INSIDE THIS ISSUE

2COMMUNITYCONNECTIONS

5OUTSTANDINGACHIEVEMENTS

8GLOBAL EXPERIENCE

10BEYOND theCLASSROOM

12REMEMBERING

12CREDITS andCONTACTS

Under the direction of Dean Ray Davis, a dozendistinguished alumni, academicians, business leaders andscholars have agreed to serve on a newly created Schoolof the Arts and Professions Executive Board. Many aregraduates who welcome the opportunity to give back totheir alma mater.

Contributing is what motivated Sherman Lambert, asuccessful attorney in West Virginia who attended theuniversity on a track scholarship in the 1970s, toparticipate. “I have a duty and a responsibility to payback,” he said. “UMES was the catalyst that gave me life.It was more than just a degree. There were so manypeople there who helped me develop into a man.”

Board member Allen Singleton, who graduated from

what was then Maryland State College in 1959, echoedthat sense of responsibility. “Anything that I can contributeto the advisory board as a consequence of my sundryyears of experience as an educator and administrator inhigher education, I will do so enthusiastically,” he said.“It is a sense of pride and joy to give back to UMES anyopportunity I get.”

The board met for the first time in October and willcontinue to meet semi-annually. It will assist Dean Davisin strategic planning and serve as a liaison between theuniversity and its external constituencies. Board membersare also charged with advocating for resources that willenhance the academic, cultural and creative climate forSAP students and faculty.

EXECUTIVE BOARDMEMBERS:

MARK BOWEN

DAVID BRIDDELL

KENNETH GAUDREAU

GLADYS GOSLEE

MORGAN HAZEL

HORATIO W. JONES

SHERMAN LAMBERT

MARJORIE MILES

EARL RICHARDSON

DIANNA ROGERS-FORD

ERNEST SATCHELL

ALLEN SINGLETON

SHARING their EXPERTISE

SHERMAN LAMBERT

ALLEN SINGLETON

My professional career has takenme to five universities. Each experiencehas prepared me for the next careermove. However, none has been moregratifying than my current position as theDean of the School of The Arts andProfessions (SAP). When I was anundergraduate, it was UMES that laid thefoundation for my professional career.Like me, many ambitious young men andwomen benefitted from the dedicated andnurturing faculty and staff at UMES. Theycared about students – and still do. Uponmy return to UMES, I renewedacquaintances with some of my former professors. More recently,I even ran into a favorite librarian who has since retired. Theseexperiences have made this a true homecoming!

My first six months may be described as exciting and filledwith great expectations. I am most proud of organizing the SAPExecutive Board. Each member is a successful professional who ispassionate about UMES. I am thrilled to serve with alumni andother board members for a cause that supports students andfaculty. Collectively, the board will serve the SAP as an advocate andliaison between the school, the corporate sector, and privateenterprise. Its capacity to impact the school’s strategic vision isenormous.

However, no academic unit, regardless of its leadership, cansucceed without competent and committed faculty and staff. In spiteof the economic challenges, this faculty, both full-time and part-time, has remained steadfast while serving this institution andstudents with excellence. Still, the faculty is challenged with

excessive teaching workloads and limitedresources for professional development.Advocating for additional resources –including faculty and staff positions – willbe one of my major challenges. Althoughthe university administration is aware ofour shortfall, I am committed to keepingthe school’s needs at the forefront.

I am also proud of the many talentedstudents that come to UMES and major inone of the programs in our school. With astudent body enrollment of 1248, the SAPis the university’s largest academic unit. Ithas been a pleasure, as dean, to see the

awesome talent of our students under the tutelage of our faculty.During the fall semester, the university community was entertainedby our fantastic concert and gospel choirs, as well as by the variousmusical ensembles. Art students exhibited their original works. Theoutstanding performances of our theater students included arendition of the stage production of “For Colored Girls Who HaveConsidered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf.” One of ourstudents competed in the Ford Black College Quiz Bowl in Atlanta,Ga., and placed second out of 10 finalists. Again, the talents andoutstanding achievements of our students are a great source ofpride.

The School of The Arts and Professions has much potential! Ilook forward to providing leadership that will advance the schoolto another level of excellence. Working collaboratively with ouroutstanding executive board, the faculty, students, staff, theuniversity administration, and other constituent groups, we canmake a difference.

DEAN’S CORNER

Spring 2013

English faculty member SandyJohnston met her namesake head-on.When Hurricane Sandy battered theLower Shore in late October, Johnstonand her family were hunkered down intheir Crisfield, Md., home.

It was Crisfield that took thehardest hit locally. Sandy toppled treesand power lines, and wind-driven waterfrom the Chesapeake Bay forced its waythrough the town, causing widespreadflooding and seriously damaging manyhomes and businesses.

Johnston’s house became anisland; water lapped at the top step ofher front porch but never entered herhome. “So many peoplelost everything,” she said.“We were very lucky.”

UMES was also lucky.About 700 studentsremained on campusthrough the storm; theyspent one night togetherin the Student ServicesCenter. Classes werecanceled for just two days,and the rhythm of theschool year quicklyreturned to normal.

It hasn’t been that easy forCrisfield, so the UMES community—including members of the School of theArts and Professions— launched anumber of initiatives to help.

The students, faculty, and staff ofthe social sciences department collectedmore than 74 cold weather items forCrisfield families. Prior to their delivery,new and used hats, gloves, coats,sweaters, jackets and pants weredisplayed on and around thedepartment’s Christmas tree. The

department provided blankets forfamilies in need as well.

The university’s Departmentof Education also mobilized tohelp. The faculty has long termrelationships with SomersetCounty schools where UMESteacher candidates get valuablefield experience. Thedepartment collaborated withthe teachers in their partnerschools to support families inneed. They were able todeliver donations of furniture,a television, linens, food andschool supplies to the staff at

Carter G. Woodson Elementary School just before the holidays.

Community Connections

A Maryland Higher Education Commissiongrant has made it possible for some local studentsto earn college credit at UMES while they’re stillenrolled in high school.

Dr. Michael Nugent, a faculty member in theDepartment of Education, secured funding fromthe commission’s College Preparation InterventionProgram to enroll 80 high school students fromnearby Dorchester and Somerset Counties in twocollege classes at UMES during the summer of2012. The money also provided college admissionscounseling and family financial aid workshops forthe high schools in both counties.

DevJuan Tilghman, a senior at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, is one of thestudents who participated in the program. “Myexperience as a dual enrollment student at UMEShas been a wonderful and new learning

2

GETTING a HEAD START

Local high school students attend a UMES class.

IN theEYE of the STORM

Some of the cold weather gearcollected by the Department ofSocial Sciences.

opportunity,” he said. “I got the chance toexperience what it's exactly like to be a collegestudent.”

Nugent hopes to expand the program in 2013to include 90 local students. The state grant coveredtuition, books, transportation and meals.

The Dorchester Board of Education’s AssistantSuperintendent for Instruction Lorenzo Hughescalls the students the “real winners” in thepartnership between UMES and his school district.“As a result of students talking about theirexperience at UMES this summer, more studentsare realizing the possibility of attending a four yearcollege upon graduation,” Hughes said.

Hughes knows the value of a helping hand.The youngest of six children, he attended UMES ona full scholarship and graduated with a degree inEnglish education in 1996.

Community Connections 3

UMES students arehelping at-risk youth inSomerset County through amentoring initiative sponsoredby the university’s Departmentof Education in collaborationwith its Department of SocialSciences.

Back in 2011, UMESmales answered a call to serveas mentors to at-risk boys atPrincess Anne ElementarySchool. The children, fromsingle parent households,were selected because ofdisciplinary issues. Many ofthe boys had absentee orincarcerated fathers and

siblings involved in gangs. The UMES mentors visited their mentees threetimes a week to engage them in discussions on behavior, leadership,responsibility, academics, media, health and respect for the opposite sex.

ON their OWNThe December 2012 graduating seniors from the Department of Fine

Arts had a busy semester. In addition to the traditional senior show in theMosely Gallery on campus, they arranged, promoted and hung their own

show at the Art Institute & Gallery onSalisbury's Downtown Plaza.

Danyeal Charles, Erica Mathews,Kelley Curry and Alycea Ginyard were

Porsha Harvey (R) and a second grader at Princess Anne Elementary

In 2012, the program was expanded to include female mentors andmentees, as well as students from Greenwood Elementary School.Supervised sessions occur during school hours, after school, and on someweekends.

“The UMES mentoring program is an integral part of our students’academic success and social well-being,” said Jerisha Hood, anadministrator from Greenwood Elementary.

“I was thrilled to have an opportunity to provide my students with greatrole models… In a society where there are many negative forces impactingour children’s lives, this program was a positive ray of hope,” said LynetteJohnson, the former principal of Princess Anne Elementary.

The program is not only having an impact on the kids, but also on theUMES students involved. “It is a wonderful feeling to uplift and guide youngpeople on the right path,” said senior sociology major Shakeena Jones.

“I never had a support system growing up. I take pride in being thatsupport system for these young people,” said senior English major JordanHamilton.

Brenton Atkins, a 2012 graduate, wore several hats as a mentor: bigbrother, tutor, relationship expert and assistant basketball coach. “Iestablished a bond with them; that was the best part of the program, thebond, the trust,” he said.

MAKING a DIFFERENCE

anxious to get their work into the community and to get a larger audiencefor their creative projects. Their show ran in conjunction with the A.I. & G.'s2012 Holiday Artist Show.

The students began looking for a venue off campus in the summer.They were encouraged to contact A.I. & G. after having participated in an

event on the plaza in Salisbury and witnessing thelarge audience the gallery attracted. It was

booked for the fall; however, AndreaGentry-Seidl, A.I. & G.’s

executive director, offeredthem a pairing with thepreviously plannedmember’s show.

Preparations for thestudents’ show began in late

September and early October.The seniors delivered their

framed works in mid-November; they placed andhung the show the followingday. Gentry-Seidl wasimpressed with theresponsibility andenthusiasm demonstrated bythe soon-to-be graduates.

Response to theexhibition wasoverwhelmingly positive.

The following commentary was written by Dr. Karen Verbeke, Directorof Teacher Education at UMES and chair of the university’sDepartment of Education. It appeared on the Op/Ed page of TheDaily Times in Salisbury following the Sandy Hook ElementarySchool shooting.

Eleven days from Christmas, 12 days until Kwanzaa,the sixth day of Hanukkah and just five school days untilholiday vacation. This is how Dec. 14, 2012 started formillions of students, teachers and other school workersacross this country. What happened at Sandy HookElementary School that day obliterated this season of hopefor the people of Newtown, Conn. – and millions more wholooked on in horror.

Along with teachers, their principal and a school psychologist, 20hopeful 6- and 7-year old children were killed in the most brutal way. Theywere where most 6- and 7-year-olds like to be – school. Safely ensconced, orso they thought, they were working in learning centers, in reading groups,solving math problems and going about their day. Their parents entrusted theschool and its staff to teach, to nurture, to support, and yes, and to keep theirchildren safe.

Newtown had the appearance of being a peaceful, small town. It was ratedone of the “safest” places to live. Bucolic and serene, beautiful and rural, itenjoyed a highly rated school system. These facts should be important to us.They remind us crimes of this enormity can happen anywhere and at any time.

As the director of 17 programs designed to train teachers, counselors,

principals, supervisors and superintendents, I see many morechallenges ahead for my colleagues and me. We are

increasingly aware of the changes in education.It wasn’t long ago those of us who embraced the

responsibility of training the next generation of teacherswere primarily concerned about ensuring that these futureeducators understood their subject matter thoroughly andknew effective strategies to teach children. We knew ourstudents needed deep understanding of child growth and

development, experience in working in classrooms withmentor teachers.

Over the past few decades, we have seen a startlingupheaval in society that now means we also must prepare our

students to address poverty, homelessness, drug and substance abuse,pregnancy, child and sexual abuse, and numerous other topics that many ofus had never encountered.

School safety has always been in our curriculum, but not at the level atwhich we must address it now. As the community that trains our nextgeneration of teachers, counselors and administrators, we pledge to learn anddo all we can to work with local schools to enlighten not frighten, inspire notincite, and to provide skills not skepticism.

We cannot be complacent; we cannot continue to be surprised andoverwhelmed by this. We must find ways to prepare those who have the mostimportant jobs – teaching our children – for perhaps the most challengingpart of their new career – the safety of those in their care.

TEACHING CHALLENGES now INCLUDE STUDENT SAFETY

their Oklahoma homes by drought.The libraries also held bookdiscussions on “The Alchemist,”Paulo Coelho’s story of a youngshepherd on his journey to Egypt.

Smartphone users who visitedthe Mosely Gallery could recordtheir own journey stories. Thosewho downloaded the app, “Stories from MainStreet,” added their personal stories to theSmithsonian Institution’s oral history archives.

“The exhibit used images, audio and

An exhibit at UMES’s MoselyGallery offered a uniqueopportunity for communitycollaboration during the fall2012 semester.

“Journey Stories," atraveling exhibit of theSmithsonian Institution’sMuseum on Main Streetprogram, was sponsored by theMaryland Humanities Council.It captured four centuries ofAmerican history and includedaccounts of Europeanimmigrants traveling in searchof promise in a new country; Africans forced intoslavery and brought to North America; NativeAmericans traveling the Trail of Tears after theIndian Removal Act of 1830; the harrowing talesof slaves escaping through the UndergroundRailroad; and families leaving their hometowns insearch of employment during the GreatDepression.

Somerset County libraries, in partnershipwith the UMES exhibit, offered a screening of thefilm “The Grapes of Wrath” and a discussion ofthe journey of its tenant farmers, driven from

artifacts to tell how our ancestorscame to America or pursued a new

life in another state or acrossthe continent,” Cori Beardsley,the new interim director gallery,said. “The reasons why theycame or why they migratedwithin the country are asdiverse as the individuals

themselves. ‘Journey Stories’ showed how thedevelopment of transportation technology wasinspired mainly by the human desire forfreedom.”

SHARING our STORIES

4 Community Connections

TEXAS TRIP PLANNED

The recentUMEScommencementceremony was acelebration ofmore than theacademicachievements of

the graduatingstudents. It also

acknowledged the hard work and scholarly accomplishmentsof two retired faculty members from the School of the Arts andProfessions. With nearly 80 years of teaching experiencebetween them, Dr. Sally Bing, former associate professor ofeducation, and Ernest Satchell, former chair and professor ofthe Department of Fine Arts, were awarded the title ofprofessor emeritus.

Members of the UMESGamma Omicron chapter of AlphaPhi Sigma, a national criminaljustice honor society, held a seriesof events during the fall semesterto raise money for a trip to thegroup’s annual nationalconference to be held in March inDallas, Texas.

Dr. Emmanuel Onyeozili,faculty advisor to--and founder of-

-the chapter, escorted a group of 18 students to last year’s national conference in New YorkCity. The students made a positive impression. The four-member team who participated inthe group’s National College Bowl Challenge took second place in the competition; fourUMES students were awarded scholarships; and senior Layshawn Hemingway, author of apaper titled “Jails, Prisons, and Detention Facilities,” was one of only five students selectedto present their research at the conference.

More good news from the group: of the 17 members of Alpha Phi Sigma who graduatedfrom UMES in May of 2012, all either are fully employed or are pursuing graduate studies.

5

LONGTIMEFACULTY HONORED

Outstanding Achievements

(L to R) Dr. Bing, President Bell and Mr. Satchell

(L to R) Yanika Jackson, Sidney Rogers, Clarke Smithand Maureen Dohnji successfully compete in theAlpha Phi Sigma College Bowl.

Leroy Myers, a senior history major, will have a résumé that isfull of remarkable achievements when he graduates in May.

His hard work and brilliant mind qualified him to represent UMESat the seventh annual Ford Black College Quiz, held in October atSpellman College. He excelled in the intense game show format,earning a scholarship for himself.

Myers, a Baltimore native, was also selected as a 2012Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute Fellow. He spent Juneand July in Harlem at the Schomburg Center for Research in BlackCulture. The program is designed to encourage minority students andothers with an interest in African American studies to pursue graduatedegrees in the humanities. His work there enhanced his research skillsand exposed him to a variety of graduate-level ideas and concepts inan intimate and competitive academic environment. His professors sayhe was well qualified for this award as a serious student with a 3.5grade point average and excellent skills in writing, critical reading andthinking.

During the spring semester, Myers will research and write hishistory thesis on the popularity of Native American culture in the 1990s.His research plan includes looking at influential American movies,museums, literature and academic works.

Myers will also continue as a guest columnist for The Daily Timesin Salisbury. Several of his columns, including his photo and byline,have been published on the editorial page of the newspaper.

PREPARING for SUCCESS

Sociology majorMichael Taylor willattend the SummerHumanities Institute atthe Ralph J. Bunche

Center for African American Studies atthe University of California, LosAngeles (UCLA). The institute, fundedby the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,is a rigorous research programintended to prepare promisingundergrads for graduate degrees inthe humanities or humanistic socialsciences.

Taylor, a junior at UMES, appliedfor and was selected to participate inthis highly competitive programthrough an early admission process.He will spend the summer of 2013 inLos Angeles, on the UCLA campus.

UCLA will provide transportation, room and board, as well as a stipend. An Eastern Shore native from nearby Eden, Md., Taylor sees his

participation as a great opportunity for growth and networking. He isalso attracted to the idea of traveling and living in California for asummer. He hopes for greater insight into the field of sociology andinto the humanities, guided by UCLA professors. He looks forward tothe vigorous graduate-level academic preparation.

The UMES Department of Criminal Justice ishome to a campus king. Senior criminal justicemajor Herman Hodges was crowned Mr. UMES atan official coronation ceremony during the fall2012 semester.

The university expanded its longstandingcampus royalty tradition in 1996 with the additionof a Mr. UMES component to what had been strictlya Miss UMES competition. With that addition, theuniversity’s Imperial Court assumed a formal roleas student ambassadors.

“Being on the Imperial Court is an astoundingexperience,” Hodges said. “We have taken trips toMemphis for a leadership conference, as well asAtlanta for the Miss National Black College AlumniHall of Fame pageant.”

Hodges also will travel to Lincoln University ofMissouri to compete on a national level during the annual Mr. HBCU Kings’ LeadershipConference. He should be perfectly comfortable on stage; the native of Laurel, Md.,has been an active member of the UMES Drama Society.

Each fall semester, Mr. UMES is responsible for organizing what’s known as Men’sWeek. Hodges says he worked to make the 2012 Men’s Week uplifting andempowering for all the males on campus. “There were events that taught them how todress professionally, … to respect women, … how to present yourself on socialmedia,” he said.

CAMPUS ROYALTY

There are nine new members of the Psi Mu chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society. TheDepartment of English and Modern Languages held a formal induction ceremony recently in the Student Services Center.The inductees included Diasia Atkins, Allyson Brinson, Chelsea Corpening, Alexis Garrett, Shannon Logan,Aiesha Myles, Juwan Nicholson, Jasmine Roberts and Brandon Shoats.

Each of the students has at least a 3.0 cumulative grade point average, has completed a minimum of three collegesemesters and is pursuing either an English major or minor. The new members were invited to join after an applicationprocess which included the submission of faculty recommendations and an essay outlining their interest in theorganization.

UMES chapter president KeShawn Taylor, an English major who would graduate a few weeks later, deliveredremarks at the ceremony. He reminded the inductees that, while college presents an opportunity for growth in manyareas, they should not lose sight of their academic priorities. He also challenged them to lead. “Tackle understatements,

reverse negatives, unveil positives in your other organizations, in the classroom, and, now, as a member ofSigma Tau Delta,” he said.

Family and friends of the inductees who attended the event alsoheard the department chair Dr. Jacqueline Brice-

Finch describe the lifelong benefits ofaligning oneself with an

organization that celebrateslearning and scholarship.

CELEBRATING SCHOLARSHIP

New Sigma Tau Deltamembers are formallyinducted into theorganization.

Junior English majors BrandonShoats and Jasmine Roberts

GETTING READYfor GRAD SCHOOL

6 Outstanding Achievements

Outstanding Achievements 7

The UMES women’s volleyball team won its second Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championshipduring the fall 2012 semester. It marked back-to-back MEAC titles for the team.

The group is a special favorite of the university’s School of the Arts and Professions—of the tenathletes who participated, SAP lays claim to five. Seniors Corey Haynes and Ndidi Ibe are majoring inEnglish; Saitaua Iosia is a criminal justice major; Megan Mueller is a sociology major; and Jessie Vicic isearning her degree in special education.

SAP’s pride doesn’t stop with the players. The associate head coach Eric Hammond is a staff memberin the Department of English and Modern Languages, and Jaron McDougal, the team’s student manager, willearn a degree in sequential arts from the university’s Department of Fine Arts.

THE STUDENT BECOMES the TEACHERThis article was written by David Simpson whomaintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average while heearned a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) fromUMES. His degree was awarded in May of 2012; thenext semester he joined the faculty of the university’sfine arts department.

Becoming professionally prepared andestablishing a career path can be a carefullyconstructed, well thought out process. Yet peoplewho are close to you will caution: “You neverknow what the future may bring.”

That’s true.During the portfolio presentation at the end of

my journey as a student in the MAT degree track,Christopher Harrington, the chair of the university’sDepartment of Fine Arts, congratulated me on myaccomplishment. He also said he’d like me to consider becoming an adjunctprofessor at UMES. I did not expect the offer but welcomed the opportunity.

During the fall 2012 semester, I was assigned to teach Painting II andthe Art History of American Crafts. These two courses are totally different innature. One is a studio class; the other, a lecture course. My experience as astudent in the MAT program helped me tackle both with a measure ofconfidence.

I had learned the importance of advance preparation from myeducation professors. The American crafts course required a lot of materialand lecture preparation. Various classes, such as Reading in the Content

SALUTINGour GRADUATES

Volleyball team members celebrate their conference championship with UMES President Juliette Bell (L).

Area, Technology in Education, and Curriculum inthe Content Area, helped me centralize how toconstruct educational material and deliver theinformation successfully to students. In addition,class management lessons helped me to connectwith my students and make the most of our classtime.

One thing is for sure, I can safely say thestudents and I have developed a good rapport. Iarrive eager to teach every class, and there arestudents in each course who are truly invested inwhat they are learning.

As an educator I believe you have to bepassionate about the subject you teach. I hope, in myfirst semester as an instructor, I have made some sort

of positive impact on the fine arts program at UMES. The spring semester bringsa new challenge; I am teaching 3-D design. I am excited to continue to have theopportunity to help the creative and talented UMES fine art students flourish intoaccomplished artists.

I believe, eventually, this unexpected part-time professional opportunity willhelp me find my full-time career niche. For now, I am doing what I can for thestudents, art and education.

I encourage my students to be passionate about the art they create. It isimportant for them to believe in their artistic abilities because, as we havediscovered together, you never know what the future may bring.

Adjunct professor David Simpson (R) with Paul Jerry, a senior applied design major

A CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON

As the fall 2012 semester drew to aclose, Dean Ray Davis hosted two socialevents for the School of the Arts andProfessions. Faculty and staff were invited toa holiday reception November 29. Thefollowing Monday, the faculty joined Davis ina salute to the school’s December graduates.

The celebration with SAP seniorsincluded good food and fellowship; it alsoacknowledged the outstanding students ineach department.

Virgil Boysaw was honored by theDepartment of Fine Arts; Allyson Brinsonwas named the outstanding student in theDepartment of English & Modern Languagesand the outstanding student by the PhiKappa Phi Honor Society chapter; FolasadeCampbell was acknowledged by theDepartment of Criminal Justice; SamanthaThompson was recognized by theDepartment of Education; and Kayla Yateswas selected as the outstanding graduatefrom the Department of Social Sciences.

8

Global ExperienceTHE PERFECT JOB

AN INTERNATIONAL ADVENTURE

Josalyn Rolfe, a December 2011 graduateof the UMES master’s program in counseloreducation, is living her dream. She began herschool counseling career this year as anelementary school counselor at KunmingInternational Academy in Kunming, Yunnan, China.

“My students see the world differently andhave an expanded worldview,” she said. “I amgrateful for this wonderful opportunity.”

The job includes individual counseling,placement testing for new students, classroomguidance lessons and the creation of programs toserve the local community. The school servesinternational students in the community. Chinesestudents do not attend because the academy doesnot have a Chinese government-approvedcurriculum.

In individual counseling, Rolfe devotes muchof her time to helping students with adjustment andtransitions. Since many students are children ofdiplomats and missionaries, they have specialconcerns related to frequent moves and transitions,as well as adapting to new curricula. She workswith the students and their teachers to help make

the students feel comfortable. In this setting, bullying is a particularly

complex issue because of multiple culturalexpectations inherent in an internationalpopulation. For example, in some cultures, boysare taught that the eldest son is in charge, and thistranslates to an expectation of being in charge inthe classroom, at recess and at lunch with peers. Inother cultures, students value equality anddemocratic principles and experience thisbehavior as bullying. It is quite a challenge to teachabout bullying in a setting with multiple culturaldefinitions of appropriate social behavior.

Community service is an important part ofRolfe’s job, and she collaborates with thesecondary school counselor to design programs,such as service trips to local orphanages. Shedescribes her students as well-behaved, hard-working and concerned about their futures, even atthe elementary level.

“I am living my dream,” she said. “I meetamazing students from all over the world who haveexperienced life in many amazing ways.”

Naeemah Kitchens, who graduated summa cum laude from UMES in2011, has recently completed a Fulbright teaching assistantship in Nairobi,Kenya. Administered by the U.S. State Department, the Fulbright grant programsends the best and brightest Americans around the world as scholarlyambassadors. Kitchens applied for the program because she wanted to travelafter college, and the Fulbright was a wonderful opportunity to see the world.

For nine months in 2012, Kitchens taught English to primary andsecondary students at Ummul Qura Educational Center in Nairobi. She alsoadvanced her knowledge ofSwahili, which she beganstudying at UMES. This is nother first experience inAfrica; Kitchens interned inUganda after her junior yearat UMES, working in a ruralvillage school for twomonths.

A native of PrinceGeorges County, Md.,Kitchens was selected for theprestigious and highlycompetitive Fulbright

assistantship by excelling as an undergraduate English major and working fortwo years as a peer tutor in the UMES Writing Center. Her specialty at the writingcenter was working with African students for whom English was not a firstlanguage.

Besides teaching in Nairobi, Kitchens worked with local documentariansand is now working on her own documentary. The topic of her film, “We’reOk,” is her own pursuit of purpose after graduation from college. Theexperience of living in Kenya and meeting people from all over the world is the

inspiration for this work. Kitchens returned to the

U.S. to finish her master’sdegree in African AmericanStudies at Boston University;her coursework wasinterrupted when she wonthe Fulbright appointment.She has also been offered ascholarship to attend theUniversity of MarylandFrancis King Carey School ofLaw following the completionof her work in Boston.

“One Little Guitar: The Words of Paul Job Kafeero” is a literary andpictorial recreation of the musical career of Uganda’s

esteemed composer, singer and socialcritic Paul Kafeero. The book is theonly complete collection of every wordhe recorded, in 83 songs on 21albums, during his twenty-year career.The collection celebrates the life of acultural icon and preserves a seriousbody of literature as part of the culturallegacy of all Ugandans.

Kafeero’s music, even after his deathin 2007, continues to reverberate in thehearts of Ugandans at home and abroad.Barrett-Gaines ensured that her book waspublished in Uganda by a Ugandanpublisher, Fountain Publishers, Ltd. “ManyUgandan artists, after their deaths, disappearfrom history,” Barrett-Gaines said. “Thisbook ensures that Kafeero will live on.”

PRESERVING HISTORYKathryn

Barrett-Gaines isone of the mostrecognizablepeople inUganda, but inAfrica she is notwell known bythe name sheuses on theUMES campus:Dr. Barrett-Gaines, history

professor and director of African American studies. In Uganda, she is known as Omwana

w’Omuzungu, a popular entertainer, and thewidow of Paul Kafeero, one of Uganda’s mostbeloved musicians. Barrett-Gaines is the subject ofone Kafeero’s most famous songs. It is included in a new book she haspublished about her late husband.

MEETING the CHALLENGEThe Department of English and Modern Languages, through its Foreign

Language Instructional Center (FLIC), has been busy introducing new languagesto the UMES curriculum. The effort is designed to answerthe call from the U.S. government to produce morespeakers of foreign languages, especially those which aredesignated critical-need.

Chinese was introduced in 2011, along withBeginning Haitian Creole. In the spring 2013 semester,Beginning Russian will be taught for the first time. Thereare plans to add Intermediate Russian in the followingsemester.

Arabic, another critical-need language, has beentaught for several years at UMES.Along with Chinese, these twolanguages figure at the top of the listof what the U.S. Department of Statecalls “super critical need”languages. The demand for moreAmericans to speak foreignlanguages is extremely high inorder to meet the country’s needsfor military, commercial andhumanitarian efforts.

“There has never been amore important time for new college graduatesto study foreign languages,” according to Tammy Gharbi, the programcoordinator for the Foreign Language Instructional Center. “Jobs are waiting foraccountants who speak Chinese, engineers who know Arabic—and the list goeson and on.”

UMES students can still take Spanish and French, bien sûr, and the new

Global Experience 9

effort to add critical-need languages does not diminish the value of thoselongstanding courses. “The University has committed itself to producing globally

competent graduates, andhispanophone and francophonecountries are certainly part of theglobe,” Gharbi said. “But the dynamicand complex world in which we live,coupled with the shortage of speakersof certain languages, make thedemand much greater than thesupply.”

Another unique feature of theuniversity’s foreign languagecapabilities is a state-of-the-art foreignlanguage classroom. This 20-seat

facility boasts the same instructionalsystem found in government languageprograms along with a number ofresources such as the well-knownRosettaStone™ software. Studentswho attend classes in the FLICclassroom say they prefer the addedtechnology, and instructors report

overall improved proficiency among their language learners.The FLIC program also holds non-credit classes for the community,

including such popular offerings as Spanish for Healthcare Professionals. Lastsummer it launched the first Summer Language Experience for high schoolstudents who studied Chinese for two weeks. FLIC also works with K-12educators to bring about more foreign language opportunities for public schoolstudents in the tri-county area.

(Top) Summer LanguageExperience students in aChinese class.

(L) French languageinstructor Dr. Jacalyn Book isable to monitor individualstudents as they practicepronunciation in the FLIC lab.

Dr. Barrett-Gaines

Four years, almost to the day, afterPresident-elect Barack Obama stoppedinto Ben’s Chili Bowl for a chili dog, themen of the UMES basketball team didthe same. On Friday, January 4, themorning after a hard-fought loss toAmerican University, the team got aunique tour of the nation’s capital. Dr.Kathryn Barrett-Gaines, director ofAfrican American Studies at UMES, metthe players at the world famousrestaurant on the world famous UStreet, “Black Broadway,” to ensure theyearned an understanding of the richnessof the black history of Washington, D.C.

The team sat in the same chairs asall the luminaries who have eaten at theChili Bowl, including Chris Rock, Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx,Martin Luther King, Stokely Carmichael (Kwame Ture), DukeEllington, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, Nat KingCole, Dick Gregory, Donny Hathaway and Sonia Sotomayor.Two historians of the landmark institution taught them thatBen’s Chili Bowl has anchored U Street for more than half acentury. It saw U Street through riots and rage, through the drug epidemic andother challenges that shut down almost every business on the street. Afterlearning of the commitment and hard work of Ben and Virginia Ali who foundedthe joint in 1958, the team applauded Virginia Ali, who still comes every day tothe restaurant now run by her children. Ali welcomed the team, hugging theplayers and posing for pictures.

The team relished the internationally-recognized chili but did not learn its

Like Dizzy Gillespie and Louis Armstrongbefore them, when UMES music education majorstake to the road for a public performance, theyserve as cultural ambassadors. “We areambassadors,” said Dr. John Lamkin, theuniversity’s director of bands and the fine artsdepartment’s music coordinator. “We keep thattradition alive.”

During the fall 2012 semester,in addition to numerous on-campus performances,UMES musical ambassadorsentertained the Eastern Shorecommunity at many publicevents, including a Veterans Dayprogram in Cambridge, the

10

Beyond the Classroom

secret-recipe. Players and coaches did learn about thehundred-year old Lincoln Theatre nearby, immortalized inpoetry by Langston Hughes. They strolled by Duke Ellington’schildhood home and the venue of his first public performancein 1916 at age 17. They stood before the YMCA named forAnthony Bowen who purchased his own freedom from slavery.They learned that Thurgood Marshall stayed in this YMCA, thefirst built for African Americans, during his historic role in the1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision.

The team moved beyond U Street to absorb more of thehistory of black DC, as Barrett-Gaines led them to the LincolnMemorial; the Martin Luther KingMemorial, where she revealed little-known details of Dr. King’s life; andthe Jefferson Memorial, where shediscussed the relationships that slave-owner Thomas Jefferson had withBenjamin Banneker and with SallyHemings. The team bus drove by theSmithsonian Castle, built of stonequarried by Martha Washington’s slaves,and passed by the United States Capitol,another building constructed by slaves,

where preparations were underway for the second inauguration of the firstblack president of the United States.

This day of discovery was the idea of head coach Franklin Allen and hisstaff, who want our student-athletes to be both students and athletes. Thecoaches’ goal is to design the team’s travel to include opportunities for thestudent-athletes to expand their minds and their knowledge.

TOURISTS with a PURPOSE

Members of theUMES basketballteam get a uniquehistory lesson atBen’s Chili Bowl.

Winterfest Gala in Ocean City, Old Princess AnneDays and several appearances on a new localtelevision show, “Delmarva Life.”

The college musicians are definitelysuccessful recruiters. There are middleand high school students who choose tostudy music at UMES after they attend aconcert of one of the university’s

performance-related groups,including the gospel and concert

choirs, the wind ensemble, the jazzensemble, the jazz combo and

the concert band.

Music majors get plenty of practice. They havea rigorous community concert schedule; they

perform at campus events; and, of course,there are numerous classes to attend.

That’s not all. They also have weeklyprivate music lessons, and theyperform public recitals as mid-term

and final exams.“We teach our students to

teach music. In order to dothat, they have to become

musicians,” Lamkin said.“That trains a differentaspect of musicality.There’s another dynamicinvolved there.”

MAKING BEAUTIFUL MUSIC

Every fall for the last twelve years,The Department of Fine Arts hasorganized a road trip to visit anoteworthy museum. In November, thedestination was Washington, D.C.

Bright and early on the morning ofNovember 9, 2012, 18 students traveledwith fine arts chair ChristopherHarrington and faculty members BradHudson and Corinne Beardsley to visitthe National Gallery of Art and theHirshhorn Museum and SculptureGarden.

Students began their art tour of thecapital in the West Wing of the NationalGallery. The West Wing holds the oldestitems in the museum’s collection,including works by Raphael,Rembrandt, Van Gogh and the onlyportrait by Leonardo Da Vinci in theWestern Hemisphere, “Ginevra de’Benci.”

The group’s next stop was themuseum’s East Wing which housesmodern and contemporary works.Students studied works by the world’sgreatest modern and postmodern artists,including Warhol, Pollock, Matisse andPicasso. A special retrospective of RoyLichtenstein’s work was also on exhibit.Lichtenstein is best known for hiscartoon and comic-inspired pop works.Kelley Curry, a senior sequential arts

major, was enthralled with his work andwas inspired to incorporate facets of hisstyle into her own work for the student artexhibition, “Revelations,” at the MoselyGallery.

In the afternoon, students walked tothe Hirshhorn Museum and SculptureGarden. The Hirshhorn was founded byJoseph H. Hirshhorn, a wealthy financier,philanthropist and art lover. Themuseum’s collection is primarilypopulated with works by modern andpostmodern artists. Students were able toview an expansive exhibition ofcontroversial Chinese artist Ai Weiwei. Inaddition to this temporary exhibition,students also had the opportunity to viewan installation by Barbara Kruger. Artistsfrom the Hirshhorn’s permanentcollection include Bacon, De Kooning,Giacometti, Gorky, Moore, Oldenburg,Ono, Puryear, and Rauschenberg.

Students were overwhelmed with thevariety and complexity of the works theyviewed. There was much discussion overtheir dinner in D.C.’s Chinatown. The tripwas capped with a stop at a favorite artsupply store.

The Department of Fine Arts alsomakes an annual excursion to New YorkCity museums and galleries during eachspring semester.

Beyond the Classroom 11

Even though HurricaneSandy made an unscheduledappearance during the week ofthe UMES Drama Society’s falltheater production, enthusiasticaudiences filled the EllaFitzgerald Performing ArtsCenter for a slightly reducedtwo-night run of “For ColoredGirls Who Have ConsideredSuicide When the Rainbow isEnuf.”

The campus productioncombined elements of NtozakeShange’s original stage playfrom 1975 and Tyler Perry’s2010 film adaptation. Itchronicled, through a series ofpowerful monologues, the livesof black women in America, including the painful reality of various forms ofdomestic violence. Drama society director and theatre faculty member Dr. Della

Dameron-Johnson says thecontent remains relevant to abroad audience. “It isparticularly appropriate as (ourpresentation) comes on theheels of October’s designationas National Domestic ViolenceAwareness Month,” she said.

The UMES productionfeatured nine actresses, dressedin a simple rainbow of colorswhich were repeated in tallfabric stage banners and on thecostumes of dancers whointerpreted the content. Thestark simplicity of the set designallowed the audience to focuson the stellar performances.

In addition to those whoappeared on stage, nearly 50 students were involved behind the scenes astechnical, costume, makeup and publicity crew members.

Fine art majors in the National Gallery of Art

THE SHOWMUST GO ON

Painful but powerful monologues marked the UMES Drama Society’s fall theatre production.

NATIONAL TREASURES

DevinClay, asophomorecriminal justicemajor, died in asingle vehicleaccident near theUMES campus onOctober 21. The

19-year-old nativeof UpperMarlboro, Md.,

was remembered at a candlelight vigil in theStudent Services Center’s courtyard a fewdays later.

The event was organized by studentleaders so that members of the campuscommunity could express their grief andoffer their condolences to Clay’s family.More than 250 people attended. They heardDenese Clay, accompanied by her husband,tearfully describe their son as “the light ofour life … that went out too soon.”

English major Kandace Sewell was apassenger in the car. She survived theaccident and is recovering from herinjuries.

Wingspan is published by the Schoolof the Arts and Professions with the support of the Office of AlumniAffairs in the Division of Institutional Advancement.

ADMINISTRATION

Juliette Bell, Ph.D., President

Retia Walker, Ph.D., Interim Provostand Vice President, Academic Affairs

Ray Davis, Ph.D., Dean, The School ofthe Arts and Professions

THE SCHOOL OF THE ARTS AND PROFESSIONS DEPARTMENTALCHAIRPERSONS

DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICEDavid Spinner, Ph.D.

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCTIONKaren Verbecke, Ph.D.

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH ANDMODERN LANGUAGESJacqueline Brice-Finch, Ph.D.

DEPARTMENT OF FINE ARTSChristopher Harrington, M.F.A.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCESJunior Hopwood, Ph.D.

EDITORIAL BOARD

CRIMINAL JUSTICEEvita Bynum, Ph.D.

EDUCATIONMary Agnew, Ph.D.

ENGLISH AND MODERN LANGUAGESJacqueline Brice-Finch, Ph.D.Marilyn Buerkle, M.A.

FINE ARTSBradley Hudson, M.F.A.

SOCIAL SCIENCESJoyce Bell, Ph.D.

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Kathryn Barrett-GainesCori BeardsleyJoyce BellMarilyn BuerkleEvita BynumRay DavisGretchen FoustTammy GharbiPatricia GosleeBradley HudsonLorenzo HughesEmmanuel OnyeoziliBill RobinsonDavid SimpsonGail StephensKaren VerbekeJoshua Wright

PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Valentine AnamelechiCori BeardsleyMarilyn BuerkleEvita BynumAlverne ChesterfieldNatalie CurryMwalimu GeoffryJim GlovierChristopher HarringtonJunior HopwoodSandy JohnstonEdward JonesShakeena JonesYolanda LambertMegan RaymondBill Robinson

DESIGN BYDebi Rus, Rus Design, Inc.

Submissions to Wingspan are welcome. Contact our editorial board at Wingspan@umes.edu.

12

Remembering

SAYINGGOODBYE

HIV/AIDS activist Maria Davisvisited UMES in late November tocommemorate World AIDS Day. Shespoke not only as an activist but also as asurvivor.

Davis was diagnosed with HIV in 1995.Prior to her illness, she was a model and asuccessful music promoter in New York City.Her big national break occurred in 1996when she appeared on Jay-Z’s debut album,“Reasonable Doubt.” But by 1998 she hadAIDS, weighed 95 pounds and had a hole inher tongue from a yeast infection. She spenttwo months in the hospital fighting for herlife.

“HIV is a preventable disease, and you don’t have to getHIV to learn about HIV … We should all be informing eachother,” she admonished the students.

Rubin Davis, a native of Mount Vernon, N.Y.,attended UMES from 2003 to 2009, completing bothhis undergraduate and graduate degrees in theDepartment of Criminal Justice. He returned home tomake a difference in his community. He worked atPhoenix House, an organization in the Bronx, N.Y.,which helps young men in the inner city improvetheir lives. This was his passion.

Sadly, tragedy struck during the mid-day of June26, 2011; Davis was gunned down in a public park inthe same neighborhood where he grew up.

His family has honored his legacy and academicachievements by establishing the Rubin L. Davis

Foundation. The foundation works to encourage other young men in inner citiesto follow in Davis’s path and choose school over the streets. Its educationinitiative includes seminars to help young people pinpoint their interests, map acareer path and tackle a college application.

“Even in his absence, we want Rubin’s passion to help young men make itout,” said Evelyn Davis, his mother. “To show them that they have options, that’swhat the foundation is all about.”

A major project of the foundation is the Rubin L. Davis Scholarship Fund,offered to students interested in attending UMES. The inaugural Pre-Mother’s DayLuncheon and Birthday Memorial Celebration—both in honor of Rubin Davis—were held in May of 2012. Proceeds, from what are expected to be annualevents, benefit both the recruitment of young men to attend UMES and theactivities of the Rubin L. Davis Foundation.

“He decided he was going to go to college and be somebody, and he didjust that,” said Davis. “He is loved and missed, and he would want us to spreadhis message.”

A LEGACY to UMES

Thanks to medicine, prayer, apositive attitude and family support,Davis was able to recover. Over the

past decade she has become one of thenation’s leading AIDS activists, speaking atschools and churches, on panels, and ontelevision and radio.

UMES senior education major Ta-ShayWatkins was especially moved by Davis’stestimony. “It’s not very often that you meetsomeone with such a readiness to share allof themselves with you just so you can learnfrom their mistakes,” Watkins said.

Davis’s appearance was sponsored byStars Status, a student public service

organization, and the Department of Social Sciences. Sheaddressed Dr. Joshua Wright’s Black Women’s History course;however, her presentation was open to the entire campus.

“If I can do it,then so can you.”

Rubin Davis(1985-2011)Devin Clay

(1993-2012)

LIFE-SAVING LESSONS

Dr. Joshua Wright and Maria Davis