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e at St. Mary’s College of Maryland believe in the power of a liberal arts education that not only equips students with the skills needed to secure a job, but equally as important, equips them with life skills that
are applicable for the present and the future. It is part of our promise as Maryland’s public honors college. This issue features the debut of our new brand, The National Public Honors College. We are the first public honors college in the nation, and our outcomes demonstrate that we are the best. St. Mary’s College’s mission is challenging – liberal education excellence that is accessible and affordable. Yet, we are succeeding. Alumni and friends of the College have been and continue to be cornerstones of our success in a myriad of ways such as by mentoring students in professional work settings, by sharing their expertise in networking events like Bookbag to Briefcase, and by demonstrating their faith in this institution and its students on Giving Tuesday in increasing numbers every year. This year, we boasted record Giving Tuesday numbers of more than 1,000 donors deep and nearly $287,000 strong. Our students are diverse. They come from unique backgrounds and seek different paths. What connects them all? Passion. A desire to do their part in defining what it means to be a successful and impactful human being. Our dedicated faculty and staff are the linchpin of all that we do, the individuals who our students remember long after they graduate and return to their beloved campus as alumni. Our new hallmark curriculum, Learning through Experiential and Applied Discovery (LEAD), will further enhance our teaching and learning by giving students a career-ready edge within a liberal arts framework with skills employers tell us they want now. In the coming months, be on the lookout for ways you can get involved in our LEAD efforts and proudly tell our story. As we begin the year anew, know that there is fresh energy at St. Mary’s College. A renewed spirit. A drive to reach higher, go further, and shine brighter, enabling us to lead today, tomorrow, and well into the unforeseeable future.
Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD President, St. Mary’s College of Maryland
Editor’s Note
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ince antiquity, explorers have relied upon Polaris, the North Star, for celestial navigation. Since 1840, St. Mary’s (Female Seminary, Junior College, College of Maryland) has navigated on a pair of touchpoints that continues to shape its course: to be public and to provide a challenging liberal arts education. In 1848, the St. Mary’s Seminary’s Board of Trustees stated that it would offer “as liberal and extensive [a] course of study as the highest standard of female education requires … [and to] diffuse its blessings to as numerous a portion of the community as possible.” In 1990, J. Frederick Fausz concluded in his “Monument School of the People: A Sesquicentennial History of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, 1840-1990” that this institution “has kept faith with its unique heritage and founding philosophy on its original, historic campus – a significant site of constant reminders that the past is present for the future.” When President Jordan took office in 2014, she chartered her own course for the College, calling it a time of “rebirth.” She challenged the campus community to build upon the College’s charter as the state’s only public honors college and the first of its kind in the nation. While her specific calls to action are new, with an increased focus on issues such as inclusion, equity, and better integration between theory and practice, they are actions that align to the touchpoints from 1840. The students profiled in this issue exemplify St. Mary’s College at its enduring best, from Khalid Balogun ’20 – NCAA Division III All-America soccer player who expects the most of himself on and off the field – to Rose Young ’20 – a mother who works three jobs while earning her degree and knows that one day she’ll be an imagineer for Disney World – they are the spirit and the inspiration for us all.
Lee Capristo, editor
2 | St. Mary’s College | T H E M U LBERRY TREE | winter 2019