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THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND FACULTY AND STAFF WEEKLY NEWSPAPER Volume i^ • Number 12 * April Z2, 2003 



Maryland Center 
for Anxiety 
Disorders Wins 
$1.5 Million Grant 

Social anxiety disorder is 
the subject of a new $1.5 
million grant from the 
National Institute of Men- 
tal Health to the Maryland Center 
for Anxiety Disorders. 

Samuel Turner and Deborah 
Beidel, co-directors of the center 
and co-investigators of the study, 
explain the difference between 
social anxiety disorder and social 
phobia. "Social anxiety disorderis 
pervasive, it affects every part of a 
person's life " says Turner. "A social 
phobia is usually a single thing. 
like snakes or heights," 

Social anxiety disorder usually 
begins during the teen years. 'Rirn- 
er explains that people with this 
disorder develop coping mecha- 
nisms that allow them to succeed 
in some degree in life. 

"But they lead very restricted 
lives and the stress takes a huge 
emotional toll," he says. Many 
develop depression or addiction 
to drugs or alcohol. The disorder 
affects between 5 and 8 precent 
of the population. 

There are two goals of the four- 
year study: to develop a set of 
norms that define social behavior, 
and to test the two forms of treat- 
ment now used for the disorder to 
determine which is more effec- 
tive. Both of the existing treat- 
ments for social anxiety disorder 
have proven effective. About 70 
percent of people treated show 
marked improvement and of 
those, 85 percent remain well 
after 1 years. 

The first form of treatment 
involves exposing people with the 
disorder to situations they have 
avoided. The second form of treat- 
ment involves exposure coupled 
with social skills training. Beidel 
explains their theory: 

"If people develop this disorder 
relatively early in life and as a 
result start isolating themselves, 
they may never have had the 
types of interactions that help all 
of us develop what are considered 
to be normal social skills. There- 
fore, social skills training may 
improve treatment outcomes." 

Two himdred people without 
social anxiety disorder will be 
studied to develop the norms of 
social behavior; this group will be 
paid $50 for about one and a half 
hours of their time. The random- 
ized controlled treatment part of 
the study will involve 180 people 
with the disorder between the 
ages of 18-60, Free treatment will 
be administered twice a week for 
16 weeks; one will be one-on-one 
and one will be in a group setting. 

Anyone interested in participat- 
ing in the study should call the 
Maryland Center for Anxiety Dis- 
orders at (301) 405-0232. 



Channeling Rain for Environmental Gain 




PHOTO BY CAHOt BALLEY 

Neil Welnstein, designer of the two on-campus rain gardens. President Dan Mote and Allen Davis, civil 
snd environmental engineering professor, confer during the dedication ceremony for the gardens. 



Overcast skies seemed 
an appropriate back- 
drop for dedicating 
rain gardens on campus 
recently. President Dan Mote 
andAlfonso Cornish, deputy 
chief administrative officer 
for the Prince George's 
County government, official- 



ly dedicated the two rain gar- 
dens on Friday, April 1 1 . The 
ceremony took place on the 
first day of a national campus 
greening conference. 

Rain gardens, also known 
as bioretention fecilities, are 
areas of land that reduce the 
quantity and improve the 



quality of polluted mnoff 
water from paiidng lots. The 
gardens use soil to absorb 
the water and plants to filter 
out some of the pollutants. 

The conference was host- 
ed by the university and the 

See RAJN GARDEN, page 3 



Hanging up His Blue Hat 

Deputy Chief to Retire 

Wi 



■hen University Police Col. Mike 
McNair arrived on campus as an 
undergraduate in the late '60s 
with a trunk and broken dreams of joining 
the Air Force, he never imagined trading in 
his turtleneck and blazer for a campus 
police uniform and a career that would 
span 32 years. 

The Baltimore native channeled his ener- 
gy into campus activism for a while, instead 
of academics. McNair, one of only 300 
black students on campus, joined anti-war 
protests, the Black Student Association and 
other causes for black students on campus. 

When McNair joined the admissions 
office as a recruiter, he began to feel differ- 
ently about changing the administration."! 
learned that protest wasn't really the way 
to go," he said. "Instead you have to get to 
people in positions of authority. It wasn't 
effective to call people names." 

After two years of school, McNair joined 
campus police in 1971, helping recruit 
more minorities to the force, which he 
remembers as a "hostile" work environ- 
ment."! had one or two officers tell me 
they didn't want me there," he said. "There 
was only one other black otTicer out of 75, 
and one female officer and a few meter 
maids.' 

Despite those challenges, McNair raced up 
the police ranks, while earning a bachelor's 
degree in law enforcement. McNair, who 




PHOTO BV CVNTHIA MITCMEL 



After leading the Department of Public Safety's tech- 
nological renovation, Col. Mike McNair will retire 
from the police force, effective April 30. 

oversees the police department's Web site 
(www.umpd.umd.edu) and has a master's 



See MeNAIR, page 4 



Grant Will 
Make Library 
User Friendly 

A newly announced feder- 
al grant for the Library of 
American Broadcasting 
(LAB) will benefit researchers, 
scholars and students eager to 
study some 18 collections relat- 
ed to women in broadcasting. 
Tlie National Endowment for 
the Humanities announced 
March 24 that the LAB would 
receive nearly $99,000 to 
process and do basic preserva- 
tion on the collections. 

"Much of this material is not 
currently in a researcher-friend- 
ly state," says LAB t^urator 
Chuck Ho^vell,"Our task now is 
to rehouse, oi^nize and create 
Web research aids for this valu- 
able resource." 

The collections include cor- 
respondence, manuscripts, pho- 
tographs and scrapbooks that 
focus on women in broadcast- 
ing fr^om the 1920s to the 1980s. 

According to Howell, these 
collections carry a tremendous 
amount of information, not only 
about women in broadcasting, 

See LIBRARY, page 2 



Comedy Club 
Oflfers Laughs, 
Learning 

It's become a national phe- 
nomenon. The Col. E. Brook 
Lee Middle School Comedy 
Club in Silver Spring is a run- 
away success. Heading into its 
eighth year, the 35-member 
comedy club ensemble, under 
the direction of playwright 
Harry Bagdasian, has become 
known throughout North Amer- 
ica. Seven of its previous pre- 
sentations — scripted by Bag- 
dasian, co-founder Lisa Levin 
Itte and Lee students^have 
been used by schools and the- 
ater companies across the Unit- 
ed States and Canada. 

Larry Mintz, the director of 
the Gliner Humor Center at the 
university thinks the concept 
of an after-school comedy club 
is a great way for kids to dig 
deep into themseh'es. "Its 
unique ability to let young 
teens express themselves about 
issues important to them— bul- 
lying, dating, teachers, parents — 
is what makes this special," he 
says. 

Mintz assigned two graduate 
students to follow the comedy 
club this year.Wlien it's all over, 
they will write a report that is 

See COMEDY, page 2 



APRIL 22, 2003 



V 



dateline 
maryland 



YOUR GUIDE TO UNIVERSITY EVENTS : APRIL 22 - 28 



april 22 



4 p.m.. Physics Calloquium 

Physics Leaute Hall. With Wick 
Haxton, University of Washing- 
ton. Refreshments are served 
beforehand for a small fee. For 
more infortnacion.call 5-3401, 

4-6 p.m.. Universities at 
Shady Grove Open House 

9630 Gudelsky Drive, Rock- 
ville. Admission and transfer 
counselors will be available for 
thtMc interested in uppcfTlevel, 
undergraduate or graduate pro- 
grams. Eight USM schools offer 
daytime, evening and weekend 
classes at Shady Grove, Refresh- 
ments will be served. For direc- 
tions, visit wwTv.shady grove, 
umd , edu/dj rections. 



WEDtSieSDaY 



april 23 



Noon, First Generation and 
Low Income Students and 
the Academy: The McNair 
Experience 01 14 Counseling 
j Center.ShoemakerBuilding. 
( Wth Nthakoana Peko, associ- 
I ate director of the Reginald 
McNair Post-Baccalareate 
Achievement Program. For 
more information, e-mail Vivian 
Boyd at vbHS'umail.umd.cdu. 

Noon-4 p.m.. Fifth Annual 
Undergraduate Research 
Day McKeldin Library. For 
more information, call 4-6786 
or visit www.ugresearch,urad, 
edu/LrRD,htni. 

6 p.m.. Lecture: African 
Culture N>'uniburu Multipur- 
pose Room. Moiefl Asante of 
Temple University, a prominent 
scholar in African Diaspora 
studies, will speak on the influ- 
ence of African culture in the 
initial design of Wa,shington, 
D,C.,and the current DLstrict 
environment. For more infor- 
mation, contact Toby Jenkins, 4- 
8439 or tjenkin5@deans.umd. 
edu, or Clayton Walton, 4-1485 
or cwalton@deans.umd.edu. 



THU RSO AV 



april 24 



9:30-11 a.m.. Laboratory 
Safety Orientation Training 

3104 Chesapeake Building. The 
Department of Environmental 
Safety (DBS) offers this training 
to assure regulatory compli- 
ance. For iDDie information or 



to reserve a seat, contact 
Jeanette Cartron at 5-2131 or 
jcartron ©accmail.umd.edu. 

IVoon-1:30 p.m.. Crossing 
Boundaries: Learning to 
Teach Multiculturaliam 

Maryland Room. Marie Mount 
Hall. This Center for Teaching 
Excellence (CTE) workshop 
and conversation on teaching 
and learning is designed for 
TAs, but all are welcome to 
attend. For more information, 
contact the CTE at 4-1283 or 
cte@umail. umd.edu, or visit 
http://cte.umd.edu. 

2-4 p.m.. Award Cermony 

Maryland Room, Marie Mount 
HaL, The President's Commis- 
sion on Women's Issues will 
recognize the winners of its 
Outstanding Women of Color 
Award. Honorees are Irene 
Zoppi and Charlene Chase. For 
more information, contact 
Mary Cothran at 5-5617 or 
Laura Nichols at 5-6827. 

3:30 p.m., Voices of Loyal- 
ism: The Calligraphic Res- 
ponse to the Mongol Con- 
quest in Early Yuan China 

1213 Art-Sociology, A reception 
will follow the presentation. 
Part of the fourth annual Wang 
Fangyu Lecture in Chinese Cal- 
ligraphy Education, featuring 
Peter Sturman of the Universi- 
ty of California, Santa Barbara. 

4 p.m.. Television, Truth 
and History 0200 Skinner. 
Can television ever do justice 
to history? TV writer and 
broadcaster Simon Schama will 
speak on this and otlier prob- 
lems that arise when the big 
picture hits the small screen. 
For more information, contact 
Anna Salafegheh at 5-8140 or 
annasala@w^am.umd.edu. 

7-1 1 p.m., African Cultural 
Night Stamp Union, Grand 
Ballroom. Dance, food, enter- 
tainment and more. Tickets are 
$3 for students and $5 for all 
others. For more information, 
e-mail sassyal7@hotmail.com. 



april 25 



Noon, Biogeochemical and 
Hydro logic Controls on Sub- 
surface Arsenic Transport 
1201 Physics. With Madeline 
Schrciberof ViriginiaTech. 
Coffee and tea will be served 
at 1 1 :30 a.m. in the Geology 
Building. For more informa- 



tion, contact Karen Prestegaard 
at kpresto@geol. umd.edu. 

Noon, The Evolutionary His- 
tory of Flies in the Fossil 
and Molecular Record 1130 

Plant Sciences. With Brian Wieg- 
mann, North Carolina State Uni- 
versity. For more information, 
see www.entomology. umd.edu. 



april 27 



3 p.m.. University Chorale 
and Chamber Singers Deket- 
boum Concert Hall, Clarice 
Smith PerformingArts Center 
Featuring compostions by Han- 
del and Brahms. Free, For more 
information, contact Amy Har- 
bison at 5-8 169 or harbison® 
wam,umd.edu. 

8 p.m.. Annual Saxophone 

Day Gildenhom Recital Hall. 
Clarice Smith PerformingArts 
Center A free program of facul- 
ty, student and guest perf'orm- 
ers. For more information, con- 
tact Amy Harbison at 5-8169 or 
harbison@wam . umd.edu. 



april 28 



3:30-5 p.m.. Ambassadorial 
Lecture Series Grand Ball- 
room, Stamp Union, Israeli 
Ambassador Datiiel Ayalon will 
speak on "Searching for Peace 
in a New Strategic Environ- 
ment," with an introduction by 
President Dan Mote, A brief 
reception will follow. For more 
information, contact Sapienza 
Barone at 5-5790 or 
sbarone@deans, umd . edu . 

4 p.m.. Beyond the Closet: 
Lesbians and Gays Today 

2154 Tawes. With Steven Seid- 
man, University of Albany, 
author and editor of more than 
a dozen books. For more infor- 
mation, call 5-LGBT or e-mail 
lgbts@umail.umd,edu, or visit 
www. Igbts . umd . edu ,x 

8 p.m.. Around the World 
with Maryland Brass Dekel- 
boum Concert Hall, Clarice 
Smith Performing Arts Center, 
Free, For more information, 
contact Amy Harbison, 5-8169 
or harbison®wam,umd.edu. 



or additional event list- 
_ ings, visit wwrw.college 
publisher.com/outiook. 



calendar guide 

Calendar phone numbers listed as 4-xxw( or 5-»o« 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 w«etts prior 
to tbe date of pubitcation. To reach the calertdar editor, call 405-761S or send &nisil to outlook@accmail.umd.edu. 



Library 

Continued from page 1 

but also how that industry 
viewed women as an audi- 
ence. He says.'TTre kinds of 
jobs into which they were 
guided, the programs on 
which they were allowed to 
work and the difficulties 
they overcame in order to 
succeed are all evident in 
these collections. They 
speak volumes about the rel- 
adve status of women in the 
industry prior to, during and 
after the birth of feminism in 
this coimtry." 

The collections include 
oral histories from the 1970s 
and 80s, the correspondence 
of Helen Sioussat, director of 
talks for CBS from 1937 to 
1958; the scrapbooks of 
Edythe Meserand. foimder 
and first president of Ameri- 
can Women in Radio and 
Television (AWRT), who 
worked in the broadcasting 
industry for more than 50 
years; and more than 3,500 
radio and television scripts 
written by Mona Kent, crea- 
tor of the well-known radio 
soap opera "Portia Faces Life," 

Altcjgether, the collections 
include some 1,500 photo- 
graphs, 284 audio items in 
various formats and 19 
videotapes. 

Howell says that preserv- 
ing broadcast history is a 
challenge because so little 
thought is given to the his- 
torical nature of the work 
being done. As he wrote in 
his NEH grant application, 
"New content is required 
constantly. There is little 
time to dwell on yesterday's 
broadcast (let alone the 
work of last month or year), 
as there is always another 
show to prepare," 

Howell added, "No thoi^ht 
is given to historical signifi- 
cance, to what the scholars 
of the fiiture might be able 
to glean from these programs 
and the records of their cre- 
ation. The programs these 
women helped create are for 
the most part alrejidy gone 
forever Should the docu- 
mentation of that work be 
allowed to follow? These sto- 
ries deserve to be told" 

For more information 
about the Library of Ameri- 
can Broadcasting, visit 
www, lib , imid . edu/LAB/, 



Clarification 

In the article "Confer- 
ence Addresses Bal- 
ancing Act of Profes- 
sional Women," in the 
April 15 issue of Out- 
look, it should have 
been made clear that the 
Professional Concepts 
Exchange Conference is 
open to all non-exempt 
staff on campus, men 
and women. 



Comedy 

Continued frvm page 1 

expected to suggest ways 
the concept can be expand- 
ed to other middle schools 
in the Washington, D,C,, 
area. One of those Maryland 
students, Ben Fisler, says a 
key ingredient will be to 
find a seasoned playwright 
like Lee's Harry Bagdasian to 
provide the necessary direc- 
tion at each school. 

But for now, the focus is 
on the upcoming produc- 
don at Lee Middle School, 
Bagdasian says this year's 
comedy club program "CSI: 
Comic Sketch Investigations" 
includes more student-writ- 
ten material than ever There 
are sketches that make fun 
of just about everything 
including adventure games 
and parents who insist you 
eat your vegetables. 

"We spoof the TV show 
'CSI: Crime Scene Investiga- 
tions' and the newest car- 
toon craze — Yu<ii-Oh," says 
Bagdasian. Other comedy 
targets: game shows, news 
programs and a popular 
take-off of the " Crocodile 
Hunter" program called "Ado- 
lescent Hunter." 

The 90-minute program 
will be presented on April 
25 and April 26 starting at 
7:50 p.m. at Col, E, Brook 
Lee Middle School in Silver 
Spring. The address is 1 18O0 
Monticello Avenue. Tickets 
are $5 for adults and $3 for 
children and will be avail- 
able at the door. 



Outlook 



fjiif/iwt IS the vvfeidy facully-stiff 
iR'Wspapt-r u'tving tlie University of 
M^r^'hnd campus [rnnniiunity. 

Brodie Remington *Vice 
Piesidcnt Jur Uni verity Rcbtiuns 

Tferesa nannery • Executive 
Director. Univcrsit)' 
Cotimiuniejtioiis and Marketing 

Geoi^e CaChcart ■ Executive 
Edi[or 

Monette Austin Bailey * Editor 

Cynthia Mitehel • Art Dirtctor 

Robert K, Gardner • Gradtute 

Awistam 

Uettcrs to the editor, story su^es- 
anm and eatiipus ijifbrnution arc 
welcome. Please submit all material 
two weeks before tbe Tuesday of 
publication. 

Send materi.1! to Editor, Oiillmik, 
21 (It Turner HaU. College Park, 
MD 20742 

Telephone ■ (301) 40S-W29 

Fix • poi) 314-U.144 

E-mail ■ outlook@acnnail.umd.edu 

www.coUcgcpuhlishcr.eotn/outlook 










OUTLOOK 




Notable 



Richard Schwartz, mathe- 
matics, received a John 
Simon Guggenheim Memor- 
ial Foundation fellowship to 
study the connections 
between real and complex 
hyperbolic discrete ^nups. 
The annual United States 
and Canadian winners 
include 184 artists, scholars 
and scientists selected from 
more than 3,200 applicants 
for awards totaling 
$6,750,000. 

Pedro Barbosa, Department 
of Entomology, has been 
selected as one of the coun- 
try's most powerful Hispan- 
ic executives in technology 
and business by Hispanic 
Engineer & information 
Technology magazine. The 
five-year-old list "demon- 
strates the new direction of 
America in embracing 
diversity and creating a 
more inclusive work force." 

Tlie College of Agriculture 
and Natural Resources hon- 
ored some of its faculty and 
staff during its annual 
Awards of Excellence, The 
honorees are as follows; 

Off-Campus Staff Award: 
Nicole Bataille, Extension 
program assistant, Somerset 
County, Bataille is involved 
in all aspects of the Somer- 
set County 4-H program, 
working to develop and sus- 
tain 4-H clubs, serving as a 
co-camp director, providing 
nutrition education enrich- 
ment programs, and volun- 
teering on local commit- 
tees. She has helped 
increase participation of 
minority and at-risk youth 
in 4-H and ran the county's 
Extension youth develop- 
ment programs when the 4- 
H educator was on materni- 
ty leave, 

OnCampus Staff Award: 
UesI Koch, coordinator, 
Department of Agricultural 
and Resource Economics, 
Koch provides an array of 
essential administrative and 
editorial duties for the 
department, including 
preparation of grant pro- 
posals and journal manu- 
scripts and maintenance of 
the Web site for the Center 
for Agricultural and Natural 
Resource Policy. She also 
conducts special assign- 
ments, such as collecting 
daUi for faculty research, 
preparing camera-ready 
copy for books and bound 
reports, and organizing con- 
fcrences for the general 
public as well as specific 



professional groups. 

Junior Faculty Award: Lori 
Lyncfi, associate professor. 
Department of Agricultural 
and Resource Economics. 
Since she was hired in 1996 
to woric in the area of envi- 
ronmental and resource 
policy with regard to land- 
use issues, Lynch has com- 
piled an impressive 
research, teaching and 
extension record. She has 
defmed key issues, used 
novel and cutting-edge 
research methodologies to 
address them, and dissemi- 
nated her research findings 
through a variety of chan- 
nels and audiences. The 
innovative character of her 
work is achieving national 
and international visibility 
and is causing her to 
emei^e as a key player 
nationally. 

Dean Gordon M. C^ms 
Award for Distinguished 
Creative Work; Ian Mather, 
professor, Department of 
Animal and Avian Sciences. 
Mather has distinguished 
himself both as a scientist 
and teacher For 28 years he 
has focused on the molecu- 
lar mechanisms underlying 
ihe secretion of milk fat 
from the mammary gland. 
His work — and resulting 
publications— have had a 
considerable impact in 
advancing knowlet^e in 
this area and led to Invita- 
tions to give national and 
international seminars. On 
campus, he was named an 
affiliate professor of the 
Department of Cell Biology 
and Molecular genetics, and 
established the core cell 
biology course for the Mol- 
ecular and Cell Biology pro- 
gram. 

Director's Award for Exten- 
sion Fxcellence: Susan Mor- 
ris, Extension educator, 
Montgomery County, Morris 
is a family and consumer 
sciences educator in Mont- 
gomery County. She organ- 
izes and implements educa- 
tional programs in areas of 
personal fmancial manage- 
ment and human develop- 
ment for a diverse clientele 
that includes military per- 
sonnel, senior citizens and 
federal and state govern- 
ment employees and family 
members. Collaborating 
with colleagues, she devel- 
oped the Prescription for 
Financial Wellness Program, 
which has been used in 
more than 500 classes to 
reach about 12,000 people. 



NEWS FROM THE CLARICE SMITH 




PERFORMING ARTS CENTER 



Bands Offer Opportunities 
For Students, Community 

^ — '^""y^"^ aving devoted the last 38 years to 
W^ 1 ^ ^ the iiniversity. Director of Bands 

V — M f John Wakefield has provided the 

W M / School of Music with a rare continu- 

t>^ \^ ity in leadership and vision, and has 

created a program that reaches out to the campus and 
beyond. The UM Bands offer opportunities for music 
majors, non-majors, alumni, foculty, staff and community 
members alike, 

"I'm most proud of the kind of program we've built here 
and the way it serves the students and the comratmity," 
Wakefield said. 

Thrilled with the 
recent growth of 
the music program, 
Wakefield notes 
that this year the 
school received 
more than 1,000 
applications, 
approximately 
triple the nvmiber 
submitted in previ- 
ous years. He cred- 
its the school's 
tremendous faculty 
and new facilities 
in the Clarice 
Smith Performing 
Arts Center for the 
heightened inter- 
est."! don't diink 

there's another imiversity in the country with a facility like 
ours. It really has turned out wonderfiilly," 

Wakefield will conduct the Symphonic Wind Ensemble 
in the 27th Annual tJM Bands "Pops" Concert held on May 
10 at 8 p.m. in Dekelboum Concert Hall. The program's 
first half will be performed by the University Concert 
Band directed by Associate Director of Bands L. Richmond 
Sparks, and will include light band classics and a piece fea- 
turing clarinetist and master's candidate Marguerite Baker. 
The second half will feature the Symphonic Wind Ensem- 
ble, paying homage to Tchaikovsky with transcriptions of 
"Marche Slave," the finale from his "Symphony No. 4," and a 
rousing rendition of the popular " 1812 Overture," replete 
with cannons. For ticket information, call OOl) 405-ARTS. 




John Wakefield 



Political Intrigue in 
Mozart's ''La 
Clemenza di Tito^' 

Ousting political leaders, con- 
ducting senate hearings, 
granting pardons. . , 
Although the action in Mozart's final 
opera "La Clemenza dlTito" is set in 
79 A.D, it remains relevant to modem 
times. 

The School of Music's Maryland 
Opera Studio production wiU be 
directed by artist-in-residence and 
theatre director/choreographer/video 
and installation artist Ptng Chong and 
will be conducted by Heinz Fricke, 
music director of the Washington 
Opera, Performances will be Wednes- 
day, April 30 at 7:30 p,m,; Friday, May 
2 at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, May 4 at 3 
p.m.;andT\iesday, May 6at7;30p.m. 
in the ina and Jack Kay Theatre of the 
Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. 
Commissioned for the Prague coro- 
nation of Emperor Leopold 0, the 
opera was intended to glorify and 
impress the new ruler by comparing 
him to another much-beloved ruler, 
Titus. In this work set right after the 
eruption of Vesuvius at Pompeii. Vitel- 
lia, daughter of the deposed emperor, 
schemes to have the current ruler 
Titus murdered because her love for 
him is unrequited. Titus discovers the 
plot, ultimately pardons his enemies, 
and is praised lor his fot^veness and 
generosity. 

In directing the opera, Chong will 
not depart from Mozart's original con- 
cept. "It was written as a piece of spin 
to promote the virtues of monarehi- 
cal rule. At the same time, I will give 
the audience the opportunity to 
reflect upon contemporary society 
and the use of the media by our own 
rulers." For ticket information, call 
(301) 405-ARTS, 



Rain Garden: Education, Research, Protection 

Coiitimied Jrom page 1 



National Wildlife Federation. Rep. 
Steny Hoyer and Prince George's 
County Executive Jack Johnson 
planted two trees in the gardens 
during a second ceremony the 
following Monday. Mote, Cornish 
and professors Allen Davis, civil 
and environmental ei^ineering, 
and Patrick Kangas, biological 
resources engineering, each 
spoke at the Friday event. After 
the speeches. Mote and Cornish 
turned the valve of a water tank, 
allowing water to flow through 
the gardens as a demonstration. 

"It's a great pleasure for the 
campus to be in a leadership posi- 
tion on a project such as this," 
Mote said. The university is the 
first in the country to build rain 
gardens on its campus. 

Building the rain gardens was 
a collaborative effort between the 
university and the Prince 
George's County Department of 
Environmental Resources, a 



worldwide authority on rain gar- 
dens. The gardens were designed 
by Neil Weinstein of the Low 
Impact Development Center, a 
nonprofit organization dedicated 
to water and natural resource pro- 
tection issues. There are plans to 
build more gardens in the same 
area, which is adjacent to a park- 
ing lot near the Comcast Center. 
Davis, director of the Maryland 
Water Resources Research Center, 
led the university's effort to bring 
the gardens to campus. 

"Our rain gardens have a little 
more concrete and plastic than 
usual," he explained during the 
ceremony. The gardens were built 
in a way that makes water flow 
easy to track. They will be used 
for education and research, in 
addition to filtering runoff water 
from the adjacent parking lot. 

Kangas, coordinator for the 
Natural Resources Management 
Laboratory, and }. Scott Angle, pro- 



fessor of agronomy and associate 
dean for the College of Agriculture 
and Natural Resources, are also 
involved In the project. Graduate 
and undergraduate students will 
have the opportunity to work 
with the rain gardens in some of 
their classes. 

Parking lots, among the main 
causes of runoff on campus, pre- 
vent water from soaking into the 
ground and add pollutants from 
car brakes and exhaust. Common 
lot pollutants include oil, solid 
particles from soil and cars, and 
metals such as zinc and copper. 

Pollution from the parking lots 
on campus will eventually end up 
in the Chesapeake Bay Water runs 
off into Paint Branch Creek, which 
leads into the Anacostia River, a 
major tributary of the Potomac 
River The Potomac leads directly 
to the bay. 

— Carol Salley, 
senior communication student 



APRIL 22, 2003 



00 



CH 



o 



Teach-ins: War In Itaq 

There will be a three-pan series 
of p:inel discussions on the ■war 
in Iraq at Memorial Chapel in 
an eflfort to bring together 
some of the scholarly and intel- 
lectual resources of the univer- 
sity to encourage and inform 
the understanding of and dis- 
course about the issues pre- 
sented by the war 
The discussions will be held: 

• Tuesday, April 22, Noon to 2 
p.m. 

• Wednesday, April 23. Noon 
to 2 p.m. 

• Thursday, April 24, 2 to 4 
p.m. 

Format; moderated 90-minute 
panel discussions reflecting a 
diversity of perspectives and 
speaker backgrounds, and per- 
mitting audience interaction 
with panels. The event is free 
and open to students, faculty, 
staff, and surrounding commu- 
nity. For more information, con- 
tact Sapienza Barone at (301) 
405-5790 or 
sbarone@deans.iund.edu. 



Ninth Annual SMh-l Pai 
Lecture in Fluid 
Dynaoiics and Plasma 
Dvnamics 

This year's lecture, entitled "Sta- 
tistical Mechanics fer from 
Equilibrium: Towards a General 
Theory,' will be given by David 
Ruelle on Tuesday, April 29 at 4 
p.m. in 1410 Physics Building. 
Ruelle is professor emeritus at 
the Institut des Hautes Etudes 
Scientifiques, Bures-sur-Yvette, 
France. A reception will be 
held beforehand, from 3:15- 
3:55 p.m., in 1204 Physics. 



Shih-1 Pai (1913-1996) was a 
member of the faculty from 
1949 to 1996 and was a found- 
ing member of the Institute for 
Fluid Dynamics and Applied 
Mathematics, the current Insti- 
tute for Physical Science and 
Technology. 

For more information, con- 
tact Frank Olver at (301) 405- 
4583 or olver® ipst.umd.edu. 



Whiting-lkirner Lecture 
Series 

Tlie Wliiting-T\irner Business 
and Entrepreneurial Lecture 
Series Spring 2(K)3 Lecture will 
be given Tliesday. April 29 in 
the Judith Resnik Lecture Hall, 
1202 Glenn L, Martin Hall. Tlie 
lecture begins at 5 p.m. and is 
preceded by a reception at 4:30 
p.m. 

Terrance M. Drabant, corpo- 
rate vice president of Lockheed 
Martin and president of Lock- 
heed Martin Mission Systems, 
will speak on "Personal Entre- 
preneurship: Secrets of Success." 

For more information, visit 
www.eng . umd . edu . 



Free Book Signing 

The Career Center, in partner- 
ship with Vertigo Books, 7346 
Baltimore Avenue. College Park, 
is sponsoring a free reading and 
signing of the book, "Road trip 
Nation," on Thursday, April 24 
at 7 p.m. All are welcome to 
attend the reading but if you 
wish to have a book signed, it 
must be purchased at Vertigo 
Books. Proof of purchase is 
required. For more information, 
contact Bridget Wanen at (301) 
779-9300. 



'As the World Tkirns" to Maryland 




PHOTO BY BVAN OWENiPGP 



Maryland student Ben Parker, second from left, st>ared screen time witfi "As the World 
Turns" stars Peyton List and Agim Kaba, and Maryland student Anname Phann (righl). 



Can a computer science major 
find fame and stardom as a net- 
work soap opera star? University 
of Maryland sopfiomore Ben Parl<er is 
about to find out. 

Last fall the Gaithersburg computer 
science major landed the only male 
speaking role when the college tour of 
the long-running "As The World Turns" 
taped an episode at the College Park 
campus. Now Parker has been chosen 
by the soap's production staff as one of 
10 student "discoveries" who will audi- 
tion in front of the whole country on 
"The Early Show" (CBS) next week, for 
another spot in the limelight. Viewers 
will vote online for their favorites on 
April 26, and the winners— one woman 
and one man — will share a scene on the 
April 28 "Early Show." 

A 2001 graduate of Quince Orchard 
High School, Parker takes acting classes 
at Maryland and performs in universitv 
productions, but when it came to pick- 
ing hismajor, he went to the technical 



side of campus for computer science. 
The son of a computer scientist and an 
artist, Parker says, "I love acting, but I 
decided I didn't need to major in it. I do 
better academically in computer sci- 
ence." 

Parker received the news of the 
screen test in "Candid Camera" style, 
complete with a camera from a Balti- 
more news station on hand to capture 
his surprise. Two friends who had been 
told about his choice from among the 
several thousand students auditioning 
on 10 campuses during the "As The 
World Turns" tour, helped set him up. 

His parents' reaction? "My mom Is an 
artist. She thinks it's wonderful," Parker 
says. "My dad's the computer scientist. 
He's happy, but not as excited." 

Parker's screen test airs Tuesday, 
Aprit 22, Viewers wilt be able to vote for 
their favorite actor and actress on "The 
Early Show" Web site, www.cbsnews. 
com/ear lyshow, from Friday, April 25 
until midnight on April 26. 



IHcNair: From 1960s Protestor to Campus IT Specialist, 32 Years at Maryland 

Cotftmued Jhm page 1 



degree In management informa- 
tion systems, said he considers 
himself the department's IT 
systems manager He spearhead- 
ed the computerization of the 
department's paperwork, a tech- 
nological breakthrough on cam- 
puses nationwide. He said help- 
ing the department become 
more technology-oriented was 
his biggest contribution to the 
force. 

"I'm a deputy chief and 
don't go out on the road now," 
said the 52 year old. "I care 
more about crashing my hard 
drive than I do about crashing 
my car." 

University Police Chief Ken- 
neth Krouse said he immediate- 
ly saw IT talent in McNair."I 
became aware that his expertise 
was in technology develop- 
ment, innovative program 
implementation and problem 
identification and resolution," 
Krouse said. "Oftentimes he 
would ponder a difficult issue 
and provide insights that no 
one else puts on the table." 

Webmaster Cpt. Gregg Savard 
said he admires McNair's fear- 
lessness in bridging the depart- 
ment's hardware and software 



to new technology. Til miss his 
expertise the most," Savard said. 
"He has a way of finding new 
technology and plunging ahead 
to make it a part of what you're 
doing." Savard, who joined the 
department six months before 
McNair, has been working for 
him for almost 1 year.s. He said 
McNair can be a firiend and a 
boss, ■'He'll listen to you, but it's 
hard to change his mind on 
many topics." 

Under McNair, the depart- 
ment soon moved from posting 
posters around residence halls 
hoping to reach .students, Acui- 
ty and staff, to mass e-mailing 
memos. Crime events now are 
pasted on the department's 
interactive Web site, and the 
department has relied heavily 
on the anonymous tip feature 
on the site, which has helped 
close several cases. 

The Commission on the 
Accreditation of Law Enforce- 
ment Agencies has commended 
the department repeatedly for 
the technological advancements 
McNair initiated. "I can't accept 
all the credit; i consider myself 
a catalyst," he said. "It's really the 
officers and employees who 



woric with me that get the cred- 
it. They're the ones out there on 
a daily basis." 

McNair said he constandy 
reminds officers they arc sup- 
ported by students, faculty and 
staff and that the university is 
not a city but a corporation that 
relies on its public image, "If stu- 
dents don't find it safe and 
leave, then the corporation 
loses revenue," he .said. McNair 
calls his police work "tough," 
because he said he tends to see 
people on tlie worst day of 
their lives. 

McNair said one of his most 
memorable moments was not 
behind a desk, but in the field. 
A young man sitting in front of 
McKeldin's Testudo shot and 
killed himself before coinmence- 
ment. Student police aides pat- 
rolling the area witnessed the 
event. McNair said the police 
took care of it quietly by using 
Health Center partitions to 
cover the young man, enctreling 
him with their parked cars and 
roping off half the mall. 

This tragic incident aside, 
McNair said he has no regrets 
among his many memories, but 
he is sad the 30-year retirement 



program he is enrolled in is end- 
ing his career McNair said he 
will miss the campus support, 
police staff and Police Chief 
Kenneth Krouse. "If you want to 
paint a picture of a successful 
career, this is it," the part-time 
Montgomery College informa 
tion systems professor said. 
McNair is also a member of 
Jaycees, a civic association for 
young men, 

Krouse said McNair's retire- 
ment used to seem a long way 
away, until now. "Although he is 
planning to stay imtil his work 
is finished with our newly pur- 
chased computer-aided dis- 
patch system, he is gently' with- 
drawing fn>m operational and 
administrative functions in the 
organization and will be sorely 
missed," he said. 

Once retired, McNair will 
devote the bulk of his time to 
the Regional Crime Analysis Sys- 
tem, a consortium of police 
departments statewide that is 
developing a program to allow 
local police departments to col- 
lectively track criihinal activity 
across jurisdictions. 

" [Tracing criminal activity] is 
like having a jigsaw and giving 



10 people 10 separate pieces," 
he said. "Criminals are very 
mobile, and have all kinds of 
ways to communicate. They 
don't respect jurisdiction 
boundaries." 

Today the former protester 
calls promoting technology in 
law enforcement and saving 
tuition remission his causes. 
"Officers need PDAs and PCs 
and cameras mounted in their 
cruisers," he said, "Cameras are 
good for car thefts, drug deals 
and drive-bys," 

McNair said his three chil- 
dren, all University System of 
Maryland graduates, owe their 
higher education to tuition 
remission. 

When it comes to Operation 
Iraqi Freedom, the 20-year mili- 
tary reservist said he disagrees 
with protestors. "We overlooked 
Hussein by minding our own 
business, the .same kind of 
approach that got us into trou- 
ble with Hitler," he said. "9-1 1 
.should have given us a wake-up 
call. We can't sit idly by... we 
have to take a leadership role," 

— Desair Brown, 
journalism graduate student