COMMUNICATION
IS
A newsletter for UNIVERSITY of MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
THE December 7, 2012
CIRCLING
THE
WORLD
BOV charter member H. DeWayne Whittington dies at age 81 Family, friends and those who respected him gathered on the UMES campus this past Saturday to say their final good-byes to Dr. H. DeWayne Whittington, who died Nov. 20 following a short illness. He was 81. Whittington was a pioneering educator-administrator for more than four decades who, after retiring in 1992, stayed active as a civic leader and volunteer. When the legislature created the University System of Maryland in a realignment of public higher education, Whittington accepted an invitation in 1997 to serve as a charter member of the UMES Board of Visitors, the advisory panel to the university president. He also was a visiting lecturer at the university, served as a field experience director and as a member of UMES’ Upward Bound program’s advisory committee. Whittington made history in 1988 when he was named Somerset County public schools’ superintendent, the first African-American of the modern era to hold that job. As a teacher, coach and administrator, he touched many lives and his funeral at the Ella Fitzgerald Center for the Performing Arts was attended by more than 500 mourners. “He knew who he was. He stayed in his lane and he helped people along the way,” said the Rev. Alan Gould Sr., who delivered a moving eulogy. “Dr. Whittington was a friend to many. He was a friend and mentor to me.” The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture paid tribute to Whittington in 2007 by displaying his portrait in the Baltimore facility—another first for a lower Eastern Shore native. Gov. Martin O’Malley appointed him in January 2009 to the Somerset County Board of Education and he served on that policymaking panel until earlier this month.
Whittington graduated from Morgan State College in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He went on to earn his master’s in education from Pennsylvania State University and in 1980 he received his doctorate from Nova University. The Rev. David Briddell, a college classmate who presided over Whittington’s marriage to Louise Holden in 1957, traveled Dr. H. DeWayne Whittington from Teaneck, N.J. to attend the funeral and offer words of condolence. He was among some two dozen clergy in the audience. Whittington’s interests in public service extended beyond education. He was chairman of the board of directors of SHORE Up! Inc., a private, non-profit agency in Salisbury that helps “people reach economic selfsufficiency.” He also served 45 years on the governing board of McCready Memorial Hospital in Crisfield, where he was born June 9, 1931. Whittington held the distinction of being the first African-American to be appointed to the health care facility’s board and was among its longest-serving members when he left the panel in 2009. He was proud to lobby successfully in the 1960s for the integration of the hospital’s patient population and later the recruitment of minority doctors. He served two years as an officer in the U.S. Army and also was a member of Crisfield’s Masonic Lodge of the Prince Hall Masons of Maryland, the Gideons International and Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
Faculty emeritus recognized at Winter Commencement
Bing
Along with 273 graduates, including 29 master’s and nine doctorate degree recipients, two of the university’s retired professors will be honored at UMES’ 16th Winter Commencement exercises on Dec. 14. Dr. Sally Bing, former associate professor of education, and Ernest Satchell, former chair of the Department of Fine Arts, will receive the honor of Professor Emeritus. Bing, who devoted 35 years to the university in the Department of Education, was instrumental in forming the first undergraduate program in elementary/special education, which evolved into today’s Special Education Program. She also codeveloped a joint graduate program in special education with the University of Maryland College Park. Most noteworthy, she served as the first assessment coordinator of the Professional Education Unit at a time when UMES earned its initial and subsequent accreditation from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The unit was commended for its assessment systems. During her tenure, Bing stepped in twice as interim chair of the department. However, she was most known for her teaching, advising and mentoring. She coordinated several grants, including Preparing Tomorrow’s Teachers for Technology and the GEAR UP program. In 1987, she was awarded the Chancellor’s Teacher Scholar Award. Bing holds a bachelor’s degree in German from the University of Vermont, and a Master of Education in specific learning disorders and a doctorate in educational psychology, both from the University of Georgia. COMMENCEMENT continuted on page 6
Satchell
INSIDE
Page 2 Goslee Gift Philanthropy
Page 3 Faculty & Staff Spotlight Sumpter and Kuennan Retire
Pages 4 Hawk Radio Writing Center
Pages 5 HAZMAT Drill The Arts Student Q&A
Page 6 Athletes
Page 7 Fitness Challenge College Fair Veteran's Day Observed
Page 8 Calendar of Events Holiday Reception Closing Schedule