The Key April 7, 2017 Edition

A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends

April 7, 2017

UMES christens high-tech recruiting mobile A roving ambassador with a robust profile has joined the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s Admissions and Recruitment office.

A Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 van debuted March 27 at the UMES Washington Metropolitan Area Alumni Chapter’s 27th annual student recruitment reception. Prospective students, their families and graduates were the first to get an up-close view of the high-tech marketing tool.

“Really cool” was the consensus reaction.

“I think it is really cool,” said Jamaree Taylor, a Lackey High School senior. “I was happy to see it, and it made me want to explore (UMES) more.”

Lovell Walls Jr., a Phelps High School sophomore, seconded the opinion, adding he “didn’t know at first what to think of it.”

UMES acquired the van as part of the Green Collar Initiative in consultation with Delmarva Power, which contributed $1 million in July 2016 to support a series of eco-friendly academic and community outreach projects.

To raise UMES’ profile across the region served by the utility and its parent company, Exelon, one of those projects it agreed to support was imaginatively dubbed a “Mobile Transfer Substation.”

UMES and Delmarva Power decided a uniquely tailored vehicle with the latest wireless technology, sporting the university’s logos, slogans and school colors, would resonate with prospective students and the community.

President Juliette B. Bell met up with Chancellor Robert L. Caret to show off the new mobile recruiting van en route to its March 27 debut at the UMES Washington Metropolitan Area Alumni chapter’s annual student recruitment reception in Bowie.

The van “will enable the university to reach students where they are and enable them to explore career paths that take them where they want to go,” a university statement projected when Delmarva Power’s gift was announced.

“We looked at other vehicles,” UMES Executive Vice President Kim Dumpson said, “but the Sprinter was distinguishable because it was already customized with everything needed for the mobile recruitment office, and RECRUITING MOBILE / continued on page 2

HTM program expands to Hagerstown Beginning this fall, UMES will offer its hospitality and tourism management program at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown. The bachelor’s degree program will prepare students to enter middle management positions in lodging, restaurant, travel, attractions, meeting and convention, and food service industries.

It is not exclusively a culinary arts program, but rather it is about the “business of hospitality,” said Dr. Ernest Boger, chair of UMES’ hospitality and tourism management program. Requirements, however, include nine credit hours of food preparation and students do prepare meals for the public.

The current BB&T Bank building located across from USMH on W. Washington St. is being renovated into a new hospitality center that will include a teaching kitchen and dining room to accommodate the culinary arts education requirements of the program.

“This is the right location for us to expand our program considering the many opportunities for tourism in Washington County and the surrounding region,” Boger said. “We are excited to bring this program to USMH.”

INSIDE

HTM PROGRAM / continued on page 7

Page 2

2017 Newman Civic Fellow Named

Page 3

Alternative Spring Break

Page 4

Honors Convocation Honda Campus All-Stars MANRRS

Page 5

Scholar-athletes Ashe Winners

Page 6

Hawks Earn NCAA Berth

Page 7

PGA Program Clothing Drive Women’s History Month Grad Student Holds Honor Society Office Hawk Walk

Page 8

Calendar of Events Help UMES Win $50K

2

The Key / April 7, 2017

Circling the Oval

UMES sophomore Axel Bayingana is among an elite group of peers from colleges across the country identified by a Bostonbased non-profit organization as “public problem solvers.”

Campus Compact, a coalition of more than 1,000 institutions that advance the public purposes of higher education, named Bayingana and 272 other students Newman Civic Fellows, a year-long program “dedicated … (to) building community engagement into campus and academic life.”

Bayingana, a mechanical engineering major who calls Milford Mill near Randallstown home, is a member of the Richard A. Henson Honors Program. The dean’s list student wasted little time assimilating into campus life two years ago, according to Clifton Harcum, director of UMES’ Office of University Engagement & Lifelong Learning.

“Axel has shown himself to be a leader and civic-minded individual,” Harcum said. “He has completed well over 100 hours of community service, joined the UMES Rotaract Club and has won awards for his service to the community, all while maintaining an exceptional grade point average.”

Being named a Newman Civic Fellow “means a lot to me,” Bayingana said. “I like helping people in my community. If I can do it on a national level, it will be even more amazing.”

As a 2017 Newman Civic Fellow, Bayingana will be a part of the first group to benefit from a re-designed fellowship. Named for Campus Compact co-founder Frank Newman, the Newman Civic Fellowship is a one-year experience emphasizing personal, professional and civic growth.

Campus Compact provides a variety of learning and networking opportunities, including a national conference in partnership with the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. The program also provides Newman Civic Fellows with access to exclusive scholarship and post-graduate opportunities.

In the past year, Bayingana and fellow volunteers have helped build eight handicap access ramps at private homes in the community and participated in an alternative spring break experience.

“The University of Maryland Eastern Shore does a great job in providing us with opportunities to engage in community service,” Bayingana said. “It is a great feeling to be able to make someone else’s life easier and better or make a difference.”

In the nomination package submitted to the Campus Compact, UMES President Juliette B. Bell wrote: “Axel Bayingana is an actively engaged student leader who epitomizes a rare breed of outstanding scholarship and virtuous maturity.”

“Mr. Bayingana’s commitment to undertaking progressively responsible leadership roles on campus and beyond have clearly revealed to him the reality of the current social and economic environment of this region,” she said.

Bayingana, who was born in Rwanda, said, “My family instilled in me the values of helping others at a young age, so I am passionate about helping others.”

Compact spokeswoman Kirsten Lyons said, Newman Civic Fellows receive training and access to resources that “will nurture their assets and passions to help them develop strategies to achieve social change.”

Campus Compact, she said, provides participants learning opportunities focused on the skills to serve as change agents addressing public problems and building equitable communities.

“Axel is an amazing young man,” Harcum said. “I am proud of his achievements and know without a doubt that he will represent himself as a worthy recipient of the 2017 Newman Civic engagement award.”

Bayingana said, “If more people gave their time to help others or the community, we would have better communities.”

The Newman Civic Fellowship is supported by the KPMG Foundation and Newman’s Own Foundation.

UMES student named a

2017 Newman Civic Fellow

RECRUITING MOBILE / continued from cover

was ready to get on the road immediately, which is critical.”

The van, a 2015 Executive Series High Roof model, will be used by recruiters to visit high schools within a day’s drive of Princess Anne, community colleges and recruitment events like the reception organized by UMES’ loyal Washington-area alumni.

Jinawa McNeil, the university’s interim recruitment office director, said the van also will be deployed to other four-year college campuses to draw attention to graduate programs at UMES, which in 2016 earned doctoral research institution status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.

Among the vehicle’s features that reception guests and Hawk alumni got to see: a digital satellite directional TV system, wireless Internet router, HDMI connections, USB charging ports, two LED 40” flat screen Apple televisions, a CD/DVD/Blue Ray player; two iPads, four wireless headphones and a handsfree intercom system.

It seats up to nine people, including four bucket seats that enable faceto-face interaction and features three console lap tables.

Mechanically, the van features a Blue Tech (turbo diesel) system that can be plugged into an electrical outlet when in use while parked.

UMES acquired the specially modified vehicle for $117,500 from the Pohanka Mercedes-Benz of Salisbury dealership, which has expressed interest in offering internships for students majoring in business, finance and mechanical engineering. Pohanka also has expressed interest in supporting classroom lectures or seminars on the Mercedes-Benz business philosophy and service excellence for UMES business and technology students, Dumpson said.

“This puts UMES in a great position to market the university and to go directly where the students are with a one-stop shop,” said John Allen, UMES Board of Visitors chairman and a Delmarva Power executive.

“Now is the time for out-of-the box thinking and this is the start of something big that we are proud to be involved with,” Allen said.

UMES People

The Key / April 7, 2017

3

A spring break fixing things (and learning stuff)

Top: Samuel Lebarty, a sophomore from Nigeria majoring in business and technology, was among eight students who spent March 23 in a coastal clean-up project at Assateague Island National Seashore.

Left: Taryn Jones, a sophomore biochemistry major, helped in the preservation of the historic Nelson Cemetery in Crisfield March 25.

Imagine a spring break from college clearing brush along gnarly nature trails, rounding up refuse at Assateague Island National Seashore and making over an unkempt cemetery.

Along with cultural excursions sprinkled in, that’s what eight University of Maryland Eastern Shore students did during the third week of March as participants in an intensive, six-day service-learning project.

“Whoever came up with the idea of an alternative spring break is brilliant,” sophomore Keona Smith said. The “whole week (was) full of great experiences that were needed – all taking place in perfect timing.”

Credit Clifton Harcum, director of the Office of University Engagement & Lifelong Learning, with an assist from administrative assistant Susan Rainey.

Harcum, the creative force behind similar student-centered projects, crafted an itinerary combining a diverse series of mind-andmatter experiences that student-volunteers universally agreed left lasting impressions.

“Being a part of the 2017 alternative spring break (was) one of the best decisions I have made this semester,” sophomore Samuel O. Lebarty said.

Senior Diamond Nwaeze said participating “helped me realize the historical and ecological significance of the area in which we reside.”

It “strengthened the importance of interpersonal relationships amongst all ranks of the UMES student body and the outward community,” she said.

A late March report published online by Forbes noted research by the LendEDU.com website that estimated 30 percent of college students use loans to pay for spring break trips to exotic locations.

Then there was UMES’ group, which righted toppled headstones at a long-neglected cemetery in Crisfield, bagged-up trash on the beach south of the Ocean City inlet and cleared debris along two miles of walking paths at the Hazel Outdoor Discovery Center near Eden.

Nwaeze had such a positive experience, she sent a hand-written “thank you” note to the Hazel center, the group’s base camp throughout the week.

“I have always taken an interest in sustainable agriculture (and) horticulture,” the biology major wrote, “so much so, I have made it a SPRING BREAK / continued on page 5

4

S c h o o l

The Key / April 7, 2017

UMES recognizes top undergraduate scholars at Honors Convocation Students who excelled in the classroom during the 2016 spring and fall semesters were lauded April 6 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s 64th annual Honors Convocation.

“We celebrate the habit of excellence of our students,” UMES President Juliette B. Bell said. “Our faculty and staff will continue to encourage, challenge and inspire our students to even greater heights.”

Top undergraduates in each of UMES’ academic departments were singled out for recognition; four were named “Award of Excellence” winners as the most outstanding students in their respective schools.

Receiving those awards (pictured at top with Bell) were: Alyson Hickman, School of Agriculture and Natural Sciences; Roxanne Sudendorf, School of Education, Social Sciences and the Arts; and Brooke Thomas, School of Pharmacy and Health Professions. Andjela Reljic, School of Business and Technology, was unable to be present to accept the honor.

“I didn’t expect this at all,” said Hickman, a dietetics major. “It was a great feeling and it is good knowing you can be recognized for doing extra things as well.”

Hickman and Sudendorf were high school classmates in Chincoteague, Va. and got a laugh after the event about each receiving identical honors in their respective academic pursuits.

“It was just a shock,” said Sudendorf, a special education major looking to start a teaching career. “It hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Thomas, who is from Salisbury and is majoring in exercise science, declared herself “totally surprised, and pretty excited. I’ve put a lot of hard work into it, and it’s nice to receive recognition for it.”

Thomas, Sudendorf and Hickman – all Richard A. Henson Honors

Program members – are seniors who will graduate May 26.

Keynote speaker Corey Haynes (UMES Class of 2013), kicked off festivities with an address honoring 878 students named to the dean’s list for academic performance resulting in grade point averages of 3.5 or higher and 238 members of the Henson Honors Program. Haynes’ former volleyball coach Toby Rens introduced her as “a formidable scholar and athlete.”

Haynes graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in English education. She was a member of the UMES 2011-12 MEAC volleyball championship teams. She earned a master’s at the University of Virginia and currently teaches 9th grade English in Fairfax County, Va. Having spent two years in Nicaragua in the Peace Corps and being part of a UMES team with members hailing from different countries, Haynes’ message was that of cherishing the “rich and diverse cultures and backgrounds” at UMES and the nation, particularly in current times.

“I developed the best relationships of my life at UMES,” she told the audience.

Distinguished students within their respective departments were also recognized.

“These honorees have demonstrated that they set the mark for others to follow and are a testament to the high quality education and commitment to student achievement provided by this great university,” said Dr. Kimberly Whitehead, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs. “You are stars - steadfast, talented, accountable, resourceful and successful – serving as beacons of hope to those who desire to achieve what you are achieving in your academic studies.”

MANRRS students bring home trophy Honda Campus All-Stars recognized

Members of the Honda Campus All-Star team, from left, Kendrick Wells, Sean Hayden, Coach James Lunnermon II, Brandon (Lance) Morris and Kenneth Bryant, were honored during Honors Convocation activities. The team travels to Torrance, Calif. April 8-10 to compete against other teams from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

Congratulations to Team UMES, which defeated counterparts from Oregon State University, in a national quiz competition during the 2017 National Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences conference held in Pittsburgh March 29-April 1. The team also scored wins over the University of Arizona, Tuskegee University and Louisiana State University, according to Karl Binns Jr., a finalist for national MANRRS adviser of the year.

N e w s

The Key / April 7, 2017

5

Scholar-athletes named Ashe winners

Alana Polk

Andjela Reljic

Isaiah Chambers

Joey NiCastro

Mere Serea

Rachel Kayongo

Six UMES scholar-athletes were named 2017 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars along with 1,200 of their peers including Stanford University’s Simone Manuel, four-time Olympic medalist.

The Ashe awards are sponsored by Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine to celebrate the late tennis player’s accomplishments as a worldclass athlete and widely admired “man of integrity.”

“Sadly, a commonly held belief is that student-athletes who emulate this legacy don’t exist, when in fact; thousands of them frequent our nation’s college campuses,” a magazine statement says.

The publication dedicates an entire issue each spring to scholar-athletes nominated by their institutions for recognition as leaders in their respective fields of play as well as the classroom.

Baseball players Isaiah Chambers (junior, special education) and Joey Nicastro (sophomore, business administration) are honored along with volleyball team members Rachel Kayongo (sophomore, biology), Alana Polk (junior, business administration), Andjela Reljic (UMES alum ‘16, accounting) and Mere Serea (senior, business administration.)

The Ashe program “is dedicated to encouraging high school and college student-athletes to set and achieve higher academic goals and will offer practical direction about attaining outstanding academic and athletic records,” according to organizers.

In addition to their athletic ability, students named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholars must maintain a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.2, be at least a sophomore and be active on their campuses or in the community.

SPRING BREAK / continued on page 5

out of my usual environment and just take in the beauty of nature.”

A day trip to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington provided more cultural perspective.

It made Nwaeze “reevaluate what ‘being black’ meant in the scope of America and its core values - freedom, liberty and so on.”

“I was taught … the value of history,” she said, “and knowing history so that similar malicious events can be prevented in the future.”

An 85-minute ferry ride across the Delaware Bay to visit the Cape May County (N.J.) Park & Zoo was the first sea-going experience for some of the students.

“When it came time to put in work,” however, senior Kahleo M. Smith said “you best believe we put in work like only UMES students know how.”

The week’s itinerary included a work project, where the group took on a cemetery preservation task.

Zoe Johnson, a doctoral candidate in UMES’ toxicology program, called that experience “another opportunity to get physically engaged with manual work … repairing fences, cutting off tree stumps and grasses, and renovating grave stones.”

“This was not just (restoration) work,” Johnson said, “we were briefed on the historical context of the area and its importance, so we could value the meaning of our work and efforts.”

Lebarty said “being a part of the events helped me develop a relationship with other students on campus who I didn’t know too well beforehand.”

Bayingana said the week “helped me grow as a person and I’m grateful that I was given the chance to go.”

Perhaps Keona Smith summarized it best: “Who knew community service and staying at school over break, when you could be home with family and friends, could be so great?”

primary goal to have a career that encompasses elements of both of these areas of study.”

Jim Rapp, the Hazel center’s executive director, took to Facebook to acknowledge Nwaeze’s gesture and posted photos.

“Thank you to Diamond for the nice note,” Rapp wrote, “and thanks to her and all our friends from UMES for spending their alternative spring break helping the community and exploring the Shore while camping at HODC. We appreciate you, and hope you will camp with us again.”

Harcum organized spring break activities for students that instincts told him had no formal plans for the week off from classes, and in some cases, could not travel home because they hail from another country.

UMES’ spring breakers gamely camped out at the Hazel center, where each day they embarked on a different adventure. A visit to the new Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park near Cambridge resonated with them.

“It was a wonderful experience to be able to witness where she was held as a slave and the ways she used to free slaves,” sophomore Axel Bayingana said. “It was intriguing to become educated on how AfricanAmericans went from slavery to doing great things for America.”

Junior Ugo Okwaraogoma said the Tubman excursion “inspired my soul of how she didn’t know how to read or write, but God guided her … to fight against the government – and win.”

Taryn Jones’ “favorite part … (staying) at the Hazel center was being able to sit outside every night and star gaze.”

“There isn’t much light pollution, (which) allowed the opportunity to sit back and take in all the beauty the sky had to offer,” the sophomore said. “I really appreciate opportunities like this because I was able to be

6

The Key / April 7, 2017

Athletics

Hawks earn NCAA berth as encore to MEAC crown UMES’ 2017 MEAC bowling champs from left, are: (front) sophomore Danielle August, graduate student Thashaina Seraus, junior Melanie Copey, sophompre Kaci Collins, freshman Brigitte Jacobs, (back) junior Jalesa Johnson, sophomore Lindie Esteban, freshman Cayla Hicks, Coach Kayla Bandy, and sophomores Quianna Macares; Alexandra Hernandez and Jacqueline Rhoda.

UMES – the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s 2017 championship bowling team – has earned a berth to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2014.

“You can say that this is the whole year worth of work that we put in,” graduate student Thashaina Seraus said. “This is one of the main goals we wanted to accomplish.”

Seraus and her anxious teammates gathered around a conference table on announcement day, monitoring a live webcast with phones in hand or clinging to the hand of a teammate.

When the eighth and final berth was announced, the screams came and three years’ worth of tension left the room.

“We are ecstatic,” junior Melanie Copey said. “It means everything to Thashaina and me. There was a loss for words and we were just in tears.”

Copey practically tackled Seraus. The tears flowed all around the room and family was called.

“I felt a lot of butterflies obviously leading up to this,” Copey said. “I couldn’t eat a lot. I was nervous. I just really wanted to make this.”

Seraus said she was unable to sleep. “I had to keep myself occupied the whole day and be around my teammates and try and share this day with them.”

The team practiced that morning, but by 1:50 p.m., Seraus was so antsy after leaving class that she went straight to the bowling center until almost time for the announcement, when the team met in the Hytche Athletic Center conference room.

The previous night, head coach Kayla Bandy said she “texted the girls

in preparation … letting them know that I was proud of where we came from, where we are now and where we are going.”

“They worked hard the entire season and (NCAA bid day) wasn’t going to define us whether they listed our name or they didn’t it wouldn’t change my opinion of what we have done this season,” the coach said.

While disappointment the past two announcements was never far from the minds of Seraus and Copey, the two most veteran members of the squad, six other bowlers also experienced frustration a year ago.

The Hawks (84-39, 19-5 MEAC) travel to Baton Rouge, La., for the NCAA Championships April 13-15, where they’ll encounter seven other squads vying for a national championship.

UMES finished third in the 2014 NCAA tournament behind perennial powers San Houston State and Nebraska, both in this year’s event. Other NCAA invitees are: McKendree (Illinois), Arkansas State, Vanderbilt, Fairleigh Dickinson (N.J.) and Stephen F. Austin (Texas).

The 2017 Hawks got hot at the right time of year and finished by winning 29 of their last 33 games, including a Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title.

“After winning the MEAC, we are confident,” Seraus said. “The only thing we need to work on is the nerves, which improved at MEACs. We have all the tools we need as a team to win.”

The Hawks have won the NCAA Championship three times: 2008, 2011 and 2012. The program also boasts two USBC Intercollegiate Team Championships: 2011 and 2013.

The championship final will air on ESPNU April 15 at 6:30 p.m.

School News

The Key / April 7, 2017

PGA golf management program holds clothing drive for local charity Members of UMES’ PGA golf management program accepted the Golden Hanger Clothing Drive challenge by the Pros Fore Clothes Foundation to “chip in to help those in need.” Students collected 483 pounds of gently worn professional clothing that they donated to Go-Getters Inc. in Salisbury, Md., said Joe Ellis, UMES’ Professional Golf Management Student Association president. GoGetters is “a voluntary community of friendship providing sanctuary and support to adults recovering from substance abuse or mental illness on the lower Eastern Shore.”

UMES hosts Women’s History Month event Kendra E. Hayward, the first African-American Assistant State’s Attorney for Somerset County and a UMES alumna, was the keynote speaker for the March 29 Women’s History Month event at the Richard Henson Center, which also featured musical selections by the reorganized Employee Gospel Choir.

Hayward graduated from UMES in 2001 with a bachelor’s degree in English. She earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law. In her current post, Hayward is responsible for the prosecution of cases in district, circuit, and juvenile courts. She previously was a judicial law clerk for the Hon. David Young of the Baltimore City Circuit Court and with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services.

She is the daughter of Zelma Hayward, UMES Office of Admissions and Recruitment.

UMES grad student holds honor society office

Eyerusalem Fitta, a criminal justice graduate student at UMES, was elected vice president of the Alpha Phi Sigma National Criminal Justice Honor Society at the 2017 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences conference.

UMES’ Dr. Emmanuel Onyeozili is a national APS adviser.

HTM PROGRAM / continued from cover

USMH Executive Director Mark Halsey said, “The major student market is expected to be transfer students who have completed associate degrees in business at Hagerstown or Frederick community colleges. As such, UMES would provide a local and convenient two- to three- year stepping stone to the bachelor’s degree.”

The program is one of some 1,000 like it worldwide and one of only 100 that hold ACPHA accreditation.

Applications are now being accepted. Prospective students can contact Tiffany Ahalt, hospitality center coordinator, at tahalt@hagerstown.usmd. edu or 240-522-7552.

This will be UMES’ first academic offering at USM Hagerstown.

University System of Maryland at Hagerstown is a regional higher education center offering more than 20 academic programs of study from seven universities within the University System of Maryland.

7

8

Calendar

The Key / April 7, 2017

APRIL

12 14

arts & entertainment calendar

UMES Wind Ensemble Concert

7:30 p.m. / Ella Fitzgerald Center 410-651-UMES

Concert

7 p.m. Concert Ella Fitzgerald Center Toby Foyeh & Orchestra Africa perform

traditional Nigerian Yoruba music fused with Afrobeat, jazz, rock, pop and Latin.

410-651-UMES

15

Eggstravaganza

21, 22 Theatre Production* & 28, 29 7:30 p.m.

Wilson Hall Black Box Theatre

Adaptation of David Mamet’s twocharacter play, “Oleanna,” under the direction of Dr. Dean Cooledge. $5 general admission, $3 seniors, students free with ID at the door 410-651-6553

28

Springfest/Open House

10 a.m.-4 p.m. / Student Services Center Courtyard UMES admissions open house and tours, carnival rides, vendors, games and entertainment.

4410-651-6410

Noon-1:30 p.m. / UMES Flag Mall (Rain-Student Services Center game room) Children ages 1-10 are invited to join UMES President Juliette B. Bell for a free children’s Easter egg hunt, face painting , games, prizes and selfies with the Easter Bunny.

410-651-7606

25

Ella Fitzgerald Centennial Jazz Celebration

Noon Lecture, 4 p.m. Masterclass, 5:30 Art Exhibit, 7 p.m. Concert Ella Fitzgerald Center A day filled with jazz performances by UMES ensembles and guest vocalists and other activities to celebrate the 100th birthday of the Center’s namesake, the “Queen of Jazz.”

410-651-UMES *Unless noted, all events listed are free.

T H E U MES MISSION The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, the state’s historically black, 1890 land-grant institution, has its purpose and uniqueness grounded in distinctive learning, discovery and engagement opportunities in the arts and science, education, technology, engineering, agriculture, business and health professions.

UMES is a student-centered, doctoral research degree-granting university known for its nationally accredited undergraduate and graduate programs, applied research and highly valued graduates.

UMES provides individuals, including first-generation college students, access to a holistic learning environment that fosters multicultural diversity, academic success, and intellectual and social growth.

UMES prepares graduates to address challenges in a global, knowledgebased economy while maintaining its commitment to meeting the workforce and economic development needs of the Eastern Shore, the state, the nation and the world.

The University of Maryland Eastern Shore prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. Inquiries regarding the application of Federal laws and nondiscrimination policies to University programs and activities may be referred to the Office of Equity & Compliance/Title IX Coordinator by telephone (410) 651-7848 or e-mail (titleix@umes.edu).

The KEY is published by the Office of Public Relations in the Office of the President 410-651-7580 www.umes.edu

Editors Gail Stephens, Assistant Director of Public Relations and Publications Manager Bill Robinson, Director of Public Relations Design by Debi Rus, Rus Design Inc. Printed by The Hawk Copy Center Submissions to The KEY are preferred via email. All copy is subject to editing.The Key is written according to the Associated Press stylebook.