SMCM Student Success Services

A message from the Office of the President of St. Mary’s College of Maryland, signed by Jack Bailey (Senator, State of MD), Brian Crosby (Delegate, State of MD), and Dr. Tuajuanda Jordan (SMCM President). I appreciated seeing this message this morning.

A Message from the President
Tomorrow's Election

Dear Seahawk Community:

A privilege we have as Americans is the right to vote. This is a core principle of our democracy. As the votes begin to roll in and we learn the results, our citizenry will exhibit a range of emotions as we contemplate the impact of the results as individuals and collectively as a nation. As a republic founded on the principles of democracy, we must continue to have faith in the process and accept the results unhesitatingly and peacefully. We emerge, regardless of the outcome, with continued civic engagement and debates about great ideas. Let us continue with that tradition, ever mindful of the College’s ethos, The St. Mary’s Way. And, may we as a people reunite once again to be the best nation we possibly can with grace, dignity and humanity.

Hawktoberfest 2024 - Register Now Soar into Fall Fun

Join Dr. Martinez, Director of Public Safety, for an hour of Community Building and Public Safety Dialogue.
Where: Brew'd Awakening
When: November 6th @ 1100-1200pm

Environmental Studies Majors Awarded National Fellowships | St. Marys College of Maryland St. Mary’s College of Maryland has had two environmental studies majors in recent years earn the Mel Fellowship in Natural Resource Careers with the Maryland Forestry Foundation. It is the Mid-Atlantic’s largest college fellowship in natural resources, awarding $10,000 annually to four Maryland ...

The semester is surely flying by! We are bit behind in posting here but nonetheless delighted to have two new faculty members joining us this semester! First up:

Welcome to Assistant Professor of Psychology Dr. Victória (Vicky) Müller Ewald who earned her PhD (2020) in neuroscience from the University of Iowa. At Univ. of Iowa she researched the brain bases of food- and drug-seeking behaviors and won the Rex Montgomery Dissertation Award. She then completed two post-doctoral appointments at the Univ. of Iowa where she substantially broadened her methodological expertise in electroencephalography and transcranial magnetic stimulation. Vicky brings experience in teaching biopsychology, computer programming, and statistical analysis. Her current research examines the influences of cerebellar modulation via transcranial direct current stimulation on cognitive control.

In F23 she is teaching Drugs, Brains & Behavior and Biological & Sensory Psychology. In SP24, she will teach those courses again aliong with Psychological Research, Analysis, and Writing II.

Some fun facts about Dr. Müller Ewald from our printed directory:

How I relax: sewing, gardening, baking bread, playing with my dog

Favorite quote: "It doesn't get easier, you just get better“

A unique fact about me: I am a seamstress in training.

Favorite food: Bolinho de arroz

Favorite color: yellow (statistically one of the least popular favorite colors)

Favorite place I have visited: Malta

Favorite movie: Not a movie person - I adore podcasts though. The Adventure Zone, Critical Role, and Science Vs. are some of my favorites.

Welcome also to Visiting Instructor of Psychology Maria Kalantzis who earned her MA (2022) in clinical psychology from Bowling Green State University! Maria brings substantial clinical experience including psychotherapy, interviewing, and prevention programming. She is also a seasoned instructor, having taught Honors Psychology and lecturing across the psychology curriculum. In 2022, Maria received funding from the Association for Psychological Science to develop resources for anti-racist psychology curricula. Her current PhD research examines eating and weight disorders in diverse populations.

In AY23-24, she is teaching (remotely) Intro to Psychology, Psychology of Eating Disorders, and Diversity Issues in Clinical Psychology. We were happy to have the chance for Maria visit campus in-person on 9/15 to meet with classes and join us for our research opportunities showcase.

Some fun facts about Maria:

How I relax: playing piano, singing in choir, cozy mystery novels

Favorite quote: "How very little can be done under the spirit of fear." -Florence Nightingale

Favorite food: dolma (stuffed grape leaves)

Favorite toy as a child: anything GameCube related, especially Legend of Zelda!

Favorite season: fall

Officer Ringdahl conducting the first night of RAD self defense training for students. For more information on classes please visit https://www.smcm.edu/publicsafety/campus-safety/rad/

Associate Professor Shanen Sherrer Awarded a Prestigious AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship | St. Marys College of Maryland The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) earlier this month announced Associate Professor of Biochemistry Shanen M.

Today was our first official observance of Seahawk Spirit Day, which we will celebrate every Friday throughout the academic year. The SMCM Institutional Advancement unit looks good turned out in the College colors! Look for more photos of students, faculty and staff showing off their !

Assistant Professor Tobiansky published in Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews | St. Marys College of Maryland Daniel Tobiansky (assistant professor of neurobiology) and colleagues recently published an article titled, "Neurosteroids and the mesocorticolimbic system" in the high-impact journal Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews.

Professor of Mathematics Sandy Ganzell Co-Edits Two-Volume Set | St. Marys College of Maryland Professor of Mathematics Sandy Ganzell is co-editor with Eli Goldwyn and Aaron Wootton of “Mathematics Research for the Beginning Student," Volume 1 and Volume 2 (Springer Link, 2022). The textbooks are part of the Foundations for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics series.

Congratulations to President Jordan!

President Jordan among Maryland’s Top 100 Women | St. Marys College of Maryland For her outstanding leadership in her profession and in the community, St. Mary’s College of Maryland President Tuajuanda C. Jordan, PhD was named to the Daily Record’s 2023 Maryland’s Top 100 Women. “The 2023 Maryland’s Top 100 Women are trailblazers. They are professionally successful, s...

Poetry Reading, Discussion & Award Wed 3/1/23 7:30 p.m.

Tomorrow we get to see a typical Tuesday for Alyssa Afuang ’23. Alyssa is a psychology major and we are in luck because she will be doing directed research with psych professor Gili Freedman. Students can often find Alyssa helping out fellow Seahawks as she is a peer to peer mentor in the Center for Career and Professional Development and a tutor through the Office of Student Success Services (OS3). Please check stories often for a day in the life of a Seahawk.

“Never be limited by other people's limited imaginations.”
— Mae Jemison, American engineer, physician and former NASA astronaut

St. Mary's College continues to honor our cultural heritage months by celebrating historic and contemporary figures who have helped increase the awareness and impact of different cultures. Black History Month is observed February 1 - 28.
https://www.smcm.edu/inclusive-diversity-equity-access-accountability/

Professor Wooley Begins Term as President of Association of Departments of English | St. Marys College of Maryland Christine Wooley, professor of English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, recently began a year-long term as president of the Association of Departments of English (ADE) after being named to the position last spring. The ADE supports academic departments focused on studying literature, writing and...

Professor of Art Sue Johnson Awarded Individual Artist Fellowship | St. Marys College of Maryland Professor of Art Sue Johnson has been awarded a prestigious 2023 Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship.

On October 9, 1685 Rebecca Fowler was executed for witchcraft for "having not the fear of God before her eyes, but being led by the instigation of the devil certain evil and diabolical arts, called witchcrafts, enchantments, charms and sorceries..."

Rebecca arrived in Maryland in 1656 as an indentured servant. Over the years she met and married a fellow indenture, with the two of them working off their debt and earning enough to purchase land they called “Fowler’s Delight.” After Rebecca’s husband passed and she became widowed, a servant, Francis Sansbury, accused her of witchcraft. Documents show Francis testified she made him “very much the worse, consumed, pined & lamed.” Rebecca Fowler was then seized and brought to Provincial Court in St. Mary’s City.

She was not the only person accused of witchcraft in Maryland, nor was she the first. In all, there are records of twelve men and women that were brought up on charges.

In 1635 the Maryland Assembly adopted the English Witchcraft Act of 1604; it wasn’t until 1670 a provision was passed disallowing county courts to execute for witchcraft, leaving it to the Provincial courts (showing the level of seriousness with which the colony took the charge of witchcraft). Records do not remain telling of the evidence presented in Rebecca's case, but it was strong enough for the jury to find her guilty. What’s curious is they turned over the evidence and their finding to the court, offering the court to look it all over and make their own verdict - basically saying, this is what we think but we accept whatever you decide. Ultimately, the court agreed with the jury's verdict. “It is considered by the Court that the said Rebecca Fowler be hanged by the neck until she be dead…” (Judgment Records of Provincial Court, Liber T.G. (2) 1682 - 1702, pp. 23, 25, 34)

Her death on this day in 1685 made her the sole person to be tried, found guilty, and executed for witchcraft in Maryland.

No better way to get in your meters!!

Welcoming the sun back to campus. ☀️🍂🍁

Indigenous Heritage Day - Calendar of Events – Historic St. Mary's City -- A Museum of History & Archaeology at Maryland's First Capital Join Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC) for Indigenous Heritage Day from 10 a.m.—4 p.m. on Saturday, September 10, 2022. The annual event will be filled with ongoing demonstrations at the Woodland Indian Hamlet that highlight traditional methods in hide tanning, … Indigenous Heritage Day Read Mor...

Tonight we had our Twilight Ceremony, where some of our student leaders welcomed our new students to the College.

Move-in was a total success today! Thanks to the OLs, ResLife staff, Varsity Athletes, Public Safety, Dean of Students, VP of Student Affairs, VP of Enrollment Management, President Jordan, and OS3 staff for showing up, helping out, and welcoming our new students and their families!