Academic Programs

As a University of Maryland law student in the late 1990s, Terry F. Hickey looked for ways to reach troubled teens before they ended up in the juvenile justice system. In 1997, he took a course that had been created to determine whether lawyers and law students, who typically work with children after they get in trouble, could help youths improve their neighborhoods. Hickey and a group of high school students in Park Heights began mapping vacant houses in their community and presenting findings to city leaders.

Several articles recently published in The Sun regarding disagreements between black lawmakers over a proposal to have a performance audit conducted at Morgan State University may have raised questions concerning the current state of affairs at the institution. We, the Morgan State University Board of Regents, believe it is important that the public understand clearly that Morgan is doing well. The university has been measured against the same accountability standards used for every other public college and university in the State of Maryland and it has fared well in such assessments.

Drug CostsOne of the largest culprits in health care cost escalation has to be the pharmaceutical industry. Last year, legislation to hold down drug costs was defeated due to superior lobbying by the drug industry.It promised faithfully to curb prices and of course did not. They hide costs behind the old research and development screen and buy full page newspaper ads to cover up and proclaim how innocent they are. I wonder how much more our prescriptions will cost to pay for such ads.Recently, I purchased three prescriptions -- 20 Pepcid pills at a cost of $57.14; 10 Cipro 500mg pills at $33.38 and a tube of Santyl 15 gm at $35.60.

College CutsIn his March 28 letter, Andrew J. Miller of Baltimore says the proposed educational performing arts facility at College Park is responsible for reductions in academic offerings at the University of Maryland System.We at College Park especially know the pain that cutting academic programs causes.College Park itself eliminated 32 programs, seven departments and one college in one of the most comprehensive academic reorganizations in the country. More is on the table.Is the capital budget forcing the university system to cut academic programs?

FROSTBURG -- If a child needs tutoring, a bird's wing mending, a day care center tending, a hospital's walls brightening, or if other such good deeds need doing in this Western Maryland community, people know whom to call: the students in Allen Hall. An otherwise unimpressive three-story brick building on the campus of Frostburg State University, Allen Hall is gaining a national reputation as what might be called a full-service dormitory. It is the home of the Allen HallSTARS!, an innovative program that combines the growing interest in social service among college students with academic programs and residential life.

The NCAA this morning announced stiff penalties on the Penn State football program, acting with unprecedented swiftness in response to a report detailing the repeated failure of officials there to act appropriately in response to long-time assistant coach Jerry Sandusky's serial child sexual abuse. The football team, already reeling from the scandal and the firing and subsequent death of legendary coach Joe Paterno, faces a four-year ban on post-season appearances, a $60 million fine and the vacating of all its victories from 1998-2011, the time period when officials knew about Mr. Sandusky's crimes but failed to stop them.

WESTMINSTER - "America's Best Colleges," an annual survey of the United States' most outstanding institutions of higher learning as conducted by U.S. News & World Report, has included Western Maryland College in its list of top-ranked national liberal arts colleges.The report, featured in the Oct. 15 issue of the magazine, places Western Maryland among the "Best of the Rest" -- the best 141 liberal arts colleges not ranked in the top 25 but warranting national recognition nonetheless. These colleges were rated by the magazine's editors and by college presidents, deans and admissions directors, using categories established by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Sabriaya Shipley enrolled in a summer learning program that her mother promised would offer new experiences. But when the 15-year-old city girl discovered those experiences would be on horseback at a school in Baltimore County, she balked, at least a bit. "At first I said, 'No way,'" said Sabriaya, a rising sophomore at the Institute of Notre Dame in Baltimore. "I never thought I would even get on a horse, let alone lead one around the ring. Now I am trotting on one. Now I can say I play polo.

Dunbar principal Charlotte Brown yesterday defended her surprising dismissal of boys basketball coach Paul Smith, who led the Poets to three state titles in his three seasons at the school.Brown, who began advertising for Smith's position on July 1, notified Smith of her intentions in a letter he confirmed receiving on Aug. 9, the day before Brown began interviewing other candidates.Smith, who says he wants to avoid any stigma the firing might cause, was 69-10 at Dunbar. Last season's team returned just one starter but won 17 of its final 19 games after a 4-4 start.

Baltimore schools CEO Andres Alonso wants to invest more in students who are at opposite ends of the performance scale - those who are high achievers as well as those who are struggling. The idea is to shrink the bottom, give more heft to the middle and expand the top. It's a smart way to enhance the system's strengths and strengthen its weaknesses - one that the Board of School Commissioners should approve. Expanding programs for high-performing students could help slow down the system's own brain drain.