Maryland Commerce and Community Colleges Join to Launch Workforce Training Program

The Maryland Department of Commerce has joined with the Maryland Association of Community Colleges (MACC) to launch a program that partners the state’s 16 community colleges with local employers to build customized workforce training and assess future training needs. A “one-stop-shop” for Maryland businesses and workforce stakeholders, the Maryland WorkSmart program will provide training through a network of centers located at each of the community college campuses.

“Maryland WorkSmart will help businesses close skill gaps in their industries and enable our community colleges to better prepare for the workforce training needs of the future,” said Gov. Larry Hogan. “This innovative program further demonstrates our administration’s commitment to ensure that Maryland’s businesses have every possible advantage to succeed and grow in Maryland.”

Maryland WorkSmart offers customized training programs, relevant workforce training and degree programs. If an employer is interested in a training curriculum that doesn’t exist in the colleges, the colleges will work together and even have the ability to reach out to national partners to create the module to meet the employer’s needs.

“Maryland’s community colleges are among the best in the nation, and they offer outstanding training programs to meet the needs of an ever-evolving workforce,” said Maryland Commerce Secretary Mike Gill. “This program will further strengthen the colleges’ ability to address some of the unmet workforce training needs while at the same time giving Maryland a strategic edge in being able to offer this unique program to our businesses.”

For more information, visit http://mdacc.org/programs-training/employee-training.

BGE Announces Nine New Annual Scholarships to Mark Company’s 200th Anniversary

Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) has announced the company would mark its 200th anniversary as the first gas utility in the country with introduction of the BGE Scholars Award, which will provide annual scholarships to nine students from BGE’s service area. The merit-based scholarships will provide eligible students with awards of up to $5,000 each year. Central Scholarship, a Baltimore-based nonprofit, will administer the scholarship program on BGE’s behalf.

To be eligible for a BGE Scholars Award, students must be BGE customers or dependents of BGE customers who have been accepted into an accredited undergraduate or post-secondary program, including vocational programs (BGE employees and relatives are not eligible for a BGE Scholars Award).

Applicants also may be currently enrolled in an eligible program. In addition to academic achievement, BGE and Central Scholarship are looking for applicants to demonstrate service and commitment to community, civic or related organizations.

Interested students should apply online by visiting the BGE website, bge.com. Applications will be available beginning on Jan. 1, 2017, for the 2017–2018 academic year.

Visiting Faculty Members Join Loyola’s Sellinger School of Business, School Named to Princeton Review’s Best Grad Business Schools

Loyola University Maryland’s Sellinger School of Business and Management added three new faculty members who started this fall semester.

  • Ben Drissi is a visiting affiliate assistant professor of finance. He specializes in corporate finance, investments, behavioral finance and international finance. Drissi has taught at Northeastern University, Suffolk University, Bridgewater State University and the University of Rhode Island, where he earned his doctorate in finance.
  • James John Kelly is a visiting affiliate instructor of economics. He returns to the economics department full-time after serving as director of the Loyola-Bangkok international study program for the past eight years. Kelly has taught finance at the University of Scranton and Saint Joseph’s University and worked in the corporate world.
  • Lucie Li is a visiting affiliate assistant professor of information systems. She has taught management information systems at the University of South Florida, University of North Carolina, University of Tampa and Washington State University.

Additionally, the Sellinger School has been included in the 2017 edition of The Princeton Review’s “Best 294 Business Schools,” an annual ranking of graduate business schools that offer academically outstanding degrees.

For the 2017 guide, The Princeton Review surveyed 25,000 students at all American graduate business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) and some prestigious accredited international business schools. The survey asked students about their school’s academics, student body and campus life, and their career plans, and The Princeton Review selected the best 294 schools based on responses. Schools are not ranked hierarchically.

Students surveyed in Loyola’s graduate business programs said the Sellinger School attracts high-caliber individuals who are “very motivated and intelligent,” adding that “everyone brings something unique,” creating an “innovative, challenging and intellectually stimulating culture.”

The full “Best 294 Business Schools” list is available at princetonreview.com.

Morgan State Launches $250 Million Capital Campaign

Morgan State University (MSU) is poised to begin a yearlong celebration of its sesquicentennial, and Morgan President Dr. David Wilson marked the occasion by announcing the second and largest capital campaign in the university’s history.

“We are calling this The Anniversary Campaign for Morgan State University, and for obvious reasons,” said Wilson. “Next year, 2017, marks a historic milestone in Morgan’s history: the 150th anniversary of the university’s founding. It is a time for reflection on our past and to look forward to our future, a future we believe will be made brighter with the success of this fundraising effort.”

Kevin Liles, The Anniversary Campaign’s chairman, joined Wilson in making the launch announcement on Thursday, Nov. 10. Liles, a nationally known entertainment industry executive, is president and CEO of KWL Enterprises and a Morgan State University alumnus.

“The impact of this capital campaign will be transformative for the students at Morgan, the research being advanced here and the impact this university makes on Baltimore and beyond,” said Liles. “Morgan State has already made history with a legacy of 150 extraordinary years as a leader in higher education in this country. We are now on track to make history again with this capital campaign, and I am so proud to be a part of it.”

The goal is to raise $250 million from private and public sources. It is the largest, most ambitious capital campaign of any public historically black college or university (HBCU) in the country.