Master S Degree

First- and second-year Baltimore teachers will be able to earn master's degrees for free beginning next fall in a program announced this week by the University of Maryland system.In exchange, a teacher would have to remain with the city school system for two years after completing the master's degree, which focuses on urban educationThe cost of a master's degree in education in the UM system averages $3,120 a year for a typical three-year program."This is a great opportunity for us to do a better job attracting and retaining good teachers who are committed to the education of the people of Baltimore," said Superintendent Walter G. Amprey.

Dr. Richard T. Koritzer Sr., who practiced dentistry in Glen Burnie for 50 years and whose thirst for knowledge resulted in his earning a master's degree when he was 84, died Thursday from blood clots at Baltimore Washington Medical Center. The Glen Burnie resident was 85. The son of a dental technician and a homemaker, he was born in Baltimore and raised on Eutaw Place and later in the city's Pimlico neighborhood. He was 14 when he began working for his father, who owned Southern Dental Laboratory.

Mary Lloyd Dugan, who wrote and collected tales that she used as a professional storyteller, died of cancer Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The North Baltimore resident was 55. Born in Baltimore and raised in Ruxton, she attended the Baltimore Academy of the Visitation and was a 1969 graduate of Bethesda's Stone Ridge Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. She also made her debut at the Bachelors Cotillon that year. She earned a bachelor's degree in music and history from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.

Teacher compensation in Maryland is still largely determined by two factors: years of experience and earning a master's degree. Yet, change is afoot. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, speaking at the American Enterprise Institute last month, decried the lack of evidence linking master's degrees with improved student achievement and called for "reshaping teacher compensation to do more to develop, support and reward excellence and effectiveness, and less to pay people based on paper credentials.

IT'S A SAD IRONY THAT racial segregation changed Rebecca Carroll's life -- for the better.In a sense, segregation led her to a husband, a graduate degree and a career leading to the second rung of the Baltimore school administration.Carroll, who died last week at age 81, was one of hundreds of African-American teachers treated by Maryland taxpayers to fine graduate programs in other states lest they sully the lily-white University of Maryland.After she graduated with honors from then-Coppin Teachers College, Rebecca Evans earned her master's degree at the University of Chicago, all expenses paid by her home state.

The Rev. Virginia H. Leitzel, a retired Baltimore County school teacher who later became an ordained Methodist minister, died Friday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at Gilchrist Hospice Care. She was 84. Virginia Doris Mae Hines was born at the Fort Howard Veterans Administration Hospital in eastern Baltimore County and raised in Sparrows Point. After graduating from Sparrows Point High School in 1942, she enrolled at what was then Western Maryland College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English and history in 1946.

Robin Rouse Norton, an education program officer at the Abell Foundation, died of brain cancer Thursday at her Columbia residence. She was 54.Mrs. Norton had worked for the Baltimore-based foundation since 1994. From 1982 to 1994, she taught English at Centennial and Mount Hebron high schools in Howard County.Born Robin Rouse in Pensacola, Fla., she was the daughter of James W. Rouse, the late developer, and Libby Rouse of Baltimore.She is the mother of actor Edward H. Norton, who has beennominated for an Oscar for best supporting actor for his performance in "Primal Fear."

WESTMINSTER - Students at the Carroll County Education Center are having to get used to Robin L. Farinholt in her new position.A special needs teacher at the school, the 36-year-old has accepted the job of interim principal at the school, following former principal Harry T.Fogle's appointment to assistant supervisor of special education.Although she has applied for the principal position, Farinholt said she would need to take courses in group dynamics and curriculum design from Western Maryland College to meet the job's requirements.

Name: Janice E. KnightHonored by The Carroll County Sun for: Receiving the Joseph R. Bailer Award from Western Maryland College. The college awards the honor to graduates of its master's degree program who teach in Carroll CountyAge: 44Residence; hometown: Westminster; PittsburghEducation: Bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Edinboro University in Pennsylvania; master's degree in reading from Western Maryland CollegeFamily: Sons: W....

Two members of the Howard Community College Continuing Education department received awards from the Maryland Association for Adult Community and Continuing Education at the annual statewide conference held recently in Annapolis.Dr. Margaret Mohler, HCC director of strategic planning and community development, received the 1993 Outstanding Research Award for her survey of more than 3,000 registered nurses to determine their need for noncredit continuing education through Maryland's community colleges.

The Rev. Virginia H. Leitzel, a retired Baltimore County school teacher who later became an ordained Methodist minister, died Friday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at Gilchrist Hospice Care. She was 84. Virginia Doris Mae Hines was born at the Fort Howard Veterans Administration Hospital in eastern Baltimore County and raised in Sparrows Point. After graduating from Sparrows Point High School in 1942, she enrolled at what was then Western Maryland College, where she earned a bachelor's degree in English and history in 1946.

Ivan Harrell has been appointed dean of student services at Anne Arundel Community College. Harrell holds a doctorate from Florida State University, a master's degree from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor's from Wittenberg University.

Mary Lloyd Dugan, who wrote and collected tales that she used as a professional storyteller, died of cancer Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The North Baltimore resident was 55. Born in Baltimore and raised in Ruxton, she attended the Baltimore Academy of the Visitation and was a 1969 graduate of Bethesda's Stone Ridge Country Day School of the Sacred Heart. She also made her debut at the Bachelors Cotillon that year. She earned a bachelor's degree in music and history from Wheaton College in Norton, Mass.

LONG after the graduation ceremony was done, and the big crowd at the Johns Hopkins University's Homewood Field had drifted out into the humid evening, Francine Tucker beheld her brand-new master's degree and listened to a man ask a simple question. "Did you ever think you'd see such a day?" "No," said Tucker. "I didn't even think I would be this old." She is 46 now, but she has survived too many lifetimes in this city's dreariest shadows. The master's degree from Hopkins, in special education, comes three decades after Tucker dropped out of the seventh grade at age 13 and ran away from home because she could no longer bear to live with an abusive, schizophrenic mother.

Michelle Valerio Paras and Soufiane Ghadfa got married on December 3, 2004 at the Cloisters Castle. Michelle is the daughter of Victor and Corazon Paras, of Pampanga, Philippines. Soufiane is the son of Mohamed & Nora Ghadfa, of Casablanca, Morocco. The couple met at University of Baltimore, where Soufiane graduated with a Master's degree in Finance and Michelle graduated with an M.B.A. and a Master's degree in Industrial Psychology. The couple honeymooned in Quebec City, Canada and now resides in Delaware.

Taunya La Mar English and Gordon Patrick Washington were married Sunday, April 25 in Howard County. The bride and groom are graduates of the University of Virginia. Taunya holds a Master's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and works as a free-lance writer. The groom is Director of Client Services for Global Lead Management Consulting in Baltimore. He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Washington University. The bride is the daughter of Evelyn Williams English, an educator in the Howard County School system, and Lamont English, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel.

Taunya La Mar English and Gordon Patrick Washington were married Sunday, April 25 in Howard County. The bride and groom are graduates of the University of Virginia. Taunya holds a Master's degree in Journalism from Northwestern University and works as a free-lance writer. The groom is Director of Client Services for Global Lead Management Consulting in Baltimore. He holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Washington University. The bride is the daughter of Evelyn Williams English, an educator in the Howard County School system, and Lamont English, a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel.

Ivan Harrell has been appointed dean of student services at Anne Arundel Community College. Harrell holds a doctorate from Florida State University, a master's degree from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor's from Wittenberg University.

The eight-member inaugural class in the botanical healing program at Tai Sophia Institute for the Healing Arts near Columbia will graduate next month, armed with master's degrees and three years' worth of knowledge in the therapeutic use of herbs. They also know human anatomy, botany and chemistry, and how botanical remedies interact with conventional pharmaceuticals. But it's unclear where these qualifications will take the trained herbalists as they strike out on their own in the burgeoning natural products industry with hopes of finding work as clinicians, researchers and educators.