Outlook / the University of Maryland, College Park (2003)

Outlook

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University
Welcomes

Governing
Team

Page 8

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FACULTY AND STAFF WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

Vol tune lg • Number i 'January 28, 1003

Race, Geography
Factors in Md.
Death Penalty
Decisions

Race affects the way
death penalty cases are
handled in Maryland,
mainly influencing prosecutors'
decisions early in the process,
says a study from a university
criminologist and statistician.
The study also finds substantia!
variations in the way Maryland
jurisdictions deal with capital
cases.

"Disparities in treatment start
at the earliest stages of prosecu-
tion " says Raymond Paternoster,
the study's principal investiga-
tor. "These differences are not
exacerbated at trial or actual
sentencing phases, but they aJso
don't get corrected then. So dis-
parities persist."

Conducted over two and a
half years, this statistical analysis
of thousands of public records
is the most exhaustive study
ever of Maryland's application
of the death penalty. The
researchers examined records
of every homicide prosecution
in which the death penalty
might have been applied
between 1978, when the law
took effect, and 1999. They

See DEATH PENALTY, page 5

Baby, It's
Cold Outside

When weather forecasters
begin making snow and ice pre-
dictions, Harry Teabout loses
sleep. He frets and looks out the
window a lot. It bothers his
wife.

"She says she doesn't sleep
either," jokes Teabout, director
of building and landscape serv-
ices.

It isTeabout's job, with the
help of an early-rising crew, to
determine if the campus can
open after one of nature's dust-
ings or dumpings of frozen pre-
cipitation. He knows that at 4
a.m. , just after snow falls or dur-
ing, he and assistant director
Kevin Brown need to walk the
campus to assess its condition.
By 5 a.m.,they can call Vice
President for Academic Affairs
and Provost William Destler to
make their recommendation. He
then calls George Cathcart,
director of university communi-
cations, who will make sure
news outlets, the university Web
site and weather hotline have
the correct information.

Back outside, the broom crew

See SNOW, page 6

Taking Safety to New Depths

PHOTO BY CYNTHIA MITCHEl

University Diving Safety Officer Bill Sarro (left) oversees the process as aerospace engineering under-
graduate student John Mularski helps graduate student Jeffrey Smithanik suit up for diving.

Few people on cam-
pus can boast a job
description that
includes getting into
a wetsuit and diving into a
body of water. However,
there are actually several
underwater projects that

involve university
researchers. It is Bill Sarro s
job to make sure the work is
both productive and safe.

As Maryland's dive safety
officer, Sarro works through
the Department of Environ-
mental Safety (DES). He

approves dive plans that
must answer — in accordance
with national standards —
several questions that include
where will diving take place,
are divers going in the water

See DIVERS, page 6

Union Wins Right to Bargain for Employees

W

ith a 64

percent

turnout rate in
last week's elec-
tion, eligible
exempt employ-
ees voted for
the American
Federation of
State, County
and Municipal
Employees
(AF SCME) to
represent them
in collective
bargaining
issues with the
university.

A small
crowd watched
as State Higher
Education Labor

Relations Board (SHELRB) officials and uni-
versity administrators counted absentee bal-
lots and pulled totals from each of the four
voting machines in the Grand Ballroom of the
Stamp Student Union. Six hundred and forty
ballots were cast, with 435 voting for Univer-
sity Professionals United/ AFSCME representa-
tion and 205 voting against it.

"Participation is about what I anticipated,"
said Dale Anderson, director of personnel.
"We wanted everyone involved to vote."

Karl Pence, executive director of SHELRB,

Director of Personnel Services
Executive Director Karl Perce

read the totals
and congratu-
lated the uni-
versity on a
smooth elec-
tion. Union
supporters
cheered and
hugged each
other after
hearing that
their months of
campaigning
had paid off.
"I was sur-
prised to see
how many
people were
engaged in the
process and
had such excel-
lent ideas," said
Greg Johnson of University Relations.

Next steps include a ratification of the vote
by SHELRB and "down the road, sitting down
with representatives from the exempt catego-
ry to... create a memorandum of understand-
ing," said Anderson.

Non-exempt employees voted for the
union in an election held last fall. Their bar-
gaining team is in the process of working
with university administration on a number

See UNION, page 2

PHOTO BY CVNTHIA MITCHEL

Dale Anderson Heft) and SHELRB
tally votes on election day.

Terrorism
Study Begins
at University

Shortly before four hijacked
airplanes slammed into the
twin towers of the World
Trade i Center, the Pentagon and a
field in Pennsylvania, criminology
and criminal justice professor Gary
LaFree learned about a database
composed of 74,000 terrorist
events recorded for the entire
world from 1970 to 1997.

This unique database was origi-
nally collected by the Pinkerton
Corporation's Global Intelligence
Service (PGIS). After a series of dis-
cussions, officials at PGIS agreed to
allow LaFree and colleagues to do
a systematic study of their terror-
ism database. With the help of
Laura Dugan, also in the depart-
ment, LaFree moved the PGIS data
to the offices of the Democracy
Collaborative at the university and
obtained a grant from the National
Institute of Justice to code and
analyze them.

"We believe that this is the most
comprehensive data set on terror-
ism that has ever been available to
researchers," LaFree said. "Unlike
most other databases on terrorism,
the PGIS data includes political, as
well as religious, economic and
social acts of terrorism. Moreover,
because the PGIS data were col-
lected by a private business rather
than a government entity, the data
collectors were under no pressure
to exclude some terrorist acts be-
cause of political considerations.

"And finally, unlike any other
publicly available database, the
PGIS data include both instances
of domestic and international ter-
rorism. These differences make
the PGIS database approximately
seven times larger than any of the
other publicly available terrorism
databases."

For the past two months, the
research team at Maryland has
been developing a plan for coding
and analyzing these data and pre-
testing data coding instruments.
The official coding of the data is
scheduled to begin in January
2003- Because the project requires
a substantial amount of data cod-
ing, LaFree thought it provided a
perfect opportunity to involve stu-
dents in an ongoing research proj-
ect. Accordingly, the team has
been recruiting a large group of
undergraduate students to help
work on the project. There are
plans to involve students in the
project both by offering a three-
hour research course (CCJS 399)
and by hiring undergraduates as
paid staff members. All student
participants will be required to
attend an extensive training ses-
sion. Students who sign up for the
three-hour course will also be

See TERRORISM, page 7

JANUARY 28, 2003

dateline
maryland

YOUR GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY EVENTS: JANUARY 28 - FEBRUARY 4

January 28

8-10 p.m., MacHomer Ina

and Jack Kay Theater, Clarice
Smith Performing Arts Center.
Student tickets are $5 and all
others $25. Featuring Rick
Miller. For more information,
contact the Clarice Smith Per-
forming Arts Center at (301)
405-ARTS, or visit www.
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.

WEDNESDAY

January 29

11 a. m.-12:1 5 p.m.. Lecture
by Benjamin R. Barber Ren-
nte Forum, Prince George's
Community College. The
author of "Jihad vs. McWorld"
will speak on "What the Future
Holds: Jihad, McWorld or Glob-
al Democracy?" Reception and
book signing immediately fol-
lowing the lecture. For more
information, contact Alan Mick-
elson at (301) 322-0464 or
amickelson@pgcc.edu.

THURSDAY

January 30

5:30 p.m.. The Mystery of
Sesame Street Broadcasting
Archives Reading Room, 3rd
floor, Hornbake Library. Lec-
ture and reception hosted by-
Friends of the Libraries and the
Department of History, featur-
ing a discussion by Robert
Morrow of the Department of
History about what happened
when the makers of Sesame
Street tried to reform chil-
dren's television. RSVP to
Friends of the Libraries at 4-
5674. For more information,
contact Lori Hill at (301) 549-
3249 or lorihilI@comcast.net.

January 31

7 p.m.. Oboe Masterclass
with William McMullen
Ulrich Recital Hall,Tawes Fine
Arts Building. McMullen is a
distinguished faculty artist at
the University of Nebraska and
former player with the New
York Philharmonic. Free of
charge. For more information,
call (301) 405-5524.

8 p.m.. Asphalt: Urban
Dance/Opera Ina and Jack
Kay Theatre, Clarice Smith Per-
forming Arts Center. Presented

Faculty Spotlight Recital

Flights of Fancy: A Faculty Spotlight Recital will take place Fri-
day, Jan. 31 at 8 p.m. in the Gildenhorn Recital Hall, Clarice
Smith Performing Arts Center. School of Music faculty violin-
ist James Stern and guest pianist Audrey Andrtst will perform a
program of fantasias by Chopin, Schoenbecg, Schubert, Telemann
and ViBuxtemps. Free. For more information, call (301) 405-ARTS.

by Jane Comfort and Company.
Tickets are $5 for full-time stu-
dents and $25 for the public.
Call (301) 405-ARTS for tickets
and information, or visit www.
cl aricesmi th center, umd.edu
(or see Stages, page 3)-

SATURDAY

february 1

9 a.m.-1:30 p.m.. Girl Scout
Engineering Saturday 3201
J.M. Patterson. Cadette and
Senior Girl Scout Troops can
earn the Inventions and
Inquiries interest project patch
(Skill Builders 3,4,5; Technolo-
gy 5; Service 2; Career Explo-
ration 1,3). Space is limited to
25 Scouts and advance registra-
tion is required. Free. Scouts
should bring lunch or money
to purchase lunch at the Stamp
Student Union. Sponsored by
the Women In Engineering Pro-
gram and facilitated by univer-
sity RISE students. For more
information, contact Paige
Smith at 5 3931 or
pesmith@deans, umd.edu.

10 a.m. -4 p.m., Mark Hill
Oboe Workshop for Middle
& High School Students

Gildenhorn Recital Hall, Cla-
rice Smith Performing Arts
Center. Featuring guest artist/
clinician William McMullen of
the University of Nebraska.
Workshop includes masterclass
and recital performances by
faculty artists. Registration fee
is $25. For more information,
call 5-5524.

2 p.m., Hippolyte Et Aricie
Performed by Opera La-
fayette, Deketboum Concert
Hall. Tickets are $5 for full-time
students and $20-$40 for the
public. Discounts available for
seniors and groups. For more
information and tickets, call
(301) 405-ARTS or visit www.
claricesmithcente rumd.edu.

8 p.m., Happy Birthday,
Mozart: Variations on a
Theme by Mozart Gilden-
horn Recital Hall, Clarice Smith
Performing Arts Center. The

School of Music's annual cele-
bration of Mozart marks its
20th year with a special pro-
gram of music by other com-
posers based on works of
Mozart. A concert of the Schol-
arship Benefit Series, proceeds
provide scholarship support
for students of the School of
Music. Tickets are $20 for
adults, $18 for seniors and $5
for students. For more informa-
tion, call (301) 405-ARTS.

8 p.m.. Asphalt: Urban
Dance/Opera See Jan. 31-

february 2

3 p.m., Happy Birthday,
Mozart: Variations on a
Theme by Mozart See Feb. 1.

7:30 p.m., Ars Nova Choir
Performance Dekelboum
Concert Hall. Denmark's pre-
meir chamber music choir per-
forms. A discussion, moderated
by WETA's Robert Aubry Davis,
at 6:30 p.m. precedes the per-
formance. Tickets are $5 for
full-time students and $30 for
the public. Discounts are avail-
able for seniors and groups.
For tickets and more informa-
tion, call (301) 405-ARTS or
visit www. claricesmithcen-
ter.umd.edu (or see Stages,
page 3).

february 3

RSVP by today for the
Institute for Global Chinese
Affairs Spring Reception in

honor of three delegations of
Chinese executives. See For
Your Interest, page 8.

RSVP by today for the
Institute for Global Chinese
Affairs Spring Symposium

titled "S in o- American Relations
in the News: Does the Media
Reflect a Balance?" See For
Your Interest, page 8.

9:30 a.m. -noon, Spatial
Analysis with ArcView GIS

Union: Bargaining Begins

Continued from page t

of issues, including parking
rates, tuition remission and
health benefits.

With the union victory,
plans are being made for sur-
veying exempt employees on
the issues of most concern to
them, said Carol Prier, assis-
tant to the dean of the Clark
School of Engineering. Park-
ing rates, union remission and
health benefits are sure to be
among them.

" Performance eva I uatio ns
could be more fair," Prier
added. "I'd like to see a system
where employees evaluate
supervisors."

A critical issue for Betty
Wtneke, program manage-
ment coordinator in the Eng-
lish department, was whether
tution remission benefits for
her daughter will be transfer-
able to other university sys-
tem institutions. In general
she said she is looking for-

ward to having "a democratic
discussion about our work
environment."

Just over 1 ,000 exempt
employees (1,018) were eligi-
ble to vote. Reminders were
sent through campus broad-
cast e-mail encouraging all
who could to do so, because
the majority of ballots cast
would decide the outcome.
Since all eligible employees
would be covered under any
bargaining agreements if a
union were elected, a few
people could have decided
the professional fates of all.

In July 2001 , Gov. Parris
Glendening approved a state
senate bill that extended col-
lective bargaining rights to
University' System of Mary-
land institutions. CurrenUy,
nine institutions in the uni-
versity system have voted
AFSCME as their bargaining
voice.

2109 McKeldin Library, The
UM Libraries are holding a
series of workshops onArcVlew
this semester in 2109 McKel-
din. They are free, but advance
registration is required at
www. I i b . umd . ed u /UES/gi s .
html. The workshops explore
the more complex query and
spatial analysis. Prerequisite:
familiarity using ArcView. For
more information, contact User
Education Services at 5-9070
or ue6@umail.umd.edu, or visit
www.lib. iimd.edu/UES/gis. html.

8 p.m.. University of Mary-
land Symphony Orchestra
Concert Dekelboum Concert
Hall, Clarice Smith Performing
Arts Center. The university's
critically acclaimed symphony
orchestra presents its first con-
cert of the new year. The pro-
gram includes Shostakovich's
Violin Concerto no. 1 featuring
Nathan Bartley, winner of the
UMSO 2002-2003 Concerto
Competition. Also, a rare per-
formance of Straus's Don
Quixote and Lutoslawski's
Symphonic Variations conduct-
ed by Ruben Gimeno. Free. For
more information, call (301)
405-ARTS or visit www.
claricesmithcenter.umd.edu.

february 4

12:45-4 p.m., OIT Short-
course Training: Introduc-
tion to HTML 4404 Computer
& Space Science. Participants
will learn how to format a
basic Web page, including text
and paragraph formatting, spe-
cial text characters hyperlinks
and graphics. Other topics like
proper use of graphics, sounds
and general practices will also

be discussed. The prerequisites
for the class are familiarity
with the Web and Netscape.
The class fee is $40. To regis-
ter, visit www.oit.umd.edu/sc.
For more information, contact
Jane S.Wieboldt at 5-0443 or
oit-training@umail. umd.edu.

or additional event list-
ings, visit www college
publisher.com/outlook.

calendar guide

Calendar phone numbers listed as 4-xxxx or 5-xxxx stand for the prefix 314 or 405. Calendar information for Outlook is complied 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, cat!
405-7615 or send e-mail to outtooS<@accmail. umd.edu.

Outlook

Owbek is the weekly faculty-stiff
newspaper serving the University of
Maryland campus community,

Brodie Remington '■Vice
President for University Relations

Teresa Flannery • Execunvc
Director, University
Communications and Marketing

George Cathcart ■ Executive
Editor

Monecte Austin Bailey ■ Editor

Cynthia Mitchel * An Director

Robert K. Gardner ■ Graduate
Assistant

Letters to the editor, story sugges-
tions and campus information are
welcome. Please submit .ill material
two weeks before the Tuesday of
publication.

Send material to Editor, Oiiffooi'.
21U1 Turner Half, College Park,
MD 20742

Telephone* (301) 405-4629
Fax • (301) 314-9344
E-mail • outlook@accmail.umd.edu
www. collegcpubUsher.com/oudook

Y\>

OUTLOOK

NEWS FROM THE CLARICE SMITH

PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

Capturing the Nordic Spirit

Here on their debut
American tour, Scan-
dinavia's foremost
chamber music choir, Ars
Nova, will present "Nordic
Voices," an evening of
Renaissance and contempo-
rary Scandinavian music at
the Clarice Smith Perfor-
ming Arts Center Sunday,
Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the
Dekelboum Concert Hall.
Internationally renowned
British choral conductor
Paul Hiliier, a co-founder and
artistic director of the

wondrous performances of
early music, but also with
modem music from the past
25 years. Ars Nova has
showcased the works of
leading Scandinavian classi-
cal and jazz composers such
as Poul Ruders, Hans Abra-
hamscn and Palle Mikkel-
borg and has also given the
premieres of more than 150
new choral compositions
including an experimental
stage work by Danish Hotel
Pro Forma and choreogra-
pher Bill Forsythe of the

acclaimed Hilliard Ensem-
ble, will lead the choir. The
performance will be preced-
ed by a discussion at 6:30
p.m. moderated by WETA's
"Around Town" host Robert
Aubry Davis.

A pioneering group in
Renaissance vocal music,
Ars Nova brings a musical
program of richly sung
ancient melodies and avant-
garde selections from com-
posers including Obrecht,
Byrd, Nielsen, Per Norgard,
Gudmundsen-Holmgreen
and Arvo Part. The Ottawa
Citizen says that Ars Nova is
"extremely musical, and
both serious and adventure-
some in programming." The
New York Times praised Ars
Nova at Danish Wave '99, a
festival of Danish art and
culture, noting that "Paul
Hiliier drew a consistently
ravishing sound from the
singers."

The group has enthralled
audiences not only with its

For ticket information or to
request a season brochure,
contact the Ticket Office at
301 .405. ARTS or visit www.
clar ice smithce titer, u n id . edu .

Qarice Smith
Performing Arjs

CeNTERAT Maryiand

'A Danish ensemble
that seems to have
perfected matters of
blend, intonation and
clarity."— Fanfare

Stuttgart Ballet.

The charismatic 12- voice
choir has presented more
than one thousand concerts
and broadcasts throughout
Scandinavia and Europe and
has toured in Israel, Japan,
Brazil and Ghana. The group
began performing in 1979.
The 1 2 singers have worked
with Peter Philips of The
Tallis Scholars, Bruno Turner
of Pro Cantione Antiqua, the
Dutch recorder and viella
player Kees Boeke, who spe-
cializes in medieval reper-
toire, and Gary Bertini of the
Jerusalem Symphony
Orchestra.

A recipient of the Danish
equivalent of a Grammy
award for their Nicolas
Gombert recording, "Sacred
Music" and a Diapason d'Or
in France ("Best Classical
CD") forjosquin des Prez:
"Motets & Chansons," Ars
Nova is sponsored by the
Danish Ministry of Cultural
Affairs, the Organization of
Danish Professional Choirs
and private foundations.

Tickets for Ars Nova are
$30. For more information,
call (301) 405-ARTS.

Takin' It to the Streets

Jane Comfort & Company Present Area Debut of "Asphalt"

/^~/ a2z, classical, hip-
jVj hop, Latin and
^^-f^ African rhythms
\-~s intertwine with

fragments of poetry, song and
visuals in the compelling land-

dreamlike mission on the
streets of New York City. There
he begins to unlock his past,
escaping into a world made
right by music.
"Asphalt" was bom after

scape of Jane Comfort's dance
opera "Asphalt," making its area
debut at the Clarice Smith Per-
forming Arts Center, Friday,
Jan. 31 and Saturday, Feb. 1 at 8
p.m.

With the book and lyrics by
poet and dramatist Carl Han-
cock Rux, "Asphalt" is an urban
dance opera work that blends
the worlds of club raves, DJ
sampling, jazz and Latin/
African rhythms. Commis-
sioned by the American Dance
Festival and the Joyce Theatre,
it tells the story of Racine, an
artist abandoned as a child and
unable to recall his past, who
sets out on a strange and

Comfort saw one of Rux's
"amazing, fiery performances
in which he sang the words as
much as spoke them.'While
for years she wrote her own
texts, she sought a playwright
to collaborate with after work-
ing on Tennessee Williams'
play"The Glass Menagerie."
Friends recommended Rux.
After she got a book of his
poetry, she was hooked. "The
piece in the book that attract-
ed me the most was a short
story version of 'Asphalt,' and
when I proposed making it
into a music theatre piece,
Rux said that he had been
thinking the same thing for a

while. And so we began,"

"Asphalt" is one of several
contemporary works by
visionary choreographer,
writer and director Jane Com-
fort, who takes on current cul-
tural and social issues
with a unique mix of
empathy, humor and
experimentation. Her
recent works include:
"Underground River,"
which received the
1998 Bessie Award as a
"risk taking and pro-
found theatrical tour
de force" in 1998;
"Three Bagatelles for
the Righteous "a series
of three dances to
music that weave
together sound bites of
political and religious
leaders like Newt Gin-
grich and Pat Robert-
son; and "S/he ," a work
that uses gender and
racial reversals to
make a statement about politi-
cal and social issues.

The New York Times has
called Comfort "a post-mod-
ernist pioneer in the use of
verbal material in dance." Jane
Comfort & Company uses "a
huge range of resources —
singing, dancing, acting, film,
puppetry, ballroom dancing,
boxing, cross dressing, roller
skating and sign language that
creates deeply layered works
that push the limits of what is
normally called dance or
drama."

Tickets for "Asphalt" are $25.
For more information call,
(301) 405-ARTS.

Theatre Department Hosts Regional Festival

"Lan u 1 1 k Project ' ' Showcased

he University of Maryland recently
hosted the Region II festival of the
Kennedy Center/American College The-
atre Festival (KC/ACTF). Started in 1969, the
ACTF is a national theatre program that cele-
brates the finest theater at colleges and tini
versifies throughout the nation, organized
through eight regional festivals.

Region II encompassed New York, New Jer-
sey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the District
of Columbia, One thousand students and fac-
ulty gathered for theatre performances, work-
shops, symposia and scholarship competi-
tions in theatrical design, stage directing and
performance. University of Maryland faculty
and recent theatre graduates participated in a
third of the presented workshops.

Participants in the regional festival included
the University of Maryland, Goucher College,
Towson University, New York University,
Syracuse University, Juniata College, Rowan
University, Montclair State University, Indiana

University of Pennsylvania, John Jay College
of Criminal Justice, Long Island University
and Slippery Rock University.

One of Maryland's own productions, "The
Laramie Project," was showcased at the
regional festival and considered for entry into
the national competition held at the Kennedy
Center in the spring. Theatre student Pegi
Marhsall-Amundsen was nominated for the
Barbizon Award for Theatrical Design for her
set design for "The Laramie Project." Zuanna
Sherman, Eve Rounds, Martin Kivlighan and
Wil Green were nominated for the Irene Ryan
Acting Award Category. "Laramie" was also
nominated in the ensemble category.

"We were honored to host the regional fes-
tival and to showcase the Clarice Smith Per
forming Arts Center, the Department of The-
atre, the College of Arts and Humanities and
the University on a national level," said
Daniel McLean Wagner, acting chair of the
Department of Theatre.

JANUARY 28, 2003

Bringing History into Focus

Cathy Gorn laughs easily
and loves what she
does. Good thing. Last
fall, Gorn, who is exec-
utive director of the ever-grow-
ing National History Day Inc. pro-
gram, was tapped by President
George Bush for a leading role in
a national educational history
project,

Gorn, who learned of her
involvement just two months
before it was announced last Sep-
tember, realizes that she's inherit-
ed quite a task, but looks forward
to helping impart the importance
of history and active citi-
zenship to Americans.

"Our Documents; A
National Initiative on Amer-
ican History, Civics and Ser-
vice," is a collection of 100
documents spanning from
1776 to 1965 that are con-
sidered milestones of the
nation's heritage. The initia-
tive asks teachers to help
students look at how rights
and responsibilities have
changed over time. A Web
site, www.ourdocuments.
gov, includes high resolu-
tion scans and full texts of
the documents, details
about competitions for stu-
dents and teachers, cur-
riculum ideas and more.

This is a very substan-
tive program that we hope
will make a huge differ-
ence on how people think
of themselves as citizens,"
says Gom.Tm not sure
enough people understand
that while we have all
these rights, what do we
owe in terms of those rights?"

Some of the documents may
be familiar in this discussion,
such as the Bill of Rights or the
Declaration of Independence,
while others are less known, like
the Dawes Act of 1887 that
helped break up tribally held
Native American reservations into
parcels for individuals. In any
case, intense research and
thought went into the final selec-
tion, individuals from the Nation-
al Archives, the Corporation for
National & Community Service
and USA/Freedom Corps all
worked to create an accessible,
informative and interesting initia-
tive. The time period was chosen
because of its significance in
America's development (and, as
Gorn explains, because it is easier
to help students analyze history
than it is to work through the sig-
nificance of currerit events). Doc-
uments produced during that
189-year period mark America's
defining of itself.

"From the time when we
declared ourselves a country to
the Voting Rights Act of 1 965,"
says Gorn, admitting that it was
difficult to decide what should
and shouldn't be in this initial
effort. The public will be asked
to vote on the top 10 most signif-
icant documents this fall through
the Web site. Gorn looks forward
to reading the reasoning behind
people's choices. She also has a
few more current documents
she'd like to add to the list.

"Nixon's resignation letter, the
'" " Roe v. Wade decision," she says.

It would be great, Gorn and
colleagues believe, if state
archivists created similar lists on
a more local level.

Her work on the "Our Docu-
ments" project perfectly comple-
ments what Gam's been doing
with National History Day
(NHD). This year's NHD theme is
"Rights and Responsibilities in
History." In its 29th year and its
22nd year based on campus,
NHD is a year-long competition
that combines the efforts of
teachers, students, historians,
archivists and institutions of high-

PHOTO BY MQNETTE AUSTIN BAILEr

Cathy Gorn, executive director of National
History Day Inc., believes that educating
American schoolchildren on the importance
of their rights and responsibilities creates a
more civically involved adult.

er education in an effort to create
better prepared, more knowl-
edgeable citizen s.Young people
from grades six through 12
research topics in either "local,
national or world history and
investigate its historical signifi-
cance and relationship to the
theme," according to this year's
NHD sourcebook. Exhibits, per-
formances and papers demon-
strate their findings, which are
then evaluated by historians and
educators. Competitions, where
students are divided into a junior
division (grades 6-8) and a senior
division (grades 9-12), are held at
the district, state and national
level, with the final contest held
at Maryland every summer. This
year's competition will be held
June 15-19. More than 700,000
students and 40,000 teachers
annually take part.

"For the first time, there's a
teacher competition due in
March. They have to develop a
lesson plan on a document or
related topic," says Gorn."They
have to pilot it in the classroom
and get letters of recommenda-
tion from students.

"It's very important to give
teachers recognition and encour-
agement. There are some really
good things happening in the
classrooms."

Gorn says the umbrella theme
for both NHD and "Our Docu-
ments" is to get people talking
about citizenship through the
lens of history. "You will find the
good, the bad and the ugly in
these discussions, but that's OK."

Center on Aging Program Aids National Efforts

PHOTO BY THACY VIP.AG

Pam Parker, of Minnesota Senior Health Options; Mark Meiners, associate director of the university's
Center on Aging and William Clark, with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, receive recogni-
tion for their achievements in advancing Medicare and Medicaid integration.

The university's Center
on Aging continues its
leadership in national
health and long-term care
policy through ongoing initia-
tives such as the Medicare/
Medicaid Integration Program
(MMIP).

Formed to address prob-
lems created by a lack of inte-
gration between the two giant
health programs, the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation
(RWJF>sponsored MMIP has
provided 1 3 states with grant
support and technical assis-
tance to restructure the way
they finance and deliver acute
and long-term care. They are:
Colorado, Connecticut, Flori-
da, Maine, Massachusetts, Min-
nesota, New Hampshire, New
York, Oregon, Rhode Island,
Texas , Ve rmo nt , Wash ington
and Wisconsin.

"We set the stage for open-
ing people's minds to what
integrated long-term care is all
about," says Center Associate
Director Mark Meiners. Mein-
ers, who was just awarded a
$640,000 grant from the John-
son Foundation to continue
his work as MMIP's national
program director, also recendy
received a recognition award
from the MMIP noting his
"dedication and achievements
in advancing Medicare and
Medicaid integration." Despite
tough economic times in
almost every state, Meiners is
confident the program will
continue to help states find
ways to serve an "emerging
large population of elderly
and disabled clients."

"We're in the phase I call
lessons learned," says Meiners.
"We're focusing on issues of
private care, case manage-
ment and private care case
coordination .... How do we
go about developing provider
networks?"

At a MMIP Technical Assis-
tance Workshop in December,
officials from the federal Cen-
ters for Medicare and Medic-

aid Services (CMS) along with
state and other policymakers
gathered to discuss issues
related to managing and
improving health and long-
term care for the primarily
low-income and aged, blind or
disabled individuals who are
eligible for both federal health
programs (dual eligibles).
Meiners says streamlining
these systems is often a chal-
lenging, difficult process.

CMS officials reported that
they had already been suc-
cessful in putting state and
federal officials "all in the
same place." They also have
begun to find solutions to the
problems created by the frag-
mentation of financing, case
management and service
delivery inherent in the exist-
ing system. Attesting to
MMIP's value to the integra-
tion movement, Judy Berek,
CMS principal advisor to the
administrator of national poli-
cy implementation, told atten-
dees that CMS was looking for
input from the program direc-
tors. "What do you want from
us?" she asked, saying that
CMS wants to identify things
that they can do in the future
with MMIP participants that
don't require changes in law
or regulation, but do solve sys-
temic problems.

During 2002, the MMIP also
published technical papers on
topics such as using managed
care models to improve care
and survey methods to use in
getting feedback from this
population. Last March, it
sponsored a campus confer-
ence at which CMS Adminis-
trator Thomas Scully
announced the formation of a
technical advisory group to
provide a forum for solutions
to the fragmentation that the
MMIP has not only studied,
but also frequently spodight-
ed in reports and press releas-
es during the past few years.

In looking to the future,
Meiners noted that because of

the groundwork already laid
by MMIP programs, other
states wanting to join in the
integration movement "won't
have to start at square one."
The Program for All Inclusive
Care for the Elderly (PACE),
now an official Medicare pro-
gram and perhaps the most
well known, leading edge pro-
gram providing integrated
care for dual eligibles, contin-
ues to grow while both shar-
ing lessons learned with other
MMIP participants and gain-
ing knowledge from its pro-
grams.

What may slow such
progress is timing. "These are
tough public policy issues and
now we're in tough economic
times. These were challenging
topics to address before, with
the backlash on managed
care," says Meiners.

As of 2002, there are 6.2
million dually eligible individ-
uals. They represent 17.2 per-
cent of the Medicare popula-
tion and 24 percent of
Medicare costs. In addition,
they represent 18.9 percent
of Medicaid beneficiaries and
35 percent of Medicaid costs.

Center on Aging researchers
are involved with many of the
health, economic and social
policy issues that concern us
as we grow older. Besides the
MMIP, among the issues the
center is focusing on are the
costs and liabilities of private
insurance coverage for long-
term care, and giving con-
sumers who require personal
assistance services greater
choice and control concern-
ing who, when and how these
services are provided.

"This is interesting stuff and
fun stuff," says Meiners, adding
that a next step is to help lay
people understand and apply
what's being learned to every-
day care.

For more information about
the program and the center,
visit the MMIP Web site at
www.umd.edu/aging.

OUTLOOK

5

Network Develops Skills, Fosters Unity

Seven staff members joined
the Peer Consulting Net-
work last month and spent two
winter break days in a work-
shop on process consolation
skills and leadership coaching.
Their formal orientation was
held in Dececmber.The volun-
teer network works out of the
Office for Organizational Effec-
tiveness (OOE).

The new members work in
teams with more experienced
consultants on campus proj-
ects. For many, it is a chance to
complement their full-time
positions with skills learned
while working as group facilita-
tors and process consultants.

"It's a chance to get to know
a lot of different people and
parts of the university," says
Wallace Eddy, assistant to the
director of Campus Recreation
Services/It leis us expand our
horizons."

Consultations vary by time,
length and intensity, Eddy says
he appreciates the program's
flexibility and looks forward to
the work.

"Everyone I've met seems so
committed to the university.
It's an energizing kind of
thing," he says, adding that it's
especially encouraging to see
this kind of cohesion when the
campus faces tough times.

Vicky Foxworth, director of
OOE, says a new class of con-
sultants comes aboard approxi-
mately once a year. "We try to
keep it close to four or five

PHOTO BY JAKE SCIAMMA5

Back row, from left: Jackie Wheeler, director of Baltimore Incentive Awards; Gloria Aparicio, assistant to the
vice president for administrative affairs; Joelle Davis Carter, program director for diversity, recruitment and
retention for the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences; and Makeba Clay, associate director of stu-
dent affairs, School of Public Affairs and director of the Maryland Leadership Institute. Front row: Andre
Nottingham, associate director of the Academic Achievement Program; Jane Fines, a director at the Clark
School of Engineering; and Wallace Eddy, assistant to the director of Campus Recreation Services.

people, but we had such a
great group of interested and
talented folks this year. Right
now, we have 25 total," she
says."We feel that that's the
largest number of people we
can have in the network, so
that we can give them ade-
quate training and coaching to

be able to best serve the cam-
pus community."

This month's workshop
paired members of the net-
work to strengthen skill areas
in which each identified an
interest. Members will then be
matched with consultations
that help them work on those

skill sets. OOE staff will meet
with those pairs to go over
their process consultation and
professional and organizational
development plans.

For more information on the
network, call Laura Scott at
(301) 405 7584 or Foxworth at
(301)405-5249. . .

Death Penalty: Bias Seen in State's Judicial System

Continued from page 1

found:

* By itself, the offender's race
does not play a clear role in the
way cases are handled, but the
victim's race does make a dif-
ference. Defendants accused of
killing white victims are signifi-
cantly more likely to face the
death penalty than cases with
non- white victims.

■ When the race of the offend-
er and victim are examined
together, the study finds: Black
offenders who kill blacks are
significantly less likely to face
the death penalty, while black
offenders who kill whites are
significantly more likely to face
a death sentence than all other
racial combinations.

• Prosecutors in different juris-
dicdons exhibit considerable
variation in the extent to
which they seek the death
penalty.

■ These trends are detected in
the early stages of prosecution
when state's attorneys decide
whether to seek a death sen-
tence. They are not detected
later— after conviction when
prosecutors make a final deci-
sion whether to pursue a death
sentence, or in the final judg-
ment by judges or juries. But

the initial disparity is not cor-
rected at these later stages, so
its effects persist.

"It would be incorrect to
conclude that these results
point to racial animus in the
death penalty system," Pater-
noster says ."Other explana-
tions are possible and this
study doesn't allow us to get
inside prosecutors' heads. But it
does systematically allow a 21-
year record of homicide prose-
cutions to speak. The record
says race and geography do
play a role in prosecutors' deci-
sions to pursue a death sen-
tence." ? j

Methods

Since 1987, four studies have
examined charges of racial
disparity and arbitrary jurisdic-
tional differences in the han-
dling of Maryland death penal-
ty cases. All have suffered from
two deficiencies: They did not
look at every case in which the
death penalty could have been
sought, and they failed to con-
sider the effects of various case
characteristics that might mas-
querade as racial effects and
lead to false conclusions.

This study was designed to
correct these inadequacies.
Based on prison and prosecu-

tion records, researchers con-
cluded there were nearly 6,000
homicide prosecutions in
Maryland between 1978 and
1999. They then determined
which of these cases were
death eligible — met the mini-
mum legal requirements for
application of the death penal-
ty. In all but 300 cases, this
determination was clear-cut. To
handle the ambiguous cases,
researchers convened a panel
of expert defense and prosecu-
tion lawyers. All together, 1 ,3 1 1
cases between 1978 and 1999
met the definition of death eli-
gible.

Researchers then combed
the prison, court, prosecution,
defense, police and public
health records of these 1,311
cases looking for detailed infor-
mation about characteristics of
the defendants, victims and
crimes. This yielded about 100
pages of details on each case,
which researchers translated
into data on 123 possible
explanatory case factors.

In their analysis, researchers
examined how these case fac-
tors correlated with the way
cases were handled at four crit-
ical decision points: 1) prosecu-
tors' initial decision on whether
to seek a death sentence, by fil-
ing a notice of intent; 2) subse-
quent decisions on whether to

retract this notice or let it
"stick"; 3) prosecutors' decisions
to press for a death sentence
after conviction; 4) judges' or
juries' actual sentences.

Paternoster analyzed the data
in two stages. When he found
an apparent race and geograph-
ic effect, as most earlier studies
had, he then statistically "con-
trolled" for the 123 variables —
to see whether the effects
were real. Could other case
characteristics explain what
first appeared to be the effects
of race and jurisdiction?

"Statistically, I threw the
kitchen sink at these initial
findings," Paternoster says. "My
hunch was other case charac-
teristics could at least knock
out the race effect. But it did-
n't. The race and geography
effects are very robust."

Specific Findings
(Final Analysis)

The Maryland Department
of Public Safety and Cor-
rectional Services sponsored
the study through a research
grant to the university at the
direction of the Maryland Gen-
eral Assembly, A copy of the
final report and an executive
summary are available online
at www.urhome.umd.edu/
newsdesk/.

Notable

Spencer Benson, Department of
Oil Biology and Molecular
Genetics, College of Life Sci-
ences, has won the 2002 State
Professor of the Year Award
given by the Carnegie Founda-
tion for the Advancement of
Teaching, in partnership with
the Council for the Advance-
nuiit and Support ol Education,

Electrical and Computer Engi-
neering Professor Victor Granat-
atein has received a Fulbright
Senior Specialists grant in Infor-
mation Technology at the Tel
Aviv Univeristy, The Fulbright
Senior Specialists Program
offers two- to six-week grants to
leading U.S. academics and pro-
fessionals to support curricular
and faculty development and
institutional planning at aca-
demic institutions in 140 coun-
tries around the world.

Debbie Yow is being inducted
into the Maryland Women's Hall
of Fame. The ceremony is in
March. Established in 1985, the
Maryland Women's Hall of Fame
seeks to honor Maryland
women "who have made unique
and lasting contributions to the
economic, political, cultural and
social life of the state, and to
provide visible models of
achievement for tomorrow's
female leaders." The Hall of
Fame is located in the Maryland
Law Library in Annapolis.

Criminology chair Charles Wall-
ford has been named a lifetime
National Associate of the
National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) "in recognition of extraor-
dinary service to the National
Academies in its role as advisor
to the nation in matters of sci-
ence, engineering and health."
He is the only criminologist to
have received this honor. Well-
ford has also been reappointed
to a second three-year term as
chair of the NAS Committee on
Law and Justices.

Chris Abaft is University Video's
new video editor. He's worked
at the Rockville Channel and at
Ogilvy Public Relations World-
wide, where he was responsible
for video editing, creating
graphic elements and anima-
tion. In addition, he has done
production work (lighting,
sound, etc.) and some writing
and set design.

Alice Middieton joined the Uni-
versity Relations' principal gifts
staff. She comes from University
of Maryland University College,
where she was an executive
administrative assistant to the
vice president for government
affairs.

JANUARY 28, 2003

Snow: Campus is Ready

Continued from page 1

is the first mobilized. Sand is
the first defense.

Then "the road and parking
crew start at 6 a.m.," says
Teabout,

"Or from quitting time
until ..." adds Brown. "The
next crew will follow., .in 12-
hour shifts until it's all done.
The sidewalk crew starts with
eight-hour shifts."

AJ Thompson, director of
the loss prevention
division, mans a
Doppler radar mon-
itor and helps keep
track of weather
reports broadcast
on four television
monitors in the
division's offices in
the Service Build-
ing. He keeps track
of other closings
and delays and has
also pulled dough-
nut duty, picking up
the 40 dozen
sweets that help
motivate the
approximately 400
men and women
who "can make an
all-you-can-eat buf-
fet look like a
snack," jokes
Brown.

Also at 6 a.m.,
Brown and Teabout
meet with the
seven zone supervi-
sors to relay the
university's deci-
sion and check on
work progress.

The last crew to
roll in — at about
7:30 a.m.— is the
shovelers who take
care of the steps.
All trade shop
employees work on
this team, taking care of all
handicapped areas, small
walks where brushes cant
reach and some off-campus
locations.

Crews work with anti-icing
solutions made of campus-pro-
duced salt brine to keep ice
from adhering to pavements.
Because nearby plant life will
be harmed if salt is used on
sidewalks, crews are also test-
ing a solution made from
"brewery sludge," says Brown.
"It's mixed with calcium chol-
ride and has been refined. It
smells good and looks like
molasses." But it's expensive.

costing $350 per 55 gallon
drum. However, money was
well spent on eight new cov-
ered, heated cab tractors, "It
makes a huge difference for
our guys."

This winter's frequent
snows are great practice, says
Brown. Improved efficiency
means that the campus stays
open more often, though it's
never really closed. Residents

Well. At Least She's
Nice About it

The campus' snow phone line must
ring dozens of times on wintry morn-
ings as callers check on the university's
status. Closed? Open? A two-hour
delay? A pleasant, warm recorded voice
answers the questions, and maybe
takes some of the sting out of bad news.

"Sonja Kueppers, with OIT, is respon-
sible for the message, which she leaves
after receiving a 5 a.m. call from George
Cathcart, director of university commu-
nications, telling her the university's
decision. It must be tough.

"I try to be cheerful," she says, with a
laugh. "I don't think it helps to be
grumpy."

How did Kueppers get picked for
phone duty? "I'm the manager of cam-
pus information personnel and I believe
that you shouldn't ask your staff to do
something you're not willing to do."

So this Takoma Park resident, who
spent some time in Minnesota as a
child, knows to sleep light on snow
mornings. Though she loves this area,
she also loves cold weather and wishes
temperatures dropped tow more often.
When asked what she does with her
snow days, Kueppers answers, "Oh, my
husband's also a university employee.
We watch DVD movies and snuggle on
the couch."

need to eat, games are held.
the Health Center is open and
research is being conducted.
Plus, if crews don't stay on top
of snow removal, it just gets
more difficult. Brown, who
braves the cold to bike to
work and around campus, says
he can only remember once in
his 26 years when workers
were trapped on campus dur-
ing an ice storm.

"We were trapped here for
four days in the late '90s. No
one could get home. We put
everyone up in hotels and just
kept doing snow [and ice] in
shifts."

Winter Weather Tips

x

..;•-..■,

B

rown offers the following tips to help
the campus community weather winter
weather:

"Wear wool socks over the tops of your shoes. It will keep you
from slipping. It may look funny, but it works." He also cautions
against people trying to navigate slippery sidewalks in heels or
plastic soled shoes; "greased lightening," he calls them.

To help lot plowers, park your car where there are other cars.
When cars park all over, usually to get closer to a building, plows
can't clear a lot well.

University Research Shows Overdose Deaths Increasing

As part of a unique program to help state
and local officials address problems
related to drug use, university research-
ers have observed a sharp rise in the
number of deaths attributable to drug overdoses
in Maryland since 1997.

A new study by the Center for Substance
Abuse Research (CESAR) shows a 16 percent
increase in Maryland deaths from drug or alco-
hol overdoses between 1997 and 2001. In 2001
alone, 559 people died this way.

CESAR conducted the study for Maryland's
Drug Early Warning System (DEWS), which has
been tracking statistics on overdoses for several
years because it helps give authorities a glimpse
into the state's changing drug abuse problem.
Once DEWS detects an emerging drug-use trend,
it quickly disseminates the information to state,
county and local governments.

Among the striking trends revealed in the new
study is a 76 percent increase in the number of
women who died from drug overdoses during
the five-year period. Still, four times as many men
died from overdoses as women, the study shows.
The study also turned up a tenfold increase in
deaths from methadone overdoses, though the
number of cases is small; two people in 1997

versus 2 1 in 2001 . Similar increases in methadone
deaths were reported in states across the nation.

The racial profile of overdose victims also shift-
ed. Overdose deaths rose by 27 percent among
whites, but by less than five percent among
African Americans. In 1 997, the number of
African American overdose victims was slightly
higher than whites. But by 2001, the figures had
nearly reversed. Whites represented 52 percent of
all deaths that year, African Americans 46 percent.

Eighty percent of all overdose deaths occurred
in Baltimore City and Central Maryland, which
has one of the highest rates of heroin addiction in
the nation. Most of the overdoses looked at in the
study resulted from use of a single drug, not a
combination of drugs. Narcotics contributed to
82 percent of the deaths.

"This kind of information can give authorities
and practitioners the first indication that some-
thing's changed in the drug scene," says Eric Wish,
director of CESAR and a professor of criminology
at the university. "But interpreting the numbers
can be tricky — we can't just assume drug use
itself is rising. Changes in the purity of street
drugs, for example, can influence overdose rates."

The DEWS report is available at www.dewson-
line.org.'

Divers: University Program Safe, Thorough

Continued from page I

lating the weighdessness of
space in water. The re's even a
professor, Mario ri Erickson-
Natishan, who participates in
underwater submarine races
every year at Carderock.At least
seven projects are underway.

"A lot of what I do is paper-
work, sending reminders of
license renewals and certifica-
tions," says Sarro. He administers
some of the training himself,
such as HAZMAT, CPR and first
aid. In his free time, he does
dive charters and some outside
teaching.

"We're very fortunate to get
Bill," says McMahon,"because of
all his experience."

PHOTO BY CYNTHIA MITCHEL

Sarro {right) supervises students Smhhanik and Mularski during a rescue
demonstration at the Neutral Buoyancy Facility.

from a boat or the beach, who
are the dive buddies, what is the
emergency plan, how deep in
the dive and for how long, how
many dives will there be?

"If they're missing any data,
then no dive," says Sarro, who
has been in the diving industry
for at least 30 years and started
with the Oyster Recovery Part-
nership, a network of local, state
and federal agencies dedicated
to bringing oysters back to
Maryland's Chesapeake Bay.

University science divers fol-
low, and Sarro says exceed, rec-
ommendations made by the
American Academy of Underwa-
ter Sciences (AAUS), of which
the university is a member.
According to the AAUS Web site,
scientific diving is different
from commercial diving in that
participants "engage in under-
water research activities to
express exemption from the
Occupational Safety and Health
Administration (OSHA) regula-
tions that govern other types of
diving." These exemptions are
not a lessening of the standards,
just a reflection of the differ-
ences. Scientific divers don't, for
example, need to worry about

construction or demolition.

"Being members of AAUS
brings diversity to the dive pro-
gram," says Donna McMahon,
assistant director of DES. Several
universities and research institu-
tions claim membership, which
makes working in other loca-
tions easier.

"There's such good oversight
that it gives a feeling of confi-
dence to people you're working
with," she says.

"It adds credibility to this pro-
gram," adds Sarro, who also
works for the university's Cen-
ter for Environmental Science
Horn Point Laboratory in Cam-
bridge, Md.

To gain AAUS membership, an
organization must fulfill three
main requirements: have a quali-
fied safety officer in place, have
a diving control board (of
which members are individually
approved by AAUS) and have a
dive safety manual.

Some of the university's proj-
ects include historical work
being done with the Unviersity
of Haifa in Israel and work in
the Chesapeake Bay. Sarro also
works with divers in the neutral
buoyancy facility, who are simu-

For those interested In
recreational diving.
Campus Recreation
Services offers a non-credit
scuba instruction course. Its
next session will begin Feb.
25, with registration begin-
ning today, Jan. 28. The 30-
hour course will meet on
Tuesdays from 6:30 to 9:30
p.m. Participants must regis-
ter in person at the Campus
Recreation Center member
services desk. The cost is
$275 and individuals must
have a physical examination
before registering for class.
Health forms can be picked
up at the desk.

The course is taught by
Bob Landers, who also
teaches scuba kinesiology at
the university. Participants
will go on a certification dive
following the end of the
class at Willow Springs
Quarry in Pennsylvania. Cer-
tification is through the
National Association of
Underwater Instructors. All
other classwork is done at
the university.

For more information, call
(301) 405-PLAY or visit
www.crs.umd.edu.

OUTLOOK

Career Center Expands Its Offerings

Graduate Students Are Focus

»HOTO BY CYNTHIA MITCHEL

Travis Sheffler (above right] wants to help provide comprehensive career guidance and counseling for graduate stu-
dents. Sheffler's colleague Chris Irwin (above background), PR and marketing coordinator for the center, chats with
administrative assistant Lattisha Hawkins (not visible! in the recently renovated space.

Over the next two years,
Travis Sheffler will work
hard to ensure that graduate stu-
dents looking for career guid-
ance find a welcoming, helpful
place at die Career Center.

Sheffler is the centers new
program director for graduate
student career services. It is a
pilot, contract position created
to work in tandem with Jason
Pontius, the new coordinator of
graduate student involvement.
The two conducted a survey last
spring to gauge graduate stu-
dents' satisfaction and needs.

Sheffler wants to overcome a
common misconception - that
the Career Center's resources are
just for undergraduate students.
Not so, says Sheffler, though it is
true that many colleges and uni-
versities don't have a position
dedicated to graduate student
employment needs at a time
when it seems needed.

"With the state of the econo-
my, there are a number of people
in graduate programs. [The econ-
omy] has forced people to look
outside of the box, look for other
options,™ he says. However, "there
aren't a lot of programs out there

to use as models, or for bench-
marking purposes."

He is enlisting help in order to
serve the diverse needs of a
9,000-strong graduate popula-
tion. He wants to encourage col-
laboration between other cam-
pus units and his office so that
students receive as much assis-
tance as possible in their search
for employment. Faculty mem-
bers, for example, he says, are a
great source for job leads, espe-
cially in academia. He would like
to help students look for work
outside of education, as well.

"I'm looking to work in collab-
oration with faculty; for their par-
ticipation in programs, to market
the programs and services in the
center and for contacts in indus-
try" he says, adding that he'd like
to address classes to talk about
the center's offerings.

Because there arc so many
needs and interests, Sheffler
wants to plan a variety of activi-
ties to meet them. He'd like to
conduct a workshop, for exam-
pie, on employment trends and
emerging opportunities. As
workplaces become more inter-
disciplinary, there is "a breadth of

opportunities and a lot in the sci-
ences," says Sheffler, who comes
to Maryland from a similar posi-
tion at Arizona State University's
Career Management Center,
where he was director of stu-
dent/corporate relations for the
Department of Accountancy and
Information Systems. The Mary-
land campus' location, he says,
provides access to interesting
employment opportunities.

"There are a lot of connec-
tions with the federal govern-
ment, such as professional associ-
ations. I want graduate students
to see them as an option for
them."

Other plans Sheffler has for
serving graduate students
include networking activities
geared to international students,
a career services Web site, disci-
pline-specific panels and skill
development workshops.

Sheffler brings a long-standing
enthusiasm for the university to
his position. A Northern Virginia
native whose dad and uncle are
alumni, he remembers listening
toTerps football games on the
radio at 4 or 5 years old. "I've
always been aTerp fan," he says.

Terrorism: Database Helps Connect Events

Continued from page 1

expected to attend a series of
lectures relating to methodologi-
cal and conceptual difficulties of
doing research on terrorism and
violent crime.

"Once coding of the terrorism
data is completed, we plan to
use the data to answer a series of
questions about the nature of
terrorism. Our analysis will begin
by examining changing charac-
teristics of terrorist events (e.g.,
targets, methods) over time, map-
ping and spatial analysis, geogra-
phical diffusion of terrorist
methods, trend analysis (includ-
ing the detection of "booms" and

"busts"), and the distribution of
specific forms of terrorist activi-
ty such as kidnappings and
hijackings," said LaFree. "We also
plan to merge the terrorism data
base with several important
international data bases. This will
allow us to examine how terror-
ist events are related to a wide
variety of other economic, politi-
cal and social variables, including
economic stress, political legiti-
macy and population growth."

The team expects that it will be
especially useful to use these data
to analyze the extent to which
democratic transitions are associ-

ated with particular changes in
rates and types of terrorist events.
It can also be used to examine
how terrorism is related to glob-
al changes including state fail-
ures and coups, ethnic conflicts
and other international crises.

"With the support of university
staff and students, our goal is to
create a more inclusive database
on terrorist events than any of
the other publicly available data
sets that now exist. We hope
these data will eventually provide
a more complete understanding
of terrorist violence and how it
may be combatted," said LaFree.

Diversity Initiative Sponsors
Cutting-Edge Prograrnrning

When students
encounter a com-
munity of others
different from themselves,
they are provided opportuni-
ties for new ways to under-
stand and interpret the
world. A research study com-
missioned by the Ford Foun-
dation revealed that today's
college graduates will have
to communicate with people
from different cultures and
races.

University faculty mem-
bers play a key role in edu-
cating college youth about
diversity issues. The Faculty
Relations Committee of the
Diversity Initiative has grown
from a one-day program to
an on-going institutionalized
effort recognized as a nation-
al model by the Ford Founda-
tion, American Council on
Education, Association of
American Colleges and Uni-
versities and the White
House Initiative on Race.

Connected to the Office of
Human Relations Programs
(OHRP), the initiative helps
faculty of all ranks, disci-
plines and academic appoint-
ments to develop and imple-
ment cutting-edge diversity
programming. The commit-
tee works to make diversity a
central value of our educa-
tional enterprise by:

Increasing faculty aware-
ness of campus climate and
intergroup relations;

Sponsoring innovation in
diversity pedagogy and cur-
riculum development;

Supporting innovative
diversity research projects
that enhance student learn-
ing and involve diverse
teams of researchers;

Creating successful univer-
sity-community partnerships
that focus on diversity, social
justice, and improved quality
of life;

Publicizing successful
diversity practices; and,

Bringing new energy and
resources to the campus dia-
logue on diversity.

Each year, the committee
awards one to three Faculty
Support Awards to encour-
age teaching, research, or
service projects aimed at
building a more inclusive
campus community. Winning
recipients receive course
"buy-outs" to implement
their projects. The Diversity
Initiative, the Office of the
Associate Provost for Equity
and Diversity and the Office
of Research and Graduate
Studies, collaboratively spon-
sor this award program. The
research of the most current
winner of the Faculty Sup-
port Awards is presented
below.

Two new chairs sit on the
committee, Journalism Pro-
fessor Maurine Beasley and
Kinesiology Professor Marvin
Scott. Beasley, a specialist in
the subject of women's por-
trayal and participation in

journalism, focuses on Wash-
ington women journalists,
including their coverage of
First Ladies. Her books,"The
Eleanor Roosevelt Encyclope-
dia," and "Taking Their Place:
A Documentary History of
Women and Journalism," are
read by journalists and jour-
nalism students nationwide.
Beasley teaches on women
in the media, journalism his-
tory and reasearch methods,

Scott has been on the fac-
ulty in the Department of
Kinesiology for 13 years. He
serves as an instructor and
coordinator of the kinesio-
logical science program. He
has extensive involvement
with diversity issues, which
includes representing the
university at the Association
of American Colleges and
Universities conferences as
well as participating in a
Classroom Climate Training
Workshop, and the Summer
Institute on Race and Gender
sponsored by Maryland, Also,
he teaches a course for the
department that fulfills the
institution's general educa-
tion diversity requirement .
He curriculum and instruc-
tion training focuses on insti-
tutional culture, multicultural
education and at-risk stu-
dents.

The Faculty Relations
Committee also sponsors an
annual Diversity Initiative
Faculty Research Forum
every spring.This year's
forum, to be held on April 8,
will showcase the work of
the award recipients.

Awardee for 2002-2003
Maria Mcintosh, professor,
Natural Resource Science
and Landscape Architecture,
Maria Mcintosh will use her
award to study the participa-
tion and roles of women in
the

academic sector of agricul-
tural sciences.The goal of
her research is to identify
causes and suggest solutions
to the pervasive gender
imbalance among agricultur-
al professionals and academ-
ics, particularly among high-
level positions. For example,
Mcintosh is the only female
full professor in a depart-
ment of 40 tenure-track fac-
ulty. Using national databas-
es, she

will analyze data to deter-
mine the extent of a
"pipeline" effect where the
proportion of women "leaks"
at each level throughout the
professional pipeline. She
will also investigate where
women who leave academia
are going and why they are
leaving. Results of her study,
which include 1,700
responses to a survey of
members of the American
Society of Agronomy, are
planned to be published.
Also, she intends to submit
her study and recommenda-
tions to OHRP

JANUARY 28, 2003

Teaching, Learning,
Technology?

The "Teaching, Learning, Tech-
nology?" speaker series, spon-
sored by the Office of Informa-
tion Technology and the Uni-
versity Libraries, hrings inter-
national experts to campus to
discuss integrating technology
into the learning process,

"Finding Materials and Build-
ing Learning Communities:
MERLOT" wilt be the first pres-
entation of the semester. The
featured speaker wit! be Laura
Franklin, professor of French
and assistant division chair of
Foreign Languages and History
in the Humanities and Social
Sciences Division for Northern
Virginia Community College.
Franklin also co-edits the
World Languages collection of
the Multimedia Educational
Resource for Learning and
Online Teaching (MERLOT)
project, a collaborative acade-
mic community whose prima-
ry goal is to increase its mem-
bers' knowledge, productivity
and professional effectiveness
in academic technology servic-
es. Franklin will demonstrate
her work with the MERLOT
project and discuss how it
applies to teaching and learn-
ing in the languages.

Franklin will speak on Thurs-
day, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m. in 6137
McKeldin Library. For more in-
formation, visit www.oit.umd.
edu/as/speakerse ri e s . h t m I .

IGCA Spring Reception

The Institute for Global Chi-
nese Affairs (IGCA) will hold a
reception on Thursday, Feb, 6,
from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in 01 30
Nyumburu Cultural Center, to
recognize three Chinese dele-
gations participating in IGCA
executive training programs.
This includes the Beijing
Finance Delegation, Jiangsu
World Trade Organizatin
(WTO) Research Delegation
and Zhejiang Science and Tech-
nology Delegation.

RVSP by Monday, Feb. 3 by
contacting Linda Zhao at (301)
405-0209 or Iz45@umail.umd
edu. For more information
about the event, visit www.
inform.umd.edu/igca.

IGCA Symposium

The Institute for Global Chi-
nese Affairs (IGCA) invites the
campus community to a sym-
posium on U.S. -China relations
on Wednesday, Feb. 5 from
noon to 4:30 p.m. in 0105 St.
Mary's Hall. "Sino- American
Relations in the News: Does
the Media Reflect a Balance?"
will feature a luncheon and
afternoon panels on media
coverage of U.S.-China rela-
tions. Several experts will
reflect on whether and how
the Chinese and U.S. media
may affect public opinion on
the subject.

Robert A. Kapp, president,
U.S.-China Business Council,
will give the keynote speech.

Spinners, University Welcome New Governor

JObb 1

1

•

PHOTO BY STAN 9AH0UH

G

ov. Bob Ehrlich, President Dan Mote and Lt..Gov. Michael Steele attended an
Inaugural Concert, which featured the Spinners, at the Clarice Smith
Performing Arts Center on Jan. 14,

Club Recognizes Members' Contributions

PHOTO BY CYNTHIA MiTCHEL

The university's Center for International Development and Conflict Management
(CIDCM) recently hosted a Club of Budapest luncheon honoring Vinod Bhalla
(inset), Club of Budapest ambassador to the United States, and Peter Spiegel (at
left in photo, top), secretary general to the Club of Budapest International. The event
was organized by Suheil Bushrui (top right), Baha'i Chair for World Peace and a creative
member of the Club of Budapest, whose philosophy is that humanity can overcome
the challenges it faces through the development of a global cultural consciousness. The
club's mission is to be a catalyst for transformation into a sustainable world. It was
founded in 1978 by its president, Ervin Laszlo, who believes "the challenge is to create
a positive future. And that is up to you and me."

Panelists from the Department
of Communication and the
Department of Government &
Politics and several noted off-
campus scholars will offer
their insights on economic,
political and military issues
and press coverage. Open-floor
discussions and question-and-
answer periods will be held.
RSVP by Monday, Feb. 3 to
Rebecca McGinnis at (301)
405-0213 or rml65@umail.

umd.edu. For more informa-
tion, visit www.inform.umd.
edu/igca.

Reduced Charges
lor Departmental
Wireless LANs

Effective Jan. 1, the Office of
Information Technology (OIT)
has restructured wireless pric-
ing for departments to reflect

better discounts from its ven-
dor. The restructuring reduces
maintenance fees to $4 per
month per access point. The
one-time charges associated
with the new options range
from $610 to $910 per access
point. There is no charge for
use of the wireless network.
For more information or to
arrange a site visit, contact
wireless@nts.umd.edu or visit
www. wireless.umd.edu.