Montgomery College students can earn UMBC scholarships

Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006

Montgomery College students will have the opportunity to earn transfer scholarships to the University of Maryland, Baltimore County through a new program that will allow students to complete their bachelor’s degree at UMBC.

Students completing their associate’s degree at Montgomery College and meeting program requirements will be guaranteed transfer admission and on-campus housing during their first year at UMBC. They will also receive a $1,500 merit scholarship for each of two years of full-time tuition.

The Transfer Student Alliance will give qualified Montgomery College students early access to UMBC libraries, computer labs, academic advising and other facilities and services. Students also will have the opportunity to participate in UMBC activities and to take one UMBC course each term at a discount.

‘‘Some of our very best students and graduates began their studies at Montgomery College,” UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski III said in a statement on Friday. ‘‘The Transfer Student Alliance program will make it possible for our two institutions to identify even more students who can follow that path.”

Last year, more than 500 Montgomery College students continued their studies at UMBC. College and university officials expect that number to increase under the new program.

The program ‘‘breaks down any potential barrier that a Montgomery College student might face in trying to transfer — including the financial barrier,” Montgomery College President Charlene R. Nunley said in a statement. ‘‘It is a program that will ensure that more students will be able to successfully complete their four-year degree at a high-quality institution such as UMBC.”

The program will begin taking applications this fall. Montgomery College students will be able to transfer to either UMBC’s main campus in Baltimore, which offers 40 majors, or its satellite campus at the University at Shady Grove in Rockville, which offer’s bachelor’s degrees in political science, psychology and social work.

For more information go to www.montgomerycollege.edu⁄TSA.

Religion and schools conference

TeachtheFacts.org and the Interfaith Coalition of Maryland will present ‘‘Just Say Welcome: Mainstream Religious Perspectives on Sex and Gender in Education” on Sunday from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., at the Montgomery Blair High School cafeteria stage, at 51 University Blvd. in Silver Spring.

The conference will discuss how public schools may or may not include religious speech and practices by students and staff. It will feature the Rev. Charles Butler of Ecumenicon Fellowship and the Interfaith Coalition of Maryland, the Rev. James Todhunter of Christ Congregational Church, the Rev. Patricia Barth of Takoma Park Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Scott Winnette of Bradley Hill Presbyterian Church and the Rev. Stephanie Nagley of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

For more information go to www.teachthefacts.org or www.ifcmd.org or call Christine Grewell at 301-529-0841.

Learn about the teachers union

Learn how the county teachers union represents public school teachers and interacts with the county government and the political system during an information and question and answer session Monday at 8 p.m.

‘‘Our Schools, Our Teachers and the Montgomery County Education Association” is free and is presented by the Montgomery County Civic Federation. It will be held in the 1st Floor Auditorium of the Stella B. Werner County Council Office Building, at 100 Maryland Ave, in Rockville. The presenters are county teachers union President Bonnie Cullison and Jon Gerson, the union’s community outreach director.

The county school system’s teachers, administrators and support services unions, as well as Superintendent Jerry D. Weast, will negotiate new contracts with the county school board next year.

For more information call Arnie Gordon at 301-570-0481.

Stem cell discussion

Stem cell research was a subject of national debate this campaign season. Montgomery College will host a panel discussion on Thursday at 2 p.m., which will offer a chance to learn more about the science, federal policies and research behind the debate.

The discussion will feature Baldwin Wong, Laura Cole and Lesley Stewart from the Science Policy and Planning Branch of the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communications Disorders, which oversees the National Institutes of Health’s Stem Cell Task Force.

The discussion is free and will be held at the Theatre Arts Arena on the college’s Rockville campus, at 51 Mannakee St.

For more information call Miriam Carter at 301-279-5357.

Upcoming board meetings

The county school board holds a work session on the school system’s fiscal 2008 construction budget and boundary recommendations on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Public hearings will be held on Nov. 15 and 16 at 7 p.m.

Meetings will be held at the Carver Educational Services Center, 850 Hungerford Drive, in Rockville. Speakers must register; call 301-279-3617.

A discussion of pilot courses for secondary schools, external audits and an update on the strategic planning forums that provide the framework for the school system’s budget highlight an all-day meeting of the board on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Carver Center. Call 301-279-3617.