Terp Fall, 2005

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TERP

CONNECTING

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND COMMUNITY

VOL. 3, NO. 1 FALL 2005

Gateway To Our

Future Riggs Welcomes Alumni Home Page 22

REMEDYING RED LIGHT BLUES 15

MODEL TERPS AWAIT DESIGN 29

MOVING PICTURES 31


TERP PUBLISHER

Brodie Remington Vice President, University Relations ADVISORY BOARD

J. Paul Carey ’82 M.B.A. CEO, Enumerate Terry Flannery ’83, ’87 M.Ed., ’95 Ph.D. Assistant Vice President, University Marketing and Communications John Girouard ’81 President and CEO, Capital Asset Management Group Anil Gupta Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Strategy and Organization, Robert H. Smith School of Business Danita D. Nias ’81 Executive Director, Alumni Relations Vicki Rymer ’61, ’66 M.B.A., ’83 Ph.D. Teaching Professor, Robert H. Smith School of Business Keith Scroggins ’79 Bureau Head of General Services, City of Baltimore, Dept. of Public Works Lee Thornton Professor and Eaton Chair, Philip Merrill College of Journalism MAGAZINE STAFF

Dianne Burch Executive Editor Beth A. Morgen Managing Editor John T. Consoli ’86 Creative Director Jeanette J. Nelson Art Director Mira Azarm ’01 Margaret Hall ’84 Joshua Harless Brian Payne Contributing Designers Monette A. Bailey ’89 Kimberly Marselas ’00 Tom Ventsias Writers Nancy Grund ’79, ’90 David Ottalini Pamela Stone ’95 M.A. Ellen Ternes ’68 Lee Tune Mark Walden ’96 Contributing Writers Katrina Altersitz Arthur Silber Magazine Interns E-mail terpmag@umd.edu Terp magazine is published by the Division of University Relations. Letters to the editor are welcomed. Send correspondence to Beth Morgen, Managing Editor, Terp magazine, Alumni Association, Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, College Park, MD 20742-1521. Or, send an e-mail to terpmag@umd.edu The University of Maryland, College Park, is an equal opportunity institution with respect to both education and employment. University policies, programs and activities are in conformance with pertinent federal and state laws and regulations on non-discrimination regarding race, color, religion, age, national origin, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation or disability.

Dear Alumni and Friends, SESQUICENTENNIAL. Sure, it’s a little hard to pronounce, not to mention to spell (thank goodness for spell check!). But maybe it should be. After all, reaching 150 years of age is a milestone that is not easily achieved. Our alma mater has done it, and it is time for reflection and celebration. The University of Maryland we know today began humbly as the Maryland Agricultural College.The MAC opened its doors that first year to just 34 students and three faculty. (Still, we can boast of having the first professor of entomology in the United States.) Now, the state’s flagship institution numbers more than 35,000 students and 2,000-plus faculty. Our stellar academic programs cover disciplines from agriculture to zoology. Our athletics and arts programs have put us in the national spotlight. Our campus stands out for its natural beauty, state-of-the-art facilities and classical architecture. The pages of this issue of Terp capture what Maryland has become—one of the nation’s top public research universities. Bright minds from around the globe choose this university because of the many opportunities it affords them. Take the students profiled on page 26. They are living President Dan Mote’s promise to undergraduates to take advantage of educational experiences beyond classroom borders. The university is equally attractive to those who wish to mentor students and to conduct cutting-edge research. In “Knowledge + Passion=Great Teaching” on page 18, we feature seven faculty members who have mastered that equation.

Business and government turn to Maryland, too, for its top-notch talent. NASA’s Deep Impact mission to crash a spacecraft into a comet would not have been a smashing success without the university-led research team. Read more about the mission on page 5. Back on Earth, student athletes like Shay Doron are reaching for the stars. The NCAA record-setting guard returns to the court on October 14 for Midnight Madness, a Maryland tradition that marks the beginning of basketball season. See details on this and other upcoming events on page 16. I hope you will return to the university to take part in our yearlong 150th Anniversary celebration, with activities scheduled for every taste.While here, make sure to visit the new Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. Officially dedicated at the start of our sesquicentennial, the center is your home on campus. As you will see from the pictorial feature on the Riggs Alumni Center starting on page 22, Maryland’s next 150 years are off to a beautiful start. Sincerely,

Danita D. Nias ’81 Executive Director, Alumni Relations P.S.: Look inside this issue for your special 150th Anniversary gift.


2 BIG PICTURE You are there … the Fire of 1912; Preserving the Prange Collection; Deep Impact is a hit; and more 6 THE SOURCE An array of language offerings 7 ASK ANNE Famous collections, ring dates and a discovery 8 CLASS ACT Maryland’s oldest living alumnus; An alumna digs up history; The Downey’s Maryland roots; and more 12 M-FILE Saving the lifesavers; Tree farming turns trash to treasure; A virtual plan for dealing with disease; Remedying the red light blues; and more 16 MARYLAND LIVE NPR’s Juan Williams presents his new biography; A 150th Anniversary photographic exhibit opens; Maryland meets newcomer Boston College in Byrd; and more 29 IN THE LOOP Model Terps await design and support 30 PLAY-BY-PLAY Maryland guard Shay Doron’s love of the game 31 SPOTLIGHT “Moving Pictures” exhibition 32 INTERPRETATIONS Our global reach born from deep roots

departments

features

22 THE HOUSE THAT ALUMNI BUILT

The Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center opened its doors this spring and the accolades and alumni visitors just keep coming.Take a tour of one of the university’s newest landmarks. BY NANCY GRUND

COVER PHOTO BY JOHN CONSOLI; PHOTO ABOVE BY MIKE MORGAN

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THE EQUATION FOR GREAT TEACHERS

How do university scholars balance the rigors of research with the demands of the classroom? Meet seven who have more than met the challenge, earning them high marks from peers and students alike. BY MARK WALDEN

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ALL OF THE EXPERIENCE, NONE OF THE BOOKS

The university’s “non-book” classes offer more knowledge than textbooks alone, fulfilling a promise by the university’s president to give every student an opportunity to explore the world. BY KATRINA ALTERSITZ


bigpicture Fire Guts Maryland Agricultural College COLLEGE PARK, Md., Nov. 30, 1912—It began as “an ideal night for a nice little dance,” according to students at the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC). But late last evening, as cadets dined with their dates on the first floor of the school’s administration building, poor wiring ignited a fire two stories overhead. A lone undergraduate, one of 35 who had remained on campus for Thanksgiving weekend, discovered the flames shortly after 10 p.m. Senior officers dispatched a small company to extinguish the fire without disturbing the party, but steady winds fanned the flames, stymied their efforts and made a general evacuation unavoidable. After escorting their dates (“a nervy bunch of girls”) outside, MAC students raced back to fight the flames with what little water was available. Some retrieved documents and furniture from the facility, which housed offices, a chapel, classrooms, living quarters, an auditorium and a dining hall. By the time the Hyattsville fire brigade appeared on the scene, the eight-year-old structure was a loss. The “old barracks,” constructed in 1858, had picked up the flames and was burning slowly from attic to cellar. “The top floor fell in first; then the fourth and so on,” said one witness. Firemen, students and others worked into the early morning hours, preventing any further destruction. Today, their dormitories in ashes, cadets are billeted in local homes. Despite an estimated $175,000 in damage, the destruction of personal belongings and 50 years’ worth of official records, reveille will sound again on December 4. —MW

Maryland Disbands the Bucket Brigade Fire safety at Maryland has come a long way since 1912, when Hyattsville volunteer firefighters rushed to campus, their equipment “attached to the rear of the automobile of J. Frank Rushe” wrote the Washington Evening Star, on Nov. 30, 1912.

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WITH Terp, YOU ARE THERE

Flames from the Fire of 1912 gutted the four-story administration building of the Maryland Agricultural College. At left, two men survey the damage and, below, students stand amidst their rescued belongings.

Today, the city of College Park has its own fire company. At the university, Facilities Management maintains alarms, extinguishers and sprinklers while the Fire Marshal’s Office conducts fire education courses, inspects all campus facilities and reviews new building plans for code compliance. “Most of our fires these days are caused by students cooking and using candles,” notes Fire Marshal Alan Sactor. When he wants to

impress on students and staff the destructive power of an open flame or an overdone chicken, he tells the tale of one breezy November night, 93 years ago, when a single spark destroyed two of Maryland’s largest buildings. The campus that was once devastated by fire now studies the element and how to keep firefighters safe. See page 13.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES


YOURwords Joint Project Preserves Modern History of Japan HOUSED IN MCKELDIN LIBRARY is a vast and rare collection of Japanese print publications—nearly 20 million pages of books, magazines and newspapers dating from the early years of the Occupation of Japan, 1945–49. Thanks to the insight of Gordon W. Prange, author of Tora, Tora, Tora, Maryland history professor and chief of General Douglas MacArthur’s Historical Section in post-war Japan, the collection was declassified and shipped to Maryland in 1950. In 1978, the collection was named in Prange’s honor by the University of Maryland Board of Regents. The University of Maryland and the National Diet Library of Japan are longtime partners working to preserve this priceless collection. With the magazines and newspapers complete, they will now team up to preserve the 71,000 books in the collection. “The Prange Collection is our most important and our most fragile of all,” says University of Maryland President C.D. Mote Jr. “We are honored to join in partnership with the National Diet Library of Japan to ensure this authentic documentation of postWorld War II Japan will be preserved for all time.” Last May, Mote and Takao Kurosawa, librarian for the National Diet Library of Japan, signed a Memorandum of Understanding that officially began the $1.5 million project. Initial efforts will focus on the digitization and microfilming of 8,000 children’s books, a graphically rich and rare subcollection. —DO

Takao Kurosawa, Librarian of the National Diet Library of Japan, (right) and President C.D. Mote Jr. (left) signed an agreement to preserve the Gordon W. Prange Collection.

Funding to support the preservation, cataloging and other activities associated with the Prange Collection is made possible by The Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nippon Foundation, the National Diet Library and the University of Maryland. Initial efforts will focus on the digitilization and microfilming of children’s books like those pictured below.

You did a very nice job with the “That Was Then; This Is Now” piece (on the Maryland–Navy game, Terp, spring 2005). However, a “Middie,” as defined by the Midshipmen’s bible, Reef Points, is a term used by the media to describe an individual who attends the Naval Academy. You will never hear anyone close to the academy use the term. I attended the USNA for a very long year before transferring to Maryland. Hopefully this bit of trivia will help as you report the Maryland–Navy game in the future. Terp is a terrific magazine. —Craig Savage ’71

BLOGbrief

TERPBlog Launch Do you have a funny story about a run-in with Testudo? Any predictions about the university’s future? Want to share? Well, now you can. TERPBlog, an electronic discussion forum created for alumni, readers of Terp magazine and other friends of the University of Maryland, is now online. We’re waiting to hear from you, and so are your fellow readers. Get in on one of the chats, submit a letter to the editor or just check out the Maryland-related links. There’s also room to post photos. We’d love to see you back in the dorm, marching across the 50-yard line with your tuba or celebrating at a tailgate. Visit terp3101.squarespace.com so you can talk to the turtle—and each other— today! —KM

TOP PHOTO BY MIKE MORGAN; BOTTOM PHOTO BY JOHN CONSOLI

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bigpicture

GROWTH spurt

W

ith the growth of recreational sports, Maryland’s fields are constantly growing and changing. Much of the greenery inside and outside on campus now serves the sneakers and sticks of the university’s many sports organizations.

Internal Changes What: Indoor artificial turf field. Where: Cole Field House

main arena, where the storied basketball floor once stood. Who: When the field is open, students, faculty and staff may use it for informal recreation. In addition, club teams like field hockey, soccer and lacrosse have priority for practice and intramural teams hold tournaments there. When: Though many people got their first glimpse last April on Maryland Day 2005, participants have been taking advantage of this hidden gem since fall 2004.

Finishing Touches What: Field hockey and lacrosse complex. Where: On

Paint Branch Parkway, near the Comcast Center. Who: Women’s field hockey and lacrosse will make their home in their own facility this year after continually watching their programs grow. When: The second stage of the facility—locker rooms, training room, equipment room and more—will open this fall.

Just Getting Rolling What: Rugby/soccer field and co-ed softball field.* Where: What used to be termed the North Drill Field is now the Engineering Fields and can be seen clearly from the drive into the main entrance. Who: Open to all, the fields will have one large, multi-use field for club teams like rugby, soccer and lacrosse as well as a larger, co-ed softball field for the women’s softball club and the men’s baseball club. When: In 2006, the four softball fields most would remember will have become collegiate quality, multi-use fields that our championshiplevel club teams can brag about.

*Artist’s Rendition

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TOP PHOTO BY TONY MCEACHERN/CRS; MIDDLE PHOTO COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS; BOTTOM RENDERING CREATED BY DAVE JOHNSON/WBCM


Bringing Prestige Through Scholarship

FERNANDO BALDERRAMA capped a

successful undergraduate career by being named his class’s commencement speaker. Then he went a step further, winning a competitive Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholarship, also adding another notch to the university’s academic belt. With applications coordinated through the National Scholarships Office (NSO), such prestigious awards are becoming more commonplace at Maryland.To put the awards into perspective, consider that the Cooke award is given to only a few students nationwide. Or that Andrew Frank Parker, a civil engineering and physics major, won the university’s first Winston Churchill Scholarship—one of 11 in the

country.Then there’s Ethan Buch, a graduate student who received Maryland’s first National Institutes of Health-Oxford University Scholarship in Biomedical Research. Some of these awards are by invitation only “and we weren’t getting invited before,” says Camille Stillwell, NSO coordinator. When Maryland students land awards such as the Rhodes, Marshall, Fulbright or George J. Mitchell, the accomplishment reflects back on the university. “We’ve made great strides.We went from very few students competing to us being serious contenders,” Stillwell says. In order to make students aware of opportunities that go beyond basic financial

Shown are the happy recipients of prestigious awards given to Maryland students. The National Scholarships Office expects to increase the number of honorees.

aid, Stillwell sends e-mail to a student listserv, maintains a comprehensive Web site (www.scholarships.umd.edu) and hosts workshops and scholarship awareness events. She would like to work with alumni who want to help students prepare for applying for high-profile awards. Because attitude and presentation can play as large a part in a student’s success as their academic portfolio, Stillwell needs mentors, hosts for mock receptions and participants on selection and interview panels. “It doesn’t take much … and these awards give them another reason to be proud of the university.” For more information, contact Stillwell at 301.314.1289. —MAB

Deep Impact Is a Hit IN THE WEE HOURS of July 4th, a crowd of some 650 people at the University of Maryland clapped and cheered as the Maryland-led NASA mission, Deep Impact, successfully smashed into its target, comet Tempel 1. Linked via NASA TV to the mission control room in Pasadena, Calif., the Maryland crowd shared with the mission team the sight of a giant white cloud billowing from the spot where the Deep Impact probe had crashed into the comet, exactly as planned. “The imapct was spectacular,” said Maryland astronomer Michael A’Hearn, who leads the Deep Impact mission. “It was even brighter than I expected.” A’Hearn noted that almost every aspect of the mission encounter went as well or better than expected. The impactor spacecraft’s targeting was right on and its last image was taken three seconds before impact, he explained. The flyby spacecraft, which recorded the collision and its aftermath as the comet sped by, survived in fine shape. Since impact, A’Hearn and mission colleagues at Maryland and other institutions have been working at top speed to analyze the huge amount of data collected. What they have found so far is rather surprising. Comet

DEEP IMPACT MISSION PHOTOS COURTESY OF NASA/JPL/CALTECH/UMD

The Deep Impact mission is considered a smashing success—literally. The impactor spacecraft’s target was comet Tempel 1.

Tempel 1 is as fluffy as a bank of powder snow. The fine dust and ice of the comet are held together by gravity, yet that gravity is so weak that if you could stand on it and jump, you would launch yourself into space. The comet also has a lot of organic material, supporting the possibility that comets played a role in the formation of life. However, much more analysis of the data is required to see if Deep Impact can shed new light on how the solar system formed. For more information about the Deep Impact mission, visit http://deepimpact.umd.edu. —LT

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the Source YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD—OR TOO YOUNG—TO LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE. USING THE POWER OF THE WRITTEN AND SPOKEN WORD, THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND OPENS DOORS TO NEW CULTURES EVERY DAY. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, PROFESSIONALS AND RETIREES CAN ALL BENEFIT FROM AN ARRAY OF LANGUAGE OFFERINGS.

FOLA Self Instructional Language Program Intensive Language Institute

Maryland English Institute Up for discussion: All levels of English, ideal for classroom and professional uses. Participants in the full-time, 14-week Intensive English Program spend five hours a day reading, writing and practicing the language. Part-time courses on American English pronunciation and dynamic discussion are offered regularly, and groups can request customized courses. Who learns: Prospective graduate and undergraduate students, visiting scholars, nonnative speaking professionals, retirees or companies that want to enroll a group of English-language learners.

Up for discussion: Arabic, Italian or Spanish four days a week, with a fifth devoted to cultural activities like museum visits, food tastings and international films. In eight summer weeks, students earn 12 college credits and improve their ability to read, write and speak their chosen language. Who learns: High schoolers, professionals and college students who want to get ahead or prepare for study abroad.

Up for discussion: Ten languages rarely taught in the United States, including Armenian, Hindi, Polish, Swahili and Urdu. Students in this semester-long, guided program work with a tutor to master audiotapes and a textbook, and after passing an oral exam, earn up to six credits. Who learns: Full-time Maryland students and students from other University System of Maryland institutions who want to speak what the U.S. government deems “critical languages.”

National Arabic Flagship Program Service: High-level Arabic intended for use in business, academia or internships in the Arabic-speaking world. Participants live in an Arabic environment and work with native-speaking peer tutors who have the same career interests. They also study in Egypt or Syria before earning a certificate in Professional Arabic. Who learns: Students turning functional Arabic skills into professional proficiency.

H OT L I N E MARYLAND ENGLISH INSTITUTE Phone: 301.405.8634 Web: www.mei.umd.edu INTENSIVE LANGUAGE INSTITUTE Phone: 301.405.8588 Web: www.summer.umd.edu/c/ili/ FOLA SELF INSTRUCTIONAL LANGUAGE PROGRAM Phone: 301.405.4046 Web: www.languages.umd.edu/fola NATIONAL ARABIC FLAGSHIP PROGRAM Phone: 301.405.6461 Web: www.languages.umd.edu/undergrad/afsprog.php

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PHOTOS BY JOHN CONSOLI


ask Anne Questions for Anne Turkos, university archivist for University Libraries, may be sent to terpmag@umd.edu.

Q. I was impressed to learn that the University of Maryland Libraries holds

collections from such famous writers as the novelist Katherine Anne Porter and the poet Karl Shapiro. How is it that these collections have been given to the University of Maryland? —Jan Pottker ’71 M.A.

Novelist Katherine Anne Porter (pictured above and right) received an honorary degree from Maryland in 1966.

A. Neither writer is a graduate of the university, although Miss Porter received an honorary degree from Maryland in 1966.At that time, she had been shopping her papers about to various institutions. She was so delighted by the ceremony at which she received her honorary degree that she donated her papers to the University of Maryland. University Libraries actually purchased Mr. Shapiro’s papers in 1988, thanks to funding that the libraries received at the time. Shapiro, who was born in Baltimore, did teach in Maryland for a time, albeit at Johns Hopkins University.

Q. My University of Maryland graduation ring has three dates on the bottom of it: 1807, 1856 and 1920. I know 1856 was when the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC) was established, and I am guessing the 1920 date was when it became the University of Maryland. What does the 1807 date stand for? —William L. Van Arnam ’62 A. You are correct that 1856 is the charter

date for the Maryland Agricultural College and that 1920 appears in recognition of the unification of the MAC and the professional schools in Baltimore (medical, dental, nursing, pharmacy, social work, law) into the

TOP PHOTO BY JOHN CONSOLI

University of Maryland.The 1807 date represents the founding of the medical school, the oldest institution in the university system. Last spring, the university introduced a new class ring design. For details, go to www.alumni.umd.edu. Q. I was on the gymnastics team from 1985–1990. The year I graduated, I received the Beebe Award, but discovered that the wrong name had been placed on the award, and so left it to be corrected. My coach was never able to find out what happened to it. Do you know where old unclaimed awards are kept? —Yvonne (Raner) Friscia ’90

A. I have some wonderful news! We have

located your award here in University Archives, and I am happy to return it to you, the rightful owner. It came over in one of the many batches of files, photos, film, video, trophies and plaques that we transferred from Cole Field House before Intercollegiate Athletics moved to the Comcast Center. For readers who may not know, the Beebe Award, which was sponsored by the M Club, was given annually to the letterwinner with the highest career G.P.A.

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classact Making the Years Look Good Sam Bacon apologized to a video crew for not being a better subject for their film—“Nobody my age looks good”—but to the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, he is just perfect. A graduate of the class of 1924, Bacon is believed to be the university’s oldest living alumnus. “He was wonderful,” says Gail Yeiser ’75, ’82, who brought with her plenty of Maryland paraphernalia as gifts. Mr. Sam, as he’s called by everyone, recalls being one of 700 students—“of which 70 were women”—on campus. He liked to watch football games and practiced with the cross country team, “but I didn’t get to compete … I worked for my cousin in Baltimore on Fridays and Saturdays, and they had the meets on Fridays and Saturdays. And he was paying me three times the normal rate to help me.” The team still included Bacon, however, in a team photo now hanging in Bacon’s home, where he lives alone with the help of a daily housekeeper.

Bacon was raised on a dairy farm in Baltimore County and says that he wanted to go to college “to get off the farm,” and away from 11to 13-hour days. He still spent most of his professional career working around those who make their living in agriculture, starting with his first job with the Maryland Agricultural Experimental Station. In 1928, he began working as a soil scientist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which took him out to Tennessee. He was there until 1963, when he became a key chain salesman, retiring in 1985. Bacon still walks often and says of his longevity, “I never had much sickness and I didn’t know what drugs were.” In remarks for his birthday celebration, Bacon wrote, “Living to be 105 is not an honor, nor is it a dishonor. I was so fortunate to have such a long healthy life … I feel fine now and may have several more years, which I would like as long as I am not a drudge on someone else. God bless all of you and God bless America.” —MAB

Gail Yeiser ’75, ’82 of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources talks with fellow alumnus Sam Bacon ’24, believed to be the university’s oldest living graduate.

“… I feel fine now and may have several more years, which I would like as long as I am not a drudge on someone else. God bless all of you and God bless America.”

Sam Bacon, above and pictured at right in an undated track team photo, lives in Cookeville, Tenn. The town threw a 105th birthday celebration for its oldest citizen, who still drives on occasional Sundays.

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VIDEO STILLS COURTESY OF MAC NELSON


alumniprofile Digging Up Maryland History Six days out of 10, you’ll find Joy Beasley, M.A.A. ’01, with sun block on, crouched in a 5-by-5-ft. pit sweeping away layers of dirt or

travel 2006 Journey Through Vietnam January 4–9 Explore Vietnam—from the historical sites of Hanoi to the ancient imperial capital of Hue, from the farm communities of Da Nang to the cosmopolitan city of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). Machu Pichu to the Galapagos February 13–27 Whether to see the penguins of the Galapagos Islands or the Lost City of the Incas, venture to a part of South America where ancient sites, beautiful scenery and animal life abound. Costa Rica’s Natural Heritage

scanning a swath of land for signs of long-ago inhabitants. But her digs aren’t exactly like those in sand-swept movie scenes. Beasley does her work in greener pastures an hour outside Washington, D.C. “When people think archaeology, they generally think of Egypt,” says Beasley, cultural resources program manager at Monocacy National Battlefield. “They don’t usually think of Frederick, Md.” Beasley is one of only 145 graduates of the university’s Master’s of Applied Anthropology program, which trains students for careers outside of academia. She’d earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology, but came to Maryland to get back into historical archaeology after several years conducting digs for the New Mexico highway administration and gas company clients. Today, she oversees all preservation projects at Monocacy, where Union troops held off Confederate efforts to capture D.C. in 1864. She helps interpretive staff decide how to share the land’s story and talks to community groups about the site’s cultural value. There are maps to design, presentations to be made and even trips to Antietam to assist staff there in digging up historical clues. “The thing about archaeology is, it may or may not go where you want,” she says. “We’re just always trying to raise awareness.” Beasley hopes the rivets, milk crocks and building footprints she unearths increase interest in Monocacy. The 1,600-acre battlefield didn’t open to the public until 1991, and many locals and tourists still pass it by for trips to Antietam or Gettysburg. In addition to highlighting the park’s Civil War role, Beasley wants visitors to come for the beautiful vistas and antebellum history. In evaluating Monocacy’s Best Farm—a plantation with 90 slaves Joy Beasley, top, unearths artifacts like this eagle-breast and a notoriously cruel owner in the early 1800s—Beasley won the 2005 plate, left, milk crocks and John Cotter Award for Excellence in National Park Service Archaeology. Her rivets in her work on historic latest focus is on the Thomas Farm, site of a thriving 18th century tavern as farms at Monocacy National well as the scene of some of the fiercest fighting during the Battle of Battlefield, bottom. Monocacy. —KM

March 8–19 Tour the natural wonders of Costa Rica. Spot native species on a guided jungle walk. Visit one of the last remaining pre-mountain rain forests. Take in the vast white-sand beaches of Costa Rica’s coastline. Greek Isles April 10–21 Relax on the isles of Crete and Santorini. Marvel at the monuments in Athens. Explore the art and architecture of the ancient Minoan and Greek civilizations. For more details on the Maryland Alumni Association’s Travel 2006 program, contact Stephanie Tadlock at 301.405.7870, 800.336.8627 or stadlock@umd.edu.

TRAVEL IMAGES COURTESY OF ALUMNI HOLIDAYS INTERNATIONAL; PHOTOS COURTESY OF JOY BEASLEY

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classact

TERPgenerations

Downey Family Rooted at Maryland In celebration of the University of Maryland’s 150th Anniversary, Terp magazine will highlight a family with strong and long connections to the university in each issue of the anniversary year.We start the series with the Downey family.

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4. 6.

SINCE 1922, DOWNEYS have attended Maryland,

beginning with Mylo Downey who graduated in 1927. Mylo, who also earned a master’s degree in 1940, was a professor in the College of Agriculture, an agricultural extension agent and a state 4-H leader.Today, the Mylo Downey Fund provides financial aid to students pursuing degrees in agriculture and agricultural sciences. Mylo was the first in his family to attend college at the encouragement of his father, Simon Downey, a strong advocate for higher education. Mylo’s four siblings also attended Maryland. Mylo’s freshman year wasn’t easy. Homesick, he dropped out of the university but returned and completed his degree.Years later, as a university professor, he would check on homesick 4-H students—many of whom he had convinced to go to Maryland— visiting them in their dorms and inviting them to dinner at his home in College Park. He later served as one of the first presidents of the alumni association. College Park is where Mylo’s sons, Edward and Robert, were raised. No surprise, they both attended Maryland. “I never thought I would go anywhere else. I was a Terp fan from age six,” says Ed Downey ’52 (pictured above left). Like his father, Ed has remained connected to the university, serving as president of the Terrapin Club, on the Maryland Alumni Association Board of Governors and on the university’s Board of Trustees.This past year, he and his wife, Loretta, presented the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center with a Testudo statue—a replica of the statue in front of McKeldin Library. After having it on his own property for eight years, Ed said it was time to “send him home.” The statue, situated prominently on the Riggs Alumni Center’s plaza, has a plaque displaying the names of Downey family members who graduated from Maryland—beginning with the first, Mylo S. Downey. —BAM

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3. HOW WAS IT that Mylo Downey— and all of his siblings—attended the University of Maryland? Much of the credit goes to their father, Simon Long Downey, who was elected to the state legislature in 1924 and in 1946. A farmer and recipient of the University of Maryland Honorary Merit in Agriculture in 1938, Simon was a strong advocate for education. Reads the plaque under the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center’s Testudo statue donated by Simon’s grandson, Edward: “Simon Long Downey instilled the value and love of learning in all who knew him, including his descendants who are alumni of this university.”

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1. Mylo S. Downey ’27, M.A. ’40 2. Lawrence E. Downey ’31 3. Fred C. Downey ’35 4. Charles L. Downey ’38 5. Milbrey A. Downey Hansel ’41 6. Robert L. Downey ’56, M.S. ’60 H. Fred Downey ’61, M.S. ’64 R. Lee Downey ’64 Frank C. Downey ’65 Peter M. Downey ’87

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Do You Have Strong Family Ties to Maryland Tell us your story.

Send an e-mail to terpmag@umd.edu or write to us at Terp magazine, Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. 20742-1521. Be sure to include your class year and how we can contact you.

TOP LEFT PHOTO BY JOHN CONSOLI; OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES


BYalumni Carry the Card. Reap the Benefits. REMEMBER THE POWER of

your student ID card? You might not have liked your picture, but you could use it to ride for free on Shuttle UM, receive complimentary tickets to sporting events or see a movie at Hoff for nearly nothing. It was a card with influence. Now, your wallet may hold more mundane items—unless you’re a card-carrying member of the Maryland Alumni Association. “The association has introduced two new programs for its members and has revamped several older benefits,” says Sonia Huntley ’95, director of membership and marketing. “All of them require our members to show their membership cards.” Those who carry the card now receive a 20 percent discount on Terp gear at the association’s merchandise tent, which is located on the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center’s Alumni Plaza every home game during football season. Down the grand staircase in

PHOTOS BY JOHN CONSOLI

Alumni Hall, a DJ spins his CDs for the crowd and pregame programming runs on oversize screens. Here, the card will provide access to a free members-only buffet prior to the game. For those who prefer to tailgate in the wide-open spaces, there’s Tailgate to Go— a new, exclusive benefit for

association members. If you can produce your membership card, you can pre-order a picnic meal and carry it back to your favorite spot in Lot 1. Or call the alumni association ahead of time to book rental space in the center for a private tailgate. Yes, a student ID could earn you many things when you were in college.This fall marks a return of the card with influence for alumni. Details on these and other benefits of association membership can be found at www.alumni.umd.edu. For information on renting space in the Riggs Alumni Center, call 301.405.9756 or 800.336.8627. —MW

Football season kicked off the alumni association’s members-only tailgate parties. Carry your membership card to gain entrance, receive merchandise discounts, rent space for your own private tailgate and more!

In My Story Being This PamalaSuzette Deane ’92 M.A tells the story of Mary Williams Magahee, a free black woman living in 18th century New England. In this fictional book, Magahee’s life is revealed through her diary entries that record her views on slavery and abolition, the approaching American revolution, the influence of English culture and language and much more. How is it that in the 20th century most Americans came to think of themselves as middle class? How did the idea of owning one’s home become the quintessential dream? In A Nation of Realtors®, a cultural history of real estate brokerage, Jeffrey M. Hornstein ’01 Ph.D. argues that the rise of the realtors as dealers in both domestic space and ideaology of home ownership provides insight into these questions. In A Girl’s Pocket Guide to Trouser Trout, Gail Rubin ’80 illuminates the oftenmurky waters of the dating pool with insights inspired by fly-fishing techniques and advice. Consider it a how-to guide for women to define their own angling style in the hunt for their trophy trout.

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m-file NEWSdesk UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FACULTY ARE THE SOURCE NEWS MEDIA TURN TO FOR EXPERTISE – FROM POLITICS AND PUBLIC POLICY TO SOCIETY AND CULTURE TO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.

TEM ON LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN, BALTIMORE SUN,

pathize with; I think the fact is that most people around the world did not see a relationship between Iraq and al-Qaida.”

SEPTEMBER 6.

SHIBLEY TELHAMI, SADAT CHAIR, ON PRESIDENT BUSH

“The odds caught up with them.” GERALD E. GALLOWAY, CIVIL ENGINEERING, ON HURRICANE KATRINA OVERWHELMING THE LEVEE SYS-

ADVISOR KAREN HUGHES’ CHARGE TO IMPROVE

“It was just a matter of time before luxury brands tackled uncharted territory such as your underarms.”

AMERICA’S IMAGE IN THE WORLD, VOICE OF AMERICA,

JANET WAGNER, MARKETING, ON DESIGNER DEODOR-

“If you had a closed, timelike curve, that means that something could run around it forever and ever, always going to the future but always coming back to the beginning.”

ANT, BALTIMORE SUN, JULY 28

“The AFL-CIO is an intellectual Jurassic Park. In a world where size matters less and innovation and adaptability are 95 percent of business success, the company that succumbs to union demands for wages greater than the market will bear or for work rules that reduce agility and efficiency will be vanquished by a swarm of competitors.” PETER MORICI, BUSINESS, ON LABOR UNIONS, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, SEPTEMBER 4

“What happened in terms of losing the support of people and losing the sympathy of people was not the fight against al-Qaida, which people sym-

JULY 27

TED JACOBSON, PHYSICS, COMMENTING ON A TIME MACHINE PROPOSED BY A PHYSICS PROFESSOR AT THE ISRAEL INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, USA TODAY, JULY 28

“I think Americans have been willing to serve, to volunteer, when they felt that national security was threatened. We have been much less comfortable with involuntary servitude. …We had our first really large draft during the Civil War … and we had draft riots. During the first World War, we probably had something on the order of 300,000 draft resistors.” DAVID SEGAL, SOCIOLOGY, CBS NEWS, JULY 17

“An evolutionary deadbeat.” MICHAEL RAUPP, ENTOMOLOGY,

Researching the Business Side of Biotech A NEW RESEARCH CENTER at the University of Maryland will look closely at the factors that can make or break a company in today’s uncertain and competitive biotech industry. The Sloan Biotechnology Industry Center, launched this past April, seeks to bring together university experts and industry participants in an effort to improve the business side of biotech. “There’s a critical need to identify opportunities and strategies that can give biotechnology companies a competitive advantage,” says Jacques Gansler, the university’s vice president for research who will lead the new center. Funded in part with a startup grant from the Alfred P. Sloan foundation, the center joins an elite group of 25 university-based Sloan research facilities nationwide, each of which focuses on a unique U.S. industrial sector. Gansler says Maryland was chosen to host the newest Sloan center because of the management and technical capabilities the university offered, as well as its location near major government and nonprofit associations that influence the biotech industry. “We plan on using highly trained, interdisciplinary teams to work closely with companies to discuss issues, collect data and develop solutions to industry challenges,” says Shawn Lofstrom, associate director for research at Maryland’s Sloan center. One project already under way is looking at ways to reduce the cost and development time for new products. Another seeks to understand how firms overcome the extremely high levels of uncertainty associated with this process. One of the center’s goals is to help biotech firms understand how to overcome these major hurdles, since new biotech products can take more than 10 years and $800 million to develop. —TV

ON A 17-YEAR CICADA HATCHING ONE YEAR LATE, WASHINGTON POST, JUNE 15

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CICADA ILLUSTRATION COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY; SLOAN CENTER ILLUSTRATION BY MIRA AZARM


“This is a center run by firefighters, for firefighters, to make firefighter safety more of a reality.”

Saving the Lifesavers

Berwyn Heights firefighter Shawn Dwyer demonstrates the LifeShirtTM at a Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute press conference. Others, from left to right, include: UM President Dan Mote, MFRI Director Steven Edwards and VivoMetrics President Andrew Behar (LifeShirt provider).

WITH A $750,000 GRANT from the Department of Homeland Security and a 30 percent match from the university, the University of Maryland Center for Firefighter Safety Research and Development wants to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries suffered during firefighting, a job that becomes more dangerous as terrorist attacks broaden the scope of possible emergency responses. The center is a combination of expertise from the Maryland Fire Rescue Institute (MFRI), the Department of Fire Protection Engineering in the Clark School of Engineering, the Small Smart System Center (SSC) and the Maryland Information and Network Dynamics (MIND) Laboratory. “Because of this combination,” says University of Maryland President C.D. Mote Jr., “The center is an asset for the nation, blazing a trail in research and programs at this critical time in our nation’s history.” With a mission to use their advanced technology to help others, the center is putting its efforts toward making training safer, using the input of real firefighters and the input of all its parts. MFRI is providing the training facilities. SSC is using mechanical engineering to develop new sensors. MIND lab is working on communication between firefighters, who have the most important job. “This is a center run by firefighters, for firefighters, to make firefighter safety more of a reality,” says April Walker, a key player in obtaining the grant. The center will study 200 firefighters in live training situations. While they go through the motions, their body’s physiological responses are monitored by a LifeShirtTM. This unique shirt is worn underneath a firefighter’s gear, but serves a bigger purpose—monitoring their bodies, and their movement. Using the data gathered, the center will develop a best practices guide for health management during training. Local units will then use them in their own facilities. Safety officers will be able to better design training operations and will have a greater awareness of physical effects on the firefighters. “The intention is to create something firefighters participated in developing,” Walker says. Marino diMarzo, chair of the Department of Fire Protection Engineering, hopes to see that creation in the form of a gauge for firefighters’ health and even for their equipment, allowing early detection of declining vital signs or failing gear. Eventually, the center plans for all of this technology to monitor actual emergency situations and save the lives of the lifesavers. “You immediately transfer The University of Maryland Center technology to the people,” diMarzo says. “That’s the beauty for Firefighter Safety and Research will study ways to improve the life- of this center.” —KA savers themselves—fire fighters.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF VIVOMETRICS GOVERNMENT SERVICES

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m-file Tree Farming Turns Trash to Treasure AMERICANS ARE USED to recycling household trash.We divert tons of glass, plastics, newspapers, cardboard and other items from landfills every year by recycling. But what about other—more personal—waste? In 2002, the Baltimore/Washington, D.C., area produced nearly 1.2 million

wet tons of biosolids— human waste that has been highly treated to reduce or eliminate pathogens and other contaminants. Much of this nutrient-rich material is incinerated, composted, stored, applied to Maryland’s shrinking agricultural acres, deposited in a dwindling number of landfills or hauled out of state (to become someone else’s disposal problem). Which is a shame, according to Gary Felton (shown above), assistant professor and extension specialist in the Department of Biological Resources Engineering. “We’re wasting a valuable resource,” Felton explains. “Biosolids make excellent fertilizer. And unlike

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other commercial fertilizing materials, which must be purchased, biosolids are available free to licensed applicators, who actually are paid to remove it.” Felton and Maryland colleagues Dale Johnson, extension regional farm management specialist, and Jonathan Kays, extension regional natural resources specialist, are partnering with the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and ERCO, a private firm, to investigate an innovative method of using biosolids to grow commercially valuable hybrid poplar trees on unused or exhausted gravel and sand mines. Such land is surprisingly available in Maryland. In 1998, more than 12,000-acres of sand and gravel mines were permitted in just four counties between Baltimore and D.C. The 100-acre Tree Farm Biosolids Utilization Research Site owned by ERCO in Prince George’s County, for example, was once a barren wasteland created by surface mining.Today, rows of hybrid poplars—some 35 to 45 feet tall— reach for the sky.The soil is rich and loamy, and diverse populations of rabbit, quail, deer, turkey, voles, fox, hawks and owls visit the property.

(Above) Poplar seedings pop through the grounds of the 100-acre Tree Farm Biosolids Utilization Research Site which is shown, left photo, prior to reclamation.

The process is simple: Biosolids are buried in 30-inch-deep trenches and covered almost immediately, eliminating the possibility of unpleasant odors. Poplar seedlings—looking a bit like 10-inch-tall pencils—are planted in the trenches. In six years, they are harvested, and the process is repeated. As they grow, the trees essentially suck the nutrients from the biosolids, preventing them from seeping through the soil and contaminating water supplies. Wells installed at the site have revealed no adverse effects on water quality. Financially, the process has potential. ERCO currently breaks even by selling wood chips from the trees to the landscape industry.Their goal, however, is to identify and partner with a local sawmill that produces trim wood, a higher-value product, allowing them to realize attractive financial returns. It’s a goal we should all root for, says Felton. “Maryland’s population is predicted to increase by threequarters of a million people by 2010,” he explains. “That means a lot more waste that needs to go somewhere.What better solution than to use an economically viable process to reclaim damaged land and produce a marketable forest product while protecting water quality?” —PT

TOP LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF GARY FELTON, ADDITIONAL PHOTOS BY JOHN CONSOLI


Remedying Red Light Blues IF YOU LIVE IN an area that has at least one traffic signal, it probably won’t come as a surprise that a recent project that included University of Maryland researchers gave the nation’s traffic signal operations a D-minus. A survey by the university’s Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) found that the country’s traffic signals are so out of date they cause more traffic headaches than they cure. Timing isn’t updated to match new traffic patterns, municipalities don’t collect new data that could speed things up, and signals aren’t very well maintained. The result—you’re sitting at red lights a lot longer than you should be. “We’ve lowered the bar in this country to where the public has

learned to accept poor traffic operations,” says Philip Tarnoff, director of CATT, a center in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering devoted to studying and improving the nation’s transportation. CATT developed the survey for the National Transportation Operations Coalition. It was a voluntary self-assessment for traffic operations managers around the country. “We were hoping to get even a hundred responses,” Tarnoff says. “Instead, we got 370 from 49 states, a third of the agencies in the nation.” “We’re the only country in the world that doesn’t install signal systems that automatically update their timing,” says Tarnoff. “The technology is there. Auto manufac-

FOR ONLY FOUR DOLLARS A CAR PER YEAR, THE CATT REPORT SAYS, THE NATIONAL GRADE COULD BE RAISED TO AN “A,” IMPROVEMENTS THAT WOULD:

turers will soon be equipping cars with radio transmitters that will automatically transmit traffic conditions to signals for instant updating.” The widespread national media attention the report got had one positive result for traffic operations departments, Tarnoff says. Public officials gave some of them more money to improve traffic signal operations. “The biggest lesson we learned,” says Tarnoff, “is that people care about transportation and traffic signals.” —ET

Reduce travel time by 25% and stops by 10-40%—that’s 50 hours a year if you drive 2 hours a day

Reduce fuel consumption by up to 10%

Save every commuter a full tank of gas a year—almost 17,000 million gallons a year nationally

Reduce the U.S.’s 3 billion pounds of motor vehicle air polluting emissions by up to 22%

Planning for Disease and Crisis, Virtually

AS A COMPUTATIONAL social

scientist, Assistant Professor of Geography Catherine Dibble trains her eyes on emerging diseases like SARS and Avian Influenza. Using highly advanced computer models capable of tracking movement within a single building or across continents, she studies the evolution, spread and control of infectious diseases. Simulating crisis prepares researchers and public health officials for real emergencies, whether the result of a particularly virulent flu strain or a terrorist attack. Dibble’s GeoGraph computational laboratory can also evaluate how

peacekeeping forces might best control civil violence such as genocide or pinpoint strategic locations for the distribution of vaccines and medical supplies. The technology has drawn the interest of the National Institute of General Medical Science, the Office of Naval Research and the Environmental Protection Agency, as much for its homeland security implications as its medical and biological applications. Dibble likens GeoGraph to a much more sophisticated version of “The Sims,” a computer game in which players can change characters’ genes and pre-determine their families, intelligence, wealth and even popularity. With GeoGraph, supercomputers run tens of thousands of geography-based scenarios, then refine them to find the best possible interventions for a given situation. The

ILLUSTRATION BY BRIAN PAYNE; SIMULATIONS FROM THE GEOGRAPH COMPUTER PROGRAM

process is akin to testing for Murphy’s Law— computer modeling assumes that anything that can go wrong will go wrong and then creates back-up plans to handle what might otherwise have been unanticipated problems. “We can learn from these virtual experiences more quickly, more economically and more thoroughly” than in a real-time crisis, says Dibble, a member of the National Research Council’s Committee on Organization Models from Individuals to Societies. Before joining the Maryland faculty in 2002, Dibble worked as a private software designer and developer and focused on life-cycle modeling and health care analysis. —KM Computer simulations like these from Assistant Professor Catherine Dibble’s Geograph system can predict the spread of disease or civil unrest.

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A Maryland tradition continues as Terp fans count down the official start of practice for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Enjoy performances by Gymkana and the Maryland Marching Band before introductions of the teams and coaches. After driving on the court in a Harley one year and a racecar the next, how will Coach Gary Williams

OCTOBER 14 Midnight Madness

2:30–4:30 p.m. Colony Ballroom, Stamp Student Union Sponsored by the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and The Democracy Collaborative The university welcomes Graham Spanier, president of Penn State University, to campus to discuss the legacy and future of land grant universities. Spanier is a national leader in higher education and led the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-grant Universities.

OCTOBER 26 Land Grant Mission: Relevant or Relic?

SEPTEMBER 29–NOVEMBER 5 Moving Pictures: Maryland at 150 Years

4:00 p.m. Stamp Student Union Sponsored by the First Year Book Program One of America’s leading journalists, Juan Willliams, will discuss his critically acclaimed biography, Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary, on campus. Williams, a senior correspondent for National Public Radio, is also the author of the 1988 nonfiction bestseller Eyes on the Prize: America’s Civil Rights Years, 1954–1965. His latest work on the life of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall is the 2005 selection for the university’s First Year Book Program.

NOVEMBER 1 Juan Williams Presents Thurgood Marshall: American Revolutionary

Maryland starts its yearlong anniversary bash with a moving exhibit of photos modern and historic. On the court, the tradition of Midnight Madness continues as a new relationship begins on the gridiron.The Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center welcomes grads back to campus for pep rallies and galas. Next door, the stage is set for a defining season in the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.


CHANDISE AT OUR MERCHANDISE TENT. FOR MORE DETAILS, SEE PAGE 11.

CARD TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE SUITE—AND TO RECEIVE A 20% DISCOUNT OFF MER-

IN A FESTIVE ATMOSPHERE. CARRY YOUR MEMBERSHIP

HALL. MIX AND MINGLE WITH FELLOW MARYLAND FANS

MEMBER-ONLY HOSPITALITY SUITE LOCATED IN ALUMNI

GAME MEAL, CASH BAR AND ENTERTAINMENT IN OUR

PLAZA. ASSOCIATION MEMBERS ENJOY A FREE PRE-

AT OUR EXPANDED MERCHANDISE TENT ON ALUMNI

CENTER. STOCK UP ON THE LATEST TERP STYLES

CAMPUS HOME—THE SAMUEL RIGGS IV ALUMNI

Hornbake Library The University of Maryland Libraries will celebrate its extensive collection of Girls Series’ books. The Libraries’ collection dates from 1917 to the early 1970s and features teenage sleuth Nancy Drew, career nurse Cherry Ames and many more. The collection is named for Rose and Joseph Pagnani who donated 300 Girls’ Series books to the Libraries in 1998.

TOP LEFT AND MIDDLE PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; TOP RIGHT IMAGE COURTESY OF AP/WORLD WIDE PHOTOS; MIDDLE LEFT PHOTO (SECOND FROM TOP) BY JOHN T. CONSOLI; MIDDLE LEFT PHOTO (SECOND FROM BOTTOM) COURTESY OF CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER; MIDDLE RIGHT PHOTO BY MIKE MORGAN; BOTTOM LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF BOSTON COLLEGE MEDIA RELATIONS; BOTTOM RIGHT PHOTO COURTESY OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

301.405.4593

LAND GRANT MISSION LECTURE

www.lib.umd.edu/HBK/hornbake.html

HORNBAKE LIBRARY 301.405.6320,

www.firstyearbook.umd.edu, 301.405. 9363

FIRST YEAR BOOK PROGRAM

www.claricesmithcenter.umd.edu

JOIN THE MARYLAND ALUMNI ASSOCIATION FOR

OUR TERRAPIN TAILGATE PARTIES AT YOUR NEW

CLARICE SMITH PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 301.405.ARTS (Ticket Office),

ATHLETICS 301.314.7070 (Ticket Office), www.umterps.com

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION 301.405.4678 or 800.336.8627, www.alumni.umd.edu

www.150years.umd.edu

150TH ANNIVERSARY EVENTS

H OT L I N E

Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center Celebrate the university’s shining stars—those graduates whose success reflects back on the university—at our POINT OUT A SHINING STAR annual awards gala. c THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION IS The event, featuring ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS FOR a cocktail reception, ITS SEVENTH ANNUAL AWARDS dinner and ceremony, GALA THROUGH OCT. 15, 2005. recognizes alumni association FOR AWARD CATEGORIES AND award recipients and colTO COMPLETE A NOMINATION lege/school distinguished FORM, VISIT US ON THE WEB. alumni.

DECEMBER 3 Sixth Annual Alumni Association Awards Gala

(2 1/2 HOURS PRIOR TO KICKOFF)

BEFORE THE BIG GAME …

Byrd Stadium The Terps give ACC newcomer the Eagles a reason to Fear the Turtle at the last home game of the season. Maryland fans, bring all of your Terrapin spirit and cheer the Terps to victory!

Maryland at 150 Years Adele Stamp Student Union Gallery Take in a photographic exhibition featuring contemporary photos of the university by Terp magazine creative director and university photographer John Consoli ’86 and archival images from University Archives. (See story on page 31.)

THROUGH DECEMBER 2005 Nancy Drew and Friends: The World of Girls’ Series Books

Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center When audiences see Dan Hurlin’s Hiroshima Maiden, they are staggered by its power. Sixty years after the bombing of Hiroshima, Hurlin’s puppets convey, in a way that people cannot, our deepest need for peace and release from hatred and fear. Hiroshima Maiden is performed in the visually beautiful Bunrau style of puppetry, with live music and narration.

OCTOBER 28–29 | 8:00 p.m. OCTOBER 30 | 3:00 p.m. Hiroshima Maiden Created by Dan Hurlin; Robert Een, composer

NOVEMBER 19 Maryland vs. Boston College

how will Coach Gary Williams ’68 enter the arena this time? We’re keeping you in suspense …


KNOWLEDG PASSION=

GREAT M

ARYLAND’S ISABEL LLOYD IS SWITCHING OFFICES. SHE HAS FORMED A WALKWAY FROM HER DOOR TO HER DESK, 17 YEARS’ WORTH OF PAPERS STACKED ON EITHER SIDE. EACH ONE IS A MEASURE OF HER DEVOTION TO SCHOLARSHIP AND TEACHING.

An associate professor of materials, science and engineering, Lloyd studies the effects of processing on ceramics. If you have a dental crown, it’s possible that Lloyd helped design it. Cooperating with the National Institutes of Health as well as experts at Princeton, New York University and elsewhere, she and her students are creating stronger dental materials. At the University of Maryland, there is a common thread that connects ground-breaking researchers like Isabel Lloyd to others studying everything from

Japanese educational systems to termites. That common thread is great teaching, says Spencer Benson, director of the Center for Teaching Excellence at Maryland. “Great teachers take students into this academic place that is challenging, where it’s not information in and information out.” Lloyd’s interest in students earned her a 2003 Advisor of the Year Award nomination. One year later, philanthropist Philip Merrill brought his Presidential Scholars Program to Maryland.Twenty-five undergraduates were selected—all of whom named a K-12 teacher and a Maryland faculty member that had the greatest impact on their academic achievements. Lloyd was one of those teachers. “I’m building out in front of me for society, for the next person down the line, for my students,” she says. “I’m an idealist.” Where do Maryland’s great teachers come from? How do they balance the rigors of research with the demands of the classroom? Selecting only seven to represent more than 2,000 full- and part-time instructional faculty is a challenge. But so is leading two courses while advising, reviewing peer journal articles and attending departmental meetings …

TE


GE+ =

T

ADEL SHIRMOHAMMADI— FARM BOY MAKES GOOD…TEACHER

BARBARA THORNE— BIOLOGIST, ADMINISTRATOR, INVESTOR

Barbara Thorne loves family units that defy the status quo.The termite expert has been conducting awardwinning research on social bugs for nearly two decades and has just begun her second year leading the university’s top-rated honors program. Over 15 years in her own lab at Maryland,Thorne mentored honors students while learning how to control termite populations. Now, a record number of the university’s brightest undergraduates are her primary concern. As they pass through honors, she wants them to learn about science, math, history and literature. She also encourages them to develop the ability to communicate and to listen—to consider other points of view as they try to articulate their own. When new minds inquire and discover, they learn how to learn. “It is like cumulative compound interest that will only expand over the decades for each one,” she says.“That’s probably the greatest contribution we can make in an academic setting.”

Adel Shirmohammadi, professor of biological resources engineering, remembers tilling his family’s fields in Eveughli, Iran. At age 12, he moved away to attend junior high, dreaming of becoming an agricultural engineer—like the ones who advised his father. By the time he arrived in Urmia for college, he had decided, “I had great teachers and I wanted to be a good teacher also.” Rather than accepting a stipend, he asked for a job teaching ninth grade math. Since then, Shirmohammadi has been teaching almost constantly. A Maryland faculty member for 19 years, he, like Isabel Lloyd, was honored by the Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar Program last year. In 2003, he received the American Society of Agricultural Engineers’ Hancor Soil and Water Engineering Award for success in teaching and research. Since his undergraduate days in Urmia, Shirmohammadi has spent plenty of late nights grading and writing. But through the decades, he has found benefits in serving his students and his discipline. “I always felt that teaching keeps you dynamic; it keeps you on your toes.”

TEACHING STORY BY MARK WALDEN + PORTRAITS BY JOHN CONSOLI TERP FALL

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TEACHI BARBARA FINKELSTEIN— LIVING THE LIFE OF THE MIND

IRA BERLIN— MAKING SENSE OF THE PAST

GREAT

Unlike many leading historians, Distinguished University Professor Ira Berlin began his career with a chemistry degree from the University of Wisconsin. During his junior year,Wisconsin’s top-tier history faculty had introduced Berlin to his true calling. “In the 1960s, you had a sense that if you could figure things out, if you could understand where they came from, you could make a difference in the world.That became a driving force for my own interest in history.” While trying to figure things out, Berlin has published numerous award-winning books including Many Thousands Gone:The First Two Centuries of Slavery in North America, which captured the 1998 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. He has served on the National Endowment for the Humanities’ advisory board and as president of the Organization of American Historians. In the classroom, the 1990 Distinguished ScholarTeacher has three objectives. First, he wants his students to be as excited by history as he is. Second, he wants them to know how to place events in context. Only then, does he want them to begin the hard work of making sense of the past. If he manages these three things, Berlin believes he will have taught them how to master arguments about the past and, by extension, the present.

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In 1983, critics dubbed American education mediocre. When they held up the Japanese as a model, Barbara Finkelstein, professor of education and founding director of the International Center for Transcultural Education, threw up her hands. She and several colleagues knew that no one had actually studied how the Japanese taught their children. At age 48, Finkelstein took on the task, changing her focus from 19th century educational history.Today, her research forms the basis for a cross-cultural canon. It has earned her the Key to the City of Osaka (1987) and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette (2004) from the Japanese government. Through her engagement with the Japanese, she says, “I kept finding again and again that the things that you take for granted are learned—they’re Made in America.” Finkelstein, the university’s 1997 Woman of the Year and a 2005 Distinguished Scholar-Teacher, does not shield her students from her research; she asks them to engage in the same struggle, to identify the things they take for granted and question them.Then they can discover how to seek answers.

MICHAEL OLMERT— ONE-STOP CURIOSITY SHOPPE

2005

Maryland English lecturer Michael Olmert ’62, ’80 Ph.D. is a self-proclaimed geek. In his younger days, he loved to build ham radio equipment, so it seemed natural to pursue engineering at Maryland.Then, as a junior, he discovered English literature. “With engineering, there was only one way,” he says.“But with literature, your opinions, your insights—everything you brought to the table mattered.”That’s a message that Olmert now passes on to students in packed classrooms and on tours around Europe. Those who attend also receive a dose of Olmert’s insatiable curiosity. “When you’re studying Shakespeare, Milton, Chaucer, or any other literature, you need to know everything about the culture, science, architecture, society of the era,” he says. “Know as much as you can so you won’t be scared of the material.” Olmert has earned two Emmys for Discovery Channel documentaries on prehistoric humans, a 1999 Phi Kappa Phi honor society faculty mentoring award, and five nominations for the Inter-fraternity and PanHellenic Council Teacher of the Year Award. In 2005, he was inducted into the Maryland Alumni Hall of Fame. “Teaching makes my writing better; research makes my teaching better.” Besides, he notes, “I’m teaching Shakespeare—he makes you look good in the classroom.”


ING SYLVESTER JAMES GATES JR.— LIVE ON STAGE

After his sophomore year at MIT in 1972, Sylvester James Gates Jr., John S.Toll Professor of Physics at Maryland, was hired to teach calculus to incoming freshmen.The first day, Gates sat quietly amid his students, letting them wonder where their instructor was. At the appointed time, he stood up, introduced himself and said, “Let’s start to learn some calculus.” Gates has been teaching with a bit of flair ever since—at Cal Tech, MIT and, since 1984, at the University of Maryland. He was awarded the 1999 College Science Teacher of the Year Award from the Washington Academy of Sciences. In 2002, the university named him a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. When he is not in the classroom, he is investigating supersymmetry, a theory that links force and matter to comprehend the nature of our universe. His 1984 book Superspace was one of the first in-depth works on the topic. Between appearances on PBS and C-SPAN, he has served as an advisor to the National Science Foundation as well as the departments of Energy and Defense. Like the equations that express his theories, many of Gates’ teaching techniques come from within. But he learned from an MIT faculty mentor, Brian Schwartz, that “good teaching requires a performance and that performance must occur through an absolute mastery of the material.”

GREAT TEACHING, IN YOUR WORDS… The 2005 academic year marks Maryland’s sesquicentennial. Though it started small, this university—with its mission to teach and investigate— has always been carried on the shoulders of giants. Here are a few you may or may not remember … Franklin Cooley, Professor of English (1939–1971) “He drove me to do better and I did.” —Mollee Coppel Kruger ’50

Daniel Prescott, Professor of Education (1947–1968) “The assumptions that he made that everybody’s life is valuable and that everybody has potential—that inspires people and it certainly inspired me.” —Jacob Goering ’50 Ph.D in an interview with Elizabeth Tobey, project coordinator for Landmarks and Legacies: The College of Education History Project.

P.W. Zimmerman, Professor and Dean of Agriculture (1916–1927) “We had Dean Zimmerman down to the house for dinner. He gave us a splendid talk on building character and making friends in college.” —J. Franklin Witter ’28, in a letter to his girlfriend, Francis King, on May 27, 1927

Gordon Prange, Professor of History (1937–1980) “Students on their way to parties used to pack an auditorium on Friday nights dressed in togas to hear Prange—he would bring historical characters to life onstage. He knew his subject well and was demanding. Prange’s gone but definitely not forgotten.” —Donald Goldstein ’54

Tell us about your great Maryland teachers on the TerpBlog: www.terp3101.squarespace.com. PHOTOS COURTESY OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND LIBRARIES

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It has been called a testament to the commitment and dedication of the Maryland family, a monument to the many achievements of university alumni and a tribute to the man whose vision and generosity have given all Maryland graduates a new home.The Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center opened its doors this spring and the accolades and

Welcome Home

samuel riggs iv alumni center marks the next 150 years STORY BY NANCY GRUND

alumni visitors just keep coming. Enter the Alumni Hall and view the words of the Alma Mater and the names of the center’s most dedicated supporters etched in the limestone walls of the magnificent marblefloored rotunda. Walk the halls and enjoy the Rever Alumni Hall of Fame, the Maryland Club, the Chaney Library and so much more. Nestled close to the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and Byrd Stadium, not far from Comcast Center, the newest landmark on campus is but the latest jewel in the university’s crown.

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“It is very exciting for Maryland to have an alumni center comparable to other institutions of its size and stature. It is a major attraction on campus.” JIM ’51 and DESSIE ’58 MOXLEY named the center’s gardens, one of the most tranquil retreats on campus.

“Sam Riggs’ decision to fund the alumni center, the first major gift he made in his life, was a transformational gift for the university and for him personally. He would have taken great pleasure in the final product.The center will multiply opportunities for the university to fulfill its mission as a top public research university.” ED FRY ’69 was a lifelong friend of Sam Riggs, who died in 2002, and served as chair of the Riggs Alumni Center Building Committee.

“The Riggs Alumni Center project holds a special place in my heart. Architecture

“The building itself is a manisfestation of the Maryland spirit and represents in its architecture the strength of our alumni community.” DANITA D. NIAS ’81 is executive director of alumni relations

should be contextual and we designed the alumni center to fit in with its surroundings, as challenging as it is to be in context with the nearby football stadium.The Alumni Hall has a temple-

“I became a lifetime member of the alumni association the year I graduated.This center provides a wonderful place for alumni to reconnect, to entertain and to learn more about the achievements of fellow classmates.” A. FORD HALL ’68 named the stained-glass ocular of the University of Maryland globe in Alumni Hall.

like quality and sits adjacent to the office complex designed to reflect the architecture of Baltimore rowhouses, all of it overlooking an inspiring garden.” Architect HUGH NEWELL JACOBSEN ’51, ’93 (honorary doctorate), is the creative genius behind the center.

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The “It” Spot

“My uncle would be pleased to see the Riggs Alumni Center bring graduates back to campus to reconnect

Only a few months old, the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center is already a hub of alumni and student activity. From the induction of the alumni association’s third Hall of Fame class to the inaugural class ring ceremony to the dream wedding of two Maryland graduates, the center is proving to be the “it” spot on campus.

with an important part of their past as well as enrich their lives now and in years to come.The Riggs Alumni Center means the Maryland experience does not end with college; it provides a new beginning. ANNE KEYS ’88 is one of the seven nieces and nephews of Sam Riggs, who provided the lead gift toward the alumni center’s construction.

“During our father’s 50 years of devotion and commitment to the university, he visited other land-grant institutions and was envious of their alumni centers. With my father’s background in student services, we wanted to support a space for students. It is wonderful to see our parents’ names in the rotunda and we hope to continue this legacy.” GAIL YEISER ’75, ’82, assistant to the dean for alumni relations in the College of Agriculture, and Linda Foremanare the daughters of the late Paul ‘35, ‘37 and Gladys ‘42 Poffenberger, for whom a student conference room at the Alumni Center was named. Poffenberger was an associate dean of academic programs in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

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“DKE, a small fraternity started with seven World War II veterans and others in 1947, was a strong force on the Maryland campus for years.When I heard that other fraternities were raising money for the new Riggs Alumni Center, I got on the phone.The payoff has been two fold: the money we raised and the joy of fraternity brothers finding and talking with one another for the first time in years.” PAUL NARGIZ ’52, together with fraternity brother George Suter ’54, has spearheaded the DKE fraternity gift program for the center’s Pillar Campaign.

ALUMNI CENTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE MORGAN AND JOHN CONSOLI, WEDDING PHOTO BY LISA HELFERT


“This new center has been a dream of ours for a long time. It is a fabulous facility that provides a great way to get alumni reacquainted with the university. I am looking forward to going there before and after football and basketball games.” CAROLYN HEADLEE FICHTEL '65 is a past president of the Prince George's County Alumni Club, was a charter member of Alumni Association's Board of Governors and volunteered at the Alumni Association's Members-only Breakfast on Maryland Day in April.

“My fellow classmates, and soon-to-be alumni, were surprised and elated to see their new home. As the first class to hold

“You think one place, this campus, could

a class ring ceremony, one of the first events

only hold so many great memories.The

at the alumni center, we understand more

alumni center allowed us to celebrate our

than ever the importance of maintaining

wedding in fantastic fashion. It provided a

connections and upholding the university’s

great way to show off our alma mater to

growing reputation.”

all of our guests.”

SABRINA SMITH ’05, a President’s Scholarship recipient and member of the Senior Council, addressed students and guests at the university’s inaugural class ring ceremony at the Riggs Alumni Center in May.

In June, REMY SHAFFER ’00 (left) and CASEY GOMES ’02 were married at the Memorial Chapel and celebrated with friends and family at a reception at the Riggs Alumni Center.

WHAT WAS NEW THEN 1. ROSSBOROUGH INN, CIRCA 1802

brick by brick Leave your mark at the university and help current students in the process. Have your name and graduation year etched on a brick along the pathway to the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. A $500 gift places a standard brick on Alumni Plaza or a $1,000 donation can fund a larger brick to be located around the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fountain in the Dessie M. Moxley Gardens. A portion of your gift will be designated for student scholarships.The Brick Campaign is under way so keep that brick in mind for a holiday or graduation surprise.

2. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING BUILDING, 1894 3. CALVERT HALL DORM, 1914

1

2

4. THE DAIRY (TURNER HALL), 1924 5. RITCHIE COLISSEUM, 1932 6. RECKORD ARMORY, 1944 7. MEMORIAL CHAPEL, 1952 8. COLE FIELD HOUSE, 1955 9. NYMBURU CULTURAL CENTER, 1996

3

10. CLARICE SMITH PEFORMING ARTS CENTER, 2001

4

For more information, call 301.405.4678 or 800.336.8627.

7

6

5

8

9

ARCHIVAL IMAGES COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES

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symbiosis. Physical environment factors include food, shelter, water supply, space availability, and (for plants) soil and light. One of these factors may severely limit population size, even if the others are not as constrained. The Law of the Minimum states that population growth is limited by the resource in the shortest supply. The biological role played by a species in the environment is called a niche. Organisms/populations in competition have a niche overlap of a scarce resource for which they compete. Competitive exclusion occurs between two species when competition is so intense that one species completely eliminates the second species from an area. In nature this is rather rare. While owls and foxes may compete for a common food source, there are alternate sources of food available. Niche overlap is said to be minimal. Paramecium aurelia has a population nearly twice as large when it does not have to share its food source with a competing species. Competitive release occurs when the competing species is no longer present and its constraint on the winner’s population size is removed. ts on population growth can include food Predators kill and consume other organisms. pace, and complex interactions with other Carnivores prey on animals, herbivores consume and biological factors (including other plants. Predators usually limit the prey population, After an initial period of exponential although in extreme cases they can drive the prey a population will encounter a limiting fac- to extinction. There are three major reasons why will cause the exponential growth to stop. predators rarely kill and eat all the prey: pulation enters a slower growth phase and 1. Prey species often evolve prontually stabilize at a fairly constant popula- tective mechanisms such as camouflage, poisons, within some range of fluctuation. This spines, or large size to deter predation. ts the logistic growth model. The carrying 2. Prey species often have is refuges where the predators cannot reach them. ral Basic Controls Govern Population Size 3. Often the predator will environment is the ultimate cause of popu- switch its prey as the prey species becomes lower in abilization. Two categories of factors are abundance: prey switching. nly used: physical environment and biologiSymbiosis has come to include all species interonment. Three subdivisions of the biologi- actions besides predation and competition. revious chapters/units we have concentrat- mice and such plants as sahuaro cactus (Carnegia e biology of the individual cell, tissue, and gigantea), Ocotillo, creosote bush, etc. Community m. There are levels of organization above structure can be disturbed by such things as fire, vidual organism that will be the subject of human activity, and over-population. . Individual organisms are grouped into Species: Groups of similar individuals who tend ons, which in turn form communities, to mate and produce viable, fertile offspring. We rm ecosystems. Ecosystems make up the often find species described not by their reproduce, which includes all life on Earth. If there tion (a biological species) but rather by their form other planets, will we need another level of (anatomical or form species). tion? Populations: Groups of similar individuals who phere: The sum of all living things taken in tend to mate with each other in a limited geographion with their environment. In essence, where ic area. This can be as simple as a field of flowers, rs, from the upper reaches of the atmosphere which is separated from another field by a hill or p few meters of soil, to the bottoms of the other area where none of these flowers occur. We divide the earth into atmosphere (air), lithoIndividuals: One or more cells characterized by arth), hydrosphere (water), and biosphere (life). a unique arrangement of DNA “information”. ystem: The relationships of a smaller group These can be unicellular or multicellular. The mulisms with each other and their environment. ticellular individual exhibits specialization of cell s often speak of the interrelatedness of liv- types and division of labor into tissues, organs, and gs. Since, according to Darwin's theory, organ systems. ms adapt to their environment, they must Organ System: (in multicellular organisms). A pt to other organisms in that environment. group of cells, tissues, and organs that perform a discuss the flow of energy through an specific major function. For example: the cardiovasm from photosynthetic autotrophs amongst cular system functions in circulation of blood. es, carnivores and omnivores. Organ: (in multicellular organisms). A group of STORYbetween BY Kgroups AT R I cells N AorAtissues LT Eperforming R S I T Zan overall function. For mmunity: The relationships ILLUSTRATION BY M A RGARET HALthe L heart is an organ that pumps blood ent species. For example, the desert comexample: consist of rabbits, coyotes, snakes, birds, within the cardiovascular system. foxes, snails, dogs, wolves, peacocks, horsTissue: (in multicellular organisms). A group of es, bears, cats, chickens, and ferrets. cells performing a specific function. For example

structure refers to the relative proportion of als in each age group of a population. ons with more individuals aged at or before ctive age have a pyramid-shaped age strucph, and can expand rapidly as the young and breed. Stable populations have relativeme numbers in each of the age classes. man populations are in a growth phase. olving about 200,000 years ago, our species ferated and spread over the Earth. ng in 1650, the slow population increases of ies exponentially increased. New technolohunting and farming have enabled this on. It took 1800 years to reach a total popu1 billion, but only 130 years to reach 2 bild a mere 45 years to reach 4 billion. pite technological advances, factors influopulation growth will eventually limit on of human population. These will involve n of physical and biological resources as opulation increased to over six billion in he 1987 population was estimated at a billion. ulations Transition Between Growth and

All the

none of

fit, for example algae (zooxanthellae) inside reefbuilding coral. Parasitism is a symbiosis where one species benefits while harming the other. Parasites act more slowly than predators and often do not kill their host. Commensalism is a symbiosis where one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor gains a benefit: Spanish moss on trees, barnacles on crab shells. Amensalism is a symbiosis where members of one population inhibit the growth of another while being unaffected themselves. The Real World Has a Complex Interaction of Population Controls Natural populations are not governed by a single control, but rather have the combined effects of many controls simultaneously playing roles in determining population size. If two beetle species interact in the laboratory, one result occurs; if a third species is introduced, a different outcome develops. The latter situation is more like nature, and changes in one population may have a domino effect on others. Which factors, if either, is more important in controlling population growth: physical or biological? Physical factors may play a dominant role, and are called density independent regulation, since population density is not a factor The other extreme has biological factors dominant, and is referred to as density dependent regulation, since population density is a factor. It seems likely that one or the other extreme may dominate in some environments, with most environments having a combination control. Population Decline and Extinction Extinction is the elimination of all individuals in a group. Local extinction is the loss of all individuals in a population. Species extinction occurs when all members of a species and its component populations go extinct. Scientists estimate that 99% of all species that ever existed are now extinct. The ultimate cause of decline and extinction is environmental change. Changes in one of the physical facheart muscle tissue is found in the heart and its unique contraction properties aid the heart’s functioning as a pump. . Cell: The fundamental unit of living things. Each cell has some sort of hereditary material (either DNA or more rarely RNA), energy acquiring chemicals, structures, etc. Living things, by definition, must have the metabolic chemicals plus a nucleic acid hereditary information molecule. Organelle: A subunit of a cell, an organelle is involved in a specific subcellular function, for example the ribosome (the site of protein synthesis) or mitochondrion (the site of ATP generation in eukaryotes). Molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles: The fundamental functional levels of biochemistry. It is thus possible to study biology at many levels, from collections of organisms (communities), to the inner workings of a cell (organelle). Ecology is the study how organisms interact with each other and their physical environment. These interactions are often quite complex. Human activity frequently disturbs living systems and affects these interactions. Ecological predictions are, of a consequence, often more general than we would like.

cause the decline and extinction; likewise the fossil record indicates that some extinctions are caused by migration of a competitor. Dramatic declines in human population happen periodically in response to an infectious disease. Bubonic plague infections killed half of Europe’s population between 1346 and 1350, later plagues until 1700 killed one quarter of the European populace. Smallpox and other diseases decimated indigenous populations in North and South America. Human Impact Human populations have continued to increase, due to use of technology that has disrupted natural populations. Destabilization of populations leads to possible outcomes: • population growth as previous limits are removed • population limits are imposed Agriculture and animal domes tion are examples of population increase of favored organisms. In England alone more than 300,000 are put to sleep per year, yet befor domestication, the wild cat ancest were rare and probably occupied small area in the Middle East. Pollution Pollutants generally are (unplanned?) releases of substance the air and water. Many lakes ofte populations undergo three distinc phases of their life cycle: 1. growt stability and 3. decline. Population growth occurs whe available resources exceed the num of individuals able to exploit them Reproduction is rapid, and death are low, producing a net increase population size. Population stability is often pr ceeded by a "crash" since the grow population eventually outstrips its able resources. Stability is usually longest phase of a population's lif cycle. Decline is the decrease in the n ber of individuals in a population, eventually leads to population exti tion.

experience,

the books …

Factors Influencing Population Growth

Nearly all populations will tend to exponentially as long as there are resources available. Most populatio have the potential to expand at an nential rate, since reproduction is g Population Growth ally a multiplicative process. Two o A population is a group of individuals of the same most basic factors that affect the ra species living in the same geographic area. The study growth are the birth rate, and the d of factors that affect growth, stability, and decline of intrinsic rate of increase is the birth


Wandering through Belize City.

Snorkeling underwater in Belize.

Admiring freshly assembled joists.

Fieldwork in Chesapeake Bay marshes. Finetuning movement in French Theatre.

Hiking over a jungle walkway in Belize.

Enjoying a beautiful Belize sunset. Constructing a solar house.

decline as new

stica-

When most 18-year-olds head off to college, 0 cats they come from a routine—eight hours of re their classes, desks and books. At Maryland, freshtors only a men are promised an escape.

Here, the President’s Promise gives every student at the university an opportunity to use their time to move beyond books and en mber classrooms into the world around them, from m. rates hearing what they can do to proving they in the can do anything. These opportunities—these rowing “non-book” classes—offer more knowledge s availthe than any textbook or formal lecture.

es into en ct th; 2.

fe

numand inc-

grow

In the eyes of President C.D. Mote Jr., who himself has traveled to more than 40 countries, every student, no matter their major, should have the opportunity to immerse themselves in another culture.

ons expogenerof the ate of population death rate. The h rate minus the

AN INTERNATIONAL CAMPUS Last winter, for Scott Jacoby, an aerospace engineering student, immersion meant not only sitting down with a man in Belize to discuss his job, family and artwork. It was also learning about the environment surrounding the College Park Scholars.They went to Mayan ruins, a jaguar preserve and Wee Wee Caye, “a dose of paradise,” Jacoby says. He and his fellow students experienced Belize City, which “was different from any place I had stayed before,” he says. “It was a poor city; in some places, trying to modernize, but in many others, just holding on.” At the Mayan ruins, they had the chance to “run all over, climb up every temple and take a bazillion pictures and just inhale the place.” In Wee Wee Caye, they snorkeled in “another world underwater.” Through the 10-day trip, the students involved themselves in their natural surroundings.They made presentations on native animals, searched for boas in the jungle and recognized that the size of hermit crabs’ claws correlate to the size of their shells. “The trip was a tremendous opportunity to experience an area almost unlike any other in the world, enhanced by our teachers, the locals, the landscape, the animal life and the students,” Jacoby says. This summer, Rachel Menyuk became part of the natural environment of Paris when she learned the art of street performing at the Friches Théâtre Urbain as Maryland’s TERP FALL

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Walking on stilts in the Paris streets.

Exploring Andean ruins.

Department of Theatre cooperated with the Inside French Theatre program. In a warehouse facility in the 17th arrondissement (or district) of Paris, Menyuk studied the Jacque Lecog method of acting, “which focuses on fine-tuning the body as your instrument instead of it being all mental,” she says. She even learned to walk, and perform, on stilts. “I have acquired a skill that I never … thought I would have,” she says. The 20-year-old double major—anthropology and theater—is fluent in French and had “a perfect opportunity … to practice my French through living and learning in French culture. “This class [was] a fully enriching experience,” she says. “Not only will it help me with my acting in the future, but living in Paris and learning from professionals with such creative genius allowed me to expand my mind in directions I never knew existed.” LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Of course, some of the best opportunities lie just outside university walls—in the Chesapeake, our nation’s capital and even Langley Park. Ashley Naimaster, a recent graduate, couldn’t be more enthusiastic.“My Gemstone experience changed my life,” she says.The Gemstone program, touting more than a decade of success, gives honors students the opportunity to participate in research projects spanning their four years at Maryland. Naimaster and her team wanted to “help the bay.” They ended up in the Chesapeake marshes with Andrew Baldwin, associate professor of biological resources engineering, constructing wetlands to control shoreline erosion while producing a thesis. “I have already made a contribution to the field,” Naimaster says.“I have original research experience and, most importantly of all, our team designed the project independently.”

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Gathering data in Bay marshes.

While Naimaster researched the environment, Robert Murray and his team were using the environment to fuel their lives. In October, the university’s Solar Decathlon team will bring their solar home—designed and built by students—to the National Mall and become a part of an all-solar community. As Murray, the leader who participated in the 2002 solar house, says, “It was a crash course in construction and project management … [but] we’ve already surpassed some of the milestones they had last time.” This summer, about 15 students stayed on campus to frame the building and put up walls, so the final house, run only by the sun, would be ready for competition. Najahyia Chinchilla, a fellow worker, says, “This project has a lot of leadership building skills.” For example, Mike Boteler was offered a job as an extension of his work on the Solar Decathlon. NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL Jimmy He graduated with a job, too, but he gives most of the credit to experiences he had in the Quest program, another honors program. He is now working for Price Waterhouse Cooper. His “jump-start on the competition” began as early as sophomore year when, in his first Quest class, he was challenged with redesigning a product. His group’s choice, modifying the car cup holder, gave him a selling point when he went for his internship interview with Daimler Chrysler.The internship, encouraged by Quest, allowed He to approach the company with a proposal for his final capstone experience, which they accepted. In the capstone, a group of students spend a semester consulting with major companies, like Daimler Chrysler, to improve some aspect of the corporation’s business plan. For He and his group, it was “a glimpse into the real world.”

Cutting wood for the Solar House.

With Six Sigma, business training in making efficient decisions and processes, and at least a year’s worth of on-the-job experience, Quest graduates rarely have trouble being hired. “It’s pretty hard for them to say no to you,” He says. Gilbut Kiros, another business major, took a different non-book class and saw the world, not from a Fortune 500 perspective, but through the eyes of immigrants working for eight dollars an hour, at least eight hours a day, and spending nights learning English. As a student in the Global Communities service learning class, he had the opportunity to step out of his comfort zone, just miles from campus, and learn from these people as he taught them. Last fall, after classes, Kiros would take the shuttle to Langley Park Elementary School, pick up a lesson plan and work with men and women to enunciate their words, to conjugate a sentence.“They’re so eager to learn,” he says.“In a way I felt ashamed … I took my education for granted.” From the first time he saw the situation, to the day he faced some 40 people thanking him, Kiros was learning more than a lesson in a book. (What book could give a first-hand account of the Guatemalan Civil War?) More so, he found a different world just outside his zip code. And while this particular experience lasted only a semester, the impact on Kiros and his social conscious will last much longer. So, whether Maryland students see another world and immerse themselves in another culture after getting off a plane or by swiping their Metro card, they are now seeing the world for what it is and for what it could be.With the support and encouragement of the faculty and, yes, the president, Maryland graduates are armed with the hands-on experience needed to succeed in the real world. TERP


in

theloop Terp Models Poised for Design HE’S GRACED TELEVISION commercials, bus ads, banners and billboards. He’s been cast in bronze. Now,Testudo will be immortalized, over and over, in fiberglass. As part of the university’s 150th Anniversary celebration, mostly local artists or artists with university affiliations will create 50 “inTerpretations” of our beloved mascot.The sculptures will dot the campus and region, star at major events and have their own virtual gallery linked to the university’s main Web page. At the celebration’s end, the sculptures will be auctioned, with proceeds going to the general scholarship fund. “It’s a way to include an art component in the anniversary celebration that benefits the community,” says Terry Flannery, assistant vice president of university marketing and communications. All of this exposure creates prime opportunities for people to become art patrons. Student groups, businesses, academic departments, individuals and civic groups can all support the creation of a sculpture.

These renditions of the anniversary Terp sculptures await an artist’s touch and a donor’s support.

Flannery hopes that both on- and offcampus communities are represented. “It’s a great way to show spirit and it allows a lot of people to be involved,” she says. A juried show, it will feature artists chosen through a committee of their peers chaired by Patsy Mote, an artist and the wife of President Dan Mote. Ideas for displaying the finished 4.5 feet by 3 feet, three-dimensional works include placement

in Annapolis, one in Baltimore and one that moves around the region that can be followed on a Web site. Flannery believes that the project is an interesting complement to traditional anniversary celebrations.“It’s different than the history that often comes with anniversaries.” —MAB For information on supporting the Terp sculptures anniversary project, contact Tamiko Scian at 301.405.5406 or tscian@umd.edu.

specialGIFTS Eric F. Billings ’77 made a gift of $2 million in support of the Van Munching Hall addition. In recognition of his generosity, the building’s atrium will be named in his honor. A member of the Robert H. Smith School’s Board of Visitors, Billings is chairman and CEO of Friedman Billings Ramsey Group. Professor of mathematics Michael Brin invested $2 million in the continued excellence of mathematics at Maryland. With his gift, he established the Michael Brin Endowed Chair in Mathematics, four annual fellowships and postdoctoral fellowships. Robert A. Facchina ’77 and his company, Johanna Foods, recently made two major contributions to the university: A gift of $1.2 million will establish the Robert A. Facchina/Johanna Foods Inc. Endowed Chair in Food Systems Security, the catalyst for the new Center for Food System Security in the College of Agriculture and

Natural Resources. Facchina also donated “Fear the Turtle” advertising space, valued at more than $555,000, on 17 Johanna Foods trucks that travel the Washington, D.C.-New York-Boston corridor. The children of legendary Washington Post sports columnist Shirley Povich have given $500,000 to establish the Shirley Povich Chair in Sports Journalism in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism. Povich’s children—David, Lynn, and Maury and his wife, Connie Chung ’69—are ensuring that his spirit, values and passion for sports journalism live on through this chair. The Povich family is working with the college to raise an additional $1 million to fully endow the chair. —PS

TESTUDO MODEL SKETCHES BY STEVEN WEITZMAN, LEFT PHOTO COURTESY OF MATH DEPARTMENT, RIGHT PHOTO BY MIKE MORGAN

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play-by-play SCOREcard

Doron’s Love of the Game Knows No Bounds SHAY DORON

1 11 13 22 4

HOMETOWN: GREAT NECK, NY POSITION: G HEIGHT: 5’9” PPG: 20.6 RPG: 4.1 APG: 4.2

To get a glimpse into Shay Doron’s head for yourself, check out the diary she kept for ESPN.com this past season at: www.umterps.com

LIKE MANY TERP students, Shay Doron went

home this summer. She traveled, hung out with her friends and did what she loves most—play basketball. Home was Israel; travel destinations included the Czech Republic; and her friends were on the Israeli National and the Maccabi USA basketball teams. Two years ago in her introductory game as a Terp, Doron set the NCAA record for free throws made—23—and she went on to become the first Terp to be named All-ACC as a rookie. In her sophomore season last year, she won both Kodak/WBCA Region II AllAmerican and first team All-ACC honors.This past summer, she led scoring for the Israeli team in all but one of the games in their international tournament and helped the Americans go undefeated in Israel. After being named most valuable player of her European Championship division as well as the Maccabi Games, Doron returned to Maryland in August as a junior. She picked up her criminal justice studies and moved in with her new roommate.As she settles in, though, the two constants in her life continue to be her family and basketball. “My family picked up and moved from Israel to New York during

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my junior year of high school so I could pursue my dreams,” she says.“Without them, who knows where I would be right now.” Doron can’t pinpoint the source of her dedication to and love of basketball.“It pops up from everywhere. It can be something as simple as taking a picture with a little girl wearing my jersey and seeing her smile, or it can be something like filling up Comcast against Duke and hearing the roar of the crowd.” Perhaps she always brings love and dedication to the court because the game itself gives her so much more. “Basketball is definitely my haven from everything else,” she says.“Nothing matters, nothing hurts when you’re playing. Sometimes, I like to come to Comcast late at night when no one is there to shoot and collect my thoughts.” In the end, Shay Doron comes back to basketball, and luckily enough, back to the University of Maryland to showcase the talent that has been polished by her dedication and determination. —KA

Looking for your favorite team on the radio? Try Baltimore’s LIVE 105.7 FM or ESPN Radio 1300 AM, the new flagship stations for Maryland athletics. Both stations broadcast expanded pre- and post-game shows for football and men’s basketball, more women’s basketball games and all men’s lacrosse home games. Tune in Nov. 21, as men’s basketball takes on Gonzaga at the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. Australia may have won the cup, but Maryland gets its share of the bragging rights. Eight current or former Terps led the Aussies to victory over the United States in the International Federation of Women’s Lacrosse Associations World Cup this summer. Australian native Sarah Forbes ’97 was tournament MVP. Former assistant men’s soccer coach Brian Pensky has been named head coach of women’s soccer. He moved over to replace Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, who resigned after six years to spend more time with her family. Men’s basketball finished sixth nationally in home attendance during the 2004–2005 season, averaging 16,632 fans a game. The Terrapins also posted 15 sellouts and established a record for single-season attendance at 299,391.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MARYLAND MEDIA RELATIONS/TONY QUINN


spotlight Moving Pictures: Maryland at150150 Moving Pictures: Maryland at YearsYears AS THE UNIVERSITY of Maryland begins

celebrating its 150th Anniversary, we celebrate too the beauty of the university landscape through all seasons, the rigorous pursuits of discovery in laboratories, the exuberant spirit of the university family, the quiet moments of reflection. On display through Saturday, Nov. 5, 2005, in the Stamp Student Union Art Gallery are engaging contemporary photographs by University Photographer John Consoli ’86. “Moving Pictures: Maryland at 150 Years” is one of the signature events marking this historic occasion. In viewing the modern research university of today, we are ever mindful of our deep roots.The exhibition also incorporates select archival images depicting student life, research, academics and outreach, enlarged to display-panel size that serve as a visual backdrop. Collaborating on the historic aspect of the show is Anne Turkos, university archivist, who is also known to Terp readers for the popular “Ask Anne” feature.

Support for this exhibition was given, in part, by Ritz Cameras, which donated the large image reproductions, measuring 20x30.” In addition to the 50 images within the first-floor gallery space, 40 smaller photographs are mounted along the glassfront exterior walls. The Art Gallery itself is a new addition to the Adele Stamp Student Union, which has been celebrating its 50th Anniversary throughout 2005. To learn more about Adele Stamp, the university’s dean of women, and other activities that are part of the university’s yearlong celebration of our history, visit the university’s commemorative Web site: www.150years.umd.edu —DB Shown are five iconic images that are featured in the exhibition at the Stamp Student Union Gallery. Of these, four are included in boxed sets of 16 note cards available as part of our 150th Anniversary celebration.

PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY THE SLANT OF a shadow, the angle of a pathway, the drama of a changing sky. Photographs with an unexpected vantage point are the hallmark of the iconic images captured through the lens of university photographer and alumnus John Consoli ’86. Seen from his perspective, Maryland is both familiar and fresh. When he looks back through the thousands of images he has taken during his 20 years at John Consoli, university photographer and creative director for Terp magazine, has captured the university through his lens for 20 years.

PHOTOS BY JOHN CONSOLI; BOTTOM LEFT, BY MARK NYSTROM

Maryland, Consoli says he is “amazed at how many aspects I have covered.” From photographing heads of state to newly hatched terrapins, he finds that the university has given him a wealth of opportunities. “You’re always watching for that moment,” says Consoli, who has been recognized by his colleagues in the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) with a gold medal as national Photographer of the Year in 1996. He also serves as creative director for Terp magazine. —DB

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Interpretations Our Broad Global Reach Born from Deep Roots

AS WE EMBARK on the yearlong celebra-

tion of the university’s 150th Anniversary, I cannot help but marvel at all that has been accomplished since the birth of a small, private agricultural college to the flourishing public research university we know today.To those of us who have grown up in America, a century-and-a-half seems like a long time. Yet just 80 years after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the seeds of the University of Maryland were planted in the Maryland Agricultural College, chartered in 1856 by a group of forward-thinking Maryland plantation owners led by Charles Benedict Calvert of Riversdale.The Civil War that followed nearly sundered our young nation and bankrupted the university. The university grew intermittently, taking on new forms and responsibilities along the way. I hope that throughout this year, our alumni and friends will delve into our history to gain a greater appreciation of how we have “morphed” over the last 150 years. When we opened our doors in 1859 to 34 students, four of them sons of our founder, Charles Benedict Calvert, who would have predicted that our student body, faculty and staff today would be so diverse? 32

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A glimmer of diversity did surface early on.The first Korean student to enroll at an American college did so at Maryland in 1887. Our first Chinese student was Chunjen Constant Chen, who enrolled in 1915, transferred to Cornell University to complete his degree, and returned to Maryland to earn his M.S. in agriculture in 1920. Later still, he taught Chinese here for 11 years. Today, people of color comprise nearly one-third of our student population. Our geographic diversity is telling as well—our students come from all 50 states and more than 100 countries. Of the 3,800 international students at Maryland, 1,000 are Chinese nationals. Our student and faculty demographics mirror the world we live in. International visits, collaborations and partnerships are essential in today’s world of globalization and connectedness.The global economy has fused the world so that talent and productivity are assembled on a world scale, rather than a regional or national one. Virtually every business and every major problem are global. While I am pleased to see our continual high rankings in polls of national research universities, it is equally important to look at where we stand globally. In the 2005 ranking

of the Top 500 World Universities, published by the Institute of Higher Education at Shanghai's Jiao Tong University, Maryland ranked No. 47.This recognition reflects our expanding role on the international stage. This September, I was invited to China together with four of our deans, representing business; chemical and life sciences; computer, mathematical and physical sciences; and behavioral and social sciences, to cement a partnership with, amongst others, Peking University, one of China’s preeminent universities.We were honored as that institution set aside Sept. 15, 2005, as University of Maryland Day, to celebrate ways in which we will build partnerships. We value all opportunities to explore problems that have a global reach. A goal of our new Center for the Advanced Study of Languages is to address the lack of U.S. experts on lesser-known languages and our Joint Institute for Food Safety and Nutrition has just launched a novel food safety training program. These are just two initiatives.The spirit of our land grant roots enables us to capitalize on our strengths and serve the larger community in enormously significant ways. –Dan Mote, President

Chinese Rate of Exchange Sampling

Meeting China’s critical need for MBA graduates and world-class business leadership by delivering executive MBA programs in Beijing and Shanghai, as well as through individually tailored executive programs.

Measuring air quality in China, using instruments aboard Chinese aircraft through a partnership between the Chinese Institute for Atmospheric Physics and UM’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science.

Decreasing poverty by participating in a review of a multi-million dollar, multi-sector poverty reduction project with our Institutional Reform and Informal Sector (IRIS) Center.

Training criminologists through a master’s degree program in cooperation with Nanjing Normal University. The first class of 36 students graduated in January and a second class began this past summer.

PHOTO BY JEREMY GREENE


It’s a Once-in-150-Year Occasion To commemorate the University of Maryland’s 150th Anniversary and its rise to one of the nation’s top public research universities, the University of Maryland proudly announces the publication of Maryland: Reflections on 150 Years.

This beautiful 9.5” x 12,” 128-page, hardcover volume features iconic campus and archival images reflecting the past 150 years, pithy essays from Maryland faculty and respected alumni, as well as a gatefold timeline highlighting key milestones.

Visually engaging chapters reveal to readers

Our Deep Roots A Legacy of Leadership Enduring Landmarks and Touchstones Our Terrapin Spirit Our Programs of Distinction Student Life and Faculty Achievements

MARYLAND

years Ref lections on 150

Reserve your copy today at the discounted, pre-publication price of $24.95, plus $6.00 for shipping, handling and sales tax. Please note that Maryland: Reflections on 150 Years will not be shipped until after its release date of March 6, 2006, which coincides with the celebration of our charter date as the Maryland Agricultural College in 1856.

for more information, call Sandra George at 301.405.4615 or visit our Web site to download an order form. www.150years.umd.edu


EVERYONE ON THE GRIDIRON KNOWS IT: You can run into the end zone all

day long, but you won’t rack up a single point unless you’re carrying the ball. Alumni Association members know it, too. ◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

To chalk up a 20% discount on Terp gear at our merchandise tent … To enter our free, members-only buffet in Alumni Hall at the new Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center … To order your Tailgate-to-Go, featuring picnic fare fit for a Terp … To reserve space for a pre- or post-game party in the Riggs Alumni Center …

… you’ve got to carry a membership card. BRING YOURS TO ALL OF OUR 2005 TERRAPIN TAILGATE PARTIES.* WHERE: On Terp Alley at the Riggs Alumni Center (pictured left),

between Lot 1 and Byrd Stadium. WHEN: 2 1/2 hours before every home game. WHY: You’ll score so many benefits, you might just do a touchdown dance.

Not a member? Not a problem. Join online today or give us a call at 301.405.4678 or 800.336.8627. Don’t be caught without your card on game day.

For more information, visit www.alumni.umd.edu. *Photo ID required

Division of University Relations College Park, Maryland 20742-8724 Change Service Requested

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