Summer Dinner Theatre was a great success with all performances sold out. Congratulations to the 75 actors and technicians, 14 interns, and 14 staff involved. The next production is Frog and Toad. Auditions will be held the second week of school. Because of PAC renovations, the first two productions this year will be performed in Theatre Arts.

The Science, Engineering and Mathematics Area presents another exciting semester of SEM Exchange, a series of stimulating presentations on recent advances and issues in the sciences. The first lecture features a panel discussion with Dr. Gina Wesley-Hunt on Thursday, September 25, 2:30-3:30 p.m., in Science West 122. Dr. Gina D. Wesley-Hunt is an assistant professor in the Biology Department. She earned three degrees in Evolutionary Biology: a B.A. from Northwestern University; and an M.S. and Ph.D. from The University of Chicago. Her teaching experiences have been diverse, including Historical Geology at George Washington University, Principles of Biology II at Montgomery College, Geology at The Field Museum of Chicago, and Mammalian Evolution at The University of Chicago. She completed post-doctoral research at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. Dr. Wesley-Hunt has given public and guest lectures at the University of Maryland, the American Women’s Club in Sweden, and the Earth Sciences Club of Northern Illinois. She has worked as a Scientific Aide with the California Department of Fish and Game and volunteered with the Peregrine Falcon Research Program in Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado. She is very active in research, receiving grants from the Swedish Research Council, the Geological Sciences of America, the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Sigma Xi, the Paleobiological Fund and the Hinds Fund of Chicago. The panel will discuss: Motherhood, the Elephant in the Laboratory: Women scientists speak out based on a Cornell University Press, 2008 book with the same title edited by Dr. Emily Monosson, who will be among the panelists. Several other contributors to this edited volume will explore the challenges and the solutions to combining motherhood and a scientific career. Presently, half of the undergraduate and approximately 40% of graduate degree recipients in the sciences and engineering are women. Panelists will share their personal stories and career choices, redefining what it means to be a successful professional scientist in the face of persistent societal roadblocks. Definitions of success, structuring grants to allow flexibility for family leave, knowing your rights – or lack of them, and equitable co-parenting are among the many issues to be considered. While the challenges for fathers in the sciences are different, there is tremendous overlap. No change in mothers’ rights will be realized without addressing the roles and rights of fathers. We welcome women and men to join us in this timely and critical conversation. Along with Dr. Wesley-Hunt, other panelists will include Dr. Emily Monosson – toxicologist, consultant, writer, teacher and researcher; Dr. Marla S. McIntosh, agronomist, University of Maryland; Dr. Catherine O'Riordan, civil engineer, Consortium for Ocean Leadership, among others.

Dr. Bob Brenneman, chair of the Chemistry Department, was selected to participate in a NSF-sponsored "Research-Based Lab Curriculum" at the University of Illinois, Chicago this summer. This workshop was sponsored in part by the Center for Authentic Science Practice in Education (CASPiE), an Undergraduate Research Collaborative funded by the NSF Chemistry Division. CASPiE features five-to-eight week modules that allow students in typical general and organic chemistry lab courses to conduct research as part of their regular coursework. The experiments that they carry out connect with the research of university faculty members who have written the modules. The support of peer leaders working in support of the lab curriculum is also included. The CASPiE model is designed to allow the modules to be used in many different teaching environments, from community colleges to research universities. Participants in this workshop learned more about the basis of the CASPiE model of undergraduate research, including how to implement the model in their institution with existing CASPiE modules or how to develop a module of their own. Dr. Bob Brenneman and Chemistry Professor Dr. Sripriya Seetharaman participated in the 20th Biennial Conference on Chemical Education at Indiana University in July. The Biennial Conference on Chemical Education (BCCE) is a national meeting sponsored by the Division of Chemical Education of the American Chemical Society. The conference is designed for middle school science teachers, secondary school chemistry teachers, graduate students, and college chemistry instructors and professors. The conference provides chemistry teachers with opportunities for interacting with colleagues at all levels in formal and informal settings.

Dr. Zine Boudhraa, a Math Department faculty member, was named as a Minority Access National Role Model and he willl receive his award at the Ninth National Role Models Awards Banquet in September.

Art Department Professors Komelia Okim and Sumita Kim were selected as Creative Project Grant awardees by the Arts and Humanities council of Montgomery County. Okim was selected for her proposal to produce wall sculpture for her upcoming one-person show. Kim's proposal related to digital photography work involving her installation pieces. An award ceremony will be held on October 20 at 7 p.m. at the Music Center at Strathmore. Professor of Art Sumita Kim and MC student Paul Pincus exhibited at the Black Rock Center for the Arts in Germantown July 16 to August 15. Kim's work was mixed media and Pincus' was figurative sculpture. In July, Dr. Percy North gave a lecture in an exhibition at Peters Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Adjunct Professor Nina Dwyer is currently exhibiting at the Glenview Mansion Art Gallery in Rockville. Dwyer’s work focuses on images of Chinese terra cotta figures. The exhibition runs August 3 to September 2. The first exhibit this year at the Sarah Silberman Gallery will be a show highlighting the work of adjunct faculty in the Rockville Art Department. Both their art and their work give life to the department. The exhibition runs Monday, September 8 - Friday, October 3. The opening reception will be September 8, 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. This exhibition will be curated by Dr. Ken Jassie and Adjunct Professor Eun-Mee Chung. Finally, in celebration of our alumni, Jong Sun (Jay) Lee recently received "Best in Show" at the 14th Annual International Exhibition at the SOHO20 Chelsea Gallery in New York City held July 17 - August 23. She made a point of recognizing Montgomery College in her remarks. Kyan Bishop, former metalsmithing student, recently had a solo exhibition at Arabesque Gallery on Julia Street in New Orleans.

The Department of Education received a Maryland State Department of Education grant for the Child Care Development Fund. The purpose of the grant is to provide funding to credentialed child care providers to pursue a college degree in early childhood education or related disciplines. Recipients of the grant have a service requirement of currently working in the child care field as well as staying in this field for a specific period of time following receipt of their degree or completion of coursework (prorated to the amount of coursework they take). The grant amounts to $114, 754 over the course of the next two years, roughly $53,000 per year in tuition, books and fees for students.

Welcome Week, sponsored by the Office of Student Life, is scheduled from September 3-5, offers students an introduction to academic and social resources, encourages awareness, and promotes relationships with the campus and community environment. The annual Office of Student Life Open House will be held on September 10th to highlight scheduled student activities and events for the fall 2008 semester. The 9/11 Commemorative will be held on September 11th. The Student Life Leadership Institute will be held on September 11 and September 25 to enhance the development of leadership qualities for all students. Involvement Fest, on September 17, will promote the Office of Student Life, specifically the Club Program, student organizations, and office activities, along with the MC Athletic teams, and campus programs. This event will be organized in a “carnival atmosphere” that includes games, music, and food. An MC LEAD (Lead, Engage, Act, and Define) information session will be on September 18th to familiarize students with an exciting leadership program rooted in the social change model of leadership development. Through the program, selected students will develop their leadership skills as they work to devise an action plain to address a social issue. As a group, participants will select a participating city from the State of Maryland Sister Cities program. Based on student research, groups will identify and work on a pressing issue from one of the eight United Nations Millennium Goals in the identified sister city. At the end of this year-long program, students will present their actions plan for evaluation by a panel consisting of faculty, area experts, and government representatives. This program concludes with a graduation ceremony and trip to the United Nation’s Office in New York. Club Orientation workshops will occur September 22nd through the 30th and are designed to assist students with reactivating or starting a new club on the Rockville Campus.