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Outlook 

The University of Maryland Faculty and Staff 'Weekly Newspaper 

Volume 13 • Number 29 • May 11, 1999 




Explore Our World, 
pages 4 & 5 



Flipping for Art Attack 




Will it Rain Today? 

Meteorology Makes It Easier to Know When 
to Expect Heat, Rain or Snow 



ne university oi 



The campus went "Y2 Krazy" last Friday when SEE Productions 
hosted its annual Art Attack event. Held on McKeldln Mail, this 
year's Art Attack Included the MTV Campus Invasion Tour which 
featured several specialty tents. By day, students had an 
opportunity to partake In activities like human velcro wall Jump- 
ing, rock climbing and giant-glove boxing. In the evening 
the pop/rock band Sugar Ray performed In concert. 




Will it rain (or snow or haiO or won't it? Not even a meteo- 
rologist can always predict for sure. But thanks to new "real- 
time," localized weather forecasts from the University of 
Maryland's department of meteorology 
<www.meto.umd.edu>, the science of 
predicting the weather in the 
Washington, D.C. area is becoming morej 
precise. 

Using computer models developed 
by its researchers, powerful, newly-purchased 
computer workstations, and weather data from the National 
Weather Service, the university's meteorology department 
has begun providing 36-hour weather forecasts that can pre- 
^^^^ diet more accurately what the weather will 
^0 ^^k be for a specific area, or even neighbor- 
^pL J^ hood, in our region. 

■ ^M " We are ver y excitetl that W€ are 

^ M able to provide the area, state and 

^^■^p H^r region with new, high-resolution weath- 
er forecasts that make it easier to predict 
things such as which parts of the region will 
get buffeted by spring thunderstorms or exactly 
when winter snowstorms will hit and how much snow will 
fall in different areas of the region,™ says Da- 
Lin Zhang, an associate professor of 
meteorology who heads the depart- 
ment's real-time weather forecasting 
project. 

Project director Zhang says that the 
meteorology department will use the 
new forecasting ability to aid the 
Maryland Department of Transportation and to provide local 
TV stations with forecast data and tools for visually present- 
ing the forecasts. 

Continued on page 7 




Facilitating Good Teamwork: CQI Provides Organizational Training 



A facilitator's role on a team is that 
of a partner to the leader. With this in 
mind, the Office for Continuous Quality 
Improvement has been holding annual 
workshops for facilitator training. The 
most recent was in January this year. 

The organizational skills of some tal- 
ented members of the university com- 
munity are further honed at these 
small, 8- to 10-member workshops that 
prepare them to facilitate future CQI 
teams. 

"Part of our vision is to create a 
group of facilitators skilled in group 
dynamics, team effectiveness, CQI prin- 
ciples and techniques and meeting 
management who can use and share 
the knowledge on CQI teams, within 
their own departments and on cam- 
pus," says Vicky Foxworth, organization- 
al development specialist for CQI, who 
designed and led the two workshops 
held so far. 

Since the first workshop, some facili- 
tators have served successfully on 



cross-functional CQI teams on safety 
and security, improving the experience 
of transfer students, parking for visitors 
and undergraduate advising, among 
other topics. 

A good facilitator is a helper to the 
leader, says CQI director George Dieter. 
"Someone who can jump in and help 
out the team leader, advise them on 
how to approach a problem, and also 
be an impartial observer of what hap- 
pens in the team." 

A team facilitator is also expected to 
help guide the team to resolve disputes 
among team members and keep the 
team focused on the task at hand (see 
sidebar on page 3 for a "Role of a Team 
Facilitator" description). 

By the end of the workshop, partici- 
pants gained an opportunity to get an 
understanding of CQI and its functions, 
learn about the project-process cycle, 
learn and practice group problem-solv- 
ing tools, and develop and practice 
skills necessary to be an effective team 



facilitator. Participants are encouraged 
to apply these skills to a variety of pro- 
fessional and personal settings. 

"On the first day of training, we give 
each participant a toolbox," says Dieter, 
holding up a big plastic box with a han- 
dle. It contains markers, post-it notes 
and other tools to get organized, along 
with some reading material on how to 
be a good facilitator. Books like "The 
Team Handbook" and "Faultless 
Facilitation:A Resource Guide for 
Group and Team Leaders," are also hand- 
ed out. 

To date, participants have been invit- 
ed based on skills, invitations and word 
of mouth. "We selected people who had 
strong facilitator strengths and had 
expressed interest. Many of them had 
served earlier on CQI teams," Foxworth 
says. 

Several participants hold high-level 
jobs on campus, but still found the time 
to participate, "It is amazing that such 
busy people devote so much time to 



this. They make a huge commitment to 
campus," she says. Each participant 
agrees to facilitate a team in the next 
three years. 

Terry Flannery, executive director of 
university communications and director 
of marketing, says she took up the invi- 
tation to participate in the CQI work- 
shop this year because she "wanted to 
be a supporter of the quality and 
improvement process at the university." 

Flannery, who had earlier served as a 
member on a CQI team on open com- 
munication, saw the workshop as an 
opportunity to develop her natural 
skills as a manager. But there were 
other rewards as well. "You learn to 
become a great observer and listener," 
she says. These skills, in turn, helped her 
on her job as well. 

"I used the training in many ways— it 
helped me conceptualize what it takes 
to be a good meeting manager, remlnd- 

Continued on page 3 



2 Outlook May 11,1999 




America Reads Celebrates Success at Maryland 



atim 



"Officers need to realize that their best weapon for reducing 
crime is the mouth, not the pistol. In training police, the big chal- 
lenge is to get officers who are oriented toward action to take the 
salesman approach." — Lawrence Sherman, chair of criminal jt4s- 
tice and criminology, in a Feb. 25 New York Times column by 
John Tierney about New York's need to shift gears from winning 
the war on crime to winning the peace in the streets. 

"The country had just gone through the Great Depression, when 
there was not much housing construction, so there was a tremen- 
dous housing shortage. Then you had the wartime industries 
switching to peacetime production. And you had all these people 
coming back from the war and anxious to get on with life, get 
back to normalcy, start families." — Mary Corbin Sies, associate 
professor of American studies, in a fan. 31 Philadelphia Inquirer 
story about the history and effects of suburbanization. 

"Blacks have always been conservative on issues, in part because 
they are the most heavily churched community hi the country. 
But those are social issues. For blacks, the larger question is: 'Do 
you want to change your position in society?'" — Ron Walters, 
professor of African-American Studies, in a March 9 Christian 
Science Monitor story about Rep.J.C. Watts (R-Okta.) the 
Republican African American in Congress and the challenge of 
appealing to Republicans and African Americans. 

"Everybody but the schools had been running high school sports, 
and though colleges had gotten serious about sports — the NCAA 
was established in 1906 — high schools didn't follow until some 
time later. But going into the 1920s, principals began saying/ If 
we're going to run this world, let's make it educational.'" — foan 
S. Hull, emeritus professor and sports historian, in a Feb. 24 
Education Week story about the unstructured nature of high 
school athletics in the early 20th century. 

Economic development and prosperity are "what the Chinese 
people want.They don't want a confrontation. They don't want to 
be stirred up about fighting for sovereignty. They want a better 
life. Give it to them." —fames Lilley, fellow of the Institute for 
Global Chinese Affairs, quoted in a March 10 Central News 
Agency (Taiwan) story about his views on relations between 
Taiwan and Mainland China. 

"Given that we don't have an exit strategy, I think it could 
become a problem for him, not so much as judgments of morality 
but because armies don't like to lose." —David Segal, director of 
the Center for Research and Military Organization, in a March 
26 Christian Science Monitor story about the potential effect of 
the KJosovo bombing campaign on President Bill Clinton's rela- 
tions with the military establishment. 

"Ineffective study habits, commonly inculcated in both black and 
white students in most high schools, is the second major academ- 
ic reason for the difficulties in college calculus classes. These 
'study' habits often included little or no time spent on under- 
standing the mathematics but too much time spent memorizing 
too many formulas and prescriptions for calculations and doing 
lots of rote computations." —ferome Dancis, associate professor 
of mathematics, in a March 11 letter to the Washington Post 
urging workshops to help new college students with math. 

Seeing the captured soldiers on Yugoslavian television "makes 
people feel uncomfortable. It makes them mad. It dampens their 
enthusiasm for the mission, but doesn't necessarily lead them to 
want to withdraw." — Steven Kali, director of the Program for 
International Policy Attitudes in the Center for International 
and Security Studies, in an April 3 story in the South China 
Morning Post about the impact the capture of three soldiers 
might have on public support for the American effort in 
Yugoslavia. The soldiers have since been released. 



Four hundred first- and second- grade students 
in Prince George's County are well on their way 
to mastering basic reading skills thanks, in large 
measure, to 70 University of Maryland student 
mentors in the America Reads Program. 

Deputy Superintendent Louise Waynant joined 
University President Dan Mote in a special recog- 
nition reception on May 7 to celebrate the men- 
tors' success in boosting literacy rates among ele- 
mentary school children. The reception was held 
at the President's Residence. 

According to Prince George's County School 
Board researchers, scores for first graders in let- 
ter recognition advanced 14 percent and the 
scores for second graders advanced six percent. 
In word recognition, first graders* scores showed 
an increase of 119 percent and second graders' 
scores increased nine percent. 

Beyond the numbers, the mentors say the real 
success can be seen in the growing enthusiasm 
of the children. "Just recently, when a student 
read an entire book to me, she gave me a big hug 
because earlier this year she was barely able to 
read a sentence. It's that kind of progress that 



makes tutoring so rewarding," says Crystal Bell, 
freshman, animal science major. 

Bell and the other mentors spend between six 
and 20 hours each week to provide reading 
lessons and other educational activities for 400 
first- and second-graders in eight elementary 
schools in Prince George's County. 

The program has prompted several mentors, 
including Betsy Bratek, to change their majors to 
elementary education. 

"The program lias given me an outlet to discover 
that I wanted to be a teacher. As a mentor, Ive 
learned that it does not take colorful magnetic letters 
or smelly markers to make the impact but just a sim- 
ple book and an ear for them to read to," says Bratek. 

America Reads Corps is a major initiative of 
the Clinton administration designed to ensure 
every child by the end of third grade will be able 
to read well and independently. The university 
was one of the first 20 charter universities to 
establish an America Reads program. There are 
now over 1,000 colleges and universities partici- 
pating in the America Reads challenge. 



KPMG, Alumni Give $250,000 to Smith School 



Through the generosity of alumni and a corpo- 
rate foundation, the Robert H. Smith School of 
Business has added a new faculty position, the 
KPMG Professorship in Accounting. Alumni for 
the university and other University System of 
Maryland institutions now working at KPMG LLP 
have committed $100,000 to establish the profes- 
sorship. The KPMG Foundation has committed an 
additional $ 1 50,000 to support the professorship 
endowment, for a total gift of $250,000. 

The KPMG gift is part of the Smith School's 
effort to raise $30 million in endowment funds 
as part of Bold Vision • Bright Future: The 
Campaign for the University of Maryland, a $350 
million fund raising effort. 

"We are proud and excited that our firm will be 
associated with the Smith School of Business in 
this way," says John Keenan, managing partner of 
KPMG's Baltimore office and a 1975 Smith School 
graduate. "We see this as a wonderful opportunity 
to help the Smith School strengthen its standing 



among the nation's best business schools." 

"This wonderful gift will enhance the promi- 
nence of our accounting faculty and of the school," 
says Howard Frank, Smith School dean. "We appre- 
ciate the generosity of our alumni and of KPMG." 

The university's accounting faculty has 
achieved prominence in a number of areas. The 
faculty includes a member of the federal Cost 
Accounting Standards Board and the co-editors of 
the fournal of Accounting and Public Policy, a 
highly regarded publication in the accounting 
field. The accounting faculty, along with the 
finance faculty, is a select member of the presti- 
gious Financial Economics and Accounting 
Research Consortium. 

KPMG LLP is one of the worlds largest profes- 
sional services firms, operating in more than 840 
cities in 155 countries.The global advisory firm 
offers a range of services, including accountancy, 
auditing, tax, management constancy and corpo- 
rate finance. 



University Chosen to Work On Health Initiative 



The University of Maryland is one of only five 
universities in the nation chosen to participate in 
a study designed to promote social norms for 
tobacco-free decision-making among its students. 

According to Jody Gan, a health educator at 
the university, there is a Social Norming Theory 
that people would rather be "normal" than 
healthy. For many in this group, decisions and 
behaviors are based on what they perceive most 
of their peers are doing. Research shows, howev- 
er, that most students have a false perception of 
what is actually occurring. 

The study intends to use health promotion 
tools such as posters, advertising and other media 
to promote healthy decisions and behaviors 
regarding no tobacco use wliile at the same time 
letting students know what the true norms are on 
campus. Campaigns will begin in the fall of 1 999. 

"We are excited to be part of this project 
because it involves using positive messages 
rather than scare tactics," Gan says. "This type of 
social marketing is a great complement to the 
health education programs we currently offer as 



part of the university's health services program." 

The study is directed by The BACCHUS and 
GAMMA Peer Education Network and sponsored 
by the Centers for Disease Control and 
Prevention in Atlanta. The BACCHUS and GAMMA 
Peer Education Network is a national nonprofit 
health organization based in Denver and commit- 
ted to promoting health education at colleges and 
universities throughout North America. The CDC 
has funded BACCHUS to look into health initia- 
tives regarding sexual health as well as tobacco 
issues for students. 

Approximately 500 students at each of the par- 
ticipating universities will be part of the study, 
which will survey and track respondents over a 
one-year period. Findings from the study will be 
released in summer 2000. Each university will 
receive the results from its campus community in 
order to plan continuous effective programming. 

Other schools participating in the study are 
Gustavus Adolphus College, Osweg State 
University, University of North Carolina at 
Ashe ville and Texas Christian University. 



Outlook 



Outlook is the weekly faculty-staff newspaper serving trie University of Maryland campus community. William Destler. Interim Vice President for University Advancement; 
Teresa Flannery. Executive Director of University Communications and Director of Marketing; George Cathcart. Executive Editor; Londa Scott Forte, Acting Editor; 
Vaishall Honawar, Graduate Assistant; Phillip Wlrtz, Editorial Intern. Letters to the editor, story suggestions and campus information are welcome. Please submit all 
material two weeks before the Tuesday of publication. Send material to Editor, Outlook. 2101 Turner Hall, College Park, MD 207 42 .Tele phone (301) 405-4629; e-mail 
outlook@accmatl.umd.edu; fax (301) 314-9344. Ouftooftcan be found online at www.inform.umd.edu/outlook/ 



May II, 1999 Outlook 3 



Fighting Crime with Technology 

Students Create New Police-Alert Security Device 



A student team at the university has 
developed a system that, with the click 
of a button, may ease one of the big 
concerns on campuses nationwide: the 
fear of crime. 

The team's new BEACON 
Emergency Locator System will enable 
students equipped •with a key-chain- 
sized device to call police with the 
push of a button. The device will signal 
not only where the student is, but also 
his/her identity. 

The undergraduate inventors of the 
just-completed system 
prototype say it is techni- 
cally advanced, surpass- 
ing anything of its kind 
now available on the mar- 
ket. The current design 
blends new technology 
with an existing campus 
security system at the 
University of Maryland. 
However, the students say 
the system's technology 
is being refined so that it 
can be used on any col- 
lege campus. 

"The bottom-line is 
that we wanted the 
police to be able to tell who's in trou- 
ble and where they are," says senior 
electrical and computer engineering 
student Christian Rieser, who came up 
with the idea for the BEACON project 
In a technical writing class last year.'T 
wanted to create a device that could 
save lives. I knew that this system, if 
implemented, would not only deter 
crime and give people peace of mind, 
but it would bring distinction to the 
university because our community is 
actively seeking to solve a problem that 
every campus in the nation feces," 

Once in place, the new system will 
work like this: when a student or other 
user triggers a locator device, a distress 
signal is sent to the nearest emergency 
phone box. The phone then automati- 
cally transmits a call to campus police, 



passing on the user's unique identifica- 
tion information. This information is 
automatically matched with data in the 
police command center's database, 
telling the dispatcher the identity of 
the person who sent the distress signal, 
what that person looks like, and exactly 
which security phone was triggered. 
Help is dien sent immediately. Security 
phones are spread across the College 
Park campus and are known as "blue 
light" phones because they are topped 
by a blue light that flashes when the 



actual corporation within the campus 
environment. "The more we got into 
the project, the 



tlon to the new Virtual Corporation par- 
adigm, BEACON team members plan to 
look at other loca- 



are. 



ir 




The BEACON team tested out several prototypes of 
the system on campus. 



phone is activated. 

Rieser says BEACON team members 
have tried to keep down the cost for 
the end user, students primarily, 
although university faculty and staff 
will have access to the BEACON system 
as well. 

"We wanted to keep the total cost 
for the product under $20," he says. "So 
we found ourselves having to use inex- 
pensive, off-the-shelf equipment for 
rapid prototyping." 

Team members hope that eventually, 
if the product is successful enough, it 
can be marketed by the university and 
made available to students at little or 
no cost. 

The hope for the eventual commer- 
cial release of a BEACON product has 
led students to the idea of creating an 



more we started 
to realize that it 
was a lot like run- 
ning a business," 
says junior electri- 
cal engineering 
student Mehul 
Gandhi, project 
manager for BEA- 
CON. "After all, 
we were looking 
at taking what 
was basically a 
pure concept and 
seeing it through 
to the end prod- 
uct." 

Next semester, BEACON team mem- 
bers plan to start a virtual corporation, 
bringing in additional students from 
areas such as business and government 
and politics to engage in the marketing 
and promotions facets of what, in 
essence, will be BEACON corporation. 

But the main focus is on education. 
"The BEACON project provides an edu- 
cational playground for people to learn, 
and to implement and test the things 
they get on paper in their classes," 
Rieser says. "Through this project we've 
all had the chance to see how our edu- 
cation is actually used by engineers. 
Plus, when you are working on some- 
thing like this, students get really excit- 
ed, and it motivates their learning even 
more." 

"The ultimate culmination to my 
studies at Maryland," says electrical 
engineering senior Anne Pak,"has been 
to actually produce something as an 
engineer. The BEACON project has 
allowed me to do just that." 

Having just completed the first proto- 
type for the BEACON Emergency 
Locator System, the team is already plan- 
ning for the system's next generation of 
technical development. Next fall, in addi- 



"The bottom line is that 
we wanted the police to 
be able to tell who's in 
trouble and where they 



— Christian Rieser, 
creator of the BEACON project 



tion technologies 
to implement the 
actual product 
design. For exam- 
ple, the team will 
further examine 
the use of a sys- 
tem based on the 
global positioning 
system (GPS) or 
the use of wireless 
technologies to 
pinpoint the loca- 
tion of a BEACON 
user. The key to 
the feasibility of 
using such technologies will be to con- 
tinue to keep costs down, the team says. 

The BEACON team 
<www.ece.umd.edu/Beacou> has taken 
a systems approach to product develop- 
ment, dividing the team members into 
several small focused groups, each with 
specialized responsibilities. These groups 
include the Transmitter Group, the 
Receiver Signal Processing Group, the 
Command Center Group, and the 
Campus Relations and Promotions 
Group. Team members are also working 
with many groups across campus to 
ensure the project meets the university's 
needs. Campus groups involved in the 
project Include the University Police, the 
President's Continuous Quality 
Improvement (CQD Security 
Committee, the Department of Physical 
Plant and the Department of Electrical 
and Computer Engineering. 

The A. James Clark School of 
Engineering is providing $20,000 In 
funding and the university's Engineering 
Research Center is providing laboratory 
space for the project through its 
Technology Advancement Program. 
Technical consultation is being provided 
by Motorola Corporation, Hewlett 
Packard and Texas Instruments. 



Facilitating Good Teamwork: CQI Provides Organizational Training 



continued from page 1 

ed me about things I needed to remember," she says. 

Sue Baughman, manager at McKeldin Library, was 
nominated to the training project by the library 
administration. "It was very good training" she says. "I 
definitely learned a good deal." 

The workshop covered five days during which "we 
had to do homework," Flannery recalls with a laugh. 
"Readings, journals... "As part of the training, partici- 
pants were paired and asked to observe each other's 
performance in fecilitating a team/committee meeting. 

This year's workshop also included panel discus- 
sions by facilitators, CQI team sponsors, leaders and 
members trained at the previous workshop. 

Tom Ruggieri, coordinator of the Faculty and Staff 
Assistance Program, was attracted to the workshop 
because in his job he gets several calls to run retreats, and 
this turned out to be an "excellent" learning opportunity. 
Says Ruggieri, who has since facilitated a CQI project on 
parking for visitors at the university: "The CQI tools were 
very helpful in going dirough with this project," he says. 

One of the best things about being part of this 



workshop, Baughman says, was the chance to get to 
know people from all over campus. "All these people 
are a new network now and can serve as a sounding 
board for each other. That is a big plus," she says. 

Foxworth points out that she and the participants 
of the two workshops meet every month to get feed- 
back from each other on team issues and challenges 
and to learn new skills. "Part of my goal is to create a 
learning community, an ongoing network where we 
can learn and grow." 

For example, workshop members have also been 
introduced to Ellen Borkowski of Academic 
Information Technology Services to learn about teach- 
ing theaters and computer software that can help 
with team projects." 

The next CQI workshop for facilitator training will like- 
ly be in June 2000, she says. "Another vision for the office 
is creating an internal peer consultant network. 
Facilitators will receive additional training in January 2000 
on the consulting process on how to conduct a retreat." 

To date, Foxworth, who consults actively across cam- 
pus, has arranged over six campus consultations with 
facilitators trained last year. 

For further information on the CQI facilitator train- 



ing workshops and setting up teams for improvement 
at the university, contact Vicky Foxworth at 405-5249. 



Role of a Team Facilitator: 

• Works with team leader to establish meeting 
agenda 

• Reflects on team process and proposes Inter- 
ventions to ensure high productivity and full 
participation 

■ As requested, provides feedback on team 
process and meeting effectiveness 

• Coaches team on use of CQI tools and tech- 
niques 

• Fulfills all duties of team member but 
remains neutral In team discussions 

• Resolves team disputes 

• Provides team dynamics Improvements 

• Provides more structure at beginning, less at 
end 

• Assists team with data collection activities 

• Keeps group focused on task 



4 Outlook May 11,1 999 



MARYLAND DAY 1999 

\4 




Approximately 20,000 
people — Including faculty, 
staff, students, community 
members and their 
families — attended the 
Maryland Day 1999: Explore 
Our World celebration which 
took place Saturday, April 
24. live musical and dance 
performances, an Insect-pet- 
ting zoo, puppet shows, 
campus tours, child safety 
seat checks, blood-pressure 
screening, an African mar 
ketplace, lectures on topical 
subjects, art exhibits, sport- 
ing events and an ice-cream 
social were among the more 
than 200 activities held that 
day. The open house was the 
last In a series of activities 
planned to celebrate the 
Inauguration of University 
President Dan Mote. 







» 



May 11. I* W9 Outlook 5 




6 Outlook May 11,1999 



datelin e 



mary 



mem 
'land 



May 11 



Your Guide to University Events 

May 11-18 



May 14 



*Tj 2-3 p.m. afTs: Web Clinic. 
4404 Computer Sl Space 
Sciences Bldg. www. inform. 
umd.edu/WebClinics. 

Gy^ 3-5 p.m. Committee on 
Africa and the Americas: "Racial 
Strategies in the Public Sphere "A 
Research and Travel Grant panel 
discussion. With Cedric Johnson. 
Wendy Smooth, J udi Moore" La tta 
and moderator, Fancillc Kusan 
Wilson, 1104 Jimenez Hall. 5- 
6835. 



May 12 



"** 9 a.m. -noon. "Printing 
Presumptions," This seminar con- 
ducted at Printing Services gives 
a comprehensive overview of the 
process a job follows from 
designer through mailing. A tour 
of the printing plant is included. 
This is an opportunity to learn 
from the experts what terms like 
"bluellne, film-stripping, ptate- 
making and Cheshire labels" 
mean, 1 122 Patapsco Bldg, 5- 
9500. 

6V 4-5 p.m. Department of 

Astronomy: "Cosmology from 
Supernova," Bradley Schaefer.Yale 
University. 2400 Computer Sl 
Space Sciences Bldg. 



May 13 



■*■ 7:30-8:45 p.m. Physics is 
Phun. "Seeing the Light: Light, 
Lenses, Mirrors and the Eye." 
Halls open at 7 p.m. for hands-tin 
experiments, forma] program 
from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m. 1410, 
1412 Physics Bldg. 5-5994. 

**" 9 a.m.-noon. "Printing 
Presumptions." This seminar con- 
ducted at Printing Services gives 
a comprehensive overview of 
the process a job follows from 
designer through mailing. A tour 
of the printing plant is included. 
This is an opportunity to learn 
from the experts what terms like 
"blueline, film stripping, plate 
making and Cheshire labels" 
mean. 1 122 Patapsco Bldg. 
5-9500. 



Ir Last Day of Classes for Spring Term 

*"7:30*45 p.m. Physics is Phun: 

"Seeing the Light: light, Lenses, 
Mirrors and the Eye" Hands-on exper- 
iments at 7 p.m., formal program 
from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.. 1410, 1412 
Physics Bldg. 5-5994. 

J" 8 p.m. School of Music: University 
of Maryland Symphony Orchestra. 
Conducted by Larry Rachleff. Music 
of Mozart, Daugherty and Debussy. 
Tawes Theater. 5-1 150. 



May 15 



""7:30-8:45 p.m. Physics is Phun: 
"Seeing the Light: Light, Lenses, 
Mirrors and the Eye." Hands-on exper- 
iments at 7 p.m.. formal program 
from 7:30 to 8:45 p.m.. 1410, 1412 
Physics Bldg. 5-5994, 



May 18 



*" 1 1 :30 a.m. Campus Black 
Ministries: "Drum Majors of 
Excellence" luncheon. Atrium, Stamp 
Student Union. 4-7759.' 




Calendar phone numbers listed as 
4-xxxx or 5-xxxx stand for the 
prefix 314- or 405. Events are free 
and open to the public unless 
noted by an asterisk (•>■ Calendar 
information for Outlook is com- 
piled from a combination of 
inforM's calendars and submissions 
in the Outlook office. To reach the 
calendar editor, call 405-761 5 or e- 
mail outIook@accmalI, umd.edu. 




NOTABLE 





U.S. Congressman Stony Hoyer (D-MD 5) presented the CFl's annual award for Fire 
Service Organization of the Year to MFRI Director Steven Edwards at the 11th Annual 
National Fire and Emergency Services Dinner in Washington, D.C. 



Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute 

Presented with Prestigious 

Fire Service Award 

The Maryland Fire and Rescue Institute 
(MFRI) was awarded the Congressional Fire 
Services Institute's 1999 Fire Service 
Organization of the Year Award on April 21. 
The award is given each year to an organi- 
zation recognized for contributing to the 
CFSI effort to advance Its fire and life safety 
mission on Capitol Hill.The award was pre- 
sented at the 1 1th Annual National Fire and 
Emergency Service Dinner held in 
Washington, D.C. Maryland Congressman 
Steny Hoyer, co-chairman of the 
Congressional Fire Service Caucus, present- 
ed the award to MFRI Director Steven 
Edwards. 

Architecture profes- 
sor Ralph Bennett was 
one of five professors 
nationally recognized 
with the Distinguished 
Professor Award at the 
annual meeting of the 
Association of 
Collegiate Schools of 
Architecture. 

"Professor Ralph 
Bennett, AIA, has dis- 
played a pattern of sig- 
nificant support to stu- 
dents following their 
formal education at the University of 
Maryland. Students attest to the guidance 
and care provided by Professor Bennett 
both as students and during the time fol- 
lowing their education. He counsels them, 
guides them toward graduate school or pro- 




Ralph Bennett 



fessional options and, at times, hires them at 
his private firm Bennett Frank McCarthy. 
He has also provided start-up space for for- 
mer students to begin businesses that are 
recognized nationwide," says the ACSA 
Newsletter. 

Kimthi Bui, a Montgomery County staff 
member of the College of Agriculture & 
Natural Resources' Maryland Cooperative 
Extension, was one of four individuals 
nationwide honored on April 14 in 
Washington, DC, by USDA Secretary Dan 
Glickman. Bui and the other honorees 
were recognized for their outstanding con- 
tributions as nutrition assistants with the 
Expanded Food and Nutrition Education 
Program (EFNEP). A 30-year partnership 
involving USDA and land-grant universities, 
EFNEP is designed to help limited-income 
Americans acquire the knowledge, skills, 
attitudes, and behavior changes neces- 
sary to maintain nutritionally sound 
diets and enhance personal develop- 
ment. 

In Maryland, EFNEP is organized 
and operated by Maryland 
Cooperative Extension. Last year fac- 
ulty-trained paraprofessionals, like Bui, 
taught 3,363 families plus 10,613 addi- 
tional young people how to make 
more nutritious food choices,- manage 
food budgets wisely, practice proper 
food safety sanitation and storage 
methods, and reduce their risk of diet- 
related chronic diseases. 
Bui was a lawyer in Vietnam before immi- 
grating to the United States in 1975. Fluent 
in Vietnamese, French and English, she 
chose to work with EFNEP bi cause, she 
says, "I can help Asian people more through 
EFNEP than as a lawyer." 



May I ! . I 999 Outlook 7 



Suheil Bushrui's Insight on Diversity 
Through the Eyes of Kahlil Gibran 



After 44 years of scholarly 
research dedicated to studying 
Kahlil Gibran 's life, and writing 
and editing many books about 
him, Suheil Bushrui wrote 
"Kahlil Gibran: Man and Poet" 
(1998) with Joe Jenkins. 

The book has received rave 
reviews in the British, 
American, and Arab press. 
According to The New York 
Times Book Review," [This 
book] breaks new ground, 
falling into the category that 
lies somewhere between 
hagiography and history . . . the 
authors add substantial texture 
to previous descriptions of 
Gibran 's social and work 
habits . . ." 

Bushrui says this is the first 
scholarly and critical analysis 
of Gibran's work and the first 
time it has been placed in the 
Anglo-American literary tradi- 
tion; it is also a reappraisal of 
the value of Gibran's Arabic 
works within the Arabic liter- 
ary tradition. 

This study is long overdue 
because Gibran has been very 
influential and widely read in 
the United States and abroad. 
"The Prophet," Gibran's master 
piece, has sold more than five 
million copies and has been 
translated into over 30 Ia n ■ — 



strength, he [Gibran] was able 
in the process to produce a 
gospel of love and reconcilia- 
tion," says Bushrui. 

That gospel is illustrated in 
both his philosophy and his 
work, culminating in "The 
Prophet." "This book was nei- 
ther of the east nor the west, it 
belonged to humanity at large . 
. . it is extremely popular in 
both the east and the west," 
says Bushrui. "It is remarkable 
Gibran was able to connect 
these two worlds and create 
his own." 

The message of unity and 
diversity is Gibran's most 
important message for humani- 
ty. His concept of diversity 
summarizes this message of 
culture, universalism, and rec- 
onciliation, and is illustrated in 
the following statement from 
Gibran's "Secrets of the Heart": 

"All things in this creation 
exist within you, and all things 
in you exist in creation;there is 
no bocdcr between you and 
the closest things, and there is 
no distance between you and 
the farthest dungs, and all 
things, from the lowest to the 
loftiest, from the smallest to 
the greatest are within you as 
equal things. In one atom are 
found all of the elements of 



guages. JkAl) V/ I tn£ cart ' 1 ' m one motion of the 

In addition to his latest mind are found the motions of 

book, Bushrui and Miles all the laws of existence; In 

Bradbury of the history depart- one drop of ■water are found 



ment are currently teaching at 
Maryland the "first course ever 
taught in America" on Gibran. 
The course, "Kahlil Gibran and 
the Immigrant Traditions in 
America: The Reconciliation of 
Cultures," is cross-listed as both 
Honors 289D and HIST 219Q. 

Bushrui's inspiration for 
both the book and the class 
came from his fascination in 
Gibran. "I became fascinated 
with Gibran's work at an early 
age and I feel an affinity with 
him since we had similar expe- 
riences," says Bushrui. 

Bushrui was born in the for- 
mer country of Palestine and 
spent many years living in 
Lebanon (Gibran's birthplace). 
He later lived and taught in 
countries such as Africa, 
Canada, and Britain and trav- 
eled extensively throughout 
Europe before moving to the 
United States in 1986 with his 
wife. 

"The remarkable thing 
about Gibran is that he was 
able to reconcile disparate cul- 
mres. He came at the age of 
12 and accepted western cul- 
ture widiout relinquishing his 
own values. By marrying one 
culture to another and accept- 
ing both on their own terms, 
deriving from each his own 



the Secrets of all the endless 
oceans; in one aspect of you 
are found all the aspects of 
existence." 

Says Bushrui: "This vision of 
the world emphasizes our 
interconnectedness. It tends to 
'contradict' the beliefs held by 
the ordinary man in the street 
who believes that the distinc- 
tions he makes between black 
and white, male and female, 
Arab and Jew, Christian and 
Muslim, capitalist and commu- 
nist refer to mutually exclusive 
objective realities. We're all one 
in our humanity." 

Since Gibran was one of the 
earliest poets of modern times 
to discuss profound Issues, 
such as women's rights and 
human rights, Bushrui named 
him the "poet of ecology of 
life." In fact, Bushrui believes 
Gibran anticipated the 
Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights. Gibran also 
focused on the life of new 
immigrants in his poetry 
which relates to diversity and 
living a new identity, "the basic 
identity — human identity." 

At the university, Bushrui 
assisted the Office of Human 
Relations Programs (OHRP) 
when it crafted the purpose 
and mission of the Diversity 



Initiative. His contribution 
was valuable because of his 
vast and varied life experi- 
ences: his studies of Gibran's 
life and works, his academic 
experience (which focused on 
comparative literature), his 
practical experience as cultur- 
al advisor to the president of 
Lebanon, and his current posi- 
tions at the university as a pro- 
fessor, the Baha'i Chair for 
World Peace, and director of 
the University of Maryland's 
Kahlil Gibran Research and 
Studies Project. 

The Diversity Initiative, 
through its programming phi- 
losophy and implementation, 
strives to "explore and 
enhance values that emphasize 
interconnectedness, equity, jus- 
tice, and the sanctity of each 
individual's dignity" says Gloria 
Bouis, associate director of 
OHRP. "We, in the Initiative, try 
to raise the awareness of the 
campus to understand diversi- 
ty as an individual, global and 
human right," adds Bouis. 

"Diversity is more than a 
question of human relation- 
ships. It is a state of mind and 
an attitude. You cannot trans- 
form human beings except 
through a profound change in 
the vision with which they see 
the world - there should devel- 
op within each one of us a 
unity of vision and ethic." 

According to Bushrui, the 
Diversity Initiative can be sum- 
marized in the phrase "unity in 
diversity." "The Diversity 
Initiative strives to create an 
atmosphere in which students 
of different backgrounds, cul- 
tures and ways of life learn to 
communicate and interact 
with a spirit of understanding 
and respect, honoring the 
humanity of each member of 
the group," says Bushrui. "To 
accomplish this one must 
believe it and act it." 

Gibran recognized the 
nobility and greatness of 
human beings. He believed 
one's identity as a human iden- 
tity" — was very important. 
Therefore, if people recognize 
their nobility they also recog- 
nize that human beings have 
certain responsibilities. 

According to Bushrui, one 
of the basic aspects of a diver- 
sity program should be to help 
people develop a sense of 
responsibility, which is one of 
the many goals of the universi- 
ty's Diversity Initiative. 

Gibran's contribution to the 
world lives through his words. 
"He is alive through the power 
of his word; he can never die 
because the power of the 
word never dies," says Bushrui. 
According to the poet Horace 



Will it Rain Today? 



continued from page 1 

"We also will be supplying 
National Weather Service fore- 
casters at Sterling, Va, with 
high-resolution data that has 
better time and location reso- 
lution. And we'll be helping 
the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric 
Administration/National 
Ocean Service to better pre- 
dict the surface winds, water 
level and water waves over 
the Chesapeake Bay and 
coastal regions," he says. 

"This project is another 
fine example of how univer- 
sity research enhances the 
well-being of the citizens of 
our state and region" says 
University President Dan 
Mote. "We look forward to 
seeing our essential role in 
fostering the welfare of the 
state and region grow even 
more vibrant in the years 
ahead." 

The weather prediction 
model developed by the uni- 
versity's department of meteo- 
rology for its real-time weath- 
er forecasts is a modified ver- 
sion of a model developed by 
Penn State and the National 
Center for Atmospheric 
Research.The University of 
Maryland's model uses a set of 
partial differential equations 
describing atmospheric 
motion, and a complicated 
package of sophisticated 
cloud micro-physics, bound- 
ary-layer processes and earth 
surface conditions. According 
to Zhang, Maryland's model 
can provide forecasts that 
"telescope from a coarse to a 
finer resolution."This allows 
weather predictions that 
cover either a broad area (the 
eastern two-thirds of the 
United States and portions of 
the western Atlantic), an inter- 
mediate area (the Mid- 
Atlantic states) or a localized 
area (the Washington- 
Baltimore metropolitan 
region). Predictions for the 
intermediate area can be 
determined to within about 
12 km (7.5 miles) and local 
area predictions can be pin- 
pointed to within some 4 km 
(2.5 miles). The most accurate 
forecasts now available are 
from the National Weather 
Service and can be resolved 
only to about 29 km (18 
miles). 

Developing and providing 



real-time forecasts are part of 
the meteorology depart- 
ment's academic research as 
well as its efforts to serve the 
state of Maryland and nearby 
communities. The use of the 
models will help departmen- 
tal researchers' efforts to bet- 
ter understand the physical 
processes that are at work in 
different weather systems 
found from the Adantic 
coastal regions to the moun- 
tains. The forecasts are also 
part of the department's 
ongoing effort to assist the 
state of Maryland and nearby 
communities through 
improved prediction of 
regional weather, and 
through increased under- 
standing of regional air quali- 
ty and of the role of atmos- 
pheric conditions in the 
transport and deposition of 
pollutants from one area to 
another. For example, the 
new forecasting models will 
help departmental 
researchers estimate atmos- 
pheric transport of photo- 
chemical smog, acid deposi- 
tion and haze as well as the 
flux of nitrogen and other 
pollutants to the Chesapeake 
Bay and its watershed. 

Through its Regional 
Atmospheric Modeling, 
Measurement and Prediction 
Program (RAMMPP), the 
department has made consid- 
erable effort in recent years to 
examine summertime condi- 
tions leading to the photo- 
chemical smog (ground level 
ozone) episodes that trigger 
air quality alertsThrough this 
research, the department is 
helping Maryland, Washington, 
D.C. and Virginia with their 
efforts to better comply with 
the Clean Air Act. Weather 
models from the new real-time 
forecasting project will be 
used as input into an ozone 
prediction model that is being 
developed to forecast what are 
known as "ozone action days" 
when the air quality index will 
be in the red. 

Amateur meteorologists 
and others interested in get- 
ting the department's real-time 
forecasts and upto-the-minute 
local and regional weather 
conditions can visit the depart- 
ment of meteorology's weath- 
er web pages at 
<www.meto.umd.edu/weath- 
er.html>. 



(as quoted by Bushrui) the 
poet's work is "a monument 
that shall outlast both brass 
and stone." Indeed, Gibran's 
poetry will outlast both brass 



and stone; Bushrui will make 
sure of that. 

—JAMIE FEEHERYSIMMONS 



S Outlook May 11,1999 



Not Your Typical 
Crafts and Campfires 

Center Provides Kids with Opportunities to 
Learn About Art, Plus Contemporary Issues 



The Art & Learning Center 
is tackling some tougher issues 
as part of its summer program- 
ming This year, a new summer 
camp session will help teenage 
women learn about confusing 
images in the media and how 
to fight back with images of 
their own. 

"Exploring Female 
Creativity" is just one of nine 
summer camp sessions, which 
run June 21 to Aug. 13, offered 
by the Art & Learning Center. 
The center's 
summer 
programs 
are in their 
tenth year 
and offer art 
experiences 
for children 
and teenagers 
through visual, 
performing and 
literary arts. 
Director Barbara 
Tyroler and assis- 
tant director 
Heather Kelley 
head the camp. 

"Exploring 
Female Creativity" 
combines elements 
of cooking and pho- 
tography Kelley, a 
graduate student who leads 
the session, teaches women's 
studies courses during the 
school year and wanted to 
combine two things that were 
of interest to her. 

"It's basically combining my 
life," Kelley says."I really think 
there's a place to combine the 
two...I'll be working at a 
teenage level talking to these 
women." 



During the session, girls 
aged 13 to 16 will learn about 
nutritional misunderstandings 
that come with dieting the 
"cult of thinness." For two 
Saturdays, Kelley will cook 
with the girls while concur- 
rently teaching them about the 
importance of exercise and 
the dangers of concepts like 
"yo-yo dieting* 

Participants in this session 
will look through advertise- 
ments in maga- 
zines and how 
each one por- 
trays women. 
Eventually the 
young women 
will redesign 
ads so they 
become "girl- 
friendry."This 
involves the 
teenagers 
using one 
another to 
take pho- 
tographs, 
S.\ develop- 
ing the 
photos 
and 

eventual- 
ly redesigning the ads 
considering the social and 
visual aspects they discuss. 
They will also analyze compet- 
ing messages in editorials and 
television programs. 

The twoday session takes 
many of its ideas from another 
summer session titled "A Path 
of Her Own "This five-day 
experience brings in a psy- 
chologist and art educator — 
who are sisters — to lead the 
young women. 





Each summer the Art & Learning Center provides a variety of day camps for boys and girls of all ages. 



Also new this summer is 
"Theatre Arts Lab" which helps 
campers explore the creativity, 
process and ensemble required 
for theater arts. Tyroler points 
to the importance of this ses- 
sion because it is the only one 
currendy offered for young 
men over the age of 12,This is 
important for those teenagers 
who have participated in the 
past and wish to continue as 
campers. The leadership tracks 
for females allow them to par- 
ticipate up to age 16. 

The Art & Learning Center 
created its summer camps a 
decade ago when funding for 
arts was reduced in the public 
schools. In the beginning, par- 
ents helped support and teach 
the camp.Today, the center 
hires teachers, artists and assis- 
tants, all mainly from the 
Washington DC. area. 

"It's really clustered around 
the university group but we 
also scatter out into the com- 
munity," Tyroler says. 

The price of camp is 
reduced for children of univer- 
sity faculty and staff.Tyroler 



Summer Camp Schedule 




Session 1: "Multimedia Arts," June 21-25 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Ages 8-1 l.$200 
(S250). 

Session 2:"Exploring Female Creativity". June 19 and 26 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 
Ages 13-16. $75 ($90). 

Session 3:"Afriea, Rhythm, and Pattern," June 28-July 2 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Ages 
8-12. $210 ($260). 

Session 4: "Theatre Arts Lab, "July 5-16 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Grades 7-12. $400 
($500). 

Sessifia j|"«ay,Art T and Photography," July 1 2-23 from 9 a.ni.-5 p.m,Ages 8-1 2. 
$42¥(Mz6T 

Session 6:'A Path of Her Own." July 26-30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ages 13-15. 
$200 C$250), 

Session 7: "Learning from [he Masters." July 26-30 from 9 a.m. -5 p.m. Ages 8-12 
$200 C$250). 

Session «a:"Hands on Art History." Aug. 2-6 from 9 a.m.-l p.m. Ages 8-12. $ 100 
($125). 

Session 8b:"Wortd of Music Revisited," Aug. 2-6 from 1-5 p.m.Ages 8-12. $100 
($125). 

Session 9:"Flne Arts Fun," Aug. 9-13 from 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.Ages 8-12. $210 ($260) 
*1tiitioti for non-unitierstty participants in parenthesis 



*J}tition for non-unit 



hopes that in the future, the 
center can reduce its tuition 
even more as it receives grants 
from outside sources. The 
Maryland State Arts Council as 
well as the Prince George's 
County Arts Council currently 
support the center by aiding 



with supplies. 

Many sessions are still open 
but most fill to capacity by the 
end of May. For more informa- 
tion, call 314-2787 or visit 
<www. inform . umd .edu/ 
artcenterx 

— PHILLIP WIRTZ 







back issues. Breaking news of 


Luncheon on May 18 at 11 


ITV Building and participants 


_^ 




a research or science policy 


a.m. in the Stamp Student 


will discuss the protocols, 


■ or i 


/our 


nature is published daily. 


Union Atrium. The emcee for 


standards and advantages asso- 


■ ^L^ m 


j ^M»^ WmM M 


Information on career, grants 


the afternoon will be Marie 


ciated with high-speed net- 


intei 


LPflj^^*^^ J" 


and products are among the 


Davidson and Mary Cothran, 


work technologies like 


resi 


many enhanced features. 


Rev. Susan Astarita and Harry 


Ethernet LAN Switching 






Journal Citation Reports 


Teabout will be honored. 


Methods, ISDN, X.25, Frame 


events* lectures* sent 


Inars • awards • etc. 


(JCR) on the Web provides 


Tickets for the luncheon 


Relaym FDD1 and FDDI-1I, 






access to citation data that 


are $20, For more information 


DQDB, SMDS, ATM and 






helps users evaluate and com- 
pare scholarly journals in the 


or tickets, contact Anne 
Carswell at 314-7759 orYvette 


Residential Broadband Access 
technologies 






Library Announces New 


FJectronic Resources. 


sciences and social sciences. 


Nickerson at 405-9005. 


The cost of the program is 


Electronic Resources 


Science Online, from the 


Coverage is interdisciplinary 




$345 per person for faculty 


In the past few weeks 


American Association for the 


and incorporates journals 


Telecommunications 


and staff. For a full course 


University Libraries has added 


Advancement of Science, is 


from over 300O publishers in 


Training 


description and a registration 


subscriptions to two signifi- 


available via the e-journals link 


60 countries. 


Instructional Television 


form please contact ITV 


cant new electronic 


on the home page. Every 




System (LTV) will present a 


Professional Development 


resources — Science Online 


upcoming issue of Science is 


Drum Majors of 


training seminar, "Introduction 


Assistants at 405-4913- 


and Journal Citation Reports 


published online. You can 


Excellence 


to High Speed Networks," on 




on the Web. The periodicals 


search by issue, by keyword 


The Campus Black 


May 13-14, from 1 1 a.m. to 5 




can be found at <www.lib. 


and author, you can also 


Ministries will hold its Annual 


p.m. 




umd.edu/LIMCP> under 


browse by subject and look at 


Drum Majors of Excellence 


The class takes place in the