HCPSS Names 2018 Principal and Teacher of the Year

The Howard County Public School System (HCPSS) has named Hammond Elementary School Principal Kimberlyn Pratesi 2018 Principal of the Year and Lime Kiln Middle School Teacher Elizabeth Waltman 2018 Teacher of the Year.

“I am so proud of these educators and am excited to see them recognized,” said HCPSS Interim Superintendent Michael J. Martirano. “They have dedicated themselves to sharing their knowledge and their passion to create opportunities for students and staff. They continue to build relationships with their schools’ community to ensure the social-emotional well-being of all students.”

Pratesi has served HCPSS students for 27 years as a teacher, instructional team leader and assistant principal. She has been the principal of Hammond Elementary School since 2013.

Elizabeth Waltman has been teaching in Howard County since 2009. She has taught math at Lime Kiln Middle School since 2011 and is being honored for her ability to connect with students to create a nurturing and academically challenging atmosphere for learning.

Pratesi and Waltman will serve as the Howard County nominees for the Washington Post Principal and Teacher of the Year. Waltman will be the Howard County nominee for Maryland State Teacher of the Year.

Maryland Commerce Supports Five New Research Professorships at Three Universities

The Maryland Department of Commerce; Johns Hopkins University; University of Maryland, Baltimore; and University of Maryland, College Park, have endowed a total of $10.1 million in five new research professorships. The endowments were made through the Maryland E-Nnovation Initiative (MEI), a state program created to spur basic and applied research in scientific and technical fields at the colleges and universities. The schools raised $5.7 million in private funding for each chair, and Maryland Commerce approved matching grants of $4.4 million to support the endowments.

Johns Hopkins University received a total of $2 million in endowments, split between the Endowed Fund-Branna and Irv Sisenwein Estate and the Jennison Family Professorship in Neurosurgery. The funding for the Endowed Fund-Branna and Irv Sisenwein Estate will address the growing need for more effective treatments for ocular neovascular diseases. The funding for the Jennison Family Professorship supports research to enable the early detection and monitoring of cancers using a simple blood test.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore, also received two grants. The Dr. Bizhan Aarabi Professorship in Neurotrauma received matching funds of $570,000 to sustain and expand the School of Medicine’s research, clinical and entrepreneurial efforts in addressing severe stroke and traumatic brain injury. The second award of $850,000 supports the Dr. Martin Helrich Professorship in Anesthesiology.

The University of Maryland, College Park, received $1 million for the Ray R. Weil Distinguished Endowed Professorship in Soil Science to support the research enterprise of an endowed Professorship in the Department of Environmental Science and Technology, providing statewide support for agricultural businesses through research investment. Aligned with Gov. Larry Hogan’s Maryland Healthy Soils Program, its primary function is to assist and educate farmers on how to improve their soil health, yield and profitability.

Loyola’s Sellinger School of Business Introduces New MBA Specializations

Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management has introduced two new specializations in the school’s part-time Professional’s MBA program: Data Analytics and Investments and Applied Portfolio Management. Through specializations, students can customize their MBA to provide deeper knowledge and experience in the selected field.

“MBA specializations offer new, relevant curriculum with immediate, real-world applications and are one way Sellinger stays ahead of changes in the business world,” said Kathleen Getz, Ph.D., dean of Sellinger. “Students have expressed interest in gaining skills in our new specializations — Data Analytics and Investments and Applied Portfolio Management — while employers have said they want to hire professionals with these skills.”
The MBA in Data Analytics is a project-based approach designed to give students the skills and knowledge to understand, manage and analyze data, to apply analytics to business problems and to influence strategic decisions.

The MBA in Investments and Applied Portfolio Management provides students with the knowledge base to be leaders in the asset management industry. Students study investment analysis, financial markets and institutions and help manage Loyola University’s endowment fund through an experiential-learning course.

SECU Offering Three Scholarships Via Foundation

Linthicum-based SECU will make three scholarship programs available to its members and their families through the SECU MD Foundation. The oldest of these scholarships, SECU’s State Employee Scholarship Program, makes scholarships ranging from $2,000–$5,000 available to Maryland state employees and their immediate family members who are planning to attend college, graduate school or trade school in fall 2018.

The SECU-University System of Maryland (USM) Scholarship Program provides scholarships ranging from $2,000–$5,000 each to SECU members who are enrolled or accepted into a University System of Maryland institution for the fall 2018 semester.

Finally, the newest of SECU’s scholarship programs, the Donald Tynes, Sr., Scholarship Program, offers five $2,000 scholarships to students enrolled in Morgan State University’s Graves School of Business. Applications for all three scholarships are available at www.secumdfoundation.org.