St. Mary's College of Md. News Briefs

College Hosts Math Girls Day

Recently, St. Mary's College of Maryland hosted Math Girls Day at the College's Schaefer Hall. Math Girls Day runs every semester for middle school girls from Esperanza and Spring Ridge Middle Schools. This year saw 44 students partake in math related activities, and enjoy a guest speaker and lunch in the Great Room. This year's speaker was alumna Katie Savin-Murphy '12 who currently works at MediSolv in Baltimore, Md.

The Women in Science House Living & Learning Center (WiSH) was started in 2006 and is the longest continually run LLC at St. Mary's College. It was formed to provide a space for students to create programming that supports women who want to be STEM majors or go into STEM fields. There are currently 16 members. Students who live in WiSH earn EDUC credit, as most of their activities are educational in nature.

"When Katie was a student, she lived in WiSH and it was great to have her come back and share her experiences with the students," said Lindsay Jamieson, associate professor of computer science, who is also a faculty sponsor along with Michelle Milne, assistant professor of physics.

The program is made possible thanks to the support of Mathnasium, located in California, Md. (www.mathnasium.com/californiamd).

College a Top 25 Hidden Gem for Women in STEM by CollegeRaptor.com

St. Mary's College of Maryland has been listed among the Top 25 Hidden Gems for Women in STEM by CollegeRaptor.com, a higher education planning tool that offers side-by-side comparisons of colleges.

According to CollegeRaptor.com, "STEM fields are the fastest growing career market out there, yet only 6.7 percent of college-going women graduate with a STEM degree—compared to 17 percent of men."

For a college to be included in the list, a school must have the following characteristics: receive fewer than 5,000 applications a year or less than 40th percentile of applications received by all schools in that state, have fewer than 7,000 undergraduate students enrolled, and at least 30 percent of the degrees awarded by a college must be STEM degrees. The highest percentage of women receiving the degrees is also a determining factor.

Recently, Angela Johnson, professor of educational studies at St. Mary's College, was published in the journal, The Physics Teacher, by the American Association of Physics Teachers. A part of her paper presented the findings of a study which describes actions taken by faculty in a physics department where women of color are thriving. Not mentioned in the article, the St. Mary's College physics department is the one that is thriving. The paper highlights the positive approaches to improving these extra burdens faced by women of color.

College and Alumnus John Bell '95 Announce Scholarships

St. Mary's College of Maryland, along with trustee and alumnus John Bell '95, are pleased to announce the establishment of two new scholarships for Harford County residents who have been admitted to St. Mary's College.

The John Bell Havre de Grace Scholarship and the John Bell Harford County Scholarship are two merit-based scholarships with preference given to students with financial need.

Bell graduated from Havre de Grace High School in Harford County, Md. in 1991, and went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in public policy from St. Mary's College of Maryland.

"I thrived in Havre de Grace High School's collaborative learning environment and diverse community," said Bell. "I found that same environment at St. Mary's College, along with an exceptional academic program emphasizing the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. I valued the small class sizes and caring faculty, as well as the lifelong friendships and connections I made at St. Mary's, which propelled me into a competitive job market and a successful career. I continue to be grateful for these formative experiences. My hope is that these scholarships help others benefit from a similar experience."

The John Bell Havre de Grace Scholarship provides annual awards up to $5,000 to first-year admitted students of St. Mary's College who are graduates of Havre de Grace High School.

The John Bell Harford County Scholarship provides annual awards up to $2,500 to first-year admitted students of St. Mary's College who are permanent residents of Harford County.

Both scholarships are renewable for up to four years. By applying to the College, candidates from Havre de Grace High School or Harford County immediately become eligible to compete for these scholarships.

In addition to these scholarships, Bell established the John Bell Intern Scholarship in 2012 which currently underwrites for-credit summer internships with The GLBT Historical Society's Museum and Archives in San Francisco, Calif.

Bell is a managing director in Global Equities at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in New York. Currently head of Americas Account Management, he joined the firm in 2006 to launch the firm's prime brokerage offering in San Francisco where he was responsible for origination sales and relationship management. He has more than 20 years of experience in financial services.

Governor Hogan appointed Bell to the St. Mary's College of Maryland Board of Trustees in June 2017. Previously, Bell served as vice president of the St. Mary's College of Maryland Foundation from 2014 to 2017 after joining the board of directors in 2012. He has served as chairman of the board of the Edgewood Center for Children & Families and was a founding sponsor of the GLBT History Museum in San Francisco. He also serves on Bank of America's Global Banking & Markets Diversity & Inclusion Council and the Bank of America LGBT Executive Council. In addition to his B.A. from St. Mary's, Bell was awarded an executive education certificate in governing for nonprofit excellence from Harvard Business School.