COMMUNICATION
IS
A newsletter for UNIVERSITY of MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
THE Sept. 3, 2010
CIRCLING
THE
WORLD
Magazine lists UMES among HBCU elite Annual U.S. News & World Report “Best College” ratings Peers continue to rank UMES in the upper tier of historically black institutions, according to the latest U.S News & World Report survey of colleges and universities. UMES is listed 28th among 80 institutions that meet the federal definition of a historically black college or university, improving three spots over its 2009 ranking by the magazine. U.S. News began surveying presidents, academic officers and admissions deans at HBCUs four years ago to gauge how they viewed what the magazine calls “an appealing option for applicants of all races.” “Many HBCUs,” the magazine notes, “now actively recruit Hispanic, international and white students in addition to the African-American high school grads heading to college in record numbers.” UMES fits that profile. This past spring, when the magazine conducted the survey, 75 percent of UMES’ students were African-Americans, 14 percent were white, five percent were foreign and two percent were Hispanic. Just under 4,300 students were enrolled at UMES during the spring semester, a number that has been rising steadily since Dr. Thelma B. Thompson became president in 2002. Expansion of the curriculum – especially in the allied health fields – has been one of Thompson’s priorities. She also places an emphasis on testing UMES launched its newest doctoral studies program in August with the arrival of the inaugural class of pharmacy students. Earning a spot in the first class was competitive. UMES received 931 applications and interviewed 150 prospective students for just 64 seats. A week of orientation culminated with a “white (lab) coat” ceremony the day before classes formally started on Aug. 16. Among the participants were Dr. Howard Schiff, executive director of Maryland Pharmacists
and accreditations, which have helped the university improve its studentretention rate. Alumni and university supporters have responded to those positive trends by making recordbreaking contributions to a $14 million fundraising campaign Photo by Jim Glovier on schedule to end in 2011. UMES ranked among the top 16 state-supported HBCUs in the latest survey, joining Morgan State University in Baltimore. Highlights of the college rankings will be published in the September issue of U.S. News & World Report. Association, and Dr. Butch Henderson, the association’s chairman. “I would love to be in your shoes right now and experience all the things you are going to experience,” said Henderson, who received a lab coat signifying his honorary status as a member of Photo by Jim Glovier UMES’ first class. He urged the class of 2013 to “become part of the community. You will save somebody’s life with all the knowledge you will have when you leave here.”
UMES welcomes first Pharm.D. students
INSIDE
Page 2 E.R. Braithwaite Visits UMES Founders’ Week
Page 3 Ignasias Mourned President Receives Honory Degree
Page 4 NSF Grant Funds New PSM Degree Forestry Program Approved
Pharm.D. continued on page 6 Page 5 Walgreens Donation Naleppa Named to Board of Visitors
Page 6 Page 7 MEAC GSR Award Golf Tournament EDLD Program Golfers’ Hall of Fame Redesigned
Page 8 Aerial Entrepreneurs Calendar of Events