College President

Brother Patrick Ellis, a member of the Christian Brothers who served as president of La Salle University and Catholic University of America, died Feb. 21 of leukemia at a Christian Brothers nursing home in Lincroft, N.J. The Baltimore native was 84. Born and raised Harry James Ellis Jr. in Baltimore, he was a graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. When he was 17, he worked in the library of The Baltimore Sun as a research clerk and won praise from H.L. Mencken, who was writing an obituary for the American novelist Theodore Dreiser in 1945.

Brother Patrick Ellis, a member of the Christian Brothers who served as president of La Salle University and Catholic University of America, died Feb. 21 of leukemia at a Christian Brothers nursing home in Lincroft, N.J. The Baltimore native was 84. Born and raised Harry James Ellis Jr. in Baltimore, he was a graduate of Calvert Hall College High School. When he was 17, he worked in the library of The Baltimore Sun as a research clerk and won praise from H.L. Mencken, who was writing an obituary for the American novelist Theodore Dreiser in 1945.

CHESTERTOWN -- Gray skies and a chilly breeze did not diminish the bright smiles and warm applause that ushered John Sampson Toll through his inauguration yesterday as the 25th president of Washington College.The 71-year-old Princeton-educated physicist and former University of Maryland chancellor, known for his vigor and tenacity, wasted no time in getting down to business.Starting with next fall's entering class, he announced, a new "Washington Scholars" program will provide $40,000 in financial aid over four years to each of 100 freshmen who are National Honor Society members in high school.

Mary Pat Seurkamp has heard it from any number of students and professors over the years, and she knows exactly what they mean. Because she too felt at home the moment she set foot on the campus of Notre Dame of Maryland University. "You can't put your finger on it," she says of the connection. "But it's there. " Seurkamp, 65, is now coping with the sadness of severing that bond. She will retire this month after 15 years leading Notre Dame, one of the longest tenures of any college president in the state.

Richard D. Weigle, president emeritus of St. John's College and a national promoter of liberal arts education, died yesterday morning from complications of Parkinson's disease.The 80-year-old professor, who had lived the last several months the Annapolis Convalescent Center, served 31 years as the 18th president of the college. He saw it through the early years of the classical Great Books program, opened the doors to blacks and women and established a second campus in Sante Fe, N.M."We owe him a great debt of gratitude for a lifetime of service," said St. John's President Christopher Nelson, a former student of Dr. Weigle.

St. John's College President Christopher Nelson will be guest speaker tomorrow at a meeting of New Annapolitans, in the Conversation Room of Key Auditorium on the Annapolis campus. Nelson will discuss "St. John's College and the Problem of Freedom in the 21st Century." Membership in New Annapolitans is open to those who apply within 18 months of moving to the Annapolis area. First-time attendees are invited to arrive an hour before the 10 a.m. program to meet and socialize with members.

Approving a $3.5 million matching grant for Western Maryland College would allow the private institution to bring its science program into the modern age, college President Robert Chambers told the House Appropriations Committee yesterday."

From the beginning, the trustees of the College of Notre Dame of Maryland wanted a new leader who belonged to the Roman Catholic religious order that founded it and who would carry on its tradition as a women's school -- an increasingly rare distinction in higher education.The trustees found her in Sister Rosemarie T. Nassif, 50, who will become the ninth president of the college. She will succeed Sister Kathleen Feeley, who is retiring after 21 years in that job.The trustees announced the appointment yesterday.

ST. MARY'S CITY -- Edward T. Lewis, who spent the past decade prodding St. Mary's College in Southern Maryland to raise itself from a backwater state school into a distinguished public liberal arts college, is giving up his presidency."

Charles H. Trout, former president of Washington College who recognized that historic Chestertown and the surrounding Chesapeake Bay region were a natural "learning laboratory" for students, died of myelodysplastic syndrome, a rare blood disorder, Wednesday at a hospital in Bryn Mawr, Pa. He was 70. It was during his tenure at the college, from 1990 to 1995, that Dr. Trout initiated the Chesapeake regional studies program, which was a forerunner of...

Maryland native Dawn Lindsay, who has been serving as president of Glendale Community College outside Los Angeles since 2009, said she would have gladly remained at the school until she heard that the presidency at Anne Arundel Community College, a position she referred to as "her dream job," became available. AACC has named Lindsay as its new president, allowing the McDaniel College graduate with extensive experience at local institutions the chance to return to the area after being away for 18 years.

Thomas E. Florestano, a long-serving president of Anne Arundel Community College, died March 31 of Parkinson's disease complications at Ginger Cove Health Center. He was 79 and had lived in Annapolis. "Tom did a great deal to bring our community college into national prominence," said former Anne Arundel County Executive Robert Neall. "He was local. He knew the county and he knew our needs. He was a mentor and a friend. " Born in Annapolis and raised on Monticello Avenue, he was the son of Ernest Florestano and Lena Lorea.

I am the mother of a soldier, and on the back window of my car is a sticker that proclaims "I am the proud parent of a soldier. " But as leader of an academic institution, I am also responsible for tens of thousands of people — students, staff, faculty and guests. As the president of the Community College of Baltimore County, I wish to share — to the level appropriate — the college's position on the case regarding Charles Whittington, a veteran featured in a recent Baltimore Sun article.

Joseph R. Urgo, a professor of literature and administrator at Hamilton College in upstate New York, has been chosen the next president of St. Mary's College of Maryland, the Southern Maryland school announced. Urgo, 54, will replace Larry Vote, who has served as acting president of St. Mary's since Maggie O'Brien left the job last summer. "As we got to know Dr. Urgo, we found he understood St. Mary's College, our sense of place, and shared our deep respect for the mission of a public liberal arts institution," said Molly Mahoney, a member of the board of trustees who chaired the presidential search committee.

Freeman A. Hrabowski III is one of America's 10 best college presidents, according to the latest issue of Time magazine, adding to the list of national honors received this year by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. In August, UMBC topped a U.S. News & World Report list of up-and-coming national universities and also finished fourth on the magazine's list of universities committed to undergraduate teaching. Hrabowski said Thursday that applications are up 60 percent compared with this time last year and that prospective students often mention the high-profile rankings when they contact UMBC.

Mary H. Henry, a great-granddaughter of slaves who earned a degree in pharmacy and later became a homemaker, died of a cardiac arrest Aug. 6 at a son's Ashburton home. She was 101. Mrs. Henry quietly observed her birthday on June 3, family members said. "She didn't want a party or anything. She was never one for much fanfare," said a son, Dr. Irving J. Henry, a retired Baltimore dentist. "I went over to my brother's house, fixed dinner, and the three of us sat there eating, laughing and telling jokes."

John L. Wighton, who advised a mayor and a college president, and held a variety of high-profile jobs in education, government and management, died Friday at Sinai Hospital after a long struggle with emphysema. He was 63. A native of New York City, Mr. Wighton served in the Marine Corps from 1954 to 1957. He then studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and subsequently graduated from the American Theatre Wing in New York City. He acted in professional and amateur theater for several years.

Howard Community College President Kate Hetherington promised this week to return $1.7 million in surplus public funds used without county government knowledge to help buy the historic Belmont Conference Center in Elkridge. The college was supposed to rely on donated cash for its half of the $4.4 million purchase. But sufficient contributions didn't materialize, and college officials disclosed earlier this month that they instead had used money left over from last year's budget to complete the transaction.

St. Mary's College of Maryland President Jane Margaret "Maggie" O'Brien, who is widely credited with developing and promoting the highly regarded public honors college, announced yesterday that she would step down by 2010. In her nearly 13 years as president, O'Brien intensified the school's curriculum and elevated its recognition nationwide, landing the college a spot on several magazine lists of the nation's top public colleges. When O'Brien, 55, became president in 1996, the college was on the cusp of becoming better known for academics than partying.