A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
May 6, 2016
Gov. Hogan gets a hearty “white coat” welcome Larry Hogan visited the UMES campus in late April for the first time since becoming Maryland’s governor, part of a multi-day tour of the lower Eastern Shore. The university rolled out the white coats – a line of pharmacy students wearing traditional lab attire – to welcome Hogan and his wife, Yumi, en route to Somerset Hall. Students held “Thank you” … “Gov. Hogan” signs, an expression of appreciation to the state’s chief executive for his support of a proposal to make construction of an allied health classroom building a state priority. He stopped and shook hands with nearly two dozen students lining the sidewalk, commenting at one point he had never been the object of such a unique gesture. “Look at all these white coats,” he said. Little did the governor know he would leave UMES an hour later with
UMES alum to deliver spring 2016 commencement address
his own, customized version framed for hanging in his office. During the 2016 Maryland General Assembly session, UMES worked with Eastern Shore lawmakers in presenting a request to Hogan for a special capital improvement allocation in the state’s annual construction projects budget. Hogan came through with a recommendation to the General Assembly that it allocate $3.5 million to get UMES started in planning for a new classroom building. The proposed new Photo credit: Executive Office of the Governor building would consolidate every academic unit in the university’s School of Pharmacy and Health Professions – kinesiology, pharmacy, physical therapy and rehabilitation services – under one roof. HOGAN / continued on page 6
Gregory A. Thomas, a nationally known criminal justice and public safety executive, will be the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s spring 2016 commencement speaker. Thomas, who graduated from UMES in 1982, will be the second alumnus to deliver a spring commencement address at his alma mater in the post-World War II era. Dr. Earl S. Richardson, class of 1965 and retired president of Morgan State University, was the first. Two respected Maryland health educators, Drs. Daniel M. Ashby and Claudia Baquet, will receive honorary degrees during May 20
INSIDE
COMMENCEMENT / continued on page 3
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Md.’s Environmental Secretary Visits on Earth Day
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Faculty Spotlight Administrative Professionals Recognized
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Global Warming Winners from Graduate Symposium
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Health Disparities in Haiti
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Q&A Crab Boat Engineering Challenge
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Faculty International Feast The Sky’s the Limit Reception Summer Language Program
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Calendar of Events
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The Key / May 6, 2016
Circling the Oval
Maryland’s environmental secretary makes UMES an Earth Day stop
welcome event, said “as a UMES celebrated the biochemist, it does my heart 46th anniversary of Earth good to hear about all the Day by playing host to Ben important work these students Grumbles, secretary of are doing.” Maryland’s Department of the “Frankly,” Grumbles Environment. added, with a smile, “I’m Grumbles’ visit a little intimidated by these afforded the university an Ph.D. students and the work opportunity to showcase its they are doing.” newest classroom building, Maryland He noted that UMES’ the 166,000 square-foot Department of founding mission as a landEngineering and Aviation the Environment grant institution emphasized Science Complex with its Secretary Ben agriculture studies has many environmentally Grumbles and successfully incorporated the sensitive design elements. UMES President Juliette B. Bell study of how Marylanders also The three-story building plant a white are affecting two major bodies on the east side of campus oak sapling in of water – the Atlantic Ocean has: front of the new and the Chesapeake Bay. • No conventional boilers Engineering and Grumbles met research or chillers; instead it is Aviation Science Complex in professors in the School heated and cooled by 250 celebration of of Agriculture and Natural geothermal wells. Earth Day. Sciences, who oversee • Skylights in the atrium research into such difficulties running the length of the as food contamination and building have automatic curtailing the impact of electronic shading that nutrients from farm fields changes the glass tint from affecting water quality. clear to semi-opaque. From the new building’s • Elevators that produce third floor, Grumbles had a regenerative energy chance to see UMES’ 17on braking as well as acre solar energy collection exceptionally wide grid, another example of the staircases designed to university’s commitment to entice people to walk reducing its carbon footprint. between floors. Grumbles also received a • Landscaping that lesson in a new pilot flightincorporates a series of UMES leaders, doctoral students and faculty in the Department of training simulator and was “bio-swales” to collect and Agricultural and Resources Sciences hosted Maryland Secretary of the manage storm water run- Environment on a visit of UMES on Earth Day. From left are: Sabrina Klick, shown two remote-controlled Debra Rosales, state Senator James Mathias, UMES President Juliette B. devices researchers are using off in an environmentally Bell, Grumbles and Rehab El Fadul. to guide precision agriculture friendly way. and aquaculture strategies and • Extensive exterior and research. interior lighting utilizing the latest technology to cut energy use. To ensure he saw and heard from a broad spectrum of UMES “To be in this beautiful “green” building is really touching,” educators and students during his two-hour visit, Grumbles was shuttled Grumbles said. about by the Solar Hawk, a solar-powered car donated to the university a During a welcoming ceremony, Rehab El Fadul, Sabrina Klick and year ago. Debra Rosales – three students pursuing doctorates in marine estuarine “There are some really wonderful things taking place at this environmental science – gave brief overviews of their research targeting institution,” he told Bell and his tour guides. “The reason I’m all smiles … environmental problems plaguing Maryland’s waterways. is partly because it is Earth Day.” UMES President Juliette B. Bell, who served as the emcee for the
UMES People
Faculty Spotlight Hoai-An Truong, an associate professor in UMES’ School of Pharmacy and Health Professions, was elected April 9 as a Distinguished Practitioner and Fellow of the National Academies of Practice at a ceremony in Baltimore, Md. Membership is an honor extended to those who have excelled in their profession and are dedicated to furthering practice, scholarship and policy in support of interprofessional care, said Dr. Cynthia Boyle, UMES’ chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration and former chair of the Pharmacy Academy of the NAP. The central purpose of the nonprofit organization is to advise public policy makers on health care issues using NAP’s unique perspective—that of expert practitioners and scholars joined in interdisciplinary dialogue. Truong also currently serves as president of the Maryland Pharmacists Association.
Administrative Professionals recognized
The Key / May 6, 2016
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HOGAN / continued from cover
Pharmacy classes currently are held in six buildings that require a walk of just shy of a mile from one side of campus to the other. The expectation within the profession made of up those who train pharmacists is that instruction, laboratories and faculty offices be in one location. If the state will help build a new building for that program, the university’s vision is its other health profession units should be housed there, too. That message was delivered in a private, 30-minute meeting between Hogan, university President Juliette B. Bell and senior administrators. The initial $3.5 million in this year’s supplemental capital improvements budget will get UMES started in planning for a new building, which will provide a clearer picture of exactly what future allocations are needed for construction. The meeting with the governor took place in Somerset Hall, constructed in 1949 as a boys’ dormitory and renovated in 2010 to house two working laboratories, study rooms and faculty offices. The governor also toured the building, which while featuring modern amenities, is cramped for one of UMES’ signature graduate-level programs with an enrollment of 180 students. Seven members of the Eastern Shore delegation also were on hand for Hogan’s UMES stop. They also took the same tour. Since pharmacy instruction launched in 2010, UMES has produced three graduating classes and is one of the top institutions in awarding doctorates in pharmacy studies to minorities. Bell, UMES’ president, called her meeting with Hogan productive and encouraging. “We’re pleased he made time to come to our campus and to sit and listen to why we asked for his support,” Bell said. COMMENCEMENT / continued from cover
Robin Hoffman, director of Instructional Technology and Online Learning at UMES, serves the department’s administrative assistant, Suzanne Burton, breakfast.
UMES observed Administrative Professionals Day April 27.
graduation exercises in the William P. Hytche Athletic Center. Thomas is Senior Executive for Law Enforcement Operations for the Kings County (N.Y.) district attorney, the nation’s third-largest public prosecutor’s office. He advises the Kings County district attorney and his executive staff on criminal justice and law enforcement policy and procedures, and is principal liaison to the New York City Police Department as well as local, state and federal law enforcement agencies conducting major investigations and operational matters. He currently serves as president of the international, 3,000-member National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and is also a member of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and of the American Society of Industrial Security. Thomas has nearly three decades of experience working in various public safety fields, including assistant commissioner of the New York Fire Department and executive director of the school safety division for New York City public schools. Thomas is among the nation’s top emergency management and school-safety experts, and author or co-author of several books, including the Random House publication, “Freedom from Fear: A Guide to Safety, Preparedness and the Threat of Terrorism.” He has been interviewed by the New York Times, USA Today and U.S. News & World Report and has appeared on news broadcasts by the BBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and NPR. Thomas earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from UMES, where he also was a recordsetting sprinter on the track team. He is the inaugural recipient of the university’s Young Alumni award and was elected to the UMES Athletics Hall of Fame. He also holds a master’s degree in criminal justice from Long Island University’s campus in his native Brooklyn. Thomas’ wife, Kim Royster, is an Assistant Chief in the New York City Police Department, the top-ranking black woman in department history.
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School News
The Key / May 6, 2016
Global warming is real – and the facts prove it Some participated in a “TwitterParticipants in UMES’ style” competition where they took Regional Research Symposium on the challenge of summarizing April 19 came away from the years of research into a timed three7th annual event with a sobering minute speech. Others did more message: climate change is real and relaxed-paced oral presentations as drastic changes are needed to slow well as employed elaborate poster global warming. displays to showcase their work. Dan Satterfield, WBOC-TV’s Dr. Joseph S. Pitula, a marine chief meteorologist, was not all biologist in UMES’ Department of doom and gloom, however. Natural Sciences, told the lunch “I’m optimistic we’re going to gathering who heard Satterfield see a world that is much cleaner,” speak, that the morning’s poster Satterfield said near the end of Dan Satterfield, WBOC TV’s chief meteorologist, speaks to UMES presentation was among the most pharmacy professor Madan Kharel following his April 19 keynote a 15-minute keynote address address at the university’s research symposium. impressive he’s ever observed. He emphasizing “scientific method” said that he advised one studentis the only reliable roadmap to presenter to pursue publishing findings immediately. changing attitudes and behavior. Satterfield, an award-winning broadcast weather forecaster, enjoys Serious researchers, he said, adhere to the credo that facts prove, or spending time off-camera as a science ambassador, speaking to students disprove, theories upon which sound decisions about policies and action from elementary to college level. He said TV meteorologists embrace the plans can be made. role of being science educators beyond giving the day’s high temperature It’s when opinion mixes with politics that result in confusion or and predicting when the next storm might arrive. uncertainty, which is the case in the current debate over global warming Satterfield, among the few humans who has stood atop the South Pole, and climate change. called climate researchers brave for facing down ridicule and threats by “Scientific literacy in America is actually very low,” said Satterfield, who challenged students and educators in the audience to be diplomatically those who don’t or refuse to believe the trends that Earth is experiencing unprecedented weather patterns. frank when confronting non-believers. To stop carbon dioxide build-up—the most common “greenhouse” “Don’t be afraid to tell someone (they) are wrong” about solid gas—consumers, he said, must wean themselves from dependency on research results, he said. “I have the facts to back it up.” petroleum and coal as fuel, or else mankind has little hope of halting the The symposium is an opportunity each spring for UMES students to showcase their expertise in their fields of specialization as they pursue their rise of oceans. “The next ice age,” he said, “has been cancelled.” degrees.
Winners from the 2016 UMES Graduate Symposium
3-Minute Thesis Competition People’s Choice Award: Janet C. Bello (Cash Prize $100) Doctoral Category: Eric Jodlbauer (Cash Prize $200) Master’s Category: Janet C. Bello (Cash Prize $100) Undergraduate (Oral Session) 1st Place: Olivia R. Coleman 2nd Place: Heather L. Goldsborough
Janet C. Bello
Gregory W. Allen
Undergraduate (Poster Session) 1st Place: Haneef S. Muhammad & Benjamin K. Barnes 2nd Place: Treyvon Bowen Graduate (Oral Session) 1st Place: Gregory W. Allen 2nd Place: Miaohua Mao
Olivia R. Coleman
Eric Jodlbauer
Graduate (Poster Session) 1st Place: Alexa R. Biffoni & Whitney Pearson with professors Mark Freebery & Dennis Klima 2nd Place: Sylvia A. Ossai
School News
The Key / May 6, 2016
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When worlds collide – reducing health disparities in Haiti By Dr. Yen Dang, assistant professor, UMES School of Pharmacy and Health Professions
We drove along unpaved until we were forced to be in the roads from Port-au-Prince to dispensary after dark, bumping Jeremie, Haiti. Every couple of into each other filling medications minutes on a turn, the driver with flashlights. Despite these would honk his horn. I quickly challenges, we served 1,700 found out this was to prevent a patients and dispensed 3,800 traffic accident—one of the top prescriptions in five days. 20 causes of death in Haiti. The Haiti is not an easy mission bus stopped periodically for “rest location. It was mentally, physically stops”—a bush or a rock by the and emotionally draining. It was side of the road. especially difficult to know your We arrived in Jeremie after a limitations and realize you could seven-hour drive. We unloaded our not do everything. The common duffel bags filled with medications theme through the patients I saw for the medical missions and went was that life in Haiti was difficult. to our four-wheel drive vehicles to An elderly woman had a depart for Carcasse, another fourserious infection on her foot hour journey. because she could not afford The vehicles rumbled along shoes. A baby with hydrocephalus the rough terrain, across washed and limited life expectancy had out bridges, hills, cliffs, and no follow-up care. A woman eight vegetation, sometimes throwing us months pregnant who hadn’t felt like rag dolls across the car seats. the fetus move was unable to go to As we approached Carcasse, the hospital, because she had no we noticed a thin barricade of money for transportation. conch shells and stones across Despite daily struggles, the street; a “security system” we witnessed the strength, UMES pharmacy school students and faculty are pictured on a to keep the unwanted away. The determination and generosity of spring medical mission to Haiti. From left, are: Akwaugo Amuchie, driver honked and a group of Dr. Yen Dang, Alex Walk, Keesha Kline, Fr. Verdieu of Carcasse, Haiti, the Haitian people. Children ran up men emerged and cleared it away and Alison Forrest. to us as we walked from the clinic to make room for our vehicles. (Inset) Pharmacy students from UMES, Keesha Kline, Alison Forrest to hold our hands and walk us to We approached the guest house, and Alex Walk, fill prescriptions. the guest house. One man climbed where we would stay for the next a tree with a machete to give us a five days to run a full-scale medical mission. The entire household gathered coconut. A translator cleaned some seashells I collected after I left them on there awaited us and Fr. Verdieu, the pastor, welcomed us to his village. the porch to dry. It had been almost two years since I visited Haiti during the most Haiti has survived a massive earthquake, cholera epidemic, extreme recent UMES School of Pharmacy and Health Professions mission trip. poverty, and will continue to persevere throughout the bleakest situations. It was oddly comforting, yet alarming, that things were exactly as I had Two lessons I have learned in Haiti: Be resourceful. We used left them. A boy was running in the fields with only a tattered red shirt on plastic bags from food vendors for dispensing medications when we for his clothes. A fisherman weaved leaves for a fishing net in front of his ran out of pharmacy bags. Substituting one drug class for another was a house. Children in blue and white uniforms lined up for roll call at the necessity when the medications ran out. Pharmacy students assisted with nearby primary school. While the world had changed quite drastically in triaging when the nurses were overwhelmed with patients. Think on your the interim, this location was remote, isolated and achingly familiar. feet and always be prepared. Every challenge becomes an opportunity. Joining UMES’ four pharmacy students and two pharmacists this time One person can make a difference. No matter how little you were five health care providers from The Johns Hopkins Hospital, two think your contribution is, working together, we can accomplish much. The medical students and three volunteers from Derwood, Md. looks of gratitude from the lives we touched and impacted and the smiles A crowd was already waiting in line at the clinic. Some had walked on the faces of the children, was evidence we served the Haitian people and hours to get there. brought health care to an impoverished community. We may be unable to Clinic began smoothly with Haitian health department nurses helping change the world on these missions, but we can make a difference. us triage and providers assessing patients and sending those in need of Acknowledgements: UMES’ SOP would like to thank PRMC, medications to the dispensary. By the third day, the 500-pound supply of Community Pharmacy and Pemberton Pharmacy for their medications brought for the mission dwindled on the pharmacy shelves, contributions to the mission. but the crowds did not. As word spread of our clinic, the numbers grew
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The Key / May 6, 2016
QA &
Who is your favorite movie super hero?
The epic showdown between the Caped Crusader and the Last Son of Krypton has provoked quite a bit of debate on and off campus. Even now, the critical buzz surrounding Zack Snyder’s latest film, Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, is almost unanimously divisive. The argument, however, transcends the rudimentary question of which hero can punch the other one harder. It’s true the movie is basically a showcase for the epic gladiator match between comic book icons and bringing about a new era in this renaissance of geek culture. Yet one question remains at its core: which hero matters more? “My friend’s dad was into comics and one of the first comics he gave me was a Black Panther comic. The universe he lived in was amazing. … He was one of the strongest characters in that universe, but he was humble and stood up for the little guy.”—Nathan Tanner, sophomore, applied design, Clinton, Md. “I was introduced to the character Mystique through the X-Men cartoon…her whole thing of being able to hide herself, but choosing not to, having to grow and accept who she is, and her flaw of wanting to fit in was relatable to me.”—Jessica Bishop, sophomore, history, Parsonsburg, Md. “I liked (Spider-man) because he wasn’t very popular and was always down on his luck … he was relatable. … Generosity was what set him apart. The world demonized him, but he took it upon himself to make his city a better place.”—Sean Hayden, sophomore, biology, Delmar, Md. “I think I was introduced to Spider-man through the cartoon. I watched the show and I loved how he always had snappy comebacks. He is a great character because he still goes about his everyday life despite every complication he goes through.” – Mariah Dennis, senior, biology, Elmer, N.J. About the author: Lance Morris is a sophomore from Charlotte, N.C. whose favorite hero is Daredevil. “I think I have grown to love the man without fear mostly because of his perception of morality. Despite being a servant of the court, his continued war on crime in Hell’s Kitchen illustrates a good point: there are times when the law is not enough when it comes to achieving true justice. Despite going through countless trials by fire, fists and litigation, his conviction and boldness remain unscathed. Plus—the suit!”
UMES encourages STEM through Crab Boat Engineering Challenge High school students participating in the inaugural Eastern Shore Crab Boat Engineering Challenge got some valuable hands-on experience; designing and operating a remote-controlled watercraft and working through inclement weather like a real crabber. Blue skies gave way to a downpour April 23 as teams ran their models of Chesapeake Deadrise crab boats through the rigors at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Sciences’ boat ramp in Cambridge, Md. The boats were tasked with operating as quickly as possible to collect the most miniature crab baskets in an allotted timeframe. “Students had to apply knowledge of various STEM concepts in researching, designing, constructing, testing and troubleshooting their boats,” said Dr. Tyler Love, coordinator for the event and an assistant professor of technology and engineering education at UMES. “The challenge exemplified the benefits of technology and engineering classes at the secondary level and UMES’ role in preparing teachers for these courses. It was exciting to see how the schools, sponsors and volunteers collaborated to make this a memorable learning experience.” Teams were judged on their boat designs and performance, a written report showing their mathematical calculations and addressing the environmental impacts of crabbing, and responses to questions, Love said. Queen Anne’s County High School in Centreville came in first place with Stephen Decatur in Berlin taking the number two spot in the competition. UMES organizers collaborated with the Salisbury and Easton Army Recruiting Centers, which underwrote the t-shirts; Kelvin® Educational, which donated the boat motors, and the culinary arts program at Worcester Technical High School, which prepared lunches. UMES technology and engineering education students helped facilitate the event and manufactured the award plaques. Winners in the Eastern Shore Crab Boat Engineering Challenge, Queen Anne’s County High School, make some last minute adjustments prior to the competition.
School News
The Key / May 6, 2016
Faculty share an evening meal to connect UMES faculty recently celebrated the “Taste of UMES” International Feast as an initiative to create a “sense of family and community among members,” said Dr. Lombuso Khoza, interim director of the Center for International Education and one of the event’s co-chairs. Some 50 people shared homemade salads, appetizers, entrees and desserts inspired by dishes from India, Egypt, Italy, China, the Caribbean, Ethiopia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Poland, South Africa and the U.S. Each dish was accompanied by the recipe and the list of ingredients. “Stories behind the origins of the meals contributed to great conversation,” said Dr. Latasha Wade, interim associate provost and event cochair. “The event received such positive feedback that it has been suggested the recipes be compiled into a UMES faculty cookbook and future events held.”
The Summer Language Experience Study Chinese in a high tech setting
Engineering and Aviation Science Complex June 10, 2016 6 to 9 p.m. Live music, heavy hors d’oeuvres and a tour of the building! Experience the latest technology available in our laboratories. Tickets are $100 per person.UMES will use the funds raised to support deserving students as they realize their dream of completing their educational goal in STEM disciplines. To pay via credit card, log on to www.umestickets.com , click on “The Sky’s the Limit.” Call the Division of Institutional Advancement at 410-651-6676 for more information.
Weekdays, June 20-July 1 The Foreign Language Instructional Center at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore “It would take nearly 15 weeks in a traditional school year to accomplish the 60 hours of instruction offered here.” Tammy Gharbi, program director $200 includes all materials Call 410-651-6543 or visit www.umes.edu/FLIC
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Calendar
The Key / May 6, 2016
may 7 7
june
Gospel Choir Concert
5 p.m. Ella Fitzgerald Center UMES Gospel Choir performs. 410-651-6571
Princess Anne Street Fest
10 a.m.-2 p.m. Downtown Princess Anne Free fun for the family; music, food, art & crafts, petting zoo, train rides, games. 410-651-UMES
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The Sky’s the Limit Reception*
23
Art ExhibitOpening Reception
6-9 p.m. Engineering and Aviation Science Complex 410-651-6676 www.umestickets.com
4-6 p.m. Mosely Gallery “Delmarva Metalworks.” Show on display through July 28. 410-651-7770 www.moselygallery.com
*Unless stipulated (*) all events listed are free and open to the public.
Jose Diaz, Hawa Maya Bangura, Larry Hale, Lydell McKissic Jr., Beth Chaffey
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.
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.