Alumni

The recent article by Carrie Wells and Scott Calvert ("Ire grows after Towson president cuts two teams," March 24) neglected to capture the opinion of "some of Towson's most prominent and active alumni" who support President Maravene Loeschke's difficult decision to eliminate two men's sports teams. The Sun's editors should certainly be aware of alumni who understand and support the decision based on recent letters published in this newspaper. However, Ms. Wells and Mr. Calvert instead chose to focus on an alumnus who has a dissenting opinion.

Julie Coleman, of Havre de Grace, daughter of the late Eloise and William (Corkhead) Coleman was honored April 13 at the Forum in Baltimore. The Greater Baltimore Chapter of Wilberforce University Alumni Association held its annual Carlene E. Henry Green and Gold Scholarship Breakfast to honor community supporters and friends; the theme was "We have not gone for enough. " The audience was entertained with poetry by Taylor Galloway a ninth grader at the New Mark School of Excellence, and inspired spiritually through song by the mass choir of St. Stephens AME Church of Essex.

Morgan State University Alumni Association's Harford County Chapter held a meet and greet in Havre de Grace recently where the featured guest was the university's new president, David T. Wilson. Held at La Banque De Fleuve on May 29, the event was hosted by Morgan alumni County Executive David Craig and Bruce and Theresa Lewis of Total Urgent Care. Leaders of the local chapter and the national association are both hoping to increase enrollment and donations among the extensive network of Morgan alumni in Harford and Cecil counties, and having the opportunity to hear from and meet the new president certainly enhanced that effort, organizers said.

The Towson University Alumni Association Board of Directors supports President Maravene Loeschke and her commitment to advance our alma mater's focus on student success and academic excellence. Since Ms. Loeschke's arrival, Towson alumni have witnessed countless examples of her enthusiasm and devotion to Towson University. Her love for students is evident in everything she does. Dr. Loeschke's leadership - transparent, compassionate, inclusive and decisive - has served her well in making difficult, sometimes heart-wrenching decisions.

As a former student athlete at the University of Maryland and current member of the Terrapin Club, I was shocked and angered by the University's move from the ACC to the Big Ten ("UM to leave ACC for Big Ten in '14," Nov. 20). Then I saw today's paper, revealing that of all the Big Ten schools, Maryland has the smallest endowment fund. And how much time Maryland coaches have to spend on fundraising at the expense of coaching. So while it's easy to blame the administration, it sounds like we Marylanders and Terrapin alumni haven't done a great job at supporting our university, and can blame ourselves as well.

To celebrate the 10 th anniversary of the Maryland men's basketball national championship in 2002, the Terps will welcome back four of the five starters from that team for the program's annual “Maryland Madness” this Friday at Comcast Center. Juan Dixon, Steve Blake, Byron Mouton and Chris Wilcox, are expected to play in the alumni game that starts at 10:30 p.m, according to a Maryland news release. Johnny Rhodes, Mike Grinnon and Dave Neal are also planning to play. The 40 th Maryland Madness is set to start at 9:30 p.m. and will include performances by the university's spirit team, pep band and dance squad.

As a resident of Strawbridge Home for Boys in 1950, Jim Mathis, at age 13, found himself working on a full-fledged farm with cows, hogs, chickens and horses. He soon learned a few lessons. "Cows don't care what day it is. At the same time every day, when it is time to milk, they come to the barn," Mathis, now 74, chuckled. "Farming is a 24-hour, seven days a week job. (Today), there's not a farmer amongst us. " That "us" is Mathis' fellow alumni from Strawbridge, a Methodist-run home in Eldersburg where boys between ages 6 and 18 were sent to live, from 1924 to the late 1950s, either because they were orphans, or their families couldn't care for them.

COLLEGE PARK -- Don't shrug off the Maryland varsity's 48-0 victory over the alumni at Byrd Stadium yesterday.It was only a year ago that the varsity edged the alumni by a point, needing to stop a two-point conversion to preserve the victory.Last year, the alumni crossed midfield on all but one possession during the game, racking up 257 rushing yards with two former defensive backs.This game signified progress for the Terps."We're definitely better than last year," said Ratcliff Thomas, who has made 246 tackles in two seasons.

Spring football practice at Maryland will conclude Saturday with the Terps' first varsity-alumni game in 33 years. Starting time at Byrd Stadium is 1 p.m., and the game is open to the public.Jerry Claiborne, who had a 72-37-3 record as the Maryland coach from 1972 to 1981, will direct the alumni team. Seattle Seahawks quarterback Stan Gelbaugh ('83) and Detroit Lions center Kevin Glover ('84) will be on Claiborne's staff.More than 160 former players are expected, and 61 are expected to play, including quarterbacks Dan Henning ('87)

Joel A. Getz, son of Alan and Carollee Getz of Bel Air, recently received the Joseph R. Hamlin Award from Harvard University for Outstanding Alumni Participation.NB Mr. Getz, a graduate of Harford Day School, the Gilman School,and Harvard University, was elected president of his class and served as chairman for its fifth reunion.Mr. Getz also led his class to the highest participation level of any fifth-reunion class in Ivy League history and broke all fifth, 10th, 15th and 20th Harvard reunion participation records.

The recent article by Carrie Wells and Scott Calvert ("Ire grows after Towson president cuts two teams," March 24) neglected to capture the opinion of "some of Towson's most prominent and active alumni" who support President Maravene Loeschke's difficult decision to eliminate two men's sports teams. The Sun's editors should certainly be aware of alumni who understand and support the decision based on recent letters published in this newspaper. However, Ms. Wells and Mr. Calvert instead chose to focus on an alumnus who has a dissenting opinion.

Northwestern High alumni have gone to court to try to stop the Baltimore school from closing, as civil rights activists say the plan is discriminatory because shuttering the institution would disproportionately affect low-income, minority students. The alumni association filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction in Baltimore City Circuit Court last week, arguing that the Baltimore school system's 10-year facilities plan was based on inaccurate and outdated information and would adversely affect hundreds of students from Northwest Baltimore.

Lynn Taylor Hebden, a Baltimore-born lyric soprano who headed the Peabody Preparatory Department for more than two decades and was also a member of the faculty of the Peabody Conservatory, died Sunday from complications of breast cancer at her Roland Park home. She was 84. "I always sought her advice and historical perspective. She always was very interested and wanted to know how people on the faculty she had known were doing," said Carolee Stewart, the preparatory school's dean.

Armed with a plan for protests and petitions, phone banks and pep rallies, the Northwestern High School Alumni Association has set "Operation Hands-Off Northwestern" in motion. The association's leadership met Tuesday with parents and community activists to map out what they say will be a fight to the bitter end to save the large Baltimore City high school from closing - from a pep rally Friday to a legal injunction and civil rights lawsuit when the school board takes its final vote on the recommendation in the 2015-2016 school year.

Students drawn to Morgan State University's strong academics and historical legacy are finding that crime is becoming an increasing distraction, and are joining a state lawmaker and alumnus in calling for better security to protect the institution's reputation. The latest incident took place Friday. Baltimore police said a 20-year-old man who is not a student at Morgan shot a lineman on the university's football team as students wound down the last day of classes before fall-semester finals.

As a former student athlete at the University of Maryland and current member of the Terrapin Club, I was shocked and angered by the University's move from the ACC to the Big Ten ("UM to leave ACC for Big Ten in '14," Nov. 20). Then I saw today's paper, revealing that of all the Big Ten schools, Maryland has the smallest endowment fund. And how much time Maryland coaches have to spend on fundraising at the expense of coaching. So while it's easy to blame the administration, it sounds like we Marylanders and Terrapin alumni haven't done a great job at supporting our university, and can blame ourselves as well.

An ambassador, an author, an educator and an aviator were honored as this year's winners of the Naval Academy's Distinguished Graduate Awards. The awards, given by the college's alumni association, recognize graduates who embody the school's core principles of honor, courage and commitment and who have given a lifetime of service to the nation and their alma mater. This year's four winners were feted at a ceremony at Alumni Hall on Friday afternoon attended by the 4,200-student brigade of midshipmen.

Larisa Vanov graduated from Wellesley College in 1982 and eventually settled in Houston, but she kept in touch with her alma mater -- and as the years passed she didn't much like what she heard.The women's studies department was teaching "Queer Theory." orientation meeting encouraged new students to reflect on "white privilege." Multicultural programs had grown in number and importance until an office was created to oversee them.These and similar "excesses" prompted Ms. Vanov to found Women for Freedom, a two-year-old alumnae group that uses its newsletter and a student chapter to challenge what it sees as feminist and multicultural indoctrination of Wellesley students.

Bridget Collins waited a long time to go back to McDonogh School. A 1990 graduate, she hoped to teach there after she graduated from Bucknell University, but there were no openings. She got a master's degree in teaching, but McDonogh still wasn't hiring. Finally, Collins returned in 2000 to her alma mater, where she's now an upper school history teacher and soccer and softball coach. "McDonogh made me want to be a teacher," Collins said. "The experience I had as a student here made me want to teach.

A group of former Virginia men's lacrosse players is heading to Charlottesville this weekend to play the current team and hold a free clinic to raise money for the daughters of Chris Sanderson, former goaltender for the Cavaliers and the now-Chesapeake Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse, who died June 28 at age 38 after a 3 1/2-year battle with brain cancer. The alumni game is set for 9:30 p.m. Friday on the lower practice field. Among the alumni committed to the event are a pair of Loyola High grads: Bayhawks attackman Ben Rubeor (2007)