pour for Cup For seven years, the Cupid’s Cup business competition has awarded cash prizes to the top entrepreneurs at the university.

Now the competition is looking for the best in the country.

Kevin Plank ’97, founder and CEO of Under Armour, has made a significant gift to Maryland’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship to expand its contest to the national stage and supersize the prize.

Applicants will compete for awards totaling $70,000, up from $25,000, as well as coaching from successful entrepreneurs, services from top companies and the title of Cupid’s Cup winner. Plank will also grant the 2013 grand-prize winner exclusive access to his network.

“The University of Maryland has proven to be incredibly fertile ground for talented entrepreneurs,” he says, “and I am excited to expand our search and to share this inspiring program with passionate students nationwide.”

Plank named the competition after the rose-delivery business he started at Maryland. His experience running it gave him the confidence—and seed money—to launch Under Armour.

The contest is for students and alumni who own and operate their own businesses.

On April 5, the five finalists will pitch their businesses to Plank and a panel of judges before an audience of more than 1,000. The day’s events will also include a business and innovation showcase highlighting campus and regional startups.

“This competition inspires students to start businesses when they see others doing so successfully,” says Dingman Center Director Elana Fine. “Regardless of the businesses they start now, they’re much more likely to take risks on other opportunities later.”–lb

From Russia with Love

Professor Honors Mother with Department Endowment

$600 k for

endowment fund

40 terp winter 2013

When Emeritus Professor Michael Brin brought his family to the United States from the Soviet Union in 1979, he and his mother both found a home at the university. He researched and taught math for more than 30 years, and she, a former English teacher, taught in the Russian department for nearly 10.

“She liked the people, she liked the work,” Brin says. “It was good for her.”

That’s why he’s given $600,000 to establish the Maya Brin Endowment in Russian, following her passing in March 2012. The endowment will fund a residency, which will bring leading Russian scholars, artists and cultural figures to campus for short-term stays to promote Russian culture, and a new permanent teaching position.

“This has great potential, both for students studying Russian and those outside the field,” says Russian Undergraduate Director Elizabeth Papazian.

“It’s a way to bring Russian culture closer to non-Russian speakers. I hope this will inspire more students to take on this difficult language.”–ks

plank illustration by sabrena sesay / posters courtesy of the art gallery / maya brin photo courtesy of michael brin

Rocking Out, Frame by Frame Gift boosts concert poster collection A New Jersey-based poster collector has donated $5,000 to the Art Gallery to expand its collection of silkscreen concert posters, already one of the largest in the country.

The newly named Marcus Calendrillo Concert Poster Collection of nearly 300 prints features bands from the mid-’90s to today, including Animal Collective, Feist and The Black Keys. Well-known artists like Jay Ryan and Frank Kozik designed the posters.

“These posters tie in pop culture and visual design, and at the same time, are marvelous examples of fine art,” says Director John Shipman.–ks

winter 2013 terp 41

Transferring a Legacy Student Funds Scholarship to Honor Late Parents

Chelsea Gracyalny had barely started elementary school when she lost both parents in a horrific accident.

Now in college, Gracyalny is keeping their memory alive by helping others pursue an opportunity her father never had.

She recently gave $13,000 to double the College of Arts and Humanities’ Douglas and Holly Jacobs Memorial Scholarship, granted each year to a community college transfer student who demonstrates financial need. She’ll give another $5,000 on her father’s birthday for the next four years, a commitment that should enable annual awards to increase.

The pledge makes her the college’s youngest donor during the Great Expectations campaign.

“It was always something that I wanted to do,” says the third-year film and video major at Baltimore’s Maryland Institute College of Art. “As a student, I know how expensive college can be.”

Gracyalny remembers her father as “very social and adventurous.” Originally from Pittsburgh, he attended community college, then joined the Air Force. While stationed in England as part of the dental service, he met Holly, a reserved Louisiana native, when he was assigned to clean her teeth.

Although Douglas Jacobs never completed a four-year degree, he went on to a successful career in dental supply sales.

He was awarded in 1999 for his outstanding performance with a trip to Napa Valley, Calif. There, the hot-air balloon the couple was riding in hit power lines and burst into flames less than 300 feet from takeoff.

At 7, Chelsea became an orphan. Her aunt, Wendy Jacobs, an art professor and associate dean at UMD, brought Chelsea from Georgia to Maryland, and she and

her husband, David Gracyalny, later adopted her.

Her father’s co-workers hosted golf tournaments and friends raised money for Chelsea’s care. A wrongful death suit brought on her behalf resulted in an annuity that ensured her needs would be met into adulthood. Her family decided in 2002 to instead use the contributions

from friends and colleagues—an initial $4,000 that grew to about $13,000—to establish a living legacy at the university.

Now that Gracyalny understands the fund’s value, she sees it as a way to connect with her mom and dad.

“I didn’t create this fund, but my family knew it would be important,” she says.

“Their memory isn’t forgotten.”–km

$13 k for

transfer scholarships

42 terp winter 2013

photo by John T. Consoli

Maryland

MAKE YOUR LIFETIME COMMITMENT to

join the maryland alumni association as a life member and receive a 15% discount on wedding packages at the samuel riggs iv alumni center. learn more and join today at alumni.umd.edu. �

University of Maryland Alumni Association members Michael Hickey ’05 and Kathryn Doran ’05 returned to their alma mater to make their life commitment to each other at the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center.

Stephanie Miller Photography

class notes

’10s M.Jour. ’12 has

been hired as a sportswriter at the Centre Daily Times in State College, Pa., focusing on Penn State men’s basketball. He was an all-conference basketball player while earning his bachelor’s degree at Bloomsburg University.

the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the director of undergraduate research and a lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Chapel Hill.

’00s

Stacey Anita Noah Elkrie ’07 has written “A Guide to The Present Moment: How to Stop Believing the Thoughts that Keep You from Feeling Free, Whole and Happy.” It debuted this fall at No. 1 in six Amazon Kindle categories.

Steve Buzinski

Alonzo Washington

Ph.D ’11 and Kym

’07 has been appointed

Weed M.A. ’11 wed on May 12 on the beach in Stone Harbor, N.J. She is working on a doctorate in English at

44 terp Fall 2012

to audit supervisor at Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell, P.C., a Bethesda, Md.–based full-service CPA and business advisory firm.

and Vadim Polikov, the company sells and leases solar electric systems to homeowners.

the Catholic University of America.

Jonathan Micah

Gaenzle Ph.D. ’12

is engaged to marry Frank Joseph Havlik this summer. Stacey earned a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University and a master’s degree from the College of William & Mary, and is a professor at Villanova University.

of staff to Prince George's County Council member William A. Campos.

to fill the seat in the Maryland General Assembly vacated by

Noah Seth Reiss ’06

was married Dec. 15 to Regina Gail Klein at Temple Beth El in Cedarhurst, N.Y. He is an associate at Morris, Duffy, Alonso & Faley, a Manhattan law firm that specializes in insurance defense. He received a law degree from Hofstra University.

Adam Brett Moser ’04 and Shelby Nicole

Ebert were married Nov. 3 at the Royalton Mansion in Roslyn Heights, N.Y., according to The New York Times.

He is an associate at the White Plains law firm Pilkington & Leggett. He received a law degree from DePaul University.

Del. Justin Ross ’98.

Michael P. Uong ’04

He is a former chief

has been promoted

Richard Keaton

Army Maj. Archie Bates M.A. ’03, Ph.D. ’06 was named a

Ph.D. ’03 received the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award from the Eastern Illinois University (EIU) Alumni Association.

A lead chemist in core research and development for the Catalyst Synthesis and Implementation Group at the Dow Chemical Co., he’s written 12 patent applications and 40 internal researchdriven technical reports. He graduated from EIU in 1999.

2012-13 White House fellow, serving as executive officer to the director of Army Human Resources Policy. Previously, he served as assistant professor at his alma mater, the U.S. Military Academy, and has lectured internationally on leadership. Bates deployed to Baghdad with the 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division and was responsible for the individual readiness of more than 8,000 soldiers.

’02 and Patrick

Astrum Solar, cofounded by Josh Goldberg ’03, landed the No. 2 spot on Inc. magazine’s 2012 list of the fastest-growing private U.S. companies.

Based in Annapolis Junction, Md., and cofounded by Ben Davis

Charles Costello were married Sept. 22 at the University of Massachusetts Club in Boston, according to The New York Times.

She is the political director for U.S. Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and received a master’s in public policy from

Stein ’02 and Amanda Sharee Fein were married Dec. 15 in Rockville, Md. He received a law degree and a master’s in environmental law from Vermont Law School and works as a lawyer-adviser in the external compliance division of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Civil Rights.

Lindsay Paige Rich ’02 and Michael Justin

Alexandra Crawford Núñez

Madarash were married Dec. 15 at Cold Spring Country Club in Huntington, N.Y. She earned a master’s degree and doctorate in psychology from Hofstra University and is a school psychologist at the Central Boulevard Elementary School in Bethpage. N.Y.

moser photo by Janelle Brooke / stein photo by Len DePas / rich photo by Brett Matthews

Aaron Carter

U.S. Navy Lt. Cmdr.

David Kliemann M.B.A. ’01 was honored

during the Jan. 5 Packers-Minnesota Vikings wild card playoff game as part of Operation Fan Mail. The Green Bay Packers and WPS Health Insurance hosted a family at each 2012 home game.

Kliemann, a native of Wind Lake, Wis., serves as the director of the Navy Red Team, charged with protecting Navy computer networks from cyberattacks. He will retire in 2013 after 20 years of service.

and a third-grade teacher at Springfield Estates Elementary in Fairfax, Va. He recently received his M.B.A. from Northwestern University and, with his brother, owns Warren Construction Co. in Upper Marlboro, Md.

hong photo by Jeff Reeder

Mathias M.A. ’00

and Shane William Warren ’94 are engaged to be married this fall. She is a 2006 graduate of McDaniel College

promoted to executive director from senior manager in the financial services office of Ernst & Young LLP in San Francisco.

He’s also worked in the firm’s Washington, D.C., London, and New York offices.

named a “Best of Washington” winner in Washingtonian magazine’s Highly Rated Boot Camps category in the D.C. metropolitan area.

Brendan Flanagan ’91 has been promoted

’00 has been elected a

Shane Ho Kim ’96

director at Invotex, a national accounting, financial and economic consulting firm. She provides litigation consulting services and has participated in several recent highprofile trials, including Apple Inc. v. Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. et al. She earned an M.B.A. from Loyola University Maryland.

and Suzy Yunjin Lee and were married Oct. 27 at Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York. He is a partner in Camden Partners, a Baltimore investment firm, where he focuses on investments in payment processing companies.

to the new position of vice president of state and local affairs at the National Restaurant Association. Flanagan has spent nearly 20 years working on public policy issues for the restaurant industry at the local, state and federal level, including 11 years at the association.

Matthew R.

Linda Armyn ’90

Shindell ’96 has been

has been elected chairman of the board at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, N.Y. She is senior vice president of corporate strategy at Bethpage Federal Credit Union and serves as co-chair on the Leadership Council for the Mentoring Partnership of Long Island, vice chair of YMCA Long Island, and board vice president at the Child Care Council of Suffolk.

Joshua Tobin ’01

Andrea Elizabeth

Steph-anie Dignan ’94, was recently

Marylee Robinson

’90s

and Stacie Yellin are scheduled to marry on June 29, 2013, at the Four Seasons, Palm Beach, Fla. He works at Lendstrong in Sunrise, Fla.

Scott Levy ’97 was

Alice Jeeyoung Hong ’99 and Brant Duncan Kuehn were married Sept. 22 at St. Elizabeth Roman Catholic Church in Edgartown, Mass. She works in New York as the deputy director of the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, a division of the Department of Homeland Security.

She received a master’s degree in public policy from Georgetown University.

named special counsel at the Philadelphia office of Goldberg Segalla. He previously held the title of associate and concentrates his practice in the defense of medical malpractice claims.

He recently completed the American Board of Trial Advocates National Trial College at Harvard Law School.

The Boot Camp Girl LLC, founded by

’80s Mónica L. Villalta ’88 has joined the

American Institutes for Research as director of diversity and inclusion.

She previously served as director of diversity programs for Kaiser Permanente of the Mid-Atlantic States.

She holds a master of public health degree from the University of California, Berkeley and completed the executive education program at Harvard and the seminar on international institutions at the American University in Paris.

Vipin Kumar Ph.D. ’82, the William Norris

Professor and head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering Department at the University of Minnesota, won the 2012 Innovation Award from the Association for Computer Machinery’s Special Interest Group on Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining.

Michael V. Beall ’87

has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the National Cooperative Business Association.

He previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Missouri Credit Union Association. Beall holds a juris doctorate from the University of Richmond and is a member of the Virginia State Bar.

Deborah Slaner Larkin M.B.A. ’81

was presented with a 2012 Women of Distinction honor sponsored by the New York State Senate. She is executive director of USTA Serves Inc., the national charitable foundation of the United States Tennis Association.

Throughout her career Larkin has focused on

➤ Five Terps were honored by The Washington Business Journal as “2012 Women Who Mean Business,” honoring the region’s most influential businesswomen: Cathy Delcoco ’82, executive

vice president of CBRE’s Global Corporate Services Group Jatrice Martel Gaiter ’74, executive vice president of external affairs of Volunteers of America

Barbara Martin ’94, principal at

BrandLinkDC Communications Robin Portman ’80, senior vice presi-

dent at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. Julie Rosenthal ’88, president of

JR Communications.

Fall 2012 terp 45

promoting civil rights, women’s leadership and gender equity.

’70s

Passings Barry Max Levy ’77

was inaugurated as the 2012-13 president of the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries. He is president and pension consultant at Levy & Associates in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and has been recognized in federal and state courts as an expert in the area of qualified retirement plans.

’60s

Joyce Bortnick ’67

has written her debut novel “That’s What You Think,” which captures both a mother’s struggles to cope with old age and a daughter’s devotion. Bortnick is married, has two children and four grandchildren and divides her time between Florida and Maryland.

46 terp Fall 2012

Jonathan Mark Mirsky ’92 of Oakland, Calif., died Dec. 17, according to The Alameda Sun. He worked in the contracts and grants accounting department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is survived by his wife, Liz Baqir Mirsky; parents Susan and Barry Mirsky; siblings Ira and Mim; and two nephews.

Allen R. Coale ’77, who worked for more than four decades for the old C&P Telephone Co., died Nov. 24, according to The Washington Post. He lived in Silver Spring, Md., and was 95. He was a World War II Army Air Forces veteran and retired from the Air Force Reserve at the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1977. He installed phones for C&P before World War II and retired in 1982 as a supervisor in the company’s securities fraud division. He earned his degree at Maryland at age 61. He was predeceased by his first wife, Louella Mead Coale, who died in 1992 after 50 years of marriage, and his second wife, Dorothea D’Iorio Coale, who died in 2003. His third wife, Zandra Sperling Coale, died in 2010 after a two-year marriage. A daughter from his first marriage, Margaret Marsh, died in 2004. Survivors include two children, Helen Coale and Charles Howard Coale; seven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren.

Belinda G. Galbreath ’75, a retired Baltimore County librarian, died Oct.

14 of complications from diabetes, according to The Baltimore Sun. She was 59. She began her career at the Perry Hall branch, where she was an accomplished storyteller, then was a staff librarian at the Parkville and White Marsh branches. She retired in 2009.

Galbreath is survived by her mother, Thelma R. Galbreath; two siblings, Brian R. Galbreath and Marlene G. Herculson; three nephews; and a niece.

Christine Cross Pearcy ’75, who retired from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in 1981 as a statistician, died Sept. 23, according to The Washington Post. She was 93 and had lived in Kensington, Md. She worked for the federal government for 26 years and previously for the Army in the Washington area and in New Jersey. Survivors include her husband of 67 years, Klyne F. Pearcy; and two sons, Michael K. Pearcy and Stephan F. Pearcy.

Esther Everitt Dombrowski M.L.S. ’72, a retired Bel Air High School librarian, died of pneumonia Oct. 8. She was 81 and lived in Bel Air, according to The Baltimore Sun. She was a 1948 graduate of Bel Air High, where she worked for 31 years after earning a bachelor’s degree at Millersville State College. She met her husband of 52 years, band director Raymond Dombrowski there. He died in 2008. In addition to her sister, Ann Weaver, survivors include five nephews.

Thomas Moran ’71, a longtime employee of Fairchild Publications, died at age 64 Jan. 6, according to Women’s Wear Daily. He received an M.S. from the Columbia University School of Journalism and was hired at Fairchild in 1975. In 1977, he was integrally involved in the magazine’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated 10-part series on the Mafia’s billion-dollar involvement in Seventh Avenue. He then became managing editor of Fairchild News Service, overseeing 50 correspondents worldwide. He later became a group executive editor for Fairchild, helped develop the men’s magazine M and then became a senior editor at W. He wrote five books and became a Tennessee Williams fellow, professor of creative writing and writer-in-residence at Sewanee University. Moran, who lived in Woodstock, N.Y., is survived by his wife, Annemarie Kammerlander; a son, Harry; and a daughter, Altynai.

auldridge photo by Jeff Reeder

Charles E. Castle Jr. ’70, who built the College Park-based Ace Fire Extinguisher Service into one of the nation’s largest fire extinguisher sales and service companies, died Nov. 5 after a stroke, according to The Washington Post.

He was 73 and a Rockville, Md., resident.

He was a member of the Terrapin Club, a Scottish Rite Mason and past president of the Mount Rainier-Brentwood chapter of the Lions Club. Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Elaine Pratesi Castle; three sons, Charles “Chuck” Castle III, Patrick Castle, and Daniel Castle of Washington; a sister, Noel Oliff; and six grandchildren.

Mike Auldridge ’67, one of the most distinctive dobro players in the history of country and bluegrass music, died Dec. 29 of prostate cancer, according to The Washington Post. He was 73 and lived in Silver Spring, Md. Auldridge studied guitar and banjo as a boy and picked up the dobro at 17. He appeared in clubs in the Washington area in the 1960s and joined the band Emerson and Waldron two years after graduating from Maryland. In 1971, he and several other musicians formed the Seldom Scene, whose weekly

performances at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria, Va., enhanced the capital area’s reputation as a haven for progressive bluegrass music. Auldridge also recorded solo albums and played with several other bands, including Chesapeake and the Good Deale

Bluegrass Band. In 2012 the National Endowment for the Arts awarded him a National Heritage Fellowship. He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Elise; two daughters, Michele Auldridge and Laura Auldridge; two brothers, Tommy and Gene; and a granddaughter.

Vera Welch Hall ’62, M.L.S. ’72, a retired Baltimore City public school teacher and librarian, died of heart disease Oct. 6. The West Baltimore resident was 86, according to The Baltimore Sun. After graduating from Coppin State Teacher’s College in 1947, she began teaching at an elementary school near today’s Harbor East and was later assigned to the Alexander Hamilton School and Franklin Square Elementary School. When graduate schools in Maryland were closed to African-American students, Hall took a 5 a.m. Saturday train to Philadelphia to earn a master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania.

She is survived by a daughter, Patrice A. Hall; and several nephews. Her 1950 marriage to Calvin Hill, a city schools shop teacher, ended in divorce.

David M. Cohn M.B.A. ’61, cofounder and chief executive officer of Sage Financial Group in Montgomery County, died Oct. 8, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was 77. Cohn earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Drexel University.

He was senior executive vice president at Decision Sciences Corp., an international management-consulting firm.

He formed Sage Financial, a wealthmanagement firm, with sons Stephen and Alan in 1989, then Sage Online, an Internet-based investment-research firm, in 1995. In addition to his wife of 50 years, Harriet, and sons, Cohn is survived by seven grandchildren.

Mark H. Haller M.A. ’54, a professor emeritus at Temple University who was an expert on the history of organized crime, died Sept. 22 of pneumonia at Brooke Grove, a retirement community in Sandy Spring, Md., according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. He was 83. Haller joined Temple’s faculty in 1968 and helped establish the history and criminal justice departments. Haller wrote a book on the eugenics movement and “Life Under Bruno: The Economics of an Organized Crime Family.”

Gustav “Gus” Baer ’50, a retired executive and certified public accountant who had a second career as a pianist, died Oct. 9 of a neurodegenerative disorder, according to The Baltimore Sun. The longtime Baltimore County resident was 84. During his college years, he composed an opera that was performed on campus. Baer continued graduate studies at Catholic University and earned his C.P.A. certificate from the former Baltimore College of Commerce. He worked for Price Waterhouse and the John Davis accounting firms, the Army Chemical Center in Edgewood in 1962, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of Budget and Finance and the Small Business Administration, from which he retired in 1995. That year he began performing classics from the Great American Songbook—from memory— at the Nordstrom department stores in Towson and Columbia. Baer also played Fall 2012 terp 47

with the Goldenaires, a community jazz band. In addition to his wife, the former Peggy Strasburger, and two daughters, Betsy Baer Gates and Susan Baer, his survivors include a sister, Joanne Wolf; and three grandchildren.

Williams was preceded in death by her former husband. She is survived by her children, Ann Williams, Catherine Williams and James Williams; sister Elizabeth White; four grandchildren; and one niece.

Thomas G. Alexander ’46, who retired in 1989 from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a supervisory analytical pharmaceutical chemist, died Oct. 28 of congestive heart failure and respiratory failure, according to The Washington Post. He was 84 and lived in Silver Spring. He joined the FDA after working as an Army chemist at Fort Detrick, Md., during the Korean War. He received a master’s degree in chemistry from George Washington University in 1957. As an adult, Alexander was active in the Boy Scouts, receiving its Silver Beaver Award, and also received the Oxon Hill Lions Club’s distinguished service award.

He remained a community volunteer despite suffering a stroke 18 years ago.

He was predeceased by his first wife, the former Eleanor Harkness, and a stepson, Daniel Hoey. Survivors include his wife of 21 years, Amy Hoey Alexander; children Lyle Alexander, Helen Nelson and Carol Fredericks; stepchildren Cecelia Tillman, Catherine Yanacek, and Michael Hoey; sisters Alice King and Martha Alexander; 17 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

Oden Bowie ’37, a longtime Prince George’s County farmer who served as secretary of the Maryland Senate, died Oct. 23 following complications from a fall, according to The Washington Post.

He was 97 and lived his entire life on his family’s ancestral estate, Fairview, near Bowie. His grandfather, also named Oden Bowie, was Maryland’s governor from 1869 to 1872. The younger Bowie was a letterman on Maryland’s national champion lacrosse teams of 1936 and 1937. He raised cattle and grew tobacco, sod and other crops on his farm. For more than 20 years, he also raised thoroughbred racehorses. He served as secretary of the Senate from 1969 to 1997. His wife of 42 years, Laura Brainerd Bowie, died in 1988. Survivors include daughters Ambler Bowie Slabe and Maude Bowie; and two grandsons.

Alice Louise Stribling Williams ’42 died at her Washington, D.C., home on Sept. 5. She was 92. Williams enlisted in the Army during World War II and served in the Women’s Auxiliary Corps in Australia and the Philippines. After her military service, she worked at the Philippine War Damage Commission in Manila. While living there, she met her future husband, Roger Nelson Williams.

She raised her family in the Marianas Islands, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and France. She returned to the United States in 1971 and settled in Weston, Conn., living there until 2010.

Williams was an active member of her college sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, for 70 years. She also helped establish and support a chapter at Yale University.

48 terp Fall 2012

interpretations

Beyond Expectations It takes a broad and impassioned base of support to raise a world-class research university to new heights of excellence.

It takes nearly 130,000 people—like you—willing to create the scholarships, endow the faculty chairs, build the advanced facilities and support the innovative ideas that propel the University of Maryland on its upward trajectory.

I express my heartfelt gratitude to each of you who helped us meet our Great Expectations.You have committed to us. Here is my commitment to you:

UMD ranked

5

#

in best value

among public institutions in the nation by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine, based on quality and affordability.

➤

We will relentlessly pursue excellence in education, research and public service for the betterment of our state, our nation and the world.

➤

We will ensure that talent finds its muse. Financial aid enables outstanding students to afford a University of Maryland education. Faculty support ensures that we attract and keep the best educators and scholars.

➤

We will incorporate advanced technologies in our classrooms, labs and arts studios because that is the future of learning and teaching in our digitized and globalized world.

➤

We will make innovation and entrepreneurship a signature feature of the University of Maryland, where students and faculty translate ideas into impact—economic and/or societal impact.

➤

We will do all these things and more because we are blessed with strong public and private support. Our future as a top 20 public research university depends on the support of both.

We are grateful to our state’s elected officials for protecting funding for higher education. They have kept it affordable for Maryland residents at a time when many other states are slashing education budgets. And we are grateful to all of you who made Great Expectations possible, because private support provides the margin of excellence.

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine recently recognized the power of this combination. Its new annual ranking places us at No. 5 in the nation among public institutions for “best value,” a measure based on quality and affordability.

When my predecessor, Dan Mote, and Brodie Remington, former vice president for University Relations, launched Great Expectations seven years ago, they knew that your generosity would make a dramatic impact on the University of Maryland. On behalf of all of us, I thank them for their extraordinary vision and leadership. And I thank our amazing team in University Relations for bringing this campaign to a successful close.

Ultimately, you are the ones who answered the call. You stepped forward to help make possible the successes of the University of Maryland. With your continuing support, I can promise you that we will always pursue—fearlessly—new ideas and innovations that exceed our greatest expectations.

—Wallace D. Loh, President

photo by John T. Consoli

winter 2013 terp 49

Some gave $5. A few gave $5 million. In all, nearly 130,000 generous people everywhere opened their wallets. They raised an unprecedented $1 billion through Great Expectations, The Campaign for Maryland. Thanks to that support, the University of Maryland has provided new scholarships and amazing beyond-the-classroom experiences, hired fabulous faculty, built new facilities and supported innovation.

And we’re just getting started. More than ever, we encourage entrepreneurship and creativity. We embrace hunches, theories and hypotheses. Nurture them. Test them. Break them down and make them better. And then get them out there to change the world.

Fearless ideas? We’ve got a billion of ’em.

www.umd.edu

NONPROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE Terp magazine Division of university relations College Park, md 20742–8724

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PERMIT NO. 10 COLLEGE PARK, MD

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The University of Maryland encourages innovation, cultivates creativity and drives social change.

With more than 400 educational, interactive and family-friendly events, Maryland Day is where you explore our world of fearless ideas.

saturday, april 27, 10 am–4 pm marylandday.umd.edu