A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
April 8, 2016
UMES welcomes new dean of Library Services Adrienne C. Webber, a seasoned librarian with two decades of higher education experience, began her post as dean of Library Services at UMES’ Fredrick Douglass Library earlier this week (April 4). For the past eight years, Webber has served as dean of Library and Information Services at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, S.C. She was responsible for developing and executing the strategies and initiatives that drive leadership, research learning, teambuilding, growth and strategic partnerships. Webber previously served as the assistant director for Access Services at Xavier University in New Orleans, La. She developed, maintained and encouraged a healthy work environment despite the challenges of operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Webber earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communications from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, La. and a Master of Science degree in library service from Clark Atlanta University in Georgia. She holds professional membership in the HBCU Library Alliance Library Leadership Institute and the HBCU Archives Training Institute, among others. Webber also worked as an archivist for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games in 1996-97.
Mark your calendars for UMES’ Research Symposium
INSIDE
The university’s seventh annual Regional Research Symposium, where undergraduates, graduates and faculty present research through oral and poster presentations, takes place April 19 in UMES’ Student Services Center. The event continues to be “the university’s premier platform for promoting interdisciplinary graduate and undergraduate research and for providing students with the opportunity to gain conference presentation skills,” according to Dr. Jennifer Keane-Dawes, dean of graduate studies. WBOC’s chief meteorologist Dan Satterfield, who is among an elite group of people to have stood at the South Pole, will be the keynote speaker for the event hosted by the UMES School of Graduate Studies. His presentation, scheduled from 12:45 to 1:20 p.m., focuses on “Climate Change and its Impact.” Satterfield toured Antarctica as a guest of the National Science Foundation and has visited Greenland’s ice sheet, where scientists are
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Police Chief Resigns Middle States Visit Bell Guest of Bidens in D.C.
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Alumna is Knauss Fellow Student is Newman Civic Fellow
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Health Festival Summer Language Class Facutly Spotlight
recovering an ice core that will give climate information dating back 130,000 years. Satterfield, a forecast meteorologist for over 36 years, has worked at television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Alabama prior to his current position in Salisbury. A native of Oklahoma, he is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in meteorology (atmospheric physics) and has a master’s in Earth science. Satterfield writes a popular Earth Science blog, Dan’s Wild Wild Science Journal for the American Geophysical Union and also developed the Wild Wild Weather page to explain the science of weather to students in grades 2-7. Satterfield also posts about weather and science to over 40,000 followers on his Facebook and Twitter pages. The American Meteorology Society recently honored him for “a distinguished career of serving his viewers as a trusted source of weather SATTERFIELD / continued on page 7
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Black History Speaker UMES Artists Showcased HTM Culinary Team Marriott Interns
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HTM Career Night Alternative Spring Break
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WESM Upgrades Calendar of Frederick Douglass Events Hosts Series
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Circling the Oval
Search for new UMES police chief prompted by Leatherbury resignation The University of Maryland Eastern Shore police Chief Ernest Leatherbury Jr. has tendered his resignation effective April 8. A Somerset County native, Leatherbury joined UMES’ public safety team as its chief in July 2013. He came to UMES after a 28-year career with the Maryland State Police. Leatherbury succeeded another former Maryland State Police officer, Warner Sumpter, who currently serves as a member of the Somerset County school board. In the 33 months as chief of the campus police department, Leatherbury has been a key decision-maker in introducing new strategies and policies to ensure the university is a safe learning and living environment. The university installed some three dozen state-of-the-art emergency call boxes that when activated provide instantaneous contact with a campus police dispatcher and feature video surveillance. Leatherbury also arranged for Maryland State Police educators to provide on-site training for UMES employees, including most recently a half-day seminar on “active shooter” scenarios and safety steps. Perhaps most importantly, Leatherbury has further strengthened the collaborative working relationships with other law enforcement agencies in Somerset County. “Chief Leatherbury has been a valuable member of our senior management team here at UMES, and I know his colleagues and friends across campus wish him well as he moves on to the next stage of his law enforcement career,” university President Juliette B. Bell said. Leatherbury has accepted an appointment with another law enforcement agency. Leatherbury retired from the state police in 2012, stepping down as commander at the Salisbury barrack, where he served for three years. From 2007 to 2009, he was the Princess Anne barrack commander and
White House Visit
UMES President Juliette B. Bell was a guest of the Vice President of the United States and Dr. Jill Biden at a reception held at their residence in Washington, D.C. in recognition of Black History Month.
prior to that, held the same post at Westminster. He also served briefly as Crisfield’s police chief on loan from the state police, following in the footsteps of his late father. The university is now focusing on identifying an interim chief while it also undertakes a search to find Leatherbury’s replacement.
Middle States evaluation team visits UMES
Members of a peer evaluation team reporting to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education introduce themselves at a reception earlier this week to UMES representatives serving on a committee to prepare for the visit. The reaccreditation process is vital to the university and takes place every 10 years. The team evaluated UMES against a selfstudy document based on 14 standards and one goal.
UMES People
UMES and CREST Center alumna begins Knauss Fellowship
UMES alumna Efeturi Oghenekaro joined the 2016 class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. She’s currently serving as an International Affairs Fellow with the NOAA Research Office of International Affairs. “The fellowship has given me exposure to a variety of programs within NOAA Research and has created networking opportunities outside of NOAA; even with foreign research partners,” Oghenekaro said. She will assist with several international programs through the fellowship, one of which is the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission where she will work to find potential opportunities where the U.S can support capacity building in areas related to ocean observations and climate change science. Oghenkaro will be part of the U.S. delegation at the next United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization IOC meeting this June in Paris. Oghenekaro graduated from UMES with a doctoral degree in Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Sciences in December 2015. Her research and education were funded by the National Science Foundation CRESTCenter for the Study of Coastal Ecosystem Processes and Dynamics (CRESTCISCEP) at UMES. Oghenekaro earned a bachelor’s degree in fisheries science at the University of Benin in Nigeria. She was also recently featured in the Chesapeake Quarterly April 2016 issue, which announced Maryland’s Knauss Marine Policy Fellows.
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UMES sophomore named Newman Civic Fellow Sophomore Benjamin P. Webster has been named a Newman Civic Fellow by Campus Compact, a Boston-based, nonprofit organization working to advance the public purposes of higher education. Webster is one of 218 college students from across the country, including 12 from Maryland, to be named to the list of 2016 honorees. “I am extremely honored to represent the University of Maryland Eastern Shore,” said Webster, a business administration major from Silver Spring, Md. “Since I enrolled at UMES, I immediately felt a “call to action” to address socioeconomic and societal inequality in our community,” he said. “Without the support of equally passionate UMES staff – Dr. Benita Rashaw, Dr. Jason DeSousa, Dr. Michael Lane, Dr. Juliette Bell and Dr. Kathryn Barrett-Gaines (among them) – none of this would have been possible. UMES has much room for improvement and I believe that this award proves that we are moving in the right direction.” The award is named for the late Frank Newman, one of Campus Compact’s founders and a tireless advocate for the civic engagement of higher education. Newman served as president of the University of Rhode Island for nine years. “We are fortunate to have the opportunity to celebrate such an extraordinary group of students,” Campus Compact president Andrew Seligsohn said. “We are seeing a resurgence in student interest in acting to create lasting social change, and this year’s Newman Civic Fellows exemplify that commitment.” Webster is a Thurgood Marshall College Fund student ambassador and spent this past weekend representing UMES at the national Minorities in Agriculture Natural Resources and Related Sciences conference. Campus Compact member presidents and chancellors were encouraged to nominate undergraduate or graduate students who are proven leaders with both the motivation and ability to make substantial contributions toward public problem solving for this special recognition. DeSousa, UMES’ vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, recommended Webster be UMES’ nominee. He called news Webster had been selected: “Outstanding and well-deserved!” The 2016 Newman Civic Fellows will represent their institutions in a national group of student leaders. Each will receive an award certificate and an invitation to join the Newman Civic Fellows online network. “I will work closely with my Newman Civic Fellows network, staff at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and our growing gay-straight alliance club, Uniquely Defined, to create programs that will unite, empower and uplift minorities on campus,” Webster said. Support of the 2016 Newman Civic Fellows Award was provided by KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation.
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School News
UMES hosts Health and Wellness Festival Over 60 exhibitors will promote healthy living and prevention through screenings and informational displays April 13 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s 18th annual Health and Wellness Festival. The free event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Student Services Center (SSC) ballroom is followed this year by the inaugural presentation in the Dr. Nicholas Blanchard Health Care Speakers Series at 3 p.m. in the SSC theatre. Alex Azar II, president of biopharmaceutical company Lilly USA and Salisbury native, will give a motivational presentation on business and personal success. Azar, a Yale Law School and Dartmouth graduate, has spent the past 15 years in health care. “Some 400 participants of all ages take advantage of the Health and Wellness Festival, a vital community service, each year,” said Lauresa Wigfall, event chair and director of the university’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Prevention Program. Exhibitors representing community agencies, health organizations, UMES and area businesses will promote healthy living and prevention through informational displays and screenings. Free screenings include blood pressure, stroke risk assessment, sleep testing, blood glucose, fitness, body composition, strength, flexibility and posture. Participants, Wigfall said, also can take part in interactive demonstrations throughout the day. Call 410-651-6385 for more information.
UMES offers high school students summer language program Study Chinese in high tech setting
High school students can get a leg up at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore this summer learning Chinese, a language that is in high demand in the workforce. Registration is now open for The Summer Language Experience, a two-week, intensive, non-residential program designed to provide beginners with an introduction to the language as well as cultural understanding. “This is a great opportunity for motivated high school students who want to make the most of their summer by studying a foreign language,” said Tammy Gharbi, activity director of the Foreign Language Instructional Center at UMES. “It would take nearly 15 weeks in a traditional school year to accomplish the 60 hours of instruction offered in The Summer Language Experience.” The course is taught by a native-speaking instructor in a state-of-the-art language learning classroom. The program runs weekdays June 20-July 1. The fee is $200; all materials included. Visit www.umes.edu/FLIC or call 410-651-6543 for more information.
Faculty Spotlight Dr. Anjan Nan donated a $3,000 honorarium to UMES’ School of Pharmacy and Health Professions that he received for presenting a workshop on bionanotechnology at the National Institute of Technology in Agartala, India. The gift will provide support to graduate students for research and travel to conferences. Nan, an assistant professor in UMES’ Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, was a guest of the institute’s bioengineering department invited to assist in establishing an international teaching and research program that can bring together multidisciplinary researchers with common interests in nanotechnology, nanoscience and nanomedicine. Nan’s six-day lecture series on bionanotechnology (March 28 to April 2) in India focused on “the current status, challenges and future opportunities in this expanding area of research and development.” Nanobiotechnology, he said, can be described
as the interaction between nanoscience, engineering and biology, which involves creating devices capable of detecting, analyzing and manipulating nanoscale entities of relevance to biomedicine. The research focus in UMES’ Nan laboratory, he said, is the design and development of nanomaterials for biomedical applications such as in drug delivery, biosensing and imaging. Nanoscience in biology/medicine involves the creation and application of structures, devices and systems that have novel properties and functions because of their small size. The long-term goal, he said, is to establish a collaborative research and educational training program between NIT in Agartala and UMES. Promoting collaboration with a foreign institution opens the door for potential exchange programs, which foster interdisciplinary research and education, he said.
School News
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UMES artists showcased in O.C. gallery Black History Month speaker
Performance poet Nathan M. Richardson brought Frederick Douglass to life March 29 at a rescheduled (due to inclement weather Feb. 24) Black History Month event in UMES’ Student Services Center Theatre. Richardson is in his second year of a tour portraying the former slave, writer, orator and abolitionist. Did you know that UMES is the only entity in the U.S. with a stand-alone building named after Frederick Douglass?
HTM’s Pineapple Express vies for Culinary Championship
A team of Hotel and Tourism Management students from the Pineapple Express Catering Club, a subsidiary of the university’s International Food Service Executives Association (IFSEA) chapter, will be in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. next week attending the organization’s annual conference and competing for its Culinary Championship. Team members, from left, are: Joseph Bailey; Tahylor Cesar; Blake Johnson, coach; Ebony Sutton; Sean Nugent; and Allison Anderson. Chef Ralston Whittingham, chapter advisor, and Angie Price, co-advisor will travel with the team. The UMES chapter is the only HBCU within the organization’s region and took first in the competition two years in a row (2013, 2014). Last year, the team brought home a win in a side challenge—a cake decorating contest.
Brad Hudson, an assistant professor in UMES’ Department of Fine Arts, created the poster art shown for the Manga and Anime Youth Art Show that opened April 1 at the Ocean City Center for the Arts. Sponsored by the Art League of Ocean City, the show aims to promote creativity among high school students while providing a place for their artwork to be displayed. Hudson’s work along with art from UMES students will be exhibited in the center’s Spotlight Gallery for the month.
UMES hospitality students at Shady Grove to intern with Marriott
Ruth Lee O’Rourke, (center) UMES’ Hospitality and Tourism Management program director at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, Md., congratulates (from left) students Adnan Chaudhry, Edgar Hernandez, Samjhana Pudasaini and Ken Brewer for being selected for the Marriott International Voyage Program. The students, O’Rourke said, competed in Newport Beach, Calif., against 96 of their peers for the honor. They were selected “out of a very competitive set,” she said, and were “one of the only groups to have four final voyagers—the most we’ve ever had in the program.” The students will be involved in the daily operation of a hotel during the 12-18 month post-graduate leadership development program, gaining valuable hands-on training.
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Athletics
Hospitality-tourism alums return to coach current students my own catering business, so I’m looking for Nearly two dozen UMES alumni with any advice on how I can be successful.” Hospitality and Tourism Management degrees Naomi D. Batten, another sophomore, returned to their alma mater last week to helped plan the two-hour event. offer career advice to current students in the “Some of the things I’ve learned about program. doing this is the importance of being organized Many traveled from homes and jobs and attention to detail. Math is very important.” west of the Chesapeake Bay at the invitation Batten said she learned a lot from alumni of faculty member Karl Binns Sr., who came “about what they did here and things I should up with the idea for the first-of-its-kind career avoid.” night. Alumni presided at 11 tables spread “They really brought the energy to help Harry Carrington, left, and Jennifer Whaley chat with senior Dallas T. Godman about what career our students know what to expect when they opportunities lie ahead after graduation this May. around the Henson Center ballroom, chatting and answering questions. At selected intervals, walk out of here,” Binns said. “We are so they moved to another table and started the process over again. grateful to all of the people who traveled ‘back home’ at their own expense.” Junior Donell D. Jones viewed the chance to meet alumni as a “way to Among alumni offering advice were Corey Bowen and Tyrone Clifton, 1991 classmates when the program formerly was known as “Hotel and absorb the knowledge they have about how they took what they learned here and applied to their careers.” Restaurant Management.” Jones was particularly interested in tapping into alumni experiences in “This is just an opportunity for me to give back to the university, which learning management skills. did so much for me,” Clifton said. Binns said alumni came up with the idea of selecting one student from About 80 HTM students took advantage of the opportunity to talk with graduates about their experiences working in the hospitality and tourism each table at the end of the night to talk about the “keys to success” they absorbed through the evening. industry. “They modeled (for students) what they do in real life,” he said. “I think it’s great that so many people came back. It says a lot about the program,” sophomore Myeasher M. Bardney said. “Someday I’d like to have
UMES students experience Alternate Spring Break
A group of 17 UMES students and three staff members participated in an Alternative Spring Break program March 13-19 through Common Ground Relief in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, La. Through the experience, volunteers learned about “political and social community dynamics, while becoming a catalyst for collaborative social change,” according to Clifton Harcum, the director of the UMES’ Office of University Engagement & Lifelong Learning. Through direct service, education and reflection, he said, the participants were challenged to understand real life social issues, while encouraging personal growth, social awareness and active citizenship.
From left, Mariah Dennis and Diamond Nwaeze work on Tonti Street in New Orleans for the Common Ground Relief program.
School News
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WESM 91.3 FM upgrades automation system WESM has completed a $20,000 overhaul of its automation system network; the result of over a year of planning and consultation with ENCO Systems and the university’s information technology department. The Digital Audio Delivery (DAD) system monitors and controls station programming, especially in the absence of staff during the overnight hours. This is the first major upgrade, said Stephen Williams, the station’s general manager, since the current system was installed 15 years ago. “The original grant that allowed us to procure the first DAD system was cut by Congress. As a result, we’ve had to work very hard to keep our original automation system running much longer than it was designed,” Williams said. “We have seen increased instability over the years in our old system making it necessary for us to make a critical upgrade in order to ensure the station’s on air presence,” he said. The main workstation integrates audio files received via satellite from NPR, BBC and other networks around the world with other content, such as a live feed from WYPR in Baltimore, as well as pre-recorded or locally produced content in WESM’s centralized The University of Maryland Eastern Shore
Frederick Douglass Library is the recipient of a grant from the
digital library. While rollout of the new system is nearing completion, WESM 91.3 FM has already benefited from it, with much faster connections between workstations, greater capacity for content integration and a simplified network architecture, which allows for faster repairs, if needed. The new system will also integrate multitrack audio editing and allow for direct digital delivery of files from other public radio distributors – both new features for WESM. The university’s IT department, Williams said, played a critical role in dramatically improving the systems network architecture by installing high-speed fiber lines throughout the building. WESM 91.3 FM is an NPR member station and has been serving the Delmarva Peninsula and surrounding communities since 1987. WESM provides news, information and music programming of global, regional and local interest. The station is licensed to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, and is generously supported by members across Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. For more information, visit www.wesm913.org.
Retool Your School is back for 2016! Vote now through April 24 at
The library will use this grant to host a series of free workshops called CONNECTING SENIORS TO 21ST CENTURY TECHNOLOGY. The workshops are scheduled for four consecutive Saturdays. Workshop themes include: Computer Security, April 9 Health & Medical Information, April 16 Introduction to Mobile & Social Media, April 23 All workshops will be held in the Frederick Douglass Library 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Room 1114 Registration is now being accepted. Space is limited, so register early. To register or to get more information, call the library at 410-651-6621 or 410-651-6275. Light lunches will be provided.
Retoolyourschool.com or #UMES_RYS16
CAMPUS IMPROVEMENT GRANT PROGRAM
SATTERFIELD / continued from cover
information and as a tireless educator of atmospheric and Earth sciences.” He is a full member of the American Meteorological Society and the International Association of Broadcast Meteorologists and holds the Certified Broadcast Meteorologist seal from the AMS. Approximately 60 presentations are scheduled for Research Day 2016. Other Graduate Education Week activities include: a 3D Modeling and Technology Workshop in the Department of Technology, an Aquatic and Fisheries Science Symposium in the Department of Natural Sciences, a Spring Graduate School Open House in the Department of Criminal Justice, a presentation on “Functional Electrical Stimulation for the Neurologic Patient” in the Department of Physical Therapy, student/teacher presentations in the Department of Special Education, and a 3-Minute Thesis Competition in the School of Graduate Studies.
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Calendar
april
*Unless stipulated (*) all events listed are free and open to the public.
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Alumni Brunch Washington Area Alumni Chapter
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Regional Research Symposium
7 p.m. Ella Fitzgerald Center 410-651-6571
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10:30 a.m. The Courses at Andrews Air Force Base Enjoy a delicious brunch while making Hawk connections. Speaker, music, door prizes, too. 410-651-7606 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Student Services Center Event starts with a 3 Minute Thesis Competition followed by graduate, undergraduate, and faculty oral and poster presentations, a keynote speaker and an awards ceremony. 410-651-8626
Health & Wellness Festival
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Student Services Center Ballroom Health screenings and wellness informational displays. 410-651-6385
Nicholas R. Blanchard Healthcare Symposium
3 p.m. Student Services Center Theater Alex Azar II, President of Eli Lilly USA, speaks on the topic, “Succeeding On Purpose: How Purpose is Helping Institutions Win in the 21st Century.” Anyone interested in healthcare trends, branding and leadership should attend. Followed by Q&A and reception. 410-651-8372
T H E U MES MISSION The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the state’s historically black, 1890 land-grant institution, has its purpose and uniqueness grounded in distinctive learning, discovery and engagement opportunities in the arts and science, education, technology, engineering, agriculture, business and health professions. UMES is a student-centered, doctoral research degree-granting university known for its nationally accredited undergraduate and graduate programs, applied research and highly valued graduates. UMES provides individuals, including first-generation college students, access to a holistic learning environment that fosters multicultural diversity, academic success, and intellectual and social growth. UMES prepares graduates to address challenges in a global, knowledgebased economy while maintaining its commitment to meeting the workforce and economic development needs of the Eastern Shore, the state, the nation and the world.
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UMES Jazz Ensemble Festival
7 p.m. UMES jazz and popular music ensemble’s concert and high school jazz band festival. Ella Fitzgerald Center 410-651-6571
Art Exhibit-Opening Reception
4-6 p.m. Mosely Gallery “Senior Show.” May graduates in the Department of Fine (visual) Arts showcase portfolio pieces. UMES Jazz Combo performs. Show closes with a reception May 19, 5-6 p.m. 410-651-7770 www.moselygallery.com
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Inquiries regarding the application of Federal laws and nondiscrimination policies to University programs and activities may be referred to the Office of Equity & Compliance/Title IX Coordinator by telephone (410) 651-7848 or e-mail (titleix@umes.edu).
The KEY is published by the Office of Public Relations in the Office of the President 410-651-7580 FAX 410-651-7914 www.umes.edu
Editors Gail Stephens, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Publications Manager Bill Robinson, Director of Public Relations Design by Debi Rus, Rus Design Inc. Printed by The Hawk Copy Center Submissions to The KEY are preferred via email. All copy is subject to editing.The Key is written according to the Associated Press stylebook.