image credit: Jonathan Fredin

by Stacey Marriott, M.A. ’11

In the deep darkness of a 2007 December morning in Anchorage, Alaska, a man with a law degree from the University of Baltimore found himself in a defunct brewery with only a crowbar, a hacksaw and a flashlight. Starting at 4 a.m. each day for five days, he dismantled the brewery equipment and prepared it for transport to a client, a brewing company back East. While it was back-breaking work, it was a labor of love, and just part of the job, for then-brewery consultant Mark R. Fesche, J.D. ’02.

Fesche became captivated by craft brewing after a trip to brewpub-rich Oregon and California shortly before graduating from Towson University in 1992. He says he remembers thinking during his final semester, “Man, when I graduate, I want to move to Oregon and work in a brewery.” So he did just that.

He packed up his Isuzu Trooper and drove to Bend, Ore., perfectly situated for snow-lover Fesche near Mt. Bachelor ski area and home to Deschutes Brewery, which at the time provided all brewery staff with a free ski pass. After pounding on the brewery’s door for six months, he was hired as a keg scrubber. When he left in 1996 to study brewing technology at Siebel Institute of Technology, Fesche had achieved the title of brewer for Deschutes and was producing award-winning beers.

In the late ’90s, Fesche enrolled in UB’s School of Law, hoping to work with firms that represented alcohol manufacturers. While waiting for his law career to launch, Fesche set up as a brewery consultant. After his first consulting job with Twin Lakes Brewing Co. in Delaware, where he designed and built a production brewery from the ground up, he realized a career in beer making was “way cooler than law,” he says. As a consultant, he specialized in building breweries, which involved finding used equipment to fit his clients’ specifications; hence, that cold December 2007 morning in Alaska.

This past November, Fesche landed in Fayetteville, N.C., putting his consulting company on hold to become the brewmaster at Huske Hardware House Brewing Co., where he has been hard at work creating new recipes for their beers and expanding distribution. Huske beers are in 30 North Carolina restaurants, and Fesche’s goal is to sell the brand as far north as Maryland.

Brewmaster may sound like a dream job, and the Barrister of Beer, so nicknamed by Huske owner Josh Collins, professes to loving every minute of what he calls “a tough, dirty, hard job.”

Dear UB Alumni and Friends,

“I found myself just wanting Aspen to play so I could use their music to take me to a place of internal examination.”

“I could have sat there for a couple more hours.”

“Art in its final form is never really final, I’ve learned from yesterday’s experience. Art is constantly under revision. Each time a new set of eyes or ears witnesses a work, it changes.”

These are some of the written responses students submitted, as part of a class assignment, to Kendra Kopelke, associate professor in the School of Communications Design, after hearing the Aspen Ensemble perform. The quintet presented a workshop to the class prior to their April 14 concert, just one of the many events that compose the University’s performing arts series, Spotlight UB.

For some students, the performance represented a first experience with live classical music. For others, it reinforced the commitment to craft that defines all successful professionals. For the entire group, a University of Baltimore class spent listening to and observing professional musicians represented a remarkable departure from business as usual.

This is but one example of how the University of Baltimore is changing to meet the needs of a new generation of students. UB’s historical mission, to provide a quality education that prepares our graduates to succeed in their careers, will never change. Yet we must continually reassess how best to fulfill that mission while acknowledging that higher education does more than simply prepare students for jobs; we also have the responsibility and the opportunity to develop future generations of engaged, well-rounded citizens. And, like art and science, these dual objectives—career and life preparation—go hand in hand.

Five years ago, the Association of American Colleges and Universities commissioned a study to determine what employers look for in college graduates. Respondents overwhelmingly endorsed the broad-based skills that result from a liberal education, including technical literacy, effective communication, critical thinking, global awareness and the ability to think creatively. Specialized knowledge will always be important, but as the 21st-century workplace continues to transform at dizzying rates, core skills will remain in constant demand.

In my own varied professional life, I have benefited from the statistics class I was required to take as an undergraduate, by the analytical rigor of my legal education and by my appreciation of music, ingrained in me since childhood. My career and my personal life have been made richer by the interaction and integration of these and other experiences: in short, Knowledge That Works for life.

It’s fair to assume that the students in the aforementioned writing class will not become professional musicians. But their experience with the Aspen Ensemble may nonetheless impact their professional lives. The AAC&U study revealed that, second only to the ability to understand new developments in technology, employers value the ability of potential employees to work in teams. I leave you with another student reflection, one which suggests that the importance of collaboration was represented more effectively in the Aspen workshop than it could have been in any textbook.

“The Aspen Ensemble gave me a brand-new take on music. The individual musicians in the group became one. … They could read each other, and were as comfortable adjusting to each other’s playing in the moment as they were in revealing the emotion that struck them while they played.”

Sincerely,

Robert L. Bogomolny
President, University of Baltimore

Simmons throws you off in another way: When you meet him, you’re not sure whether to say “Yo” (a nod to his past) or “Namaste” (a nod to the yoga and meditation he’s been doing for 15 years). Turns out a handshake and a smile are enough. After that, it’s a rollercoaster ride through free associations and free rhymin’, a free-for-all of digressions and wanderings and diversions and rambling, a bit hard to keep up with sometimes, but undergrid by a seriousness of purpose; by a spirituality that seeks to evaporate barriers and ignorances, injustices and stupidities; and by a genial sweetness somewhat at odds with the common image of anyone associated with hip-hop.

Simmons spoke Feb. 3 at the University of Baltimore about his new book, Super Rich: A Guide to Having It All. In Simmons’ lexicon, “super rich” refers to spiritual—not material—wealth. Before the talk, he spoke backstage with Arthur J. Magida, UB writer in residence.

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Magida: How do you define yourself?

Simmons: It depends on who I’m talking to. I’m an activist. I just did a commercial in support of gay marriage. I do work for PETA [People for the Ethical Treat of Animals]. I’m building this Peace Keepers program [a national movement that uses mentors to curb violence in unstable communities] in the ’hood. Through the Hip Hop Summit and other social and political groups, I help get out the vote. Through the Diamond Empowerment Fund, I help schools in Africa. I’m a yogi—for 15 years, I’ve been doing yoga every day. And I design clothing and jewelry. It’s all part of my dharma [in Hinduism and Buddhism, the principles or laws that give order to the universe].

Magida: Have yoga ethics or yoga teachings changed your own business ethics or business procedure?

Simmons: Dramatically. I’m reminded every day my job is to be a good servant, that my dharma should be something I’m proud of, that I shouldn’t do anything that is hurtful if I can help it. Yoga teaches ahimsa—that we should do the least amount of harm possible. That’s why I eat what I eat. That’s why I do a lot of stuff the way I do it.

Magida: Before you became so familiar with yoga, were you doing anything that was harmful?

Simmons: Well, I sold drugs, I was in a gang in Queens. We called ourselves the Seven Immortals. But I was just a kid.

Magida: Did you ever take a business course?

Simmons: No.

Magida: Yet over the years you’ve associated with businessmen and you’ve acquired some insights into how they think. If you were to design a curriculum for a business school, given who you are now and what you’ve done, what would you put into it?

Simmons: I would tell them to do things that are inspiring and uplifting and that you love. Find your passion and don’t quit, and love how what you’re doing affects the world—and it has to be exciting every minute. Either you love it or you don’t. That’s up to you. I’m a “passion” business person. I’m not a “numbers” business person, though I do think numbers are important. For that,  surround yourself with smart people.

Magida: In your book you say, “Your gift [to the world] must be an honest expression of what’s in your heart.” You advise people to write the screenplay that’s burning a hole within them or design a website that speaks to their passions, even if they have difficulty getting investors. There are a lot of harebrained ideas out there—goofy screenplays or wild websites. How can we be more discriminating so there’s a balance between our passions and the outer demand for whatever might be raging within us?

Simmons: All spiritual practices create discipline. When you do yoga, you smile and breathe in each pose. Some of them may be difficult, but if you can remember to smile in that pose, there’ll be a moment when that pose is easy and it’s a relief to go into it. You want to meet life that same way—with a smile and a full, deep breath. The more that we remember to do this, the greater the frequency that it will occur. Yogis say, “Practice daily,” which doesn’t mean just on the yoga mat. That means all day. In the end, remembering to remember becomes your practice.

Magida: Is it hard to talk to business people about this?

Simmons: It’s easier to talk to prisoners. It’s easier to talk to kids in the streets. But you know, the business man needs it just as much as the prisoners or the kids on the corner.

Magida: You’ve made jeans that sell for $120. Yet, you’re a yogi. How do you overcome the acquisitiveness, the materialism that’s so pervasive in our culture?

Simmons: Each person needs to stop and look inside themselves for their happiness. As you become more connected, you find that those things were never very valuable. They have nothing to do with your happiness. It’s OK to play with them but not to hold on to them. That’s the key. As for designing and selling expensive jeans, it’s a job. It’s not a bad job or a good job. It’s a job, and one that employs a lot of people.

Magida: You’ve said that by staying focused without expectations for the fruit of your labor, there are no limits to how far you’ll go. The guy who washes dishes will become a restaurant entrepreneur. The office assistant will become a tycoon. But some people will wash dishes their entire lives and some will never be anything but an assistant to a tycoon.

Simmons: If you do your best at work without regard for the result, success may take you more than a lifetime. This is your path. At work, you study everybody’s craft. That’s part of your process. That’s what all the guys who I know did until they became the president of a company or a tycoon.

Magida: There’s a Zen saying, “Before you’re enlightened, you chop wood and carry water. After you’re enlightened, you chop wood and carry water.” You do the same stuff. All that’s changed is you’re enlightened. After all your yoga, how do you handle stress and frustration?

Simmons: Because I’m diligent in my practice, there’s been a big shift in my ability to digest difficult times. It rolls off my back more often than it used to. At first, all this is a practice, and it’s hard work. Eventually, it becomes second nature, and there’s a stillness which nourishes ideas and imagination.

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Arthur J. Magida is writer in residence at the University of Baltimore. In November, Macmillan will publish his latest book, The Nazi Séance: The Strange Story of the Jewish Psychic in Hitler’s Inner Circle.

M.B.A./M.P.A. Networking and Etiquette Dinner: March 4, 2011

l. to r.: Atiba Antoine, graduate student, Business-Finance program; and Na’Cara Harrison

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Campaign Reception at the American Visionary Art Museum: March 28, 2011

l. to r.: Leslie G. Berman; Robert C. (B.S. ’64) and Irene Russel

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Alpha Omega Pi Fraternity Breakfast: Feb. 27, 2011

Daniel Stern, B.A. ’67; Raphael D. Kahn, B.S. ’67; and Mark T. Willen, B.S. ’67, J.D. ’73

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UB Alumni Association Fall Happy Hour at Charles Village Pub: Nov. 11, 2010

Tonette Barns; Paula R. Brown, M.S. ’09; Jacquelyn H. Peterson; and Vanessa Pigatt, M.S. ’08

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Philadelphia Campaign Reception: Nov. 17, 2010

Lauren Oliner Kleinman, J.D. ’07, and Latoya Wilson, M.P.A. ’08

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4th Annual UB Night at the Vienna Inn: Jan. 30, 2011

Lili Khozeimeh, J.D. ’03, Eubie and Payman Tehrani

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UB Alumni Association Fuel for Finals: Dec. 9, 14 and 15

Ray Frederick, B.S. ’95, M.B.A. ’97, M.S. ’01, CERT ’02, M.S. ’04; and Darren Margolis, J.D. ’95

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UB Alumni Association Spring Happy Hour featuring the deans: March 31, 2011

Wendy H. Warren, B.A. ’98

Loretta D. Brown, B.A. ’00, and Latoya B. Green, B.S. ’08

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Harford/Cecil County Campaign Reception: March 2, 2011

Eleni vanRoden; Mike G. Comeau, J.D. ’81; Theresa A. Silanskis, M.P.A. ’95 (vice president, Office of Institutional Advancement); and Christopher R. vanRoden, B.S. ’80, M.P.A. ’83, J.D. ’85

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l. to r.: First row: Debbie Schramm, Lois Bowers, Mary Frances Cimino. Second row: Vivian Moritz, Veronica Potyraj, Joyce Heath, Pat Crumbley, Mr. Larson. Third row: Kenny Jones, Roy Grabman, Ned Williams, Phillip Amas, Herbert McCarriar.

by Barbara Pash

THEN: Roy Grabman, B.S. ’67, enrolled at the University of Baltimore after earning an associate of arts degree from a community college in Dansville, N.Y., where his family lived. He wanted a career in a field now known as logistics, and UB was one of the few schools offering a degree in transportation distribution.

“The setting was different and exciting from what I had experienced in the past and the people were, for the most part, friendly and interesting,” he says. “Most of my courses were in transportation management with heavy doses of transportation law. Many of the instructors were professionals who worked in their chosen fields during the day and taught classes in the evening”—meaning he often had class until 10 p.m.

The late nights didn’t slow Grabman down. He joined the University’s Glee Club when it debuted in 1967, even though he was preparing to graduate. Having performed in high school drama productions and with church and college choirs, Grabman saw the club as a good fit. “We had at least one practice each week and performed for some type of school-sponsored holiday gathering. … One of the interesting aspects was explaining the meaning of some of the Christmas carols and customs to Glee Club members from non-Christian backgrounds,” he says.

NOW:  After graduating, Grabman worked in the transportation department of Reynolds Metal Co., in Richmond, Va., until he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. He later returned to Reynolds before joining oil services firm Halliburton, where he has held various positions dealing with domestic and international logistics. The Duncan, Okla., resident currently works in Halliburton’s global logistics department and is responsible for acquiring and managing a fleet of more than 1,000 railroad cars that transport bulk materials throughout North America.

More than 40 years later, Grabman is still performing: “I am also a member of [public-speaking group] Toastmasters International and have performed in over 20 productions with our local community theater,” he says.

When Ty Hobson-Powell, B.A. ’11, finished high school in two years, he was only getting started. After enrolling at Howard University in fall 2009—as a sophomore, thanks to community college and online credits—he transferred to the University of Baltimore in summer 2010 and earned his bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies in May. The Washington, D.C., resident is now contemplating law school and then medical school, but he has plenty of time to make up his mind—after all, he just turned 16.

Not surprisingly, his accomplishments have attracted the attention of CNN, BET, CNBC and a host of other media outlets. (Did we mention his degree involved concentrations in psychology, government and public policy, and history?) Despite his young age, Hobson-Powell seems to take it all in stride and with a sense of humor, as we learned when we spoke with him midway through his last semester at UB.

Q. Are you enjoying yourself at UB, and what has been the most challenging part of being
a 15-year-old in college?

A. The UB campus environment is great. Easy accessibility to rail and nearby food is a plus in my book. UB’s campus is an ongoing project and will continue to get better and better in the years to come. As far as being 15, I haven’t encountered any age-related issues. Maybe me being 6 feet 1 inch offsets my baby face. Although I’ve only been here for a little while, I must say I am enjoying myself.

Q. What are the strengths of the interdisciplinary studies major?

A. Breadth and depth. At many schools, when you pick a major it is either this or that. However, at UB, the interdisciplinary studies major allows you to do this and that. I believe that the strength comes from the various educational experiences in different fields that you can take away from the major.

Q. How do you feel about the extra attention your accomplishments have generated?

A. Being successful at a young age, I feel that I have a message for younger people, and since I’m around the same age as my targeted audience, I believe that I could be more relatable and that maybe a message from me will hit home better than a message from an older person. If possible, I would actually love to expand my media exposure and move toward my own reality series, talk show or radio show in an attempt to show people how to manage stress and empower kids to do great things.

Q. Who has been the most influential person in your life?

A. My father. I don’t tell him often enough, but I appreciate him for everything that he has shown me. Along with my mother, he helped shape me into the man I am today and I am totally thankful. Historically, I admire the biblical character David because he went against great odds to do the unexpected.

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Lisa Perdue is a graduate student in UB’s Certificate in New Media Publishing program.

Take a peek inside the mind of illustrator John Weber to find out how he came up with the idea for the image that accompanies this article. Here’s how he explains it:

“The challenge I had for this illustration was to imagine a device that didn’t really exist but could possibly be the outcome of students interacting with NASA technology as described in the article.

The headline mentioned a flying machine, and I thought that would be a good starting point for an imaginary machine. I worked out what would pass as a helicopter-type rotor first, then added a motor and some other odds and ends to create an overall form.

One of the pieces had a curve and looked as though it was about to carry something within that shape. Walking through my kitchen, I saw what that could be—a banana! I thought a flying fruit device was just unbelievable enough to actually make sense as an outcome for what students might develop. After adding a few tubes, some exhaust and a sticker, the Bio-Nana Aerial Delivery Device© was born!”

Visit Weber’s website or read more about him in a November 2010 interview with Colortrails.com author and Photoshop expert Dan Moughamian.

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View an example of one student group’s PowerPoint presentation on their commercialization plans for a NASA technology.

UB established the College of Public Affairs along with the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences last July, creating two distinct units to house all of the degree and certificate programs that the former Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts comprised.

“We are delighted that Stephen Percy is joining us at UB. He has an impressive history of great accomplishments, and we look forward to his effective leadership in our new College of Public Affairs,” UB President Robert L. Bogomolny says. “We have long been known for our programs in public administration, criminal justice, health and human services and related areas, and I expect that [Percy] will increase the University’s presence in these key professions as they relate to our daily lives.”

Having devoted his 22-year career at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee to research and activities in public policy, urban services and urban politics, Percy is perhaps best known for his work on the Milwaukee Idea, the Wisconsin campus’s efforts to engage with its urban environment to strengthen the community while advancing the institution’s teaching and learning goals. Percy also led planning efforts for that university’s new School of Public Health and served as acting dean of the school during its founding years.

Percy holds a Ph.D. in political science from Indiana University and an undergraduate degree in government from Hamilton College.

image credit: John Weber

by Giordana Segneri, M.A. ’10

It’s 7 p.m. on a Wednesday evening, and the students in Michael V. Laric’s Market Opportunity Analysis course at the University of Baltimore have just come off an hourlong lecture on the finer aspects of Boolean search logic and Google Patents investigations. Now Laric, professor of marketing in the Merrick School of Business, tells the six teams of graduate business and law students they have 25 minutes to put together a one-pager on applicable markets for their pet NASA technologies.

And the students are off, chattering amongst themselves; above the hubbub, the pitch growing higher with each notch of the minute hand on the classroom clock, bits and pieces of brainstorming can be heard: “generate more wind power with less wind,” “maybe you could sell it to people building roller coasters,” “3-D imaging when you go through security.”

By 7:30(ish), the teams have turned in their papers, a small step that—together with some hard dreaming and some very hard working—might possibly turn into a giant leap for mankind.

That may be hyperbolic, but it’s not entirely far-fetched. After all, this course is about possibilities. The 23 M.B.A. and four law students enrolled in this spring’s cross-listed class were charged with exploring the commercialization potential contained in one of a selection of widgets that scientist-inventors at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center developed for very specific (and probably very obscure) space-related reasons.

First, the students needed to understand the technology, a challenge in itself, enough to describe it from a business standpoint. Then, they defined a commercial market in which their team’s particular NASA technology might find a new and hopefully lucrative life. Finally, they integrated financial analysis of the technology in its would-be market and presented the complete commercialization study to a panel of NASA representatives.

That’s the short version.

The long story started nearly 20 years ago, when the School of Business launched its Lab to Market program—a three-course series that married business students’ entrepreneurial and technological bents by allowing them to follow a technology from commercialization study to business plan to actual startup implementation—and began building relationships with local research labs, in which the Baltimore-Washington corridor is rich. UB has worked with more than 40 labs during the past two decades, including the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, the Naval Air Station Patuxent River and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, adopting raw, patented or patent-pending technologies for a semester and unleashing students’ creativity on them.

l. to r.: Hamed Chahargbaghi, M.B.A. ’11, and Jo-Anne Estelle Cheatom, M.B.A. ’11, listen to fellow students’ presentations to NASA Goddard representatives. (image credit: Chris Hartlove)

The benefit to the students is immeasurable, Laric indicates. “In the future, it will be much more important to come up with commercial applications for intellectual property; the wealth created in the past 50 years has been generated much more by harvesting intellectual property as evidenced by IBM, AT&T, Microsoft, Google and others,” says Laric, who has taught this course since 2005. “It becomes a very important part of business that’s not typically taught in business schools.”

Intellectual property is often taught in law schools, which is where the course’s cross-listing comes in as an effort to make the student teams more diverse, much like the workforce of a company or lab would be. “The law student interacts with the one who has a bio undergraduate [degree] because they’re both in a class with M.B.A. students who specialize in marketing, finance and accounting,” Laric adds. “What our students get is the experience of first working with technology, then creating a whole business plan and then trying to come up with an exciting and profitable venture.”

The benefit to NASA, which formalized its technology commercialization partnership with UB in fall 2010, is somewhat more measurable. “It’s the technology assessment that the students perform—fresh perspectives on how the technology can be applied—and potential partners, future licensees, maybe,” says Nona Cheeks, chief of the Innovative Partnerships Program Office at Goddard. “NASA putting technology into a process such as this provides opportunities for different perspectives to meet various needs within or beyond NASA.”

Laric explains, “The major benefit for most tech transfer people was our students’ creativity and coming up with potential market applications that they hadn’t thought of. And, as a good friend of mine at Indian Head [Division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center] said publicly at some point, our students give them the value of a $10,000 market research project. They get it for free.”

Technology transfer is the process by which businesses (or business-minded individuals) introduce technology developed for a specific purpose to a different market; research labs and universities are major players in tech transfer, as are business incubators. The business that commercializes the technology benefits by not having to invest in the research and development and therefore pays licensing fees to the original owner or inventor.

Why don’t labs like NASA just commercialize the technology themselves? Well, because the government cannot manufacture commercial products, Laric says, and because NASA’s mission has nothing to do with commercializing its inventions—although agency-wide, NASA owns or has joint ownership in approximately 900 patents, nearly 30 percent of which have been licensed, according to Cheeks. “NASA’s mission, first and foremost, is to develop science and technology, to disseminate information on our achievements and then to find the broadest application of them,” Cheeks says. “When NASA was established, we had a responsibility of getting that information out, and one way was through the tech transfer process.”

It’s also a resource issue, says Rebecca Whipple Bettes, M.B.A. ’10, a research supervisor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who took the Market Opportunity Analysis course in spring 2010 and now serves as the graduate class’s technology liaison. “They’re just sitting on these awesome technologies that could have such an impact on society, but they can’t market it well,” she says. “They don’t have the entrepreneurs that want to take the risk to license certain things.”

Nicholette Letersky, M.B.A. student, presents on a commercialization opportunity for her group’s NASA technology (and you can view this group’s PowerPoint presentation in the article's WebExtra). (image credit: Chris Hartlove)

In the NASA-UB partnership, Laric says, “we’ve developed a relationship with tech transfer people so they will not only give us [a list of the patented technologies], which are protected by patent law, but sometimes they give us the disclosures, which are not.” This broadens the field of possible technologies for UB students, and it can also prove beneficial to NASA.

“The researcher is developing an idea because of a certain task or mission: for example, minimizing corrosion on this part of the ship,” Laric says. “They are never going to test whether this thing will also work on the underside of a car driven in Michigan snows. So when we come up with the commercializing idea of ‘My God! Maybe you can test the usefulness of this on cars!’ the researcher may say, ‘Wow! That is a great idea! When we patent it, let’s do it so it can apply not just to ships, but to cars.’ And that’s a whole different patent. Sometimes they have disclosures where they’re not sure whether there’s an opportunity for commercialization, so what we give them is the creativity of the students who are challenged to figure out commercializing ideas.”

Of course, students have to understand what the technology does before they can come up with brilliant ideas of how to apply it elsewhere. “They have three months,” Bettes says, “and they have to cover so many things and try to be engineers at the same time.” So Bettes helps lighten the tech-geek load, developing PowerPoint presentations with videos and schematics, breaking down the technologies into layman’s terms and guiding the students to finding the right markets.

“The way I described it in the beginning of class, I said, ‘Think of me as your sous chef,’” she says. “‘You hand me the ingredients, and I’ll tell you as best as I can how to guide you into making your dish.’” In addition, the short list from which the graduate students chose their technologies included only those developed by inventors who agreed to answer students’ questions and to offer further explanations.

Bettes also served as the tech liaison for the fall 2010 Product Management undergraduate course, the first to explore the NASA technologies after the agency and UB had officially inked their partnership and also Laric’s first attempt at the technology commercialization study with an undergraduate course. It had its ups and downs, Laric says, especially since the technologies were complicated, but Bettes was impressed. “I was completely blown away with the undergrads’ capabilities,” she says. “They were fantastic.”

One group worked on an adaptation of a swiveling GPS antenna, developed to keep in constant contact with satellites, that would allow commercial airplanes to circle airports more tightly, thereby reducing air traffic and flight times. “They did great research,” Bettes says. “I think NASA walked away with that one going, ‘Hey, we’ve got a lot of information. Let’s approach this market now.’”

Another group, working with 3-D imaging software, found a market for commercialization in the plastic surgery industry. “Why would someone pay for 3-D in the plastic surgeon’s world?” Laric asks. “Theoretically, if the plastic surgeon could show the patient how they’re going to look after the surgery, the patient might agree to the surgery faster.”

Bettes says, “It could be a game changer for the plastic surgery market. … With that one, I did notice that ‘hmmmm-I’ve-never-really-thought-about-that’ kind of look on [the NASA representatives’] faces.”

Students in this past spring’s graduate course were able to derive clarity from the technological complexities the class introduces. “The most interesting concept of the course was … intellectual properties regarding patents, trademarks and copyrights,” says Hamed Chahargbaghi, M.B.A. ’11, whose group explored a radiation-frequency-induced monitoring device. “I could use a lot of those concepts to apply to my future career. The main image I’ve had in mind is our family dry cleaning business that my brother started a year ago; it’s going green by eliminating all plastics.”

Alan Feuerstein and Tom Liles, both second-year law students, say the course’s applicable material is a nice break from the “rote memorization” of law school. “It’s much more practical than we usually get into,” says Liles, who worked with a portable, nondestructible materials-testing device that can gather data on various characteristics of a material without harming it as an X-ray might. “Normally in law school, you read what are called appellate decisions. They’re really important but they never come up. Here, what you’re doing will come up because you’ll actually use it. It’s guaranteed.”

Feuerstein, whose group researched a 3-D laser measuring tool, agrees: “That is a good reason we’re here: Actual use of the law as opposed to learning about it. A hands-on class, so to speak.”

And the dream of financial success while changing the landscape of an industry doesn’t hurt, either. “The fanciful idea that one of the groups in this class will actually have a patent—hope springs eternal,” Feurstein says.

Echoes Bettes: “I would love to see just one of these students take the NASA technology or do a tech transfer and make billions of dollars.”

1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | Featured Class Notes | In Memoriam |

1960s

Arrie W. Davis, LL.B. ’69, retired in October after almost 30 years on the bench. He had served on the Maryland Court of Special Appeals since 1990 and previously served on the Baltimore City District Court and Circuit Court.

1970s

Michael H. Mannes, J.D. ’70, joined the Baltimore law firm of Niles, Barton and Wilmer as a partner in the firm’s real estate group in June 2010. His practice includes the creation of condominium and planned unit developments and the representation of condominium and homeowners’ associations and cooperatives in dispute resolution, construction and governance issues.

C. Philip Nichols Jr., J.D. ’73, received the State Bar Foundation Award for Legal Excellence in Public Service Responsibility in December at the 18th Annual Professional Legal Excellence Awards Reception, held in Annapolis, Md.

William Sherman, B.S. ’74, was named vice president of commercial lending for Baltimore County (Md.) Savings Bank in July 2010.

Meyer Simon, J.D. ’74, joined the law firm of Lamm Rubenstone in Trevose, Pa., in October.

Frederick A. Goldstein, J.D. ’75, donated one of his sculptures to the Ft. Lauderdale office of Florida’s Department of Children and Families in July 2010. The 6-foot-tall sculpture is titled Parents and Child.

C. Gregory Kallmyer, J.D. ’77, was appointed to the board of trustees of Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., in December. He is currently a wealth adviser for UBS Financial Services in Hunt Valley, Md., and a senior partner in the Murray Group, a team recognized by Barron’s as one of the top 1,000 advisers in the nation.

Stephen F. Pugh, B.S. ’77, retired in September as a finance manager at CSX Transportation in Jefferson, Ind., after 41 years with the company.

Stephen D. Wyman, J.D. ’77, was appointed associate judge of the Baltimore County (Md.) District Court by Gov. Martin O’Malley in July 2010.

Bradley K. Fountain, B.A. ’78, joined Partner Engineering and Science as a national client manager in the firm’s Baltimore office. He will focus on the firm’s U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development due diligence group.

Leonard E. Maiolatesi, B.S. ’78, retired from the Department of the Army after 31 years, during which time he served as an operating accountant, auditor, program analyst and budget analyst. He is a lifetime member of the American Society of Military Comptrollers and also served as treasurer of the Chesapeake Chapter in 1985.

Jeffrey Van Grack, J.D. ’78, was elected dean of the national College of Community Association Lawyers, based in Falls Church, Va., for 2011 and 2012 in December.

Keith A. Baynes, J.D. ’79, was appointed associate judge for the Cecil County Circuit Court, 2nd Judicial Circuit, by Gov. Martin O’Malley in January.

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1980s

Donald Fry, J.D. ’80, was named a 2010 Innovator of the Year by The Daily Record in October. This award honors Maryland businesses and individuals “who have had a positive effect and tremendous impact in Maryland.”

Alan F.M. Garten, J.D. ’80, received the Maryland Law & Jurisprudence Award at the Grand Annual Community Dinner for the Chabad at Johns Hopkins Anniversary Celebration in October.

David Rice, J.D. ’80, was appointed judge for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland in September. Rice was previously a partner with the Baltimore law firm of Venable and represented clients in a variety of bankruptcy and creditors’ rights matters.

John C. Wilson, M.A. ’80, directed a production of The Laramie Project for Spotlight UB, the University’s performing arts series, in November.

Gary C. Perlow, CERT ’81, received the Caron Community Leadership Award at Caron Treatment Centers’ 6th Annual Washington Metropolitan Area Community Service Awards Breakfast in October. This award is given to an individual or community-based organization with a proven track record of leadership in the area of chemical dependency education, awareness, program delivery and counseling services.

David A. Goldner, M.S. ’83, was elected president of the board of directors of the Baltimore Estate Planning Council, an interdisciplinary organization for professionals involved in estate planning. The managing partner at Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, a certified public accounting and consulting firm in Baltimore, he is also a certified financial planner and a certified valuation analyst.

Roger C. Melchior, B.S. ’81, M.P.A. ’84, was named fire chief of Niagara Falls, N.Y., in October.

Kevin Shepherd, J.D. ’84, chair of Venable’s Baltimore real estate practice and chair of its finance group, received the Distinguished Maryland Real Property Practitioner Award from the Maryland State Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Planning and Zoning in July 2010. Shepherd is also president of the American Academy of Real Estate Lawyers.

Elissa C. Bellassai Strati, B.A. ’84, co-owner of Avenue Antiques in Baltimore, was named Hampden’s Merchant of the Year by the Hampden Village Merchant Association.

Kim DiGiovanni Aluisi, J.D. ’85, was named to the board of Anne Arundel County (Md.)-based Providence Center, which provides services to individuals with developmental disabilities, in August 2010. Aluisi is a family law attorney in Annapolis, Md.; her practice focuses on managing conflict between spouses or other domestic partners and on promoting solutions outside of the courtroom for issues including divorce, adoptions, equitable division of property and domestic violence.

James A. List, J.D. ’85, was elected vice president of the board of directors for the Arc of Baltimore, a nonprofit organization that provides services to individuals and families affected by developmental disabilities, in November.

Leo Ryan, B.S. ’81, J.D. ’85, was appointed associate judge for the Baltimore County (Md.) District Court by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley in July 2010.

Timothy B. Maison, B.S. ’86, is currently living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and serves as a captain of a VIP aircraft in Abu Dhabi.

Dennis P. McGlone, J.D. ’86, is a partner with the law firm of Treanor Pope & Hughes in Towson, Md.

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1990s

David B. Applefeld, J.D. ’90, was selected to serve on the branch development and relations committee of the Towson, Md.-based International Dyslexia Association and was appointed to serve on the board of directors of the association’s Maryland branch. Applefeld serves as national panel trial counsel and special litigation counsel with the Baltimore firm of Adelberg, Rudow, Dorf & Hendler.

Robert Y. Hamilton, M.B.A. ’90, has served as chief operating officer of the James F. Knott Realty Group since February 2002. He recently earned a doctorate in education with a concentration in executive leadership/human and organizational learning from The George Washington University and was also appointed to the board of trustees of the Sheppard Pratt Health System.

Leonard B. Rus, M.S. ’91, was elected treasurer of the Parent Teacher Association of Chatsworth Elementary School in Baltimore County, Md. Rus is a tax partner at Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, a certified public accounting and consulting firm in Baltimore.

Steven D. Silverman, J.D. ’91, managing partner of the Baltimore-based firm Silverman, Thompson, Slutkin & White, was named one of the top 10 criminal defense attorneys in the Northeast by Avvo.com, as published in the December issue of Arrive magazine.

Alisa M. Hoffman, M.A. ’92, is a technical writer for Pacific Coast Steel in Glendale, Ariz. She is also the marketing director and culinary educator for The Chef’s Loft in Scottsdale.

Adrian S. Johnson, B.S. ’92, senior vice president and chief financial officer at the Municipal Employees Credit Union of Baltimore, received the Finance Professional of the Year award at the National Academy Foundation High School in Baltimore’s 15th annual awards banquet in June 2010.

Stuart S. Rienhoff, M.B.A. ’92, joined Jones Lang LaSalle’s Baltimore office as the managing director in August.

Marsha L. Russell, J.D. ’92, was appointed associate judge of the Baltimore County (Md.) District Court by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley in July 2010.

Peter Hammen, B.S. ’89, M.P.A. ’93, Maryland state delegate (District 46), received the Maryland Public Service Award at the Grand Annual Community Dinner for the Chabad at Johns Hopkins Anniversary Celebration in October.

Timothy Longo, J.D. ’93, chief of police for Charlottesville, Va., was named to the board of the Virginia Association of Police Chiefs in August.

Lawrence Hammond, J.D. ’94, became a partner with the Baltimore firm of Tydings & Rosenberg in July 2010.

Nolan Rollins, M.A. ’95, president and CEO of the Urban League of Greater New Orleans, La., was elected chairman of the New Orleans Aviation Board in August.

Saul Silen, B.S. ’95, is the vice president and senior field examiner for Bank of America in Baltimore.

Barbara L. Smith, M.A. ’95, published Elizabeth Sparhawk-Jones: The Artist Who Lived Twice, a biography of the Baltimore-born painter. She also works as a contributing writer for AVALON, a women’s magazine based on Martha’s Vineyard.

Dina K. Wasmer, M.A. ’96, was named in September to The Daily Record’s 2010 VIP list of very important professionals age 40 and under.

Kathleen A. Bergin, J.D. ’97, is a law professor and director of You. Me. We., a disaster-response law and policy center at South Texas College of Law in Houston.

Robert D. Porter, J.D. ’97, joined Wagonheim Law in Hunt Valley, Md., in November. He practices real estate and business law.

Eric R. Smith, J.D. ’97, was elected as a partner with Venable in Baltimore in January. He focuses primarily on corporate and securities transactions and on general corporate matters.

Michael Stanley, J.D. ’97, was named a Maritime Magic Rising Star by Living Classrooms in October 2010. Rising Stars are “recognized for their outstanding achievements in their professional and personal lives” and serve as ambassadors for Living Classrooms’ education and job-training programs.

Brian Betz, B.S. ’98, received the Coast Guard Commendation Medal in July 2010 for his service as the commanding officer of the Coast Guard cutter Cushing, based in Puerto Rico.

Neil Duke, J.D. ’98, is serving his second term as president of the Baltimore City School Board.

Laura C. Lillicotch, M.S. ’98, has a private practice counseling adults in Manchester, Md.

Crystal Windsor Owens, M.S. ’98, was named a 2010-11 Maryland Teacher of the Year by Dorchester County Public Schools. She teaches elementary school in Salisbury, Md.

Scott M. Trager, J.D. ’98, was named a Rising Star by Maryland Super Lawyers magazine in January.

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2000s

Gerald C. Kowalczik, B.S. ’00, was promoted to technical consulting manager for the National Security Group of Oracle America in Elkridge, Md.

Daniel W. Powell, J.D. ’00, was elected state’s attorney for Somerset County (Md.) in November.

Donna Senft, J.D. ’00, a principal in the health law group of Baltimore-based firm Ober|Kaler, began writing the health law blog Medicareforgeeks.com in 2010. The blog focuses on Medicare enrollment issues with information concerning the requirements and new initiatives related to the Provider Enrollment, Chain and Ownership System.

Xiao Wu, M.S. ’00, registered her sole proprietorship business, InDiviArt, in Acton, Mass.

Aimee M. Bader, J.D. ’01, is working as an associate at Friedman & MacFadyen in Baltimore.

Dawn Elaine Bowie, J.D. ’01, was named a 2010 Innovator of the Year by The Daily Record in October.

Courtney C. Geduldig, J.D. ’01, was named managing director, head of federal government relations and chief counsel of the Washington, D.C.-based Financial Services Forum in December.

Min Huo, M.B.A. ’01, is working for Advanced Micro Devices (China) Co.

Ginina A. Stevenson, J.D. ’01, opened her own firm, the Law Office of Ginina A. Stevenson, in Pasadena, Md., in August.

Lisa M. Walker, M.B.A. ’01, was elected president of the board of directors for the Asbury Church Assistance Network of Severna Park, Md.

Monique L. Bell, M.A. ’02, has been designated a Ph.D. candidate in marketing by the LeBow College of Business at Drexel University after passing the Ph.D. candidacy exam in August.

Melissa Fannin, M.B.A. ’02, joined the Timonium (Md.) office of Clifton Gunderson as a senior manager. She most recently served as a project manager/program manager for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Rockville, Md.

Scott Handwerger, M.S. ’02, a CPA, was promoted to principal at the Baltimore-based accounting and management consulting firm of Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates in November.

Jaime W. Luse, J.D. ’02, was named partner at the Baltimore firm of Tydings & Rosenberg in January.

Dennis M. Robinson Jr., J.D. ’02, was named partner at the Baltimore firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston in January.

Astrid Schmidt, J.D. ’02, director of the UB School of Law’s Law Career Development Office, was awarded a Fulbright Scholar grant to study Germany’s higher education system as it pertains to those American college administrators whose responsibilities have a direct relationship with international exchanges, career services, alumni affairs, or development and fundraising.

Richard R. Chambers, J.D. ’03, was named deputy director of the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service in Baltimore in November. He is responsible for the organization’s pro bono programs.

Stella M. Fouts, B.A. ’03, is working as a library associate for adult services at the Westminster (Md.) branch of the Carroll County Public Library.

Michael F. Connolly, B.A. ’00, J.D. ’04, with the law offices of Joseph S. Lyons in Towson, Md., received the Baltimore County Bar Association’s individual Attorney Pro Bono Award in November. He has handled numerous family law cases as a pro bono volunteer for the Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service.

Nicholas M. Collins, M.S. ’05, and Stephanie A. Moss, B.S. ’02, M.B.A. ’04, were married in Annapolis on Nov. 13. Among those in the bridal party was Heather B. Holsey, M.S. ’05, J.D. ’06.

Sheena K. Gill, J.D. ’06, joined The Chugh Firm in Fairfax, Va., as a partner in August.

Jennifer A. Pratt, B.A. ’96, J.D. ’00, LL.M. ’06, was elected as a partner with Venable in Baltimore in January. She is a member of the tax and wealth planning practice group.

Joseph S. Johnston, J.D. ’07, is an associate at the law firm of Morgan Carlo Downs & Everton in Hunt Valley, Md.

Kimberly Hankins Neal, J.D. ’07, was named among Baltimore’s “Legal Elite” in a Baltimore SmartCEO magazine readers’ poll published in November.

Taren N. Stanton, J.D. ’07, joined the Washington, D.C., firm of Thompson Hine as an associate. She practices business litigation.

Byron E. MacFarlane, J.D. ’08, was elected register of wills for Howard County, Md., in November and began his four-year term in December.

Cara A. Murray, B.S. ’08, married Jonathan S. Malfi, B.S. ’07, in May 2007. She works as a senior graphic designer for a local design agency, and Malfi is an event technology specialist for a large audiovisual firm in Baltimore.

Heather M. Dunn, J.D. ’09, joined the Baltimore firm of Niles, Barton and Wilmer as a paralegal in June 2010.

Alicia D. Stewart, J.D. ’09, joined the Baltimore firm of Niles, Barton and Wilmer as an associate in June 2010.

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2010s

William F. Alcarese, J.D. ’10, proposed to longtime girlfriend Caroline Thaler, daughter of David and Carolyn Thaler, J.D. ’74, in December at Santa’s Workshop in Towson, Md.

Scarlett M. Corso, B.A. ’07, J.D. ’10, has accepted a position as a drug-court law clerk for the Juvenile Division of the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s Office.

Christopher J. Martini, J.D. ’10, joined the firm of Franklin & Prokopik in Easton, Md., as an associate in January. He concentrates his civil litigation practice in workers’ compensation defense.

Ryan M. McConnell, J.D. ’10, was sworn into the Maryland Bar in December and is now an associate at the firm of Hodes, Pessin & Katz in Towson, Md. He concentrates his practice in estate planning and elder law.

Jessica L. Murray, B.A. ’06, J.D. ’10, joined the Baltimore firm of Franklin & Prokopik as an associate in January. She concentrates her civil litigation practice in general liability defense, insurance litigation and mediation.

Kathleen M. Parks, J.D. ’10, is an associate at the law firm of Morgan Carlo Downs & Everton
in Hunt Valley, Md.

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Featured Class Notes

Influential Marylanders

Congratulations to the University of Baltimore alumni recognized as Influential Marylanders for 2011 by The Daily Record. This award “honor[s] people who have made significant impacts in their field and continue to be leaders in Maryland.”

James E. “Buzz” Cusack Jr., B.S. ’65, operator, Charles and Senator theaters (freestyle)
Alan J. Hyatt, J.D. ’78, president and CEO, Severn Bankcorp (finance)
Donn Weinberg, J.D. ’78, board chairman, Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation (civic leadership)

Baby Bee Announcements

UB proudly welcomes the newest members of our University family—Baby Bees! Moms- and dads-to-be, let us know when your little one arrives, and we’ll send you a Baby Bee bib, courtesy of the UB Alumni Association. We look forward to receiving more photos of your new additions and will include them in the magazine as space permits. (If you want us to really gush, send us a photo of your baby proudly sporting the Baby Bee bib.)

Share the buzz about your new Baby Bee with us at 410.837.6131 or alumni@ubalt.edu.

Cristoff Maurice Littlejohn was born April 19, 2010, to Monique Bell, M.A. ’02.

Alexandria Sue Dodson was born Oct. 14, 2010, to Michael J. Dodson, B.S. ’08, and wife Pamela S. Alban, B.S. ’08.

Aissata Rayne Dandridge was born June 16, 2010, to Rose-eva J. Dandridge, M.A. ’10.

UB Alumnae Named to Maryland’s ‘Top 100 Women’ List

Congratulations to the following UB alumnae named to The Daily Record’s list of Maryland’s Top 100 Women for 2011. This annual list recognizes honorees who have excelled professionally in the community and as mentors.

Darlene B. Smith, B.S. ’78, M.B.A. ’80
Kathleen Cahill, J.D. ’81
Randi Alper Pupkin, J.D. ’87
Jennifer Etheridge, J.D. ’92
Maria Elena Chavez-Ruark, J.D. ’94
Janice Jackson, B.A. ’02, M.S. ’05
L. Content McLaughlin, B.A. ’00, J.D. ’03, LL.M. ’05

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In Memoriam

Jack Layton, LL.B. ’39
Joseph Hamper, A.A. ’48
Herbert Silverstein, A.A. ’51
Leo W. Doyle, J.D. ’56
Ellis A. Fribush, B.S. ’56
Kenneth D. Pezzulla, LL.B. ’57
Edward D. Danz, B.S. ’60
Raymond J. Cardillo, LL.B. ’61
Harvey J. Siegel, LL.B. ’62
George H. Steele, LL.B. ’63
Warren S. Komins, LL.B. ’64
Edwin G. Smith, B.A. ’72
William I. Weinstein, J.D. ’73
Stephen Abrams, J.D. ’74
Robert R. Jenkins, J.D. ’75
Thomas A. Brett, B.S. ’80
Edward A. Eshmont, J.D. ’82
John J. Nadeau Jr., M.S. ’83
Alyce Boyd-Stewart, J.D./M.P.A. ’91
Rachel J. Rossen, M.S. ’98
Joshua Bondi Isaac, M.A. ’01
Debora Flores-Narvaez, B.S. ’02

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