Computer Applications
This fall, the Computer Applications Department has assembled a student-based computer club called MC’s Digital Maniacs. This student organization was created to address the increasing need for MC’s IT students to have a forum where they can connect with each other, our local IT community, and MC faculty members. The club also gives students the opportunity to update and hone their technology skills by sponsoring free technology presentations throughout the year by local IT gurus. Our first meeting was held with good success as 14 students attended Zachary Gordon’s, Springbrook HS’s technology teacher extraordinaire, demonstration of the two most popular Web content management systems, “WordPress and Expression Engine.” Currently, two Web students are building a club Website with an interactive discussion board to facilitate discussions and information transfer.

Education
The School of Education was featured as one of 25 community college teacher preparation programs in the recently released “Community Colleges Impact STEM Teaching,” a publication sponsored by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The publication highlights the significant work being done by community colleges to prepare and renew current and future K-12 teachers involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), including programs that have participated in NSF’s Advanced Technological Education program and AACC’s Teaching Scholar Partnerships and Teaching by Choice programs.

Gudelsky Institute for Technical Education
In November, the Interior Design Club Members went on a trip to Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens in Washington, DC. Students had an opportunity to see a Georgian style mansion which houses the most comprehensive 18th and 19th Century Russian Imperial Art collection outside of Russia. They also viewed collections of 18th Century French and English furnishing along with decorative arts in an interior setting. The Interior Design Program recently hosted an Accreditation Site Visit from the NKBA (National Kitchen and Bath Association). Examples of student work, course materials, and curriculum were reviewed by the NKBA Team. The Interior Design NKBA associate’s of applied sciences degree track was approved for accreditation pending the graduation of our first student in the program this spring. The accreditation is the result of over five years of work.

Hospitality Management
On Thursday, December 5, Montgomery College and University of Maryland Eastern Shore at Shady Grove Hospitality Management majors teamed to produce “Under the Winter Sun” at The Universities at Shady Grove. The 2nd annual winter-themed event brought alumni from both institutions along with family, friends, and administrators from Montgomery College and The Universities at Shady Grove together to enjoy food from around the world prepared by hospitality management students from both schools.

Music
Professor Jay Crowder, chair of the music department, served as the music supervisor for the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors on December 7. This year's honorees included Barbra Streisand, Morgan Freeman, Twyla Tharp, George Jones, Pete Townshend, and Roger Daltrey.

Paul Peck Humanities Institute
On October 30 and November 1, several current and past Smithsonian Faculty Fellows presented at the Community College Humanities Association Conference in Baltimore. As part of a panel, Paul Peck Humanities Institute Director, Esther Schwartz-McKinzie presented on “Humanities and Community College Outreach;” Kenneth Jassie presented on “Art, Humanities, and Community Outreach: Teaching the Holocaust in Secondary Schools;” and, Christina Devlin presented on “Crossing the Intersection: Sharing the Experience of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.” Smithsonian Faculty Fellowship Co-Coordinators, Tulin Levitas and Effie Siegel, Smithsonian Education Liaison, Manjula Kumar, and 2008 Fellows, Carol Malmi, Ronald Nunn, Joan Naake, and Amanda Truett were part of a panel on "The Spirit of a Unique Partnership: Montgomery College and the Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian Faculty Fellow Ron Nunn also gave a presentation on his fellowship summer research project entitled “The Spirit of Past Lives.” In October, Professor Effie Siegel gave a presentation on “Medusa: The Enduring Image of the Goddess” to about 60 faculty and students at the Rockville campus. This project was in part based on her summer Smithsonian research fellowship. In November, Associate Professor Ronald Nunn presented at the Germantown campus to a community audience of around 30 on his summer fellowship project of creating museum displays on the Narragansett Indians of Massachusetts.

Fourteen faculty members were selected for the 2009 Smithsonian Faculty Fellows cohort. They are: Joe Anderson (R), Diane Chapin (G), Alexandra Fairfield (G), Leigh Fough (TP/SS), Renee Galbavy (R), Arthur Grinath (G), Glenda Hernandez (R), Shelley Jones (R), Jill Kronstadt (G), Melissa Lizmi (R), Mimi Mann (R), Carla Naranjo (G), Carina Rock (R), Stephanie Sabourin (TP/SS).

The photographic documentary exhibition “Portraits of Life: Holocaust Survivors of Montgomery County” will continue exhibiting in Montgomery County Public Schools. The exhibition is currently on display at Eastern Middle School in Silver Spring. On Tuesday, December 9 at 9:30 AM, five Holocaust survivors depicted in the exhibition spoke to 300 7th-grade students. This important MC-MCPS collaboration will continue its tour of public schools in the spring semester.

Carrie Shaw is taking on the exciting task of coordinating this year's Books and Ideas series for the Paul Peck Humanities Institute. As a former Paul Peck Humanities Institute Smithsonian Fellow, Professor Shaw is looking forward to further integrating the Humanities into our student and faculty college-wide experience. This year's theme of Social Justice is already a topic that Professor Shaw has integrated into her teaching of Academic Writing for Non-Native Speakers IV and for the Art/Writing learning community. In addition, Professor Shaw is working with the First Year Experience Committee to integrate Social Justice across the disciplines into our students' initial Montgomery College experience. Professor Shaw hopes to reach across all of our campuses to create three exciting and relevant annual speaker events during 2009. She welcomes your input!