A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
APRIL 2022
UMES honors convocation returns to in-person celebration 603 undergraduates saluted for stellar academic performances during calendar year 2021
It was a “Joshua” kind of day at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s 69th spring honors convocation – with a Wicomico County twist for good measure. Senior Joshua Goslee of Salisbury was named the top student in the Department of Criminal Justice, while Joshua Todd of Fruitland, also a senior, received the Daniel J. Pinkett Award as the university’s top math student. Goslee wants to go to law school, so guest speaker Krystin J. Richardson’s personal story resonated with him. Richardson is an associate district court judge in Baltimore County, and a 2003 UMES honors graduate. In brief remarks to those gathered at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts, she talked about how perseverance and her faith were the touchstones that enabled her to get into and conquer law school. “I could really identify with her,” Goslee said. “I was inspired by what she said.” Richardson had stellar undergraduate credentials – an honors student (in English), a student organizations’ fixture and Miss UMES as a senior – but struggled to earn a score on the standardized exam to gain law school admission. Seven schools initially turned her down, she said. After a third time taking the test, she secured a seat in the University of Maryland law school, which proved challenging. She credits pep talks from a favorite UMES professor who stayed in touch as well as a law school professor, whose class she initially failed, as the motivation to stick with her goal of becoming a lawyer. “I share my struggles with you,” she said added, “to provide perspective on your journey.” Unlike some of his fellow Fasil Amado received the award of excellence honorees, Goslee was advised in the School of Business and Technology. he was under consideration for criminal justice program’s departmental honor so he was able to invite his parents and grandmother to share the moment. Page 2
Mid-Atlantic Civic Fellowship
Page 3 Fashion at UMES
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Administration News
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Students’ Spring Break in Dominican Republic
(L-R) Zoe Gobourne, Judge Krystin J. Richardson, Carmen Ramos, and Christian Ferguson.
Senior Zoe Gobourne of Silver Spring went home with two academic honors; the top student in the human ecology department and the School of Agricultural and Natural Science’s Award of Excellence. “I wasn’t expecting it,” said Gobourne, a dean’s list student who also worked 25-30 hours a week. “I’m really grateful. I’ve worked really hard, and it feels good to be honored.” Senior Christian Ferguson of Lanham was another double-winner at the honors convocation, which he first attended when he was a freshman – and before the pandemic disrupted the past two in-person ceremonies. The English major was named his department’s top student and the Award of Excellence winner for the School of Education, Social Sciences and the Arts. “I remember thinking at that first convocation it would be nice to be called up on that stage,” Ferguson said. “But, to be honest, this is a total surprise. It’s great to have such an honor.” Junior Rajan Bethea, an art major from Willingboro, N.J., said being named that department’s top student was “a total surprise. I’m shaking, but I’m good. I’m overjoyed.”
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Q&A with Vernajh Pinder
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Commencement Preview
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UMES Supporting Women in Entrepreneruship
Page 11 Athletics
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Sen. Sarbanes Tribute & Sen. Van Hollen Visit
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student news
Ibeawuchi named Mid-Atlantic Civic Fellows Krystal Ibeawuchi, a dean’s list student and junior class president, will represent the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as an inaugural member of the new Mid-Atlantic Civic Fellowship program for the 202223 academic year. A biology major hoping to pursue a career in medicine, Ibeawuchi is among 13 undergraduates from Maryland, the District of Columbia and Delaware selected for their academic credentials as well as emerging leadership skills. “I’m really honored to be chosen to represent UMES,” Ibeawuchi said. “I’m hoping I can learn some things that I’ll be able to share with others.” Beginning with an orientation this month, Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic, the program organizer, will “offer students … high impact opportunities to develop their leadership skills and understanding of civic and community engagement so they may better serve as leaders in their communities and collectively create solutions to our region’s most urgent problems.” “This fellowship is a key avenue to develop student-leaders who are engaged global citizens, actively contributing to the creation of equitable, healthy, sustainable and socially-just communities,” the organization said in a press release announcing the honorees. Ibeawuchi calls Lanham, Md. home but as a child lived in England, where she experienced a different approach to education she believes “molded the foundation of my (approach to) leadership.” In addition to being an elected student leader, Ibeawuchi has been active in the Hollerin’ Hawks school-spirit group and “the illustrious organization Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.” “By being a part of these organizations,” she wrote in an essay, “I’ve found myself, and it has molded me into the person I am today – such as giving back to the community, volunteering for food distribution centers, and collaborating with different organizations within the campus community.” Since arriving at UMES, Ibeawuchi has also nurtured a talent for helping peers in how to apply cosmetics for important social events. “It’s just something I like to do, and people seem happy with,” Ibeawuchi said. story continued on page 4
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Todd also didn’t know he was in line to receive the Pinkett award, created in 1987 by Pinkett’s children to honor his service as a cornerstone math instructor at Princess Anne Academy, then Princess Anne College, during the first half of the 20th century. Math department chair Dr. Tiara Cornelius, a UMES alumna, encouraged Todd to attend but didn’t Joshua Todd (left) and his mother, Cassandra say why. When Todd and his Todd, celebrate his recognition of receiving the mother, Cassandra, also at the Daniel J. Pinkett Award for mathematics. event, heard Cornelius read the honorees biography, both knew his name would be called. Todd has a job waiting at the Surface Combat Systems Center in Virginia located at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility. He’ll be a civilian employee working on simulations to test U.S. Navy ships.
fashion at umes
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Editor’s note: UMES’ Fashion Program embarked on a journey this spring to tell the stories of students and alumni, and their paths to pursuing their purpose in fashion. This resulted in a book, HBCU Fashion: Our Story – a collection of essays highlighting how students’ lives have been impacted by attending an HBCU. Students and alumni share how they have realized bits and pieces of their purpose, while studying fashion at UMES. Essay by Tamber Jackson
Being pushed to do something greater with no limits reminds me of the passion I have for designing and fashion. I saw all the great things being done in the fashion program and believed that I, too, could achieve great things at UMES. Four years ago, I had high hopes of what I thought college would be like. I expected college to just bring me the good experiences without realizing that like anything in life, an experience is all that you make it. I would describe my experience as rocky. I lost myself, but the beauty of it is that with class projects related to designing garments, creating my brand and textiles designs, I found myself all over again. College has been an experience of many deaths and rebirths. I lost and found myself over and over again, plenty of times. Through fashion, I pushed myself to limits I never knew I
was capable of achieving. I learned how to sew and make many of my small accomplishments come to life. I have created things for other people, sold products, and even watched my designs take shape, in front of a live audience. Being in the fashion program has led me to my purpose because it has given me the courage not to give up on my dreams. It has taught me there are endless possibilities. Many of the alumni mentors have shared stories of how they have struggled, cried, laughed, smiled, conquered, and succeeded, but most importantly they never gave up on their goals. I have honestly learned a lot of positive things to help me with my mental health as a creative person. We see people and believe they have gotten to their greatest heights without a struggle, but from this program and from my interaction with alumni, I have learned that this belief is not always true. Determination, persevering and often struggling are keys to success. This lets me know that when I fail, I must redirect myself for whatever the challenge requires and keep on going. The UMES fashion program has taught me that I have the creative ability and determination to fulfill my goals. Senior Tamber Jackson is studying fashion merchandising and is a May 2022 graduation candidate.
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administration news
anderson named to md 2022 top 100 women list UMES President Heidi M. Anderson will be formally recognized May 9 by The Daily Record in Baltimore as one of the newspaper’s 2022 Top 100 Women of Maryland. Anderson joins more than 1,700 women – including two former UMES presidents – who have been named honorees since the publication launched the recognition program in 1996. According to The Daily Record’s announcement, “Maryland’s Top 100 Women was founded … to recognize outstanding achievements by women demonstrated through professional accomplishments, community leadership and mentoring.” Anderson, a pharmacist by training, became UMES’ 16th leader Sept. 1, 2018 and the following year was formally inaugurated during the university’s 133rd annual Founders’ Week activities. That December, she completed Leadership Maryland, a year-long professional development program dedicated to building “a better Maryland by harnessing the strength of its local business and community leaders” – the first UMES president to do so. Nominees, The Daily Record said, are asked to complete an application outlining their educational and career history, professional and community involvement, corporate and nonprofit board memberships and mentoring experience. They
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Ibeawuchi was flattered to be nominated by Latoya Jenkins, UMES’ vice president of enrollment management and student experience, and “I hope to gain knowledge, meet others, build networks and bring back ideas to UMES.” Program organizers project they will hold one in-person gathering and at least six virtual meetings, “including site visits, trainings, and workshops with regional and national experts focused on leadership development and advancing equity through civic and community engagement in the Mid-Atlantic region” including such topics as: •
Transformational Community-based Leadership
were encouraged to submit letters of recommendation from those who are familiar with their accomplishments professionally, in the community and through mentoring. The newspaper plans to return to holding an in-person celebration for honorees, event sponsors and a limited number of guests, that will be at the University of Maryland Riggs Alumni Center in College Park. “This year’s Maryland’s Top 100 Women work hard, play hard and create better lives for their teams, their networks and their families,” said Suzanne Fischer-Huettner, The Daily Record’s senior group publisher. “They are inclusive change agents who are not afraid to face adversity and stand up for what they believe,” she said. “Their community impact and commitment to mentoring are outstanding.” Former UMES presidents Thelma B. Thompson, selected twice to the list (2004, 2011), and Juliette B. Bell (2014) were previously honored. Ten women affiliated with UMES, including two Board of Visitors members, have been named to the list over the past 27 years.
• • • • •
Grassroots Strategies for Developing Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Global Citizenship and Cross-Cultural Competencies Service and Community Engagement in the Corporate Sector Advancing Equity and Social Change through Advocacy and Public Policy Systemic Change through Collective Impact
After graduating a year from now, Ibeawuchi is looking to go to graduate school to become a physician’s assistant “because I have the desire to help people and have the potential to impact human life positively.”
administration news
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Allen named UMES’ chief academic policymaker
Former pharmacy school dean promoted to provost & vice president of academic affairs Dr. Rondall E. Leadership Fellows Program, the Institute for Management Allen has been picked and Leadership in Education and the Millennium Leadership by President Heidi M. Institute. Anderson to be the Anderson noted Allen previously served as UMES’ acting University of Maryland provost … and “has proven his ability to lead in turbulent times – Eastern Shore’s the loss of accreditation of the Physician Assistant (PA) program next chief academic in 2015 – and in more celebratory times – the launch of the new policymaker. PA Program in 2020 and soon, the opening” of a new pharmacy Allen will move and health professions building featuring classrooms and research into the role of provost labs. and vice president “It will be my privilege to partner with President Anderson, for academic affairs the faculty and the entire community as we seek dynamic this summer when solutions and collaborative partnerships for the future of UMES,” Dr. Nancy Niemi Allen said. leaves the post to Since last fall, Allen has been guiding implementation become president of of UMES’ strategic plan as well as developing and delivering Framingham (Mass.) initiatives that represent the university’s current priorities. The State University. latter includes crafting effective student-retention strategies, “I am thrilled to have someone with his energy, enthusiasm identifying the university’s niche in the 21st century higher and experience on our leadership team,” Anderson said in an education landscape, expanding digital learning as well as degree announcement across the UMES campus. programs, and exploring new ways to help students find career Allen joined the UMES faculty in July 2015 as Dean of success. the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions and currently “Dr. Allen is engaging, a careful listener, and is deeply holds the title of interim vice president for strategic initiatives, a respectful of the views of others,” Anderson said. “His presidential-cabinet position created in October 2021. demonstrated commitments to academic quality, diversity and “It is an honor and a privilege to serve as the next Chief inclusion, and creativity will serve UMES well.” Academic Officer for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore,” Anderson said Allen stood out in a national pool of Allen said. “I look forward to serving and collaborating with the applicants following a three-month search coordinated by Dr. faculty and staff as we endeavor to ensure the success of all of our Robert Mock, her chief of staff. students” “Dr. Allen’s experience, strong leadership at renowned Before coming to UMES, Allen was associate dean for institutions, and (his) role as a thought leader made him the clear academic quality at South University School of Pharmacy in choice,” Anderson said. “I look forward to working with him to Savannah, Ga. continue our growth and progress as a premier public HBCU. He also served in several administrative roles during his time at Xavier University of Louisiana’s College of Pharmacy, including director of experiential education, assistant dean for program assessment and associate dean for student affairs. Allen earned his Bachelor of Science in pharmacy from Florida A&M University, Doctor of Pharmacy from Xavier University of Louisiana and is accredited by the American Society of HealthSystem Pharmacists. He is The university anticipates opening the new School of Pharmacy & Health Professions building in a graduate of the Academic September during Founders’ Week.
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student news
umes students’ spring break (working) in the dominican republic UMES’ Richard A. Henson Honors Program and the School of Pharmacy teamed up during spring break 2022 for an experiential learning trip to the Dominican Republic. Led by faculty members Dr. Yen Dang (pharmacy) and Dr. Michael Lane (Henson program director), eleven students spent the week of March 19-26 working with the National Environmental School in Jarabacoa. Surrounded by four major rivers in the Central Mountain Range, Jarabacoa in Spanish translates into “land of water resources,” according to the Dominican Republic’s tourism office. The region is known agriculturally for its strawberries, coffee, pimento and ají pepper crops. Team UMES helped its host school with a variety of tasks, including planting sweet potatoes, gardening, painting garbage cans and building a lean-to. UMES students also were required to conduct research as a part of receiving support funding from the Richard A. Henson Foundation. Among the project
topics: a comparative study of water samples in the Dominican Republic and Princess Anne, exploring beliefs about risks for COVID-19, institutional branding and marketing, and awareness of prostate and cervical cancer risks and screening. Senior Amal Sulieman Adamu, who graduates next month, called the trip “an eye-opening experience.” “I have traveled a lot previously but none has influenced me to this extent. I think what made this experience stand out was I didn’t expect much from it,” Adamu said. “I … thought, ‘I’m going to collect samples for my project and help out in the environmental school.’ In reality, I was able to build unlikely but meaningful relationships with the students from UMES and the National Environmental School and … immerse myself into a different culture” she said. Trip organizers said the goal was to “provide (students) immersion opportunities to think, reflect and to become exemplary
(Standing, left to right): Dr. Jocelyn Briddell, Honors program students Kalin Toogood ‘25, Dr. Michael Lane, Memunatu Conteh ‘25, Elise Johnson ‘25, Doria Wheeler ‘24 (kneeling left to right): Jaidyn McCullough ‘25, Amal Sulieman Adamu ’22.
Michelle Yang, left, and Himali Gujrati, both 2nd-year pharmacy students, build a lean-to during the trip.
global citizens … to become impactful not only at UMES but in their future communities.” “It was an amazing trip for all of us,” said Dr. Jocelyn Briddell, the Henson Honors Program’s assistant director and the Interim Director of the Center for International Education. Students will be presenting their work Thursday, April 28 from 5 – 7pm in the Henson Center ballroom.
Doria Wheeler ’25, Amal Sulieman Adamu ’22, Bertrand Akuche PH ’22 (kneeling), Memunatu Conteh ’25, Jessica Collins PH, Michelle Yang PH, Juan the bus driver, Himali Gujrati PH ’23 (kneeling), Kalin Toogood ‘25, Dr. Yen Dang, Jaidyn McCullough ‘25, Elise Johnson ’25 (kneeling), Dr. Michael Lane, Dr. Jocelyn Briddell, Jumole Akinola PH (kneeling)
student q&a
Whatever happened to Vernajh Pinder? Q: After you graduated in 2019 with a bachelors of science degree in hospitality and tourism management, where did you land? A: I stuck around in Salisbury … while I was waiting for my visa to be approved to begin work. I was originally scheduled to work at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay resort in Cambridge, Md., but my work visa was delayed for five months. I packed up and moved to Florida. It was supposed to be temporary and I (hoped) to return to Cambridge to start the job, but the stars aligned for me to stay in Florida. I got a job as a cook at a mental health facility. Florida was an easy (option) because I had family there. Q: Being the cook in a mental health facility sounds challenging as a first job. What was that experience like? A: It challenged my mindset in different ways because it wasn’t something I was used to. The job provided me with growth – more than any job I had worked previously. It allowed me to see people not for what they were diagnosed with but for who they truly are. The clients … were some of the sweetest, most thoughtful and resilient individuals I’ve ever met. The abundance of joy and happiness that filled my heart every morning I walked through those kitchen doors was one that I am still trying to conjure up the words to explain. Q: How did the onset of the pandemic impact your first year working? A: The pandemic didn’t “disrupt” the job. We did have to adjust to a few new protocols (wearing masks and checking temperature daily), however, everything ran as it usually did. Q: You moved on from that job why? A: I probably would still be working there if it weren’t for my visa. To remain in compliance, I had to stop working. (As) an international student here on an F-1 visa, the Department of Homeland Security grants us, if approved, 9-to-12 months (18-24 if you are a STEM student) to work and gain practical experience. Once my nine months were up, I had no choice but to stop working and begin making plans to go back home. Q: Why did you choose to return to UMES and pursue a Master of Education degree in school counseling? A: Becoming a counselor was always something I wanted to do. I got my undergraduate degree in hospitality because it was something I was good at and the degree was paid for. This degree, however, is something I am passionate about and I know I will be able to influence positive change in the world through it. Q: In addition to your culinary skills in the kitchen, you self-published a book of poetry. Share that story. A: I used the time (waiting for my post-graduation visa to be approved) to create and a book of poetry titled, ‘Hope You Don’t Get Famous: Poetry and Prose’ (available on Amazon Worldwide). It was always something that I set out to do and that was the perfect time to do it.* (*) UMES President Heidi M. Anderson has a signed copy.
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POETRY BY VERNAJH PINDER #1 The essence of your soul was so remarkably beautiful that no matter the penalty I would move every single planet If that meant we could be together
#2 My happiness has always found its voice when the rain brewed. It’s like the sun, yellow, in awe, could never give me the same feelings compared to the grey of the rain. Needless to say, you are my rain.
The month of April is recognized as National Poetry Month.
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commencement preview
‘22 spring commencement features a ‘Star Power’ line-up UMES alumna, presidential adviser headline May 20 graduation event
Distinguished alumna Starletta DuPois and international human rights crusader Samantha Power will be celebrated May 20 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s spring graduation exercises. Power, who serves as the U.S. Agency for International Development’s administrator, has accepted an invitation to deliver the commencement address. DuPois will receive an honorary degree.
Starletta Earla Maria Seawell of Philadelphia came to thenMaryland State College in the mid-1960s thinking she would go into nursing. She earned a bachelor’s degree in biology, but as they say in show business, she also was bitten by the acting bug as a student thespian. Better known to stage, film and TV audiences as Starletta DuPois, the 1968 alumna forged a successful career as an awardwinning actress who performed with some of America’s bestknown artists.
Although she calls California home, over the years DuPois has routinely returned to campus for important social functions and to serve as an occasional guest lecturer. Power, who was born in Ireland, forged a notable career as a war correspondent, an Ivy League educator and more recently as an ambassador forcefully championing human rights around the world. She was a special assistant to former President Barack Obama as one of his national security advisers and in his second term, served as United Nations’ ambassador. The author of a number of popular, public policy books, Power won a Pulitizer Prize in 2003 for “A Problem from Hell”: America and the Age of Genocide. She returned to public service at the urging of President Joe Biden, who picked her to lead the U.S. Agency for International Development – frequently referred to by its better-known shorthand name, USAID – the (L-R) Ben and Alma Seidel world’s premier international development agency. Hotelier Ben Seidel, founder, president and CEO of Maryland-based, Real Hospitality Group, and his wife, Alma, the company’s human resources vice president, will also receive honorary degrees.
faculty news
THE KEY / APRIL 2022
UMES joins collaborative effort to help minority businesswomen TEDCO’s new women’s leadership programs empower Maryland’s entrepreneurs
Dr. Pamela Allison, left, joined counterparts from historically Black institutions in Maryland at a Howard County event for the announcement.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is partnering with the Maryland Technology Development Corp. (TEDCO) to design leadership programs specifically for women to help them become successful entrepreneurs. TEDCO, Maryland’s economic engine for technology companies, said the programs “are designed to build an alliance of diverse founders and CEOs” to nurture “entrepreneurial innovation.” Maryland’s four historically Black institutions will contribute to that expertise by collaborating on strategies to create “a diversified community of women entrepreneurs and help them grow their companies.” The partnership comes at an opportune time for UMES; the university earlier this year named Dr. Pamela Allison to a new faculty position – the Endowed Chair and Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurship and Program Innovation. “It is such an honor to represent the University of Maryland Eastern Shore on this initiative spearheaded by TEDCO,” Allison said. “There are many programs for (business) startups,” she said, “but the growth phase is often overlooked by formal programs. Here (at UMES) we offer mentorship and access to capital for women owned businesses already in operation.” Linda Singh, executive director for TEDCO’s Women Entrepreneur Leadership, said “using the input from TEDCO’s Task Force for Women Entrepreneurs to develop the course foundation, we were able to create a one-of-a-kind program focusing on mitigating challenges Black women entrepreneurs face.” The leadership program kicks off with a pilot program at the Maryland Innovation Center in Howard County. The Open Institute for Black Women Entrepreneur Excellence will bring together 25 women entrepreneurs with the goal of developing
a network of peer advisors and creating a collaborative community. Allison said, “the focus of the Open Institute for Black Women Entrepreneur Excellence will be on a specific phase of their business – the growth phase.” UMES, Bowie State, Coppin State and Morgan State universities “will determine the needs of these entrepreneurs at the intersection of research, tech transfer and education,” a TEDCO press release formally announcing the launch of the program. At UMES, a Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation will be a hub of resources available to all stages of business. “We want to help entrepreneurs take their idea and bring it to reality,” Allison said. UMES “will house maker’s spaces, collaboration zones, shared resources, and be a hub of resources,” she said. “We will host workshops and seminars, offer mentors and coaching, and help entrepreneurs refine their pitch. The UMES Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation is “open access” for students, faculty, alumni, and the community, Allison said.
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umes charcoal drawing
One-of-a-kind charcoal drawing finds a home at UMES Late artist inspired by a mansion that became a school for Blacks
Two months before the rapid-spreading COVID-19 virus was declared a global pandemic, a Princess Anne consignment shop added a charcoal drawing of a local 18th-century home to its eclectic inventory. Somerset Choice manager Sharon Upton recognized the work of art might have special meaning to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore – and alerted the historically Inside Somerset Choice consignment shop, Sharon Black institution. Upton displays Doris Cohn’s drawing of Princess Anne Academy’s Olney building. “I thought it belonged on the campus,” said Upton, a retired educator and volunteer with the Somerset County Historical Society, which operates the shop as a revenue source in a renovated gasoline filling station. The drawing is of a 2½-story dwelling featuring Flemish bond brickwork and a distinctive Palladian window that became UMES’ first building. The Federal-style structure stood several paces behind the north wing of John T. Williams Hall, the university’s administration building since 1940. Ezekiel Haynie of Northumberland County, Va., a surgeon in the Continental army who set up a medical practice in Snow Hill, had “Olney” built and moved there in 1798. He died the following year and over the ensuing eight decades the home fell into disrepair. It eventually was purchased for $2,000 in 1886 by the Methodist Episcopal Church. The denomination emerged in post-Reconstruction America as a leader educating Blacks in hopes of providing a path to a more productive life. Olney was described by a church elder involved in the property transaction as a “place of sixteen acres, with a large but deserted mansion and some other buildings on it.” After undergoing a hasty renovation, Delaware Conference Academy opened Sept. 13, 1886 as a prep-school branch of Baltimore’s Morgan College. Subsequent images of the mansion-turned-schoolhouse appeared in books and college
catalogs, so the drawing at the consignment shop likely was inspired by those photos and illustrations. What makes the work of art compelling to UMES, however, is the artist. Doris Maslin Cohn, a daughter of a prominent Winston-Salem, N.C. banker, married Edward Herrman Cohn in 1916 and relocated to Princess Anne, where her husband was a second-generation businessman operating a feed and lumber business. Doris Cohn was described in her December 1973 obituary as an artist of some renown who found inspiration in historic dwellings, of which Somerset County has many. Her works occasionally were featured in one-woman shows along the East Coast, according to the obituary. More importantly, she was the three-time great-granddaughter of Dr. Ezekiel Haynie, the man who commissioned Olney. No provenance – or historical background – accompanied the consignment shop drawing, which was mounted in a rough-hewn wooden frame embellished with dentil molding. Cohn did sign and label it “Olney,” but did not date the drawing. As the pandemic began to recede in the spring of 2022, the university sought Michel Demanche’s advice on stabilizing the artwork acquired from the consignment shop. Demanche, a retired UMES fine arts professor and president of the Somerset County Arts Council, remembered thinking, “wow, this thing needs some help.” “I could see it was an original drawing that deserved the help,” she said. The arts council opened an unassuming frame shop in Crisfield in 2021 “to help community members with their ability to preserve” heirlooms and keepsakes, Demanche said. Demanche recognized the importance of Cohn’s drawing and accepted the challenge. The preservation, she said, took four days, which included separating the drawing from a failing matte board to which it had been affixed with a petrified liquid adhesive. The fragile paper endured some minor tearing, but Demanche stabilized it with rice paper. Using acid-free glue, she remounted the drawing on archival-quality matting, cleaned the original glass, then sanded and rubbed the original frame with a gold-tinted acrylic stain. “I wanted to do everything I could to preserve the look it had when it was originally framed,” Demanche said. Sadly, Olney became irreparably unsound in the latter part of the 20th century and was demolished.
athletics
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Winter Season Sports Student-athletes who represented UMES during winter-season intercollegiate competition earned peer accolades for their performances. Bowling team: Brooke Roberts, Alejandra Amezcua and Elizabeth Ross, all juniors, and sophomore Gabriella Ochoa Hubbard were named to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) All-Academic squad. Roberts also earned honors as an All American, 1st team All-MEAC, the All-MEAC tournament team and all-region from the National Tenpin Coaches Association. Joining Roberts on the NCTA regional team was graduate student Paulina Torres, who also earned 3rd team All-MEAC honors. Indoor track: top performers were seniors Naomi English (long jump), Atinuke Shittu (triple jump) and Josh Goslee (pole vault), and juniors Ashane Beckford and Jahlahnee Watkins (400 meter sprint).
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University Relations 30665 Student Services Center Lane Princess Anne, MD 21853
President Heidi M. Anderson and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen examine a 1930-31 Princess Anne Academy catalog in the university archives that lists land-grant themed courses Anderson jokingly noted are still taught today. Van Hollen visited UMES April 12 after his instrumental work in securing federal funds for the digitization of university archives ($500,000) and a new initiative in UMES’ School of Graduate Studies and Research ($350,000).
Among the delegation representing the University of Maryland Eastern Shore with President Heidi M. Anderson at an April 2 tribute banquet honoring the late Paul Sarbanes, were (L-R) Jim Mathias, government relations director; George Ojie-Ahamiojie, interim chair of the hospitalitytourism management department and Jonathan Cumming, chair of the natural sciences department. Sarbanes, a Salisbury native, was elected five times to the U.S. Senate, where over his tenure he championed federal support for UMES.
The Key / April 2022
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 non-discrimination 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).
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