Outlook / the University of Maryland, College Park (2000)

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Outlook

The University of Maryland Faculty and Staff Weekly Newspaper

Volume 15 • Number 14 • December 5, 2000

Christmas
Toy Drives
Need You,

PAGE 4

Chomsky Speaks the
Language of the Brain

Above: Noam Chomsky (left), on campus Nov. 27 and 28 for three linguistics-
related lectures co-sponsored by Btackwell Publishers and the university,
becomes engaged in discussion with UM philosophy professor Corey
Washington (right) and UMBC art student Matthew Teigen (center) after his

Nov. 27 lecture "Language and the Brain" (right).

Challenging New Leaders to
Take on a Changing World

Professor Noam Chomsky,
Institute Professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, was the invited
speaker for the 2000
Blackwell/Maryland lectures, a
series on language and cogni-
tion sponsored jointly by
Blackwell Publishers and the
University of Maryland.

Chomsky gave
three lectures
on campus:
"Language and
the Brain," on
Monday, Nov,
27; and "Talking
about the
World" and
"The Design of
Language" on
Nov. 28. In this
series of lec-

tures he outlined bis view of
the current state of linguistic
study and what it might mean
about the relation of mind and
language.

For more than four decades,
Chomsky lias been at the fore-
front of research in the mental
sciences, since his seminal
early work in the mid-1950s
sparked what has come to be
known as the "Cognitive
Revolution." His work has gen-
erated vigorous debate and
research in linguistics, philoso-
phy and the mental and brain
sciences.

According to Chomsky's
biolinguistic model, there is a
dedicated cognitive faculty in
the brain for language. He con-
siders the mind to be a set of

continued on page 3

Maryland Leads Worldwide
Trend to Expand Women s Studies

Preparing for an
evolving world will
be die theme of the
27th Annual
Maryland Student Affairs
Conference, the largest one-
day conference of student
affairs professionals in the
country.

The theme of this year's
conference, to be held Feb. 9
at Stamp Student Union, is
"Leadership in Changing
Times: Vision, Courage,
Action." The keynote speak-
ers will be Sharon Fries-Britt,
assistant professor of educa-
tion at Maryland, and Larry
Moneta, associate vice presi-
dent for campus services at
the University of
Pennsylvania.

In developing this year's
theme,"we thought of the
professional world in which
we live in," said Cindy Felice,
conference committee chair.
"The limes are changing. Our
jobs change rapidly, our stu-
dent demographics change.
People make the institution,
and we have to be as cutting
edge as possible. And it's con-
ferences like this that allow
us to share and debate
issues."

The conference is the

brain-child of William L.
"Bud "Thomas, vice president
of student affairs for 27
years. Thomas will officially
retire from the university on
Jan, 31, so this will be his last
conference. "I'm planning on
attending, but I'm not sure
what my role will be," he
said. "I'm really a lame duck."

Thomas said that his main
role this year was to appoint
Felice to head the confer-
ence. "It's been a wonderful
experience for the people
who put it on each year," he
said. "They are given a great
deal of autonomy"

The committee is just now
choosing which programs
will be included in the con-
ference. Session topics will
likely relate to student needs,
changes in demographics,
student perceptions and
expectations, political-social
forecasting, planning, facili-
ties development and
research.

Other possible topics
include leadership, ethics,
conflict management, student
services and marketing.

The keynote speakers
bring with them decades of
experience in student affairs.
Fries-Britt's experience

includes nearly 10 years as
the assistant to the vice presi-
dent for student affairs at
Maryland and resident life
experience at Towson Uni-
versity. Her research focuses
on the academic, social and
psychological experiences of
college students. Her current
publications look at high abil-
ity black collegians and how
they interact with faculty,
peers and the extended
black community.

Moneta has 30 years of
experience in housing and
student services at five insti-
tutions. In his current posi-
tion at Perm, he has been
involved with a $300 million
capital renewal of the resi-
dence halls and the develop-
ment of a residential college
program. He has written
extensively on the use of
technology in student servic-
es and the current challenges
facing the metropolitan uni-
versity.

The conference will draw
as many as 650 student
affairs professionals and stu-
dents, Thomas said.

For more information
about the conference call
301-405-7484, or e-mail Felice
at jfetice@accmail.umd.edu.

Nearty 30 years ago it was
impossible for co-eds to take a
course exploring the role women
played in society. Now, the univer-
sity has joined those pioneering
the move to make women's and
gender studies a full-fledged disci-
pline.

This fall, Maryland became one
of eight institutions in the United
States to offer a Ph.D. In women's
studies. Maryland is the first pub-
lic research university on the East
Coast to offer such a degree.
Besides the private Emory Univer-
sity (Atlanta), and Clark University
(Worcester, Mass.), the other doc
total programs are offered on the
West Coast and in the Midwest.

Bachelor's and master's pro-
grams have existed at Maryland
since 1976, and undergraduate
and graduate certificates are also
offered in women's studies, which
is housed in the College of Arts
and Humanities.

"To master the body of litera-
ture that has been created hi
women's studies over the past
three decades requires the kind of
attention that exists only with a
full-fledged field of study," said
Claire Moses, women's studies
chair.

"We realized there has to be a
strong interdisciplinary core at
the center," she added. "Without

that intellectual exchange across
the boundaries of so many dis-
tinct academic departments and
units, women's studies is in dan-
ger. The Ph.D. is a new direction
in the field to ensure its survival,
and wc arc one of die leaders."

The program will help the uni-
versity retain its position as one of
the leading research institutions
in the study of gender, race and
ethnicity, said Laura Nichols, assis-
tant director of the department of
women's studies-
While earlier programs focused
primarily on gender, Maryland has
expanded women's studies
research to include race, class, sex-
ual orientation, and developmen-
tal and physical ability. Nichols
said.

"The new Ph.D. in women's
studies places the University of
Maryland at the forefront of
research on the differences
amongst women," Nichols said.
"This research will further expand
the understanding of the role of
women in society."

There are currently five stu-
dents in the new Ph.D. program
one from Maryland; two from S:
Diego State University; one from
the University of Illinois-Chicago:
and one from Northwestern TJni-

contimieet on page

December 5, 2000

Women's Studi

continued from page 1

december 5

7:30 p.m., Concert: "Honors
Chamber Music," Showcasing
the best of the School of
Music's outstanding chamber
music program. Features a
review of master chamber
works performed by string,
wind and piano students.
Ulrich Recital Hall,Tawes Fine
Arts Building. For more infor-
mation, call 5-7847.

8 p.m., Concert: "Holiday
Concert." Join the University
Chorale and conductor Edward
Maclary as they perform works
including "Psalm 90" by Charles
Ives and selections from "Cere-
mony of Carols" by Benjamin
Britten. Memorial Chapel. For
more information, call 5-5571.

9 a.m.-4 p.m., Workshop: "De-
velopments in Privacy Law: The
Contest between Business and
the Individual." 211 1 Stamp
Student Union. Pre-registration
is required. For more informa-
tion, contact Robin Albert at 5-
2057 or ra67@umail. umd.edu,
or visit www.clis.umd.edu/ce/.*

10 a.m.-3 p.m., Event:"Arts &
Humanities Internship Fair."
Prince George's Room and
Grand Ballroom Lounge, Stamp
Student Union. For more infor-
mation, see the "What's
Happening Now" section at
www.CareerCenter.umd.edu.

10 a.m.-4 p.m., Video Presen-
tation: "Africans in America."
Part of the ongoing PBS/ALS
Diversity Video Series. 4137
McKeldin. (Details in For Your
Interest ,p i

12 p.m., Meeting: "Faculty-Staff
Lesbian Bisexual Women's
Group." Informal brown-bag
lunch meeting in 2101 Health
Center. For information, contact
Bell sey ©health, umd.edu.

12-1 p.m., Lecture: "Love and
Work: An Attachment-Theore-
tical Perspective of Career
Exploration," with Patrick
Feehan, Psychological Intern,
Counseling Center. A Research
& Development Meeting. 0114
Counseling Center. For more
information, contact 4-7690 or
seho!mes@wam. umd.edu.

12:30-2 p.m., Lecture: "Condi-
tionality, Governance and
Change in Sub-Saharan Africa."

maryland

Your Guide to University Events
December 5-12

With Tma Blumel and Ann
Pitsch, doctoral candidates,
Department of Government
and Politics. Part of the Harri-
son Program Speaker Series.
01 39 Ty dings. For more informa-
tion, harrison@gvpt.umd.edu.

4-5 p.m., Lecture: "Properties of
Nuclear Bars in Seyfert and
Non-Seyfert Galaxies " with
Seppo Lame, Space Telescope
Science Institute. Part of the
Astronomy Colloquium. 2400
Computer & Space Science.
Colloquia are usually preceded
by coffee and followed by an
informal reception, both in
room 0254 Computer & Space
Science. For more information,
contact Derek Richardson at 5-
8786 or coil-request®
astro.umd.edu.

4 p.m., Graduate School Dis-
tinguished Lecture: "Gravi-
tational Waves; A New
Window onto the
Universe," with Dr. Kip
Thome, California Insti-
tute of Technology.
1412 Physics. For more
information, call 5-4936.

7 p.m., Reading; "Writers
Here and Now." Poets
Michael Collier and Stanley
Plumly, co-directors of the
university's creative writing
program, will read from their
works. McKeldin library
Special Events Room. (Details in
For Your Interest, p. 4.)

7:30-9:30p.m., Concert: "Annual
Winter Jazz Showcase." Colofty
Ballroom, Stamp Student Union.

december 7

1-3 p.m., OIT Workshop: "Cor-
porate Time (beginner level)."
Learn to use the Corporate
Time desktop client to main-
tain a personal calendar or to
facilitate creating meetings
with multiple attendees. 0121
Main Admin. For more informa-
tion, call 5-2945 or e-mail oit-
training@umail.umd.edu.

7-9 p.m., Concert: "Contempo-
rary, Traditional and Holiday

Brass." Memorial Chapel. For
information, call 301484-9100.

8 p.m., Lecture: "Generation of
the Earth's Unique Continental
Crust," with Roberta Rudnick.
1 1 40 Plant Sciences. Sponsored
by the Geology Department.
For more information, contact
Bill Minarik, 5-4365 or minarik
@geol. umd.edu, or see www.
geol . umd. edu/pages/EventsNe
ws/public.htm.

december 8

9 a.m.4 p.m., Workshop: "Intro-
duction to Web Page Design,
Construction and Publishing."
Covers the basics of designing,
build-

ing,

and publishing useful Web
pages. Computer & Space
Science. Pre-registration is re-
quired. For more information,
contact Robin Albert at ra67@
umail. umd.edu or 5-2057, or
see www.clis. umd.edu/ce/.*

10 a.m.-4 p.m. .Video Presen-
tation: "Wonders of the African
World with Henry Louis Gates,
Jr." Part of the ongoing PBS/ALS
Diversity Video Series. 4137
McKeldin. (Details in For Your
Interest, p. 4.)

1 1 a.m. -12 p.m., Lecture:
"Bug Ears," with Dave Yager.
Part of the Integrative Neuro-
science Seminar series. 1 1 28
Biology/ Psychology Building.
For more information, contact

calendar guide:

Calendar phone numbers listed as 4-xxxx or 5-xxxx stand for the prefix 314 or 405.

Calendar information for Outlook is compiled from a combination of inforM's

master calendar and submissions to the Outlook office.

Submissions are due two weeks prior to the date of publication.

To reach the calendar editor, call 405-7615 or e-mail to oubook@accmail.umd.edu.

*Events are free and open to the public unless noted by an asterisk (*).

lharvey@psyc.umd.edu.

3-5 p.m.. Event: "Holiday Re-
ception" Join President C. Dan
Mote, Jr., and Vice Presidents
Destler, Geoffroy, Remington,
Sturtz and Thomas for a little
holiday cheer. Lobby, Main
Administration Building.

5 p.m.,Performance:"New
Dances," an informal showing
of works sponsored and dir-
ected by the Student Dance
Association. Dance Theater,
Clarice Smith Performing Arts
Center. For more information,
call Meriam Rosen at 5-3189.

8-10 p.m., Concert: "Annual
Kaleidoscope Concert" (former-
ly Pass-In-Review).Tawes Fine
Arts Building. (Details in For
Your Interest p u"

december 1

11 a.m., Seminar: "Simulated
Deixis in NLVR (the Natural
Language and Virtual Reality
System)," with John Gurney,
Army Research Laboratory. Part
of the Logic and Artificial
Intelligence Seminar
(LAISEM) series. 3258 A.
V.Williams Building. For
more information,
contact Don Perlis at
perlis@cs. umd edu .

4 p.m., Lecture:
"Molecular Charac-
terization of
Proteases as
Pathogenicity Factors
in Metarbizium aniso-
pliae; Determination of
the Production of
Manduca," by Savita Bagga,
and "Diuresin at Different
Development Stages of
Manduca sexta" by Gang Hu.
Part of the Entomology
Colloquium series. 1 140 Plant
Sciences. For more information,
contact Ray St. Leger at
rl 1 06® uma it . umd .edu.

5 p.m., Concert; "Guameri
String Quartet Open Rehearsal."
The internationally renowned
quartet, currently artists in resi-
dence at the School of Music,
holds its final on-campus open
rehearsal of the semester.
Room 2200, Clarice Smith
Performing Arts Center. For
more information, call 5-7847.

december 1

10 a.m., Workshop: "Piano
Masterclass," with artist in resi-
dence Andre Watts. One of
today's most celebrated and
beloved pianists, in his first
semester of a three-year ap-
pointment at the School of
Music, will provide coaching
and critique to select piano
students of the school. Ulrich
Recital Hall,Tawes Fine Arts
Building.

ve

»g

rsity. All five arc women.
"We are attracting students
from some of the best uni-
versities," Moses said.

The 70 affiliate and nine
department faculty are excit-
ed about the new program,
Moses said. "There is a feel-
ing that we are pioneers
charting a new course in
academia and everyone Is
elated," she said.

The Ford Foundation is
shoring up the fledgling
women's studies trend. Using
part of a $250,000 grant
from the Ford Foundation,
Moses and others have
planned a retreat in early
March to discuss how
women's studies can func-
tion as an interdepartmental
graduate program. Moses
sees in the innovative stru
ture of the Maryland pro-
gram a possible model for
other institutions.

"Disciplinary boundari
are disintegrating across
academe as more and mo
scholars discover the bene-
fits of working with scholars
from other fields on prob-
lems of common concern,"
Moses said. "But too often
bureaucratic structures frus-
trate the development of
interdisciplinary work.
Women's studies at Maryland

tends not only to impact
its own field, but also gradu-

e education more broadly."

ITS

Outlook

Outtoek is the weekly faculty-staff
newspaper serving (lie University of
Maryland campus community.

Brodie Remington 'Vice President
for University Relations

Teresa Flannery • Executive Director
of University Communications and
Director of Marketing

George Cathcart ■ Executive Editor

M on cue Austin Bailey • Editor

Cynthia Mitchel ■ Assistant Editor

Patty Menetz * Graduate Assistant

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, Qullook, 2101
Turner Hall, College Park, MD 20742

Telephone -(3(11) 405-7615

Fax* (301) 314-9344

E-mail * nudook@accmail.umd.edu

At*****

Outlook

Extension Specialist's Hard Work
Earns Admiration of Peers

Fifteen years ago, plant
disease diagnostician
Ethel Dutky was feeling a
little isolated. Even her
professional organization, the
American Phytopatho-
logical Society, seemed
to offer littie in die
way of collcgiality,

"The national socie-
ty was dominated by
academics and resear-
chers," says Dutky, who
works in the universi-
ty's entomology de-
partment. "There were
just one or two people
like me per state."

By "people like me,"
Dutky means scientists
and extension special-
ists who provide labo-
ratory diagnoses on
crops, identify weeds,
insects and mites ihai.
damage plants, and
work directly with the
growers who must
contend with these insistent
threats to their livelihoods.

Convinced of the importance
of the work diagnosticians per-
form, Dutky decided to rally the
sparse troops. "I was like a labor
organizer fur the diagnosticians
nationwide and in Canada," she
says. That meant setting up a new
committee in the national society
and establishing a professional
quarterly to disseminate informa-
tion about advances in plant dis-
ease detection and diagnosis.

Her contributions have been
so significant that she recently
received a Lifetime Achievement
Award from her national commit-
tee. It was only the second such
award die group has made.

Dutky calls the award "a
friendly gesture," then laughs
about her first reaction. "I

thought, I guess this means I'm
getting old,"

She's not, really. And she has
packed a lot of work into the
professional life she started after

Plant disease diagnostician Ethel Dutky looks for clues as
to the health problems of plants sent by a local grower.

being a stay-at-home mom.

A 1965 Maryland graduate in
entomology, Dutky earned her
master's in botany and plant
pathology from die university in
1978. In 1979, she established the
Maryland Extension Diagnostic
Laboratory, and has directed its
operations since. She spent six
years with the USDA's insect
physiology laboratory and was
the state coordinator of the
Master Gardener program for
three years. She has given hun-
dreds of talks to grower groups,
master gardeners and garden
clubs, and teaches botany, ento-
mology and horticulture classes.
She has collaborated with the
Maryland Park Service and U.S.
Park Service, the Smithsonian
Institution, the National Zoo,
Longwood Gardens, the U.S.

Botanic Garden, the U.S. Herb
Garden, the National Arboretum,
the American Horticultural So-
ciety, Time-Life Books and St.
Remy Press and helped a junior
high school girl
with her science
fair project.

She also has
helped Brownies"
and 4-H Clubs
with their pro-
jects, and consult-
ed widi people in
Senegal, Bolivia,
Peru and Africa.
She's received the
Award of Excel-
lence for Exten-
sion in Maryland
(1988), the USDA
Group Achieve-
ment Award (1996)
and the Award of
Honor from the
Maryland Nursery-
men's Association
(1998). And under
the auspices of the Montgomery
County Humane Society, she has
provided a foster home for more
than 50 eats and kittens that other-
wise would have been euthanized.

Asked to reflect on all this,
she says, "They are modest
accomplishments. The way it is
now, diagnosticians are a well-
thought-of group."

Talk about your understate-
ments.

Diagnosticians play an indis-
pensable role in plant pathology'.
Consider: Had plant pathology
been at its current stage of devel-
opment In the 1840s the potato
blight that led to the Irish potato
famine and that nation's massive
social dislocation could have
been averted.

Her primary task within the

continued on page 4

r

onstruction Projects
Continue Through Break

ts m

reak

Like elves on
Christmas Eve,
construction
workers will step
up some of tiiefr activity during the campus' win-
ter break In order to finish work before classes
resume in January. Ongoing projects, such as the
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and the reno-
vation of the chemistry building's first and second
wings, should be at or near completion.

However, at least three other projects are slated
to start during that time:

• Construction of die chemistry teaching build-
ing, which will limit — and may cut — access to
Stadium Drive, should begin and not be com-
pleted until May. This work will also affect those
parking in Lot XX, who will be moved to the
Regents Drive garage.

• The north campus satellite central utility build-
ing (SCUB), which houses heating and cooling

equipment, will also be a Decembcr-though-May
project. SCUB work will affect those parking in
Lot T. They will be relocated to lot G. Spaces in
Lot 11a will be converted to Lot G to offset loss-
es in Lot T due to the construction. Lot T will
also lose 18 meter spaces.
• Also, Lot L wiU be affected by electrical duct-
bank equipment installation happening near the
main administration buildings. The lot will be
closed Jan. 11-19.

For regular updates and maps, visit
www.inform. umd.edu/ouch. Also, community
forums are held throughout the academic year,
offering a chance to ask questions of those in the
know about the campus' growing pains. Forums
are held on Wednesdays from 3:30-5 p.m. in the
Physics Lecture Hall, room 1412 Physics. Upcom-
ing dates arc Dec. 13, Jan. 17, Feb. 21, Mar. 28,Apr.
18 and May 16.

NOTABLE

Physics professors XJangdong Ji and Rajarshi Roy
have been elected American Physical Society Fellows.
This rare honor, limited to one half of one percent of
APS membership, is granted by the APS Council in
recognition of outstanding contributions to physics.

This fall, the American Association for the Advancement
of Science Council elected 251 members as Fellows.
Among them are Maryland faculty members David R.
Lineback (Agriculture, Food and Renewable
Resources), Richard J. Arsenault and Jon Orloff
(Engineering), Ben Schneiderman (Informal ion ,
Computing and Communication), John Toll (Physics)
and Mark Sagoff (Social, Economic and Political
Sciences). The new Fellows will be recognized for their
contributions to science at the Fellows Forum, to be
held in February during the AAAS Annual Meeting in
San Francisco.

Physics faculty member John Toll has been chosen as
the distinguished Marylander for die Year 2000 by the
University of Maryland chapter of the Honor Society of
Phi Kappa Phi. The award, given each year to a "distin-
guished Marylander who has made significant contribu-
tions to the University of Maryland," will be presented
at the chapter's December induction ceremony.

Health Education professor Kenneth H. Beck has
been granted Fellowship status in the American
Academy of Health Behavior. The honor is bestowed on
individuals who meet the Academy's standards of excel-
lence in scholarship and commitment to the advance-
ment of knowledge in health behavior, health education
and health promotion. Beck is recognized for his signifi-
cant scholarly contribution to these areas through his
exemplary research.

Three professors from the Smith School of Business
have received a National Science Foundation grant
totaling $673,959 to further their study of why people
leave and remain in the information technology field,
Kathryn Bartol, professor of management; Vlswanath
Venkatesh, assistant professor of decision and informa-
tion technologies, and Ian Williamson, assistant pro-
fessor of management and organization, will spend
more than a year following students studying IT and
those working in the field. Their study results may \
enable employers to help end the worker shortage the
information technology sector is facing. Some feel the
shortage is not necessarily because of job-hopping, but
because there aren't enough qualified IT specialists to
fill the positions. Bartol said the study would pay partic-
ular attention to women and minorities in IT.

Noam Chomsky Linguistics Lectures

continued from page 1

innate mental organs, lan-
guage being the best under-
stood. Human language is
ultimately a biological
object, and should be ana-
lyzed using the methodolo-
gy of the natural sciences.
This jibes with Maryland's
linguistics department,
whose research is based in
its entirety on the same
model.

During his first lecture,
Chomsky nodded to his col-
leagues at UM who are at
the forefront of an area of

research of interest to
him — the minimalist
approach to the structure
of syntactical theories.

Maryland's Department
of Linguistics, where this
research is conducted pri-
marily by Norbert
Hornstein.Juan Uriagereka,
Colin Phillips and David
Lightfoot, is one of the most
active centers in the coun-
try for study on this topic,
along with the University of
Connecticut and the
University of Michigan.

December 5, 2000

Ethel Dutky

continued from page 3

university's Department of Entomology is to exam-
ine 900 to 1,200 plant samples each year, diagnos-
ing diseases on all types of crops. Here in the
Chesapeake Bay region, the kind of integrative pest
management Dutky does has become imperative for
the area's environmental health, particularly with
nutrient management.

The point of integrative pest management is to min-
imize pesticide use. The approach was developed
because the old method of pest control— spraying
every couple of days — was damaging the environment
while also stimulating outbreaks of the very pests the
growers needed to control. Dutky says it was a matter
of "spraying when they didn't have a problem, then
when a problem did arise, oops, it was out of control."

Instead, she works with growers to identify and
treat problems more hoHstically by identifying "key
pests," which include diseases, nutrient levels, insects
and mites. "A lot of this sniff is available in the
research but it takes extension people to teach the
growers how to use it," she says. "As we become
more global, exotic diseases and pests are popping
up, making the connecdon with the university
extension more important."

This year, her approach helped quell an outbreak
in a crop of poinsettias imported from Guatemala.
The plants had a fungus that could have spread
throughout the nation had not a grower connected
with Dutky's program spotted the problem before it
m >i out of hand. 'Only a few growers in Maryland got
the bad plants," she says. "And the supplier was very
good about making restitutions."

Dutky s rescuing instincts extend to fauna as well
as flora — cats, specifically. The Humane Society can-
not keep pregnant cats, or kittens less than eight
weeks old. Injured animals are another problem,
because they are considered unadoptable. So for the
past four years, Dutky has helped by taking preg-
nant, sick and baby cats into her home, placing more
titan 50 cats m new homes once they were ready. A
year ago, she took in two litters at once, 10 animals
in all. "It was a herd of kittens.'' she says.

Not all of her foster charges have gone to new
homes, however. "You get attached. I kept eight cats,"
she says. '•That's the downside. Or the upside,
depending on how you look at it."

Digging the Dirt

For two months, a group of students and their
professor gathered on Saturdays to look at
soil. It was dirty, time-intensive work that
paid off in top regional honors.

Coached by professor Martin C. Rabenhorst of
the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources'
Department of Natural Resource Sciences and
Landscape Architecture, two teams took first and
second place in soil judging competition held at
judging pits in the Finger Lakes area of western
New York state. Graduate students Vanessa Stevens
and John S.Wah helped coach this year's teams.

Maryland competed against nine universities.
The first place team advances to national competi-
tion being held in April in Pennsylvania. For
Rabenhorst, the wins were a repeat performance.
Maryland has won regionally three years in a row.
He also coached when the university won its last
national award in 1984.

As an undergraduate agronomy major and soil
judging team member, Rabenhorst participated on
a team with several national victories in the 1970s.

Soil judging competitions consist of teams look-
ing at a variety of soils, determining their proper-
ties and making categorizations according to the
USDA soil classification scheme. The students then
make interpretations for the soils' different uses.
The team with the closest answers wins.

"It gives the students a highly marketable skill,"
said Rabenhorst. "I get people who want to hire,
specifically, people with soil judging experience.
It's both a skill and an art."

Christmas is a wonderful holiday to celebrate, but
unfortunately, not every child has equal opportunity
to enjoy it. The Hermanos of La Unidad Latina,
Lambda Upsilon Lambda Fraternity Inc., hopes to
level the playing field a little: Through Dec. 23, they
are holding their second annual Christmas Toy
Drive, with the goal of collecting as many
toys as possible for the Washington
Metropolitan community's
impoverished and less form
nate children.

All donations may be
dropped off at the
Hermanos of La Unidad
Latina Christmas toy drive
box located in front of the
information desk in Stamp
Student Union. The group
also welcomes and encour-
ages faculty, staff and stu-
dents to join them in dis-
tributing these toys on Christmas
Eve and Christmas morning. Those who
are interested or have questions or suggestions
should contact toys@launidadlatina.org or call 301
434-0591.

Bflfflllfl These Walls Toy Drivft

The student organization Beyond These "Walls is
hosting a holiday party and toy drive for ESL stu-
dents at Langley Park-McCormick Elementary
School. The party will be held Monday, Dec. 18 from
7-9:30 p.m. in the school's gym. They expect to wel-
come 80 children between the ages of 3 and 12.
The group needs donations of unwrapped toys
or cookies and soda, as well as volunteers to
assist with the party. Donations will be
accepted through Friday, Dec. 1 5 and would
be appreciated sooner. Contact Julie
Iversen at jiversen@wam.umd.edu
for Further information.

Writers Here & Now

Poets Michael Collier and Stanley Plumly, co-direc-
tors of the university's creative writing program, will
read from their works Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7 p.m. In
the McKeldin Library Special Events Room, The read-
ing is part of the Writers Here & Now reading series.

Plumly's "Now That My Father Lies Down Beside
Me: New and Selected Poems 1970-2000 "was pub-
lished this spring.

Collier's most recent volume of poems, "The Ledge,"
also was published in the spring. He is the director
of the annual Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in
Middlebury, Vt., which is widely regarded as one of
the nation's most venerable literary gatherings.

For more information, call 301-405-3820.

Mark Your Calendars

The College of Education is sponsoring a major
regional conference, "Preventing School Violence
and Delinquency," on Feb. 15 and 16,2001 from 8:30
a.m.-4:30 p.m. at The Inn and Conference Center.

The conference will feature keynote sessions by
Deborah Prothrow-Stith of the Harvard School of
Public Health, George Sugai of the Center for
Positive Behavioral Supports at University of
Oregon, Shay Bilchik, Executive Director of the Child
Welfare League, and over 40 workshops. The registra-
tion fee (due by Feb. 1) includes all activities, conti-
nental breakfast and a lunch banquet on both con-
ference days. Contact Sheri Meisel at smI06@umail.
umd.edu for registration materials and information.

Call for Award Noi

The Thomas Ehrlich Faculty Award for Service
Learning (sponsored by Campus Compact) recog-
nizes and honors one faculty member annually for
contributing to the integration of community or
public service into the curriculum and for efforts to
institutionalize service-learning.

Campuses may nominate full-time faculty whose
work in service-learning meets the following crite-
ria: extensive experience in teaching service-learn-
ing; evidence of engaged scholarship; evidence of
institutional impact.

Nominations are due to Meg Cooperman, coordi-
nator of community service involvement and leader-
ship, by Dec. 15. For information and nomination ma-
terials, contact her at msussman@accmail. umd.edu.

Please let Outlook know by Wednesday,

Dec. 6 of gift drives or other such

activities involving holiday good will

^ that should be mentioned in the

Dec. 12 issue.

In

Africa
and America

"Africans in America," the Dec. 6 program of the
ongoing PBS/ALS Diversity Video Series, examines
how Americans built a nation based on principles of
liberty and equality while justifying the existence of
slavery. The series strives to illuminate the historical
roots of some of today's most disturbing social prob-
lems.

On Dec. 8, "Wonders of the African World with
Henry Louis Gates, Jr." challenges the view of Africa
as a primitive "dark continent" civilized by
Europeans. It tells a story of proud lands tilled with
great civilizations, cities, and centers of learning long
before Europeans set foot there.

Screenings take place in 4 1 37 McKeldin Library.
The series is sponsored by The Libraries' Nonprint
Media Services, the Diversity Committee, Staff
Training & Development and the Nyumburu
Cultural Center. For more information, contact Linda
Sarigol at 301-405-9236 or visit www.pbs.org/als/ce
for complete program descriptions.

Kaleidoscope Concert

The UM Marching Band, Symphonic Wind
Ensemble and Concert Band present their collabora-
tive wind and percussion program the Kaleidoscope
Concert (formerly known as Pass-In-Review) on
Friday, Dec. 8. The performance will feature dynamic
samplings from the Band program, as well as top stu-
dent chamber ensembles including the Prism Bass
Quintet, Synergy Quintet, Saxophone Quartet and
Marimba Ensemble.

Everyone is welcome, and middle school and high
school students are especially encouraged to attend.
The concert will be held at 8 p.m. in the Tawes
Theatre, Tawes Fine Arts Building. For tickets or
information, call the Clarice Smith Performing Arts
Center at 301-405-7847.

Dividends Database

Maryland Dividends, an online database of on-
going research projects across the state, features the
work of more than 1 00 faculty members from the
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and die
College of life Sciences. The URL is www.amr.
umd.edu/mais/dividends.

For more information, contact Scott Angle at 301-
405-2462 or Ginny Gerhart at 301-405-4586.