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he fall semester opened with the dedication of the new Jamie L. Roberts Stadium on a bright, sunny September 7th – the first of many autumnal highlights for The National Public Honors College.
Most meaningful achievements come as a result of hard work and such was the case for those momentum-building events that shaped our fall semester. The teamwork by the Offices of Admission and Integrated Marketing, guided by the expertise of Ed Sirianno ’82 and the talented team at Creative Communication Associates, yielded record Open House attendance and record applications for the upcoming Class of 2024. Institutional Advancement, led by its Alumni Relations staff, hosted nearly 1,400 parents and families at Hawktoberfest and their flawless execution on Giving Tuesday enabled St. Mary’s College to break all previous fundraising records for that day with over 2,000 donors and more than $375,000 in gifts supporting St. Mary’s College of Maryland. As we continue to develop and implement strategies to ensure that the College provides a relevant and excellent educational experience, our faculty and staff recommended new academic and co-curricular programs that strengthen our foundation, align to our LEAD curriculum - including enhanced preparation for professional careers and future job markets – and elevate the quality of the student’s lived experience. We eagerly await construction on two campus projects: “A Commemorative to Enslaved Peoples of Southern Maryland” (to be completed this year) and the new academic building and auditorium complex (to be completed in 2022). And we look forward to a new level of athletics when we begin Division III varsity competition in the North Eastern Athletic Conference in the academic year 2021-22. Thank you for your steadfast support of all we are trying to do. Many have heard me say, “I like to drive fast cars, fast.” With our accelerator pushed firmly toward the floor during the fall semester, why let up now? There is much ground to cover in the New Year. Buckle up and let’s enjoy the ride.
Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD President, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Editor’s Note
I
n the book “Papa Goose,”
Michael Quetting recounts his experience of raising seven greylag geese. A laboratory manager at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Radolfzell, Germany, Quetting’s assignment is to get the geese accustomed to flying with data loggers harnessed to their backs, so that scientists can gather meteorological data about wind and weather formations and their impact to birds in flight. The charm of the book is in the telling of everyday adventures as Quetting parents the seven baby geese. But the most meaningful part of the story is how the geese help Quetting to understand himself and his own life. As a human goose parent, Quetting worries about how he will teach his baby geese to swim and to fly. At two days old, when the geese waddle to a nearby lake, jump in and start swimming, he is amazed that they “just know” how to do it. His human self comes to understand that his role as papa goose is to nurture and to guide the innate abilities that the geese possess. Couldn’t the same be said for our role as educators at St. Mary’s College? Our faculty nurture and guide the innate abilities that students bring with them to college. Though humans don’t “just know” how to swim as a goose does, humans do know that their lives need purpose and seek to find it through education and experience. As educators, we play a role in shaping (and get a front-row seat to witness) the amazing things that students do while here. Once graduated, their connections to faculty who guided them on their way to fulfilling work and lives, are often renewed and remembered, as Bob Paul and Chris Tanner share on pages 8-13. “Weeweeweewee,” I say to the students and alumni whose purposeful work is featured in this issue. (Read “Papa Goose” if you want to know more.)
Lee Capristo, editor P.S. The Mulberry Tree will be published online only for the spring 2020 issue at www.smcm. edu/mulberrytree. 2 | St. Mary’s College | T H E M U LBERRY TREE | winter 2020