NOTES and NEWS - University System of Maryland at Hagerstown

NOTES and NEWS
Open House Draws Crowd
Prospective students from Hagerstown and the surrounding areas came out in the first snow squall of the season to
learn more about the programs offered at USMH.
University System of Maryland at Hagerstown
32 W. Washington Street, Hagerstown, MD 21740
Counselors from the four participating universities were
available to provide information and answer questions.
240-527-2060 v Voice TDD 240-527-2064 v www.hagerstown.usmd.edu
Current students participated in a poster session, showcasing their work for open house attendees .
HAGERSTOWN
Above: Casie Peterson and Jennifer Miller, FSU business students, prepared a
poster and game to display during the open house.
Left: Paul Easterling (right), associate director of the Professional Master of
Engineering Program at University of Maryland, College Park, and Dr.
George Syrmos (second from right), director of the program, chat with
prospective students during the recent open house.
Winter 2005
College Park Brings Engineering
to USMH
The University of Maryland, College Park, launched its first
program to be offered at the University System of Maryland
at Hagerstown during a reception on December 1. Graduate
engineering courses will be offered by the System's flagship
school beginning in January 2006.
"The University of Maryland, College Park is in Washington
County as of two o'clock today," said Dr. David Warner,
executive director of USMH. "I am thrilled to make that statement." A University of Maryland, College Park flag was
unveiled, joining the flags of the three other participating
schools at USMH.
Holiday Hours
Weather-Related Closings and Delays
USMH will be closed from Friday, December 23 through
Monday, January 2. The center will reopen on Tuesday,
January 3.
Winter weather is upon us. Please check our website,
www.hagerstown.usmd.edu, for weather-related closings and
delays. During winter weather events, regular updates will
appear on the home page. WHAG TV 25 and the following radio
stations will also broadcast our closings and delays:
Winter intersession classes begin on January 3 for all of the
participating universities.
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WJEJ/WWMD
WYII
WCRH
WFMD/WFRE
WAYZ
MIX 95
WQCM
WHAG
Timothy Troxell, executive director of the HagerstownWashington County Economic Development Commission,
said that having College Park join the Hagerstown campus
will benefit local business and industry, because there will be
a more educated workforce available.
According to Dr. George Syrmos, director of the Professional
Master of Engineering Program, students will be able to earn
master of engineering degrees and graduate certificates.
Interested students can contact Paul Easterling, associate
director of the program at 301-405-3017 or peaster@umd.edu.
To learn more about the program go to www.enpm.umd.edu.
Dr. C. David Warner (left), executive director of the University System of Maryland
at Hagerstown, and Dr. George Syrmos, director of the Professional Master of
Engineering Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, announced the
launch of the new graduate engineering program at USMH during a reception for
area business leaders.
Library Fully Staffed; Hours
Expanded
Meet the USMH Staff
The University System of Maryland at
Hagerstown (USMH) has hired seven employees since opening its doors to students in
January. Ten staff members are now in place to
provide services and manage the facility. The
following employees join Dr. C. David
Warner, executive director; Dr. JoEllen
Barnhart, associate director; and Linda
McNamee, administrative assistant.
As the first library media specialist at USMH, Jennifer Clement’s
goal is to give students increased access to materials and broaden
their knowledge of research tools. “I am pleased to join the
dynamic team at USMH while so much positive growth is taking
place. It is a great opportunity to shape valuable library services
that meet the needs of students and faculty, she says.”
In order to meet those needs, she has been working to increase
student access to print materials and instructing students on the
use of various databases for research purposes. She has established an interlibrary loan connection through Frostburg
University, allowing students to access the interlibrary collections. Materials are shipped to USMH where students pick them
up. Clement handles the return shipping. Early next year,
Clement plans to have software in place to allow students to borrow materials through the University System of Maryland and
Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Consortium. Students will be able
to log in to the program and request any of the materials that are
available through the USM catalogs. USMH will serve as a drop
off and pick up center for the USMAI materials.
To further serve students, Clement is offering basic research
instruction using online databases. Various databases are available to students through their affiliations with their home
schools. Although there is some overlap, different schools have
access to different databases. Hundreds of scholarly journals are
available through the databases, Clement has found that students
are largely unaware of this valuable research tool.
Rounding out the library services is an in-house collection.
Clement has started to build the collection with a small, but wellselected general reference section.
USMH Library Media Specialist Jennifer Clement plans to increase student
access to library materials and provide research instruction to give students the
benefit of a full range of library services.
To serve students further, USMH recently hired a library assistant. Tina Pyron (see opposite page) joined the staff on
December 1, allowing for expanded library hours. Pyron is a student in Frostburg’s sociology program.
Library Hours (during the academic semester):
Monday - Thursday: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Friday - 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Saturday - 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Contact Us
USMH Reception Desk
240-527-2060
FSU Student Services Office
FSU Education Dept. at USMH
FSU College of Business
UMB School of Nursing
UMUC Counseling
USMH Executive Director
USMH Associate Director
USMH Administative Assistant
USMH IT/Telecommunications
USMH Public Information
USMH Library
USMH Maintenance
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Voice TDD
240-527-2064
Lew Muth, Director
Lorna Bock, Admin. Asst.
Dr. Kim Rotruck, Coordinator
Kathy Griemsmann, Secretary
Ron Ross, MBA Coordinator
Susan Coyle
Amy Shimko
Dr. C. David Warner
Dr. JoEllen Barnhart
Linda McNamee
Scott Thomas
Erin Harman
Jennifer Clement
Jeff Lugas
lmuth@frostburg.edu
ldbock@frostburg.edu
krotruck@frostburg.edu
kgriemsmann@frostburg.edu
rross@frostburg.edu
scoyle@allconet.org
ashimko@umuc.edu
dwarner@hagerstown.usmd.edu
jbarnhart@hagerstown.usmd.edu
lmcnamee@hagerstown.usmd.edu
scthomas@hagerstown.usmd.edu
eharman@hagerstown.usmd.edu
jclement@hagerstown.usmd.edu
jlugas@hagerstown.usmd.edu
240-527-2712
240-527-2708
240-527-2736
240-527-2741
240-527-2750
240-527-2745
240-527-2711
240-527-2727
240-527-2710
240-527-2713
240-527-2758
240-527-2728
240-527-2717
240-527-2763
During a first round of hiring in January, Scott
Thomas was appointed as information technology communications associate. He holds an
associate degree in business administration
from Hagerstown Community College and a
bachelor’s degree in film and video from
University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Thomas is certified in network management
and administration. He came to USMH from
Frederick Community College where he was an
information technology specialist. He lives in
Hagerstown.
The USMH staff (l to r): Dr. David Warner, Tamara Doleman, Erin Harman, Dr. JoEllen Barnhart,
Jennifer Clement, Scott Thomas, Vichuda Wachs, Jeff Lugas and Linda McNamee.
Jeff Lugas joined USMH as maintenance supervisor in February. Lugas was employed by the
University System of Maryland as a project manager during the
renovation and construction of the USMH center. He has a bachelor’s degree in construction engineering technology with a minor
in business from Spring Garden Institute in Philadelphia. Lugas
has more than 20 years of experience serving as a project manager for schools, hospitals and commercial buildings. He says,
“This is the most unique project that I have ever worked on,
because it blends the old with the new. It was amazing to see the
transformation from start to completion—and helpful, because I
know where everything is.” Lugas lives in Middletown.
Vichuda Wachs assumed her duties as receptionist in January.
She earned a four-year secretarial diploma in her native country
of Thailand. Wachs previously worked for Frostburg State
University and at Potomac Eye Specialists. She lives in
Greencastle.
A second receptionist, Tamara Doleman, was appointed in
October. She joins Wachs in providing day and evening coverage
at the receptionist desk. She is a graduate of the paralegal program at Hagerstown Business College and holds an associate
degree. Doleman was previously employed by New England
Motor Freight in Hagerstown as an office associate. A
Hagerstown resident, she also writes a weekly column, “Around
Jonathan Street,” for the Herald-Mail.
Jennifer Clement began her position as library media specialist
in early October. She has been building the library collection and
creating and improving services to students and faculty (see
opposite page). Clement holds a bachelor’s degree in English
from Michigan State University and a master of library and infor-
mation science from Wayne State University in Detroit. Most
recently, she was a library assistant for the Capitol Area District
Library System in Lansing, MI. She also has worked as a corporate librarian. In addition, she held a position as public relations
writer at Peckham, Inc., and has a 13-year background in public
relations and marketing. Clement recently relocated to Berkeley
Springs, WV.
Erin Harman joins USMH as public information specialist. She
is responsible for marketing and public relations and assists with
recruitment and development. Harman previously served as
director of communications for Saint James School. She holds a
bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Maryland
at College Park. “As a lifelong resident of Washington County
and as a graduate of a school in the University of Maryland
System, I am excited to be a part of this center. I believe strongly
in the mission of bringing four-year educational opportunities to
local residents and look forward to being a part of the center’s
growth,” she said.
Tina Pyron was hired in December as a library assistant, bringing expanded hours to the library. She is available to help students with reference questions and technical issues. Pyron holds
an associate degree in liberal arts from St. Leo University and
plans to graduate in May 2006 with a B.S. in sociology from the
Frostburg program offered at USMH. She worked as an aid at
the Library of Congress for one year while in high school.
Following high school, she served in the armed forces for three
years. Pyron moved to Hagerstown in 2002 and has worked as a
substitute teacher for Washington County Public Schools for the
past five years.
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