10-16-2022 EDU - Flipbook - Page 4
4 The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 16, 2022
New facilities open at area universities and colleges
Meeting the needs of students in the areas of wellness and employment
By Emily Parks, Contributing Writer
at Division 1 colleges and universities,” Brett
Adams, Stevenson’s athletic director, says. “In
fore, the initiative makes training and education
accessible to those residents and businesses.
Harford Community College hosts an open house for the Leading Edge Training Center. Stevenson University architectural rendition of the new Philip A. Zaffere Library. UMBC
upgraded its Retriever Activities Center.
N
ew facilities for area colleges
and universities dot the greater
Baltimore area landscape, from a
center designed to provide training
and employment skills to sprawling
new athletic facilities with cutting edge features
and amenities.
The Owings Mills campus of Stevenson
University is opening a new 117-acre sports
and recreation complex as well as a new
42,000-square-foot library. The new athletic
complex is located on the Owings Mills East
portion of the Owings Mills campus.
The complex includes fields for soccer,
lacrosse, field hockey, softball and baseball. The
complex will also sport a new outdoor track and
field complex, turf field for field hockey, and
three cross country courses. The new complex
will tremendously expand the footprint and
athletic offerings of the university.
The state-of-the-art construction and materials of the fields and surfaces put the school in
prime position to host national championships
and tournaments. The university contracted
renowned Baltimore-area company Beynon
Sports to provide the innovative track surface,
the same surface found at top track programs
at the University of Oregon and the University
of Alabama.
From the top-of-the-line Kentucky bluegrass soccer field preferred for spring and fall
play as well as a new 35 mm, cushiony field
hockey turf field internationally preferred for
NCAA championship play, the materials used
in the new fields are designed for high level
play.
“The quality of our soccer fields and other
facilities rivals that of many top programs
addition, these same fields and facilities can
host competitions at the club level as well,
allowing us to grow our club sports programs.”
The new athletic complex benefits the whole
student body and the community. “We believe
the balance between free play and the academic
component is important,” he explains. “We also
know we are part of the greater Owings Mills
community and are happy to host high school
sports competitions in order to play a role in
supporting the greater community.”
Scheduled to open in fall of 2023, the Philip
A. Zaffere Library is a 42,000-square-foot facility located on the Owings Mills North portion
of campus. The new library is a critical spoke
in the hub of the campus, complementing the
existing Manning Academic Center and School
of Design buildings.
The foundational gift for the Library came
from the Philip A. Zaffere Foundation, and
the building will be named in honor of the late
Philip A. Zaffere, an entrepreneur, business
owner, inventor, and food production engineer
from Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Through a partnership with the Philip
E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation, the
Rural Maryland Council, the Boys and Girls
Clubs of Harford and Cecil Counties, and the
Small Business Development Center, Harford
Community College launched the Leading
Edge Training Center in Edgewood, Maryland.
The center provides programs that include
stackable workforce credentials in heavy equipment operator, supply chain logistics, basic
hydraulics and pneumatics, forklift certifications, and more. Census data and per capital
income levels pointed to disparities in those
areas for southeastern Harford County; there-
Austin J. Hill, Ed.D., director for strategic
partnerships, notes that since its opening in
November of 2021, 60 students have been
awarded scholarships for job training. Programs
range from a one-day forklift training to longer
five- to seven-month long trainings. Upon completing the training program, students will be
equipped with the skills to be job ready.
“Having this critical job training gives individuals a living wage that strengthens the family
and the community as a whole,” he says.
Students work with a Career Navigator who
can advise them on interview skills, resume
development, and even help them obtain interview attire. Thanks to their relationships with
area employers, the Career Navigator can also
guide students through the nuances of a human
resources department and help shepherd them
into a company.
“The Career Navigator serves as a lifeline
for the students to give them the confidence
they need to be successful,” Hill adds.
University of Maryland Baltimore County
(UMBC) recently unveiled a major update to
its Retriever Activities Center (RAC) though a
$28 million renovation that transformed over
three-quarters of the building space. Updates
include locker room renovations, a new cycling
studio, doubling the weight training space, and
quadrupling the cardio space.
The renovation came about when the varsity athletics space adjacent to the RAC became
available upon its move to their new $90 million facility across the street from the RAC.
The RAC was built in response to input from
the campus community noting interest in more
fitness and wellness amenities.
The “new RAC” provides the UMBC com-
munity with the ability to participate in a
variety of extensive and diverse recreational
opportunities to meet their health and wellness
goals. Student life will be enhanced through
the many new programming options in fitness
and wellness, intramurals, club sports and open
recreation. Social spaces were created to attract
students and make them feel the RAC will be a
gathering place for all.
“The UMBC design team and architects
did a wonderful job listening to us as end-users
regarding the needs of the students and the
campus community,” Gary Wohlstetter, senior
associate athletic director for physical education and recreation, says. “One of the biggest
impacts will be the enhancement of fitness/
wellness spaces. We moved from four to 10
spaces with the completion of the project. The
addition of these dynamic spaces will bring a
fresh, new aspect that UMBC Recreation has
never offered.”
The guiding principles of the project included:
• Create an engaging and inviting student
life destination that students see as their
own.
• Create a facility that reflects pride for students and all UMBC constituents.
• Provide flexibility for a wide array of recreational program offerings.
• Improve building circulation to accommodate recreation activities and events
simultaneously.
• Increase opportunities and expand support for intramural and recreation activities.
• Locate Retriever Essentials food pantry in
a location with expanded operating hours.
Interior modifications and finish upgrades
were undertaken to convert former athletic
areas into suitable spaces to support other programs. The design and selection of new building systems incorporated “green” principles and
energy efficiency. Three individual, genderneutral changing rooms meet the needs of the
campus community.
UMBC student and student manager at the
RAC Sam Geverdt '24 of Annapolis, appreciates
all the amenities, especially the weight training
facilities as he serves as the co-founder of the
school’s weightlifting club. He loves to see the
community take advantage of the expanded
space.
“Since the center’s expansion, I’ve seen a lot
more people come in to see what the RAC has
to offer,” he says. “It’s been great to see people
trying new things and enjoying the amenities
offered at the center.”
Advancing STEM education
Area programs offer creative innovations
By Linda L. Esterson, Contributing Writer
M
cDaniel College is celebrating the
10th anniversary of the environmental studies program, and at the
same time has officially unveiled the
McDaniel Environmental Center, a
58-acre outdoor learning lab for students located
about 15 minutes from campus in New Windsor,
Maryland.
The center was developed by students to provide hands-on educational and research opportunities in agriculture, conservation and environmental
sciences, as well as community building. The center’s activities support three different environmental
studies specializations – policy and management,
earth system science and environmental biology.
The space assists students through participation
in research, community events and work for classes,
with a focus on experiential learning.
“We want our students to get educated through
personal experience that provides high-impact
learning practice,” says Jason Scullion, Ph.D., associate professor and department chair of environmental studies who also serves as development manager
for the McDaniel Environmental Center.
The center includes 30 acres of forested land,
20 acres of fields and eight acres of student farming land that includes a 1.5-acre forest garden. In
addition, the property hosts a five-acre forest bank
funded by the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, an
educational sign tour highlighting the importance
of central Maryland’s Piedmont region, funded by
the Chesapeake Bay Trust, five bodies of water and
three historic residences.
There’s also a service aspect to the space, as
students participate in tree planting events, cleanup efforts and trail restoration projects beyond
the scope of environmental studies coursework.
Environmental and service focused student organizations like fraternities lead efforts, and most
first-year students also participate in service projects through the college orientation program. This
enables the formation of community relationships
and connections in addition to “putting a positive
handprint on the environment and on McDaniel
College,” adds Elly Engle, Ph.D., assistant professor
of environmental studies and coordinator of agrifood systems programming.
As a result of first-year student participation,
more than 2,000 native plants have been added to
the property, with the support of the Chesapeake
Bay Trust, to restore a creek and establish a riparian
forest buffer. Over their four years, students who
graduate from the environmental studies program
usually participate in several experiences at the center, whether through sustainability class field trips,
educational signage projects, plant management
plan development and garden planning projects for
a semester long soil science class involving seedling
planting and ground preparation for summer gardening. Others chose to complete capstone research
and service projects at the center.
“They're doing it for their coursework, but I
think they're also doing it for the future, for future
McDaniel College recently opened the Environmental Center, a 58-acre outdoor learning lab for students.
students and for the future of Maryland and our
country, and all those sorts of important values that
we all hold,” Scullion explains. “In the moment, the
students are getting an opportunity for high-impact
learning, but that is cascading into giving them the
feeling of the importance of service, giving them the
technical skills they need to be job ready, and going
back to some of the higher level values of sustainability, sustainable development and conservation.”
In a similar vein, the Community College of
Baltimore County (CCBC) is offering a scholarship program designed to expand the pipeline of
students in STEM related careers. Funded by grants
from the National Science Foundation, CCBC currently has the largest cohort in the country.
STEM Core is a program that assists students
in STEM majors, empowering them to get through
“the institution of college,” says Camila Sotela, director of STEM Core at CCBC. Sotela offers “wraparound” support for students with their full cadre
of coursework, not just STEM classes, but also
the social aspects of college and how to “not just
get through school but really succeed and reach
their specific goals, whether that is graduating and
securing a job, getting an internship to help with
future employment or transferring to university,”
she explains.
The national STEM Core program began on the
West Coast, and currently 33 schools are participating. CCBC is considered the East Coast hub in conjunction with Anne Arundel and Howard community colleges. Students must apply to the program
and meet eligibility criteria – 2.8 GPA, U.S. citizenship and completion of a semester as a STEM major
with developmental level mathematics coursework.
Last semester was CCBC’s largest cohort, with 33
students participating. Over the summer, 15 participating students secured internships.
The program aims to support students who
might have difficulty with college mathematics,
guiding them through developmental math coursework to precalculus, ultimately leading to success
with calculus. The math courses are accelerated, and
students enroll in two such courses each semester.
Guidance is provided through “intrusive” advising, enabling students to meet with advisors often,
unlike the once a semester that occurs during a typical college experience. Discussions cover coursework and related issues, but also barriers and social
concerns like housing insecurity, family matters and
COVID, notes Sotela, who also hosts academic, professional and cultural events, seminars and workshops to assist students.
“Through that, they develop a subset of other
skills, [including] how to talk with professors, how
to seek out campus services that maybe don’t have
to do with academics, how to start building a professional network and putting together a resume and
getting interview skills,” she explains.
The CCBC scholarship differs from others as
they provide more than just funding for students.
“What makes us different is the amount of time I
spend with students and the rapport that I gain with
them,” Sotela explains. “With many of my students,
I know really intimate details about their families,
their personal lives, their work their hopes and
dreams. And very frequently, those are the things
that allow me to give them the kind of support that
[they need].”
This fall, the University of Maryland College
Park accepted its fifth cohort in the Masters of
Education in Teacher Leadership: Special Studies in
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
(STEM) Program to further STEM education for
elementary and middle school teachers. Students
take courses in leadership as well as integrated
math, science, environmental science, engineering, and technology coursework with a purpose of
furthering service in problem solving and preparing
students for careers and further study in STEM,
says Amy Green, Ph.D., director of the Center for
Science & Technology in Education (CSTE) and
program coordinator of the M.Ed. STEM Teacher
Leadership Program.
“It's not just about being really good in science
class or math class but being able to apply these
ideas in integrated ways in the service of solving real
world problems,” Green says. “Helping our teachers
become both competent and competent in support,
in designing these sorts of learning experiences that
bring together the knowledge and skills of multiple
disciplines and service of problem solving and helping them do that for themselves and for students is
just as essential.”
Teachers are united with STEM stakeholders and
thought leaders who are working in different arenas, like educators from Maryland Environmental
Service doing work with terrapins, researchers from
the Maryland Sea Grant College working with oysters, and members of the KID Museum in Bethesda
working on building a makerspace. They meet with
members of the NASA STEM Engagement Office
about resources and opportunities. They travel offsite to places like Poplar Island for field testing or
participate in hands-on investigations brought to
campus like oysters and aquaculture.
The program is innovative in exposing teachers
to these needed areas, but also responsive to their
specific needs. Current teachers relate an increased
demand for computer science in elementary school,
so coursework has been modified in partnership
with Maryland’s Center for Computing Education.
“The world is dynamic and ever changing, and
so professional learning for teachers should be, too,”
Green says. “This program helps connect these
teachers to resources, including human resources,
that can help them continually enhance their own
professional learning and skills.”