Important Health Update For The Washington College Community

The following announcements were made by President John Toll on January 19, 20 & 28, and precautions were taken by the College's Health Services to ensure the welfare of Washington College students, staff, and faculty. Medical professionals have ruled out SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and bacterial meningitis in the diagnosis of the student who passed away. In addition, in a letter dated January 30, 2004, from Maryland State Epidemiologist David Blythe, MD, MPH, to President Toll, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene assured him that its investigation of the student's illness "has not identified any evidence of a situation that requires special disease prevention actions on the part of you, the campus community, or other persons in Maryland." Concerned parents and students may contact Dean Maureen McIntire in the Office of Student Affairs.

Chestertown, MD, January 19, 2004 — This afternoon, a Washington College student was transported from the Chester River Hospital Center to the University of Maryland Hospital, where the student is being treated for influenza-like symptoms. There is no clear diagnosis at this time, but because of the student's travel and contacts over the holiday break, the Chester River Hospital Center included severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as one of several possible causes. Tests are being conducted today, and doctors hope to have a conclusive diagnosis soon.

As a precautionary measure, members of the College's Health Services have identified and screened all of the student's close contacts on campus, and have advised the student's living companions to undertake a thorough disinfection of the shared living spaces.

Our medical staff believes that it is highly unlikely that this student has, in fact, contracted SARS, an infectious respiratory illness that shares early signs and symptoms with the common cold. Nevertheless, all students who come down with a respiratory ailment and who have a fever of 100.4 or greater should contact the College's Health Services or their primary care provider. If neither is available, students should seek medical attention at the Chester River Health Center emergency room.

To prevent the spread of all respiratory viruses, students should cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing, and wash their hands frequently.

We will keep you apprised of any further developments as the information becomes available.

Chestertown, MD, January 20, 2004 — Please note the following important update to yesterday's report of a Washington College student transported to the University of Maryland Hospital with influenza-like symptoms. State health officials have now informed us that the student's signs and symptoms are NOT consistent with SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

Nevertheless we reiterate the need for vigilance among all members of the Washington College community during this flu season in taking precautions such as hand washing, and in reporting cold or flu symptoms accompanied by fever to the College's Health Services, a primary care provider, or, if neither is available, to the doctor on duty at the Chester River Health Center emergency room.

Poet Michael Waters To Read From His Works, February 12 At Washington College

Chestertown, MD, January 28, 2004 — Washington College's Sophie Kerr Lecture Series presents poet Michael Waters, professor of English at Salisbury University, reading from his works, Thursday, February 12, at 4:30 p.m. in the Sophie Kerr Room of the College's Miller Library. The event is free and the public is invited to attend. “I cannot call to mind anyone of Waters' generation who is currently writing better poetry,” said critic Floyd Collins of Waters in The Gettysburg Review. A prolific poet whose works have appeared in such distinguished journals as Poetry, Antioch Review and The Yale Review, Waters is the recipient of two Pushcart Prizes and has been awarded several fellowships in creative writing. His recent books include Parthenopi: New and Selected Poems (BOA Editions, 2001), Green Ash, Red Maple, Black Gum (BOA Editions, 1997) and Bountiful (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 1992). He also has edited several volumes, including Contemporary American Poetry (Houghton Mifflin, 2001) and Perfect in Their Art (Southern Illinois University Press, 2003). Waters' poetry has been called vivid and sensual, willing to embrace humanity's imperfections and to speak of love, loss and emotional aftermaths.

Born in Brooklyn, NY, Waters attended SUNY-Brockport (B.A., M.A.), the University of Nottingham, the University of Iowa (M.F.A.), and Ohio University (Ph.D.). He has taught in the creative writing programs at Ohio University and the University of Maryland, has served as a Visiting Professor of American Literature at the University of Athens, Greece, and was as a Banister Writer-in-Residence at Sweet Briar College in Virginia. He has taught at Salisbury University since 1978.

The reading is sponsored by the Sophie Kerr Lecture Series, named in honor of the late Sophie Kerr, a writer from Denton, MD, whose generosity has done so much to enrich Washington College's literary culture. When she died in 1965, she left the bulk of her estate to the College, specifying that one half of the income from her bequest be awarded every year to the senior showing the most “ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor” and the other half be used to bring visiting writers to campus, to fund scholarships, and to help defray the costs of student publications.

In Memoriam: Simon Hultman, Class Of 2004

Chestertown, MD, January 28, 2004 — To the Washington College Community:

I write with the sad news that Simon Matthew Hultman, a Washington College senior, passed away Monday, January 26, at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, after a serious illness.

Simon was an international studies major with a concentration in East Asian studies. According to his advisor, Professor Tahir Shad, Simon was an excellent student who “loved all things Japanese.” During his sophomore year, Simon traveled to Japan, attending classes at Meiji Gakuin, and obtaining a deep knowledge of the Japanese language and culture. This past fall semester, Simon became the first student to study at the University of Pecs in Hungary.

“That's the kind of student he was,” Dr. Shad commented. “He loved to learn and took advantage of every opportunity Washington College presented him.”

Closer to home Simon distinguished himself as a generous and loyal friend to many in the Washington College community, especially to those international students who are far from their homes.

We were very fortunate to have Simon here with us for the past three and a half years. His contributions were many and we will miss him very much. Simon is survived by his mother, Diane Hultman of Pahoa, Hawaii, and by his siblings.

In remembering him, we will celebrate the intellectual curiosity that fueled his travels and his achievements as well as his immense generosity of spirit. A campus memorial service in his honor will be held Friday, January 30, at 3 p.m. in the Tawes Theatre. The College community is invited to honor and to remember Simon's life and accomplishments.

In memory of Simon, the Japanese Club will also show two films: Grave of the Fireflies, this Friday, January 30 at 7 p.m. in Goldstein 100, and Empire of the Sun, Friday, February 6, at 7 p.m. in Goldstein 100. All are welcome.

Information about funeral arrangements will be shared with you as soon as it is available.

John Toll
President

Lecture Series Marks 50th Anniversary Of Brown V. Board Of Education Desegregation Decision

Chestertown, MD, January 28, 2004 — May 17, 2004, will mark the 50th anniversary of the unanimous Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregation in public education. In honor of Black History Month, Washington College—in cooperation with the Maryland Humanities Council—will host a lecture series to examine the context, impact and legacy of this historic turn in Civil Rights. All lectures are free and open to the public and will begin at 7 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge on their respective dates.

On Tuesday, February 3, Jeffrey L. Coleman, assistant professor of English specializing in multicultural/American literature at St. Mary's College of Maryland, will speak on “Pride and Protest: Poetry of the American Civil Rights Movement.” Dr. Coleman's lecture will explore the relationship between social forces and art during the late 1950s, the 1960s, and the early 1970s, and how the Civil Rights Movement of this period is expressed in the poetry of Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice Walker, Amiri Baraka, Michael S. Harper and others.

Dr. Coleman has worked as poetry editor for Hayden's Ferry Review and advertising copywriter for Young and Rubicam in New York. He earned his Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of New Mexico, his M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Arizona State University, and his B.A. in Communications from Winthrop University.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2004, Debra Newman Ham, professor of history at Morgan State University, will present “Expert Witnesses: The NAACP's Brown Case Strategy.” While many people know about the attorneys who argued many of the cases leading up to Brown v. Board of Education—Thurgood Marshall, Constance Baker Motley, Robert Carter and Jack Greenberg—few realize the number of scholars from various disciplines who were called upon to build or strengthen the school desegregation cases in courts around the country. Dr. Ham will look at the contributions of scholars such as historian John Hope Franklin and social psychologists Mamie and Kenneth Bancroft Clark, and the way the NAACP and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund strategized their assault against segregation in American schools with the aid of such scholars.

Dr. Ham received her Ph.D. in African History from Howard University, her M.A. in African History from Boston University, and her B.A. in history from Howard University. She served as curator of the NAACP Papers at the Library of Congress from 1986 to 1995. She teaches African, African-American, archival and public history at Morgan State.

On March 23, 2004, the Brown v. Board of Education Lecture Series will conclude with a talk by Dr. Lenneal Henderson, distinguished professor of Government and Public Administration at University of Baltimore. Dr. Henderson will discuss “Brown at 50: New Challenges of the Hardening of the Categories,” taking a deeper look at Brown and its trail of cases leading up to today's controversies in educational equity. His lecture will address the shift in demographic, socioeconomic and educational context and content of school segregation; the shift from rights to resources and the problem of equitable public school financing; battles over curriculum and tracking, including the disproportionate number of non-white students in special education and learning disability tracks; and the quality of education and issues of multiculturalism and diversity.

Dr. Henderson serves as a Senior Fellow at the William Donald Schaefer Center for Public Policy and a Senior Fellow in the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics at the University of Baltimore. He has been a consultant to federal, state and local government, the corporate sector, and the nonprofit sector for more than 30 years in the areas of housing, education policy, energy management, environmental policy and public management. He received his A.B., M.A., and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

The Brown v. Board of Education Lecture Series is sponsored by Washington College's Office of International & Diversity Affairs, Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, Campus Events and Visitors Committee, Student Government Association, Center for The Study of Black Culture, Black Student Union and Cleopatra's Daughters, in cooperation with the Maryland Humanities Council and the Kent County Chapter of the NAACP.

Tea & Talk Series Welcomes Washington Post Feature And Travel Writer, Hank Stuever, February 3

Chestertown, MD, January 27, 2004 — The Rose O'Neill Tea & Talk Series and the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience present “A Conversation With Hank Stuever,” feature and travel writer for The Washington Post, Tuesday, February 3 at the O'Neill Literary House. The event is free and all are welcomed to enjoy tea, conviviality and discussion. Tea served at 4 p.m., talk begins at 4:30.

Stuever is recognized as one of the most engaging and original voices on the staff of The Washington Post, and in 2002 was lauded by The Columbia Journalism Review: “When people talk about innovative voices at the Post, they refer most frequently to the thirty-four-year-old Style writer Hank Stuever.” With the enviable job of an “at-large” reporter, he covers assignments ranging from a lengthy feature about a haunted waterbed store, to a heartfelt appreciation of Velma of "Scooby Doo" fame, to coverage of the 2002 Olympics and the 2003 explosion of the space shuttle Columbia. Stuever has twice been named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for feature writing—once for a story about a wedding (1993) and again for a story about the days following the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in his hometown of Oklahoma City (1996). He has won several state and national writing awards, and his work appears in the anthologies The Best American Travel Writing 2003, Telling Stories, Taking Risks: Journalism Writing at the Century's Edge and Best Newspaper Writing 1994. He has taught writing workshops in Portland, Seattle, Austin, Minneapolis and Atlanta. A collection of his essays, Off Ramp: Adventures and Heartache in the American Elsewhere, will be published this year by Henry Holt.

Stuever was born and raised in Oklahoma City and received his B.A. from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1991. He has been a reporter at The Albuquerque Tribune and the Austin American-Statesman. He has also written for the Los Angeles Times, Slate and L.A. Weekly. A selection of his work can be found online at www.hankstuever.com.

The Rose O'Neill Tea & Talk Series is held at Washington College's O'Neill Literary House, a large, eclectic Victorian home that reflects the spirit of the College's creative writing culture. Established in 1985, the Literary House was acquired and refurbished through a generous gift of alumna Betty Casey, Class of 1947, and her late husband Eugene, in memory of his late mother, Rose O'Neill Casey.

Author Jan Pottker To Read From Her Biography Of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, February 5

Chestertown, MD, January 22, 2004 — Washington College's Sophie Kerr Lecture Series and Gender Studies Program present a reading by author Jan Pottker from her book, Janet and Jackie: The Story of a Mother and her Daughter, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Thursday, February 5 in the Sophie Kerr Room uptairs in Miller Library. A reception will be held at 4 p.m.in the Hodson Hall Study Lounge with the reading to follow at 4:30 p.m. The event is free and the public is invited to attend.

Although many biographies of Jackie Kennedy Onassis have been written, most focus on her relationships with the men in her life. Pottker takes a different approach and examines the role of her mother, Janet Lee Auchincloss, in the shaping of her identity and personal destiny. The book presents a portrait of Auchincloss and surprising facts about this mother-daughter relationship.

A writer and public speaker fascinated with the history and personalities behind America's political and financial family dynasties, Pottker has been is a guest lecturer for Celebrity Cruise Line and has appeared on NBC's Inside Edition, ABC's Working Woman, CNBC'sBusiness Today, and CNN's Sonia Live. In addition to her regular lectures, she has been interviewed on more than 200 radio shows and has spoken to more than 60 social, business and professional groups nationwide. Her published works include, Crisis in Candyland: Melting the Chocolate Shell of the Mars Family Empire, Born to Power: Heirs to America's Leading Businesses, and Dear Ann, Dear Abby: An Unauthorized Biography of Ann Landers and Abigail Van Buren, which sold more than 270,000 copies. Pottker lives in Potomac, MD, with her husband, Andrew S. Fishel.

The reading is sponsored by the Sophie Kerr Lecture Series, named in honor of the late Sophie Kerr, a writer from Denton, MD, whose generosity has done so much to enrich Washington College's literary culture. When she died in 1965, she left the bulk of her estate to the College specifying that one half of the income from her bequest be awarded every year to the senior showing the most “ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor,” and the other half be used to bring visiting writers to campus, to fund scholarships, and to help defray the costs of student publications.

Red States, Blue States: Speaker Examines Regional Divisions In American Politics, February 4

Chestertown, MD, January 22, 2004 — Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs presents “Red States, Blue States: Regional and Cultural Divisions in American Politics,” a lecture by Michael Lind, Senior Fellow with the New America Foundation and noted author of Made in Texas and The Radical Center, Wednesday, February 4 at 7:30 p.m. in the College's Hynson Lounge. This is a free event and the public is invited to attend.

Lind is the Whitehead Senior Fellow and director of the American Strategy Project at the New America Foundation, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institute that explores public policy ideas that transcend the conventional political spectrum. He is the author of The Radical Center: The Future of American Politics (with Ted Halstead) and Made in Texas: George W. Bush and the Southern Takeover of American Politics (New America Books/Basic, 2003). Lind has been an editor or staff writer for The New Yorker, Harper's Magazine, The New Republic and The National Interest. He has written for The Atlantic Monthly, Prospect, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times and other leading publications, and he has appeared as a guest on CNN's Crossfire, C-SPAN, National Public Radio and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He has also been a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School.

Lind's first three books of political history—The Next American Nation (1995), Up From Conservatism (1996) and Vietnam (1999)—were all selected as New York Times Notable Books. He has also published several volumes of fiction and poetry, including The Alamo (1997), which the Los Angeles Times named as one of the Best Books of the year. He is currently working on a study of Abraham Lincoln titled What Lincoln Believed: The Values and Convictions of America's Greatest President, which will be published by Doubleday this year.

The talk is sponsored by Washington College's Goldstein Program in Public Affairs, established in honor of the late Louis L. Goldstein, 1935 alumnus and Maryland's longest serving elected official. The Goldstein Program sponsors lectures, symposia, visiting fellows, travel and other projects that bring students and faculty together with leaders in public policy and the media.

Message To The College Community: Important Health Update

Chestertown, MD, January 20, 2004 — Please note the following important update to yesterday's report of a Washington College student transported to the University of Maryland Hospital with influenza-like symptoms. State health officials have now informed us that the student's signs and symptoms are NOT consistent with SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

Nevertheless we reiterate the need for vigilance among all members of the Washington College community during this flu season in taking precautions such as hand washing, and in reporting cold or flu symptoms accompanied by fever to the College's Health Services, a primary care provider, or, if neither is available, to the doctor on duty at the Chester River Health Center emergency room.

Important Message To The Washington College Community

Chestertown, MD, January 19, 2004 — This afternoon, a Washington College student was transported from the Chester River Hospital Center to the University of Maryland Hospital, where the student is being treated for influenza-like symptoms. There is no clear diagnosis at this time, but because of the student's travel and contacts over the holiday break, the Chester River Hospital Center included severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) as one of several possible causes. Tests are being conducted today, and doctors hope to have a conclusive diagnosis soon.

As a precautionary measure, members of the College's Health Services have identified and screened all of the student's close contacts on campus, and have advised the student's living companions to undertake a thorough disinfection of the shared living spaces.

Our medical staff believes that it is highly unlikely that this student has, in fact, contracted SARS, an infectious respiratory illness that shares early signs and symptoms with the common cold. Nevertheless, all students who come down with a respiratory ailment and who have a fever of 100.4 or greater should contact the College's Health Services or their primary care provider. If neither is available, students should seek medical attention at the Chester River Health Center emergency room.

To prevent the spread of all respiratory viruses, students should cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing, and wash their hands frequently.

We will keep you apprised of any further developments as the information becomes available.

Politics Of Women Clergy Topic For Tea & Talk Series, January 26

Chestertown, MD, January 15, 2004 — The Rose O'Neill Tea & Talk Series and the Gender Studies Program at Washington College present “Women with a Mission: Gender, Religion, and the Politics of Women Clergy,” a lecture by Melissa Deckman, assistant professor of political science, Monday, January 26 at the O'Neill Literary House. The event is free and all are welcomed to enjoy tea, conviviality and discussion. Tea served at 4 p.m., talk begins at 4:30.

While it took many generations of struggle before women gained formal acceptance into the male-dominated ministry and rabbinate, the pulpit has recently become more hospitable to women, asserts Deckman, and as their numbers grow, women clergy are coming to exert an increasingly visible political presence in the United States. Her lecture will focus on the story of women clergy's encounters with politics, demonstrating how gender, professional status, and religion can affect citizens' political attitudes and behavior.

“I argue that the combination of gender, minority professional status, and the nature of the religious traditions that ordain women act together to move women clergy ideologically toward the political left,” says Deckman. “Ironically, though, these same factors can combine to make it difficult and potentially risky for women clergy to engage in visible action on controversial issues, but many do act, even on controversial issues such as gay rights and abortion. The ways that these women navigate the nexus of congregational ministry, community leadership, and prophetic political teaching is making a greater impact on American politics, both through their actions and through their influence on the beliefs and actions of the many American citizens who attend their congregations.”

The Rose O'Neill Tea & Talk Series showcases the research, writing and talent of Washington College's faculty and is held in the College's O'Neill Literary House. Established in 1985, the Literary House was acquired and refurbished through a generous gift of alumna Betty Casey, Class of 1947, and her late husband Eugene, in memory of his late mother, Rose O'Neill Casey. Now approaching its 20th anniversary, the O'Neill Literary House is a large, eclectic Victorian home that reflects the spirit of Washington College's creative writing culture.

Gypsy Jazz! Hot Club Of San Francisco Plays Washington College, February 8

Chestertown, MD, January 15, 2004 — Django Reinhardt fans rejoice! The Washington College Concert Series presents The Hot Club of San Francisco, Sunday, February 8, at 4 p.m. in the College's Tawes Theatre, Gibson Performing Arts Center. Inspired by jazz great Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli's pioneering Hot Club de France, the Hot Club of San Francisco evokes the jumpy rhythms and sentimentality of classic “Gypsy Jazz.” Single tickets can be purchased at the door, $15.00 for adults and $5.00 for youth and students, and season tickets and sponsorships are available from the College.

An accomplished and versatile ensemble, the Hot Club of San Franscisco borrows the all-string instrumentation of violin, bass and guitars from the original Hot Club, but breathes new life into the music with innovative arrangements of classic tunes and original compositions from the group's lead guitarist, Paul Mehling. Hearing the ensemble live, or on any of their six CDs, carries the listener back to the 1930s and to the smoky jazz clubs of Paris and the refined lounges of the famous Hotel Ritz. For more than 10 years, the Hot Club of San Francisco has entranced audiences around the globe and kept this unique Jazz tradition fresh and alive.

For ticket information and a 2003-2004 season brochure, call 410-778-7839 or 800-422-1782, ext. 7839. Season tickets are available for $50.00 per person. Individual tax-deductible patron memberships at $500.00. All membership packages include two tickets, and all donations over the price of the tickets are tax-deductible. Season tickets and memberships can be purchased by check or money order through the mail from the Washington College Concert Series, 300 Washington Avenue, Chestertown, MD 21620-1197.

Public Forum January 17 At Washington College Shares Results Of The First Rural Communities Leadership Program

Chestertown, MD, January 13, 2004 — The Rural Communities Leadership Program —conducted by Washington College's Center for Environment and Society in collaboration with the University of Maryland's Institute for Governmental Service—will report results and initiatives from its inaugural year at the Grassroots 2 Public Forum, Saturday, January 17, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the College's Casey Academic Center Forum.

The program will feature opening remarks from Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, a report from Dr. Wayne Bell, the program's Principal Investigator, facilitated discussion, and an endnote talk on “Planning with a Vision” by Dr. James A. Segedy, Director of Community-Based Projects and Professor of Urban Planning, Ball State University. This is a free, public forum and lunch will be provided, but reservations are necessary. To reserve a seat, call Jean Sucharewicz at Washington College's Custom House, 410-810-7161.

“Rural Communities Leadership is reporting out to the general public in preparation for completion of the project's white paper,” said Bell, who directs the College's Center for Environment and Society. “Like never before, our region faces developmental pressures that threaten its rural character and natural resources. Through the Rural Communities Leadership Program, we have learned that communities on the Eastern Shore can better address these ‘working landscape issues' by developing their own, locally-based grassroots network of leaders and stakeholders. Who is better qualified to guide development that is more compatible with the Shore's special sense of place than the people who work, farm, fish and live here? We hope to share these ideas and invite input from a broad section of the public by means of this forum.”

The Rural Communities Leadership Program was launched in November 2002 with a grant from The W. K. Kellogg Foundation in order to create a model for encouraging and sustaining local leadership and initiatives to maintain the rural character, resource-based economy and heritage of the Eastern Shore. The pilot program hosted monthly meetings throughout 2003 for program participants, who deliberated on issues such as economics, community character, the environment and natural resources. In addition, participants visited several rural communities in the U.S. and abroad to see first-hand how they confronted and resolved similar challenges to those facing the Eastern Shore. Details of the project's activities are posted to the web site of the Center for Environment and Society, ces.washcoll.edu.

Martin Luther King Remembrance And Celebration Set For January 19

Chestertown, MD, January 12, 2004 — Washington College will host “MARTIN LUTHER KING: A DAY OF CELEBRATION,” Monday, January 19, in honor of the memory and the legacy of the late Civil Rights leader. A program of remembrance will be held at 1:30 p.m. and the film Separate But Equal will be shown at 6:30 p.m., both in the Norman James Theatre, William Smith Hall. The events are free and the public is invited to attend.

At 1:30 p.m., students, faculty and other members of the Washington College community will reflect on the “Power Of Integration” and the life of Dr. King through anecdotes and readings in a service of remembrance and celebration in the Norman James Theatre. At 6:30 p.m., the College will show the 1991 film Separate But Equal that documents the legal and moral struggle to desegregate America's public schools. The film features Sidney Portier as the future Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall—then a lawyer for the NAACP—and the case that lead to the Supreme Court's 1953 decision to abolish racial segregation in schools. Both events are sponsored by Washington College's Martin Luther King Celebration Committee, Black Student Union and Cleopatra's Daughters.

$103.4 Million: Washington College Completes Largest Capital Campaign Of Any Undergraduate College In Maryland

Campaign's Success Highlights Accomplishments of Dr. John Toll's Tenure as President

Chestertown, MD, January 8, 2004 — Washington College's Board of Visitors and Governors announced today the conclusion of the largest capital campaign in the College's 222-year history—and the single largest fund raising campaign ever conducted by any Maryland undergraduate college. With an original campaign goal of $72 million announced in 1998, the Campaign for Washington's College surpassed its original target by nearly 44 percent, with total contributions of $103.4 million as of December 31, 2003. Among all Maryland institutions of higher learning, only Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland System have raised more money in a single capital campaign. Washington College enrolls 1,450 students from 35 states and 36 countries.

“On behalf of the entire Washington College community, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the success of this campaign,” said Jay Griswold, Chair of the College's Board of Visitors and Governors and Director of Brown Investment Advisory and Trust Company of Baltimore. “Despite the economic downturn of the past few years and the challenges of these uncertain times, we have seen an amazing amount of generosity by our alumni, by foundations, and by individuals who believe deeply and passionately in the distinctive education that Washington College provides.”

Campaign support came from numerous alumni who collectively contributed more than $11 million, as well as 15 donors who gave $1 million or more, 105 contributors of $100,000 or more, $5 million from The Starr Foundation of New York, and the constant support of The Hodson Trust, which provided various grants and a pledge to match all contributions to the endowment of $100,000 or more. Drawing grants from many corporations and foundations in the Mid-Atlantic region, the campaign was also supported by distinguished national foundations, including The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and The Henry Luce Foundation.

“The breadth of support for Washington College was outstanding, and the number of national sources who contributed to our campaign is a real compliment to our institution,” Griswold added.

“The founding of Washington College in 1782 as the first college chartered after the Declaration of Independence was an act of courageous optimism for a nation whose destiny was still uncertain,” said John S. Toll, President of the College. “What we have witnessed through our campaign is that same vision. Our founders William Smith and George Washington, with the help of many supporters, launched Washington College because they believed fervently that education was the bulwark on which freedom, opportunity and justice must rest if they are to be perpetuated. Today's benefactors, like our founders, are bold optimists whose generosity will go a long way to help us lift Washington College to new levels of distinction and service.”

The campaign's successful conclusion represents one of the highlights of Dr. Toll's nine-year tenure as president. The former chancellor and president of the University of Maryland System and professor of physics, Dr. Toll arrived at Washington College in January 1995 and will step down as president at the conclusion of this academic year.

Funds raised by the Campaign for Washington's College are supporting a range of initiatives as part of the College's strategic plan, including new faculty chairs and professorships, technology enhancements, two new academic research and outreach centers—the Center for Environment and Society and the C. V. Starr Center for the Study of the American Experience—and new and expanded academic programs in archaeology, Asian studies, computer science, and earth and planetary science. In addition, the Campaign is helping to improve and expand campus infrastructure: Louis L. Goldstein Hall was dedicated in 2000 and a new 45,000-square-foot Science Center is slated for completion in Fall 2004. Many other facilities, including William Smith Hall, were renovated.

Founded in 1782 under the patronage of George Washington, Washington College is a private, independent college of liberal arts and sciences located in historic Chestertown on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

College Launches New Major In Human Development

Program Includes Teacher and Non-Teacher Tracts

Chestertown, MD, January 5, 2004 — Launched this past Fall Semester under the direction of the Washington College's Department of Education, the College's newest major, Human Development, has been designed to provide comprehensive preparation for prospective elementary school teachers and an interdisciplinary program for students who wish to examine the theory and practice of human development in community and education. The addition of this program brings to 26 the College's number of major degree programs.

“The major serves as a foundation for individuals wishing to become elementary school teachers, as well as for those students seeking to continue their studies in allied professions such as school counseling and social services,” said Peggy Donnelly, Assistant Professor of Education and the Human Development program coordinator. “The class of 2005 will see five students graduate with a major in Human Development who will also be eligible for a Maryland teaching certificate in Elementary Education. Among the class of 2006, another dozen are planning to declare the major.”

According to Professor Sean O'Connor, Chair of Washington College's Department of Education, the Human Development major is designed to help students answer the question, “How do children develop into fully mature, autonomous and self-aware human beings who are capable of both intimate and public communal relationships?” Through a multi-disciplinary approach, the major helps students answer that question both theoretically and practically through an academic program that includes sequenced study in educational foundations (the history, philosophy and psychology of education), a developmental progression of study in pedagogical theory and practice, a demonstrated knowledge of content in selected liberal arts disciplines, and courses from the departments of anthropology, sociology and psychology.

Field experiences and research are essential components of the major. The major study includes field experiences in schools or other educational and social agencies; for the teacher candidate, major study includes a 100-day internship in a locally based Professional Development School. In the senior year, the major requires the completion of a significant independent project.

For more information about the new Human Development major, visit Washington College's catalog online at http://catalog.washcoll.edu.