The Key, September 2022 Edition

‘We left no stone unturned’

freshman enrollment hits highest rate since 2015

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore announced its highest first-year student enrollment in seven years, through the implementation of a national strategy focusing on both recruitment and retention.

Latoya Jenkins, the Vice President for Enrollment Man agement and Student Engagement at UMES, announced a total of 733 new students were admitted to the university, the most since 1,011 were registered in 2015.

In all, the university’s enrollment sits at 2,520 students.

“This was because of all the hard work that we have put in as an institution to get to this day,” she said. “… When (the school year ended) in May, we were talking about where we would end up? Where would we be when we came back to campus?”

Jenkins said the initiative started with a focus on stu dent retention leading to the establishment of a profile and make-up for the incoming first-year class.

The undergraduate enrollment data showed the average standardized testing scores of 1013 for the SAT and 21 for the ACT, with a grade point average of 3.24 for this incoming class.

The current top majors being pursued at UMES included business administration, criminal justice, sports manage ment, and biology.

In all, more than 7,000 students from 2,050 high schools representing 60 nations and 47 states plus Washington, D.C. applied to UMES.

Part of the plan to attract the increased freshman stu dent body was a campaign to allow the university to have a greater reach.

“Two years ago, we kicked off a national strategy taking us from the UMES website and putting us on platforms all around this nation that said to students whether they were

in Maryland or whether they were in the Congo of Africa. UMES is poised, in the midst of a pandemic, to bring you on and help you meet your educational goals,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins attributed the milestone enrollment to the tire less work of the enrollment management staff that conduct ed numerous phone calls, application reviews, interviews and activities including “New Hawk Day,” an orientation event which helped incoming freshmen and transfer stu dents get prepared and acclimated ahead of the start of the new academic year.

“We left no stone unturned so that those parents, and families, and students, would know what we have to offer,” she said.

UMES ranked 16th by U.S. News & World Report

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore was ranked 16th among Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the annual Best Colleges survey released by U.S. News and World Report.

The ranking, which is the highest UMES has been listed since the publication began the category focusing HBCUs in 2007. It is the third year the institution has ascended the an nual classification during the five-year tenure of president Heidi M. Anderson.

“We have put a number of programs in place to inten tionally move us up in the rankings and I am thrilled they

Founders’

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UNIVERSITY NEWS2 THE KEY SEPTEMBER 2022 Xavier University of Louisiana

Spelman College (GA)

Howard University (DC)

Tuskegee University (AL)

Morehouse College (GA)

are bearing fruit!” Anderson said. “It’s not just about moving up a rankings list; it’s about the world knowing the University of Maryland Eastern Shore is a powerhouse for teaching, research, and service to our community and that we are soaring above and beyond.”

Since the arrival of Dr. Anderson as the institution’s 16th president in September 2018, she has made it a priority for the university to reach “Top 10” status in the rankings by challenging faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters to work together to move the university into the upper tier.

U.S. News & World Report surveyed senior administrators – presidents, senior aca demic policymakers, and admissions directors – to rate the academic quality of peer institutions. Graduation and retention rates, alumni giving, and faculty resources also carried weight in the ranking equation.

Other factors taken into consideration include the number of full-time faculty, student selectivity based on test scores and high school class standing, the institu tion’s financial resources, and how large classes are. UMES’ student-to-faculty ratio is 10-to-1, and 70 percent of classes the university offers average fewer than 20 stu dents per classroom.

UMES receives honor for ‘Vibrant Campus Experience’

The U.S. News and World Report ranking was not the only recognition the university received as UMES was listed as one of the “Top 9” HBCUs for social and economic mobility by the website Bankrate.com.

UMES received the nod for “Best HBCU for a vi brant campus experience,” as a result of its under graduate major offerings including marketing and accounting as well as professional golf management and aviation science.

UMES is the only HBCU to offer eight health pro fessions programs, producing graduates to combat the rural health care disparities that exist in medi cally underserved areas and throughout the country. UMES is one of 15 HBCUs with Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology credentials.

The methodology of the Bankrate listing comprised of the evaluations of four different categories: degrees offered, graduation rate, student-to-faculty ratio and alumni earnings.

In all, 101 HBCUs were evaluated for the nine categories, which also included “Best HBCUs for agricultural science,” and “Best HBCU for engineering majors.”

Hampton University (VA)

Florida A&M University

Delaware State University

Claflin University (SC) Fisk University (TN)

N.C. A&T State University

Morgan State University (MD)

Tougaloo College (MS)

Dillard University (LA)

North Carolina Central University

University of Maryland Eastern Shore

University of the District of Columbia

Bowie State University (MD)

Jackson State University (MS)

Norfolk State University (VA)

UMES unveils new logo, tagline as part of institutional rebrand

Water tower, signage updates proceeded July 1

Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No …, it’s defi nitely a bird.

But it’s not just any bird, it’s the newly adopted logo of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore that graces the institu tion’s water tower.

The recent placement of the new emblem is part of a wide-ranging rebranding effort the university is undertaking. The rollout began July 1.

The new redesign, which was created by Baltimore-based TBC, Inc., features the hawk soaring upward in its trademark maroon and gray.

The impetus behind the design was simple: to establish a singular identity and to laud UMES’s status as a Historically Black College and University, while also distinguishing itself from competitors.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve had about 12 logos all around the campus and in different formats,” President Heidi M. Anderson said. “… One of the things that always bothered me (was) we are a proud HBCU, and when I go places with that ‘M’ (logo), people didn’t know where I was from.”

As part of the rebranding effort, Anderson had some principles she mandated: the university’s colors and mascot must remain the same, while adding an increased emphasis on its HBCU legacy.

“We did extensive research before making changes to the logo for the rebrand and the one thing all constituencies felt con nected to was the hawk,” UMES Associate Vice President and Di rector of Marketing & External Relations Alissa Carr, said. “The hawk really resonated with ev eryone.

“We also discovered many students and prospective stu dents and parents had no idea UMES was an HBCU, so it was important to incorporate that as well as the fact that we have been here since 1886, long before many of our sister (University System of Maryland) universities.”

The complete updating of on-campus signage will take time due to supply chain issues, Anderson said.

In addition to the updated insignia, a new tagline, ‘Soar Above and Beyond,’ was unveiled.

Anderson said while UMES’s original motto, Facta Non Verba, remains intact, this tagline is something that epito mizes what she observes as she traverses the campus every day.

“To watch a hawk so majestically soar and he goes higher and higher, that’s what we’re doing too,” she said. “(That’s) in everything we do. We’re excelling higher and higher. Higher quality, higher goals, higher enrollment.”

The university expects the rollout to be complete by Homecoming in November.

The Republic Airways team, led by 2010 alumna Simone Williams (center), was on site to help welcome new hawks. The airline company, based in the Midwest, donated $20,000 this past spring to support UMES’ aviation science program, the only aviation science bachelor’s degree program in Maryland.

UMES WELCOMES THE

NyGuel Jones of Baltimore, Md. makes a second trip using the push cart to move into Wicomico Hall. He will be majoring in criminal justice.

Shania Beckford of New York, N.Y. had her mother and family dog, Treasure, along for Move-In Day activities.

THE CLASS OF 2026

Jalynne Jones of Dallas, Tx. will be majoring in rehabilitation services.

Vice President David Balcom (University Relations) was present to help Mia Keys and her family settle in to the residence hall after traveling from Charles County, Md.

Deja Carter of Bishopville, Md. (right in black shirt) was assisted by family on Move-In Day 2022.

Tyler Simmons (right) of Brandywine, Md. stopped for a photo while taking a break from moving in to his residence hall. He will be majoring in agriculture.

CELEBRATING THE 136 OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

Formerly known as Princess Anne Academy and Maryland State College,

Peggy Stewart (’70), an educator for 40 years and life member of the UMES National Alumni Association and Tri-County Alumni Association, was honored with the Legend Award on Sept. 14 during the Scholarship and Legend Award Luncheon.

Founders’ Week began with Sunday morning service at Metropolitan United Methodist Church in Princess Anne.

(L-R) Vice President of University Relations David Balcom, Newsome Scholar Emmanuel Reid (mechanical engineering major), Legend Award Recipient Peggy Stewart, President Heidi M. Anderson, Dr. Allen Singleton (’59), Newsome Scholar Tylecia Capers (biology major), CURE Scholar Aniyaa’ Green (agriculture major), and VP of Enrollment Management and Student Experience Latoya Jenkins.

(L-R) Miss UMES Sydney Carr, Mister UMES Kamahri Valcourt, President Heidi M. Anderson, and Shymir Coakley

Peggy Stewart (left) and her husband, George Stewart (’72) pose for a photo with Dr. Heidi M. Anderson (center).

136 TH ANNIVERSARY

MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE

College, the university was founded on Sept. 13, 1886 in Princess Anne, Md.

Recent alumni were panelists for the “Young and Ambitious” panel discussion on Sept. 15. The alums shared advice for success and about their UMES experiences that led them to careers in engineering, communications, and politics.

Dr. Heidi M. Anderson laid a wreath at the gravesite of university founders and former leaders on Sept. 13.

(L-R) Vice President David Balcom, Dean John Tilghman, Frederick Grant (’71), Miss UMES Sydney Carr, Wanda Stewart Holmes (’71), President Anderson, McKinley Hayes (’72), Senior Development Officer Armajeanne Harmon, Wendell Brady (’71), Mister UMES Kamahri Valcourt, and Chief of Staff Dr. Robert Mock

(L-R) Former SGA President Aajah Harris (’19), Sharon Mills (’20), Nasir Neal-Watson (’22) and Former Miss UMES Sarah Adewumi (’20)

‘I came out a better person’

Akiyah Smith took a leap of faith when the opportunity for an international internship arose.

The senior electrical engineering major from Washing ton D.C., who is graduating in December, jumped at the chance to take part in a 10-week summer practicum with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers nearly a world away in Pyeongtaek, South Korea.

“That specific one just called out to me,” Smith said. “It was different, and me, personally, I don’t travel a lot so that was something I just kind of yearned for.”

Smith’s first time out of the country started with a flight and layover in Toronto, Canada, before embarking to South Korea on a 13-hour trek. Once Smith arrived there, she encountered a much different world than what she found stateside.

“It was very different,” she said. “There were a lot of signs I didn’t understand (because of the language) and I often had to use Google Maps or Google Translate, but I wasn’t nervous or anything like that. I was very excited to start a new chapter in my life. If you apply yourself, you nev er know what might come your way.”

During her internship, Smith was in the role of an en gineering technician, which allowed her to shadow the en gineers in four divisions – construction, Geotech, project management, and engineering design. Of all the divisions, the construction aspect was her favorite.

“It was so much more hands-on … you actually got to see what the contractors were doing with the building,” she said. “I liked being able to be on-site and seeing the end product.”

While Monday through Friday were the work days, the weekends allowed Smith to voyage out and get a greater glimpse of South Korean culture.

“The culture out there is very different,” she said. “On the trains, you’re not supposed to talk. They have Wi-Fi on the trains, so everybody’s on their phones. (Compared to) D.C., you can have a whole conversation and be loud, and have a regular conversation with your friends. You have to adjust to your environment.”

Smith said her trip to South Korea was a transformative one as it not only allowed her to experience new things but also gave her a personal and career-centric revelation.

“My goal is to get back to (South Korea). The (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) have branches everywhere, but the one place that fits me, I feel, is Korea,” she said. “I feel like I came in as one way and I’m not that person anymore. I came out a better person.”

Hawks participate in Honors immersion program

Twenty seven of the 51 new freshmen members of the Richard Henson Honors Program participated in the weeklong Freshman Living and Giving Summer Honors Immer sion Program (FLAGSHIP). They set sail early on their UMES journey in the program, which is designed to accli mate students to campus and its resources, help students get acquainted with one another, and to jump-start their honors coursework.

Highlights of the FLAGSHIP included early move-in to the Honors Residential Learning Community in Harford Hall on Aug.14, an opening dinner for their families, two

Electrical engineering major has life-changing experience in South Korea

educational excursions (National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. and NASA Wallops Is land in Chincoteague, Va.), workshops on study strategies, math readiness, collegiate writing, time management, and the Canvas Learning Management System, a morning of service-learning at the Town of Princess Anne’s community gardens (Garland Hay ward Youth Center and Seton Center) and a celebratory cook-out/movie night at the Princess Anne home of Honors Program Di rector, Dr. Michael E. Lane.

New Administrator joins UMES cabinet

Anastasia Rodriguez was named Vice President of Ad ministration and Finance at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).

Joining President Heidi M. Anderson’s cabinet, she be gan her role on Sept. 26.

Rodriguez comes to UMES from Jacksonville State Uni versity in Ala. and brings with her 20 years of experience in federal and state funds management, cost accounting, pay roll, pre-award/post-award, risk management, bond financ ing and procurement.

She has increased the accuracy and time of processes on her campus and navigated through Higher Education Emergency Relief Funds (HEERF) and COVID expenses as Controller at JSU.

“I believe that in order to provide good fiscal stewardship, one must under stand the mission and strategic goals of each area and how they align with the university’s overall strategic goals. Doing so will allow us all to be successful to gether,” said Rodriguez.

“With Anastasia’s extensive experience in controls, staffing, and finance, she is poised to help our university manage the significant responsibility of the HBCU funds as well as the state appropriations to better serve our campus and our stu dents,” said Anderson. “She brings a hands-on, get-it-done approach that I appre ciate that will help her get results.”

Rodriguez holds a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy, a Bachelor of Science in Ac counting, and a Master of Business Administration, all from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

TENURE & PROMOTIONS

SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL SCIENCES (SANS)

Dr. Stephan Tubene

Promotion to Professor

Dr. Sadanand Dhekney

Promotion to Professor

Dr. Naveen Dixit

Tenure and Promotion to Assoc. Professor

Dr. Jennifer Timmons Tenure and Promotion to Assoc. Professor

Dr. Caleb Nindo

Tenure and Promotion to Professor

Dr. Byungrok Min Promotion to Professor

Dr. Ahmed Elnabawi Tenure at Associate Professor

SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY (SBT)

Mr. Christopher Hartman

Tenure and Promotion to Assoc. Professor

Dr. Katherine Quinn

Promotion to Associate Professor

Dr. Wendy Hwei Wang

Promotion to Professor

SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE ARTS (SESA)

Dr. Tao Gong Promotion to Professor

Dr. Amy Hagenrater-Gooding Promotion to Professor

Mr. Christopher Harrington Promotion to Professor

Mr. Bradley Hudson Promotion to Professor

Dr. Tau Kadhi Tenure at Professor

SCHOOL OF PHARMACY AND HEALTH PROFESSIONS (SPHP)

Dr. Richard DeBenedetto

Promotion to Associate Professor

Dr. Dana Fasanella

Promotion to Associate Professor

Dr. Bryan Gere

Promotion to Associate Professor

Dr. Michelle Joy Gorman Sanfilippo

Promotion to Associate Professor

Dr. Leslie Santos-Román

Promotion to Associate Professor

Dr. William Talley

Promotion to Professor

Dr. David Tosin

Promotion to Associate Professor

UMES FLAGSHIP participants visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

At the Garland Hayward Youth Center, Joshua Gibbons (left), Sydnee’ Thomas and other honors freshmen weeded and planted fall crops in the community gardens.

‘A new paradigm’

A new curriculum that focuses on aviation maintenance training is on the horizon at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore through the help of grant funding from Wicomico County and the State of Maryland.

The Federal Aviation Administration-certified course would include participants logging 1,900 hours of training through the university. The credits can be applied to addi tional training in the aviation sciences major at UMES.

“There’s a tremendous shortage of aviation maintenance technicians in this country … coming out of the pandemic and (with) the increase in aviation customers in terms of commercial flight,” Dr. Derrek B. Dunn, professor and dean of the School of Business and Technology, said. “So, it was a natural fit for them to approach us because of our current footprint with aviation sciences with our professional pilot program and our aviation management program.”

Wicomico County’s funding will come through a $3.2 mil lion grant from the Rural Maryland Economic Development Fund. The investment program, which was created earlier this year, allows rural regional councils throughout the state to apply for capital to “boost economic development activi ty, stimulate private sector investment, and grow jobs in the state’s rural regions,” according to a press release from the office of Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.

Eligible uses for the funds include developing infrastruc ture like utilities and transportation, as well as for work force development and the attraction of talent and projects that stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation, according to the release.

Dunn said discussions regarding the creation of the pro gram have been in progress for close to two years and added the cost of developing a program of this nature is a tremen dous undertaking.

“The program is very expensive, obviously, in terms of needs of equipment and other items that students can work on in terms of being trained to maintain and repair commer cial aircraft,” he said. “So, it took quite a while to work to

gether, find the money, (to) determine the curriculum … to make this program happen. We’re still probably two-thirds of the way through in terms of (it) actually becoming real ity.”

Dunn said the new curriculum would consist of three as pects – general aviation maintenance, airframe — which is the structure of the plane itself — and the power plant.

The partnership is the most recent of between the School of Business and Technology, which includes previous pub lic-private collaborations with Microsoft, Apple, Boeing, and on a regional scale with Delmarva Power and the Poto mac Electric Power Company (Pepco).

“This is the way the school of business and technology is now working to set up new initiatives,” he said. “No longer working by itself but working with industry partners and government partners to help us set those up and also help with funding.

“This is sort of a new paradigm. A new model of how to work with individuals to start new academic initiatives.”

Partnership with Wicomico County will help create new aviation maintenance training program

UMES welcomes new Athletic Director

Before she ever got into athletic adminis tration, Tara A. Owens was once a women’s bas ketball player at Virginia State University and later spent more than a decade as a women’s basketball coach.

When she began her tenure as Director of Ath letics at The University of Maryland Eastern Shore in early September, she boasted four years of ex perience in the same role at Division II Central State University and another eight at Baltimore City Com munity College previously.

But her previous experiences shaped her management style and made her the athletic leader she is today.

“My experiences as a student-athlete helped me under stand the meaning of being a part of a team,” Owens said. “Some of the personal traits I developed as a student-athlete were the value of working together, discipline, perseverance and commitment. Understanding the physical and mental demands of being in that position certainly contributed to making me a better athletic director.

“On the other hand, my experiences as a coach allow me to see situations from a coaches perspective while understanding, coaches need the support of the athletic director,” she said. “The foundation of any relationship is com munication and my years of coaching enhanced my communication skills and relationship build ing skills. Coaches have the drive to be successful and as an athletic director there must be a shared vision, while coaches are transforming players, winning games and grad uating student-athletes the athletics director commits to supporting these efforts.”

Owens was hired following a nationwide search and saw becoming a Hawk as a great fit considering her career arc and experience at both HBCUs and the Mid-Eastern Athlet ic Conference.

“I am very appreciative and thankful of the opportunity that President Anderson and the search committee have af forded me,” Owens said. “UMES’s athletic teams have taken great strides and I look forward to the opportunities in front of us.”

Owens is now at the helm of an athletic program that is in the process of filling several key positions, but she is con fident that the team she inherited is up for the challenges ahead.

“Our current staff possesses a great mix of experience, success and energy that will propel us to new heights as a NCAA Division I program,” Owens said. “Our focus contin ues to be graduating student-athletes with a quality educa tion while working to improve their experience at UMES and maintaining competitive programs.”

During her time at CSU, Owens saw student-athlete growth by 110% and secured $2.5 million in funding for ren ovations to athletic facilities. CSU thrived under Owen’s leadership as she was crucial in securing funding and provid ing planning and management to multiple facility upgrades.

She led a realignment of the athletic department to en hance staffing and programming dedicated to student-ath lete health, well-being, sports performance and leadership development. The realignment included the hiring process in identifying five new head coaches and adding additional assistant coaching, academic services, and athletic training positions.

At CSU, Owens also increased student-athlete engage ment in both department policy decisions and university committee projects and teams. Under Owens, CSU athlet ics created an academic center dedicated specifically to stu dent-athletes and hired the department’s first student-ath lete academic coordinator.

Prior to her role at CSU, she spent eight years serving as the athletic director at Baltimore City Com munity College (BCCC). As the athletic director, Owens was responsible for managing all aspects of BCCC’s athletic pro gram which included business operations, staff development, compli ance, recruiting strategy, scholarship allocation, scheduling, marketing, and fundraising.

Beginning in the 2013 season, Owens also served as BCCC’s head women’s basketball coach. Owens was named the Maryland Junior College Athletic Confer ence Coach of the Year as she compiled an overall record of 22-8 and an 11-1 record in the conference to win the 2017-18 regular-season conference championship. In five seasons at BCCC, Owens compiled an overall record of 104-46.

A 1993 graduate of Virginia State University (VSU), Ow ens played for the Trojans from 1988-1991. She received her bachelor’s degree from VSU in physical education/health and completed her master’s degree in administration and supervision at Cheyney University in 1998.

President Anderson and Director of Athletics Tara Owens support the UMES Cross Country team at a meet earlier this month.

The Key / September 2022

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