Men’s Lacrosse Coach Don Zimmerman was recently inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

A Classroom with Goals

Don Zimmerman is a teacher. You may know him as the head coach of the men�s lacrosse program at UMBC, but for over two decades he has taught the game to All Americans and beginners with the same basic principles.

On January 25, Zimmerman was inducted into the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the United States Lacrosse Hall of Fame. UMBC standout defenseman Gary Clipp �77 joined him as an inductee during the gala affair at Martin�s West in Baltimore.

�My coaching philosophy has always focused on teaching the fundamentals � the little things that make the big difference. Lacrosse is a game of skill and precision, best played when using a simple, basic approach,� said Zimmerman.

Zimmerman has been associated with Baltimore lacrosse since the early 1970�s. He was a prep standout at St. Paul�s School and earned All America honors in 1976 at Johns Hopkins. After assistant coaching stints at both Princeton and North Carolina, he returned to Baltimore in 1984 as head coach of his alma mater. Zimmerman became the first lacrosse coach to win a national title in his initial season, taking Hopkins (14-0) to the top in 1984, and capturing the title again in  1985 and 1987.

In 1994, Zimmerman came to UMBC and changed the direction of the program. On May 2, 1998, UMBC shocked the lacrosse world with a 12-8 win over #1-ranked Maryland and earned its first-ever NCAA Division I championship appearance. The 1999 Retrievers proved the previous year was no fluke, as wins over Navy, North Carolina and Maryland once again landed them in the tournament.

�Our goal at UMBC has always been to get ourselves to the same level as the other top teams in the country. What we�re doing in lacrosse runs parallel to what we�re doing as a university. We feel we have an outstanding product at UMBC and we want people to know that,� Zimmerman says.

The Retriever mentor is well-known outside of Baltimore as well. He served as an assistant coach of the United States team in the 1986 World Games and as head coach for the South squad in the 2002 North-South All Star game. He has been an ambassador for international lacrosse, becoming one of the first coaches to teach the game in Japan.

�I have been fortunate to work with so many quality young men throughout my career,� Zimmerman says. �Whether All America, All World or role player, my heart holds a special place for those that have made the sacrifice and commitment demanded of them. My hope is that as these players look back, they remember me as a mentor who treated them with fairness and respect.�

Ronald Holzloehner (right) celebrates his successful Ph.D. defense with his mentor, Prof. Curtis Menyuk.

A Global Education in Telecommunications  

Berlin, Germany native Ronald Holzloehner will receive his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at UMBC this month, after traveling the world while winning international acclaim for his research on how to make fiber optics communications faster and more reliable.

Holzloehner came to UMBC after receiving his master’s degree from the Technical University of Berlin and spending a year at UC Santa Barbara on a Fulbright scholarship. In late 1998 he came to UMBC and joined Dr. Curtis Menyuk�s research team in the  Optical Fiber Communications Laboratory, which works closely with the telecommunications industry to push the frontiers of communications technology.

During his four and a half years at UMBC, Holzloehner and the rest of the team presented their work at national and international conferences, were published in respected journals, and won prestigious awards. Holzloehner received the Best Speaker Award at the UMBC Student Conference last year, and also won an IEEE LEOS student award fellowship last fall, an award of which only 10�20 are given annually world-wide. His dissertation describes a new method for computing bit error rates in optical fiber communications systems.

�Working with Curtis Menyuk was a good experience, and I certainly learned a lot,� he says. �I worked hard, many nights and weekends, but I wrote a bunch of papers, won some awards, got to travel the world by visiting conferences, and learned much about how science is conducted and managed in the US. What’s amazing about UMBC is the energy and tenacity with which it pursues its goals � President Freeman Hrabowski does a whole lot to promote the school, much like a sports team.�

Like other high-tech researchers, Holzloehner also experienced the ups and downs of the so-called �New Economy.� At the 2003 UMBC Engineer of the Year ceremony, Holzloehner spoke about the lessons high-tech industry has learned from recent scandals. �Corporate greed existed not only at Enron, but also in the telecom industry, and I think we engineers should do whatever we can to fight for solid and sound business models,� he said.

After an arduous search, Holzloehner accepted a postdoctoral position back in Germany at the University of Nuremberg�s newly founded Max-Planck Institute, and will start working there in July. The institute focuses on quantum optics, quantum computing, and some communications, while working closely with top companies like Lucent.

As he prepares to return home for a new chapter in his career, Holzloehner carries with him memories of his American education. �The U.S. is really an amazing country, and it is still able to attract many foreigners that help it grow,� he says. �The advantage that the U.S. has over many other countries is impressive, at times frightening. People should remember that many of these achievements are due to immigrants who work extremely hard.�

 
Adrienne Jones ’76 is Speaker Pro Tem of the Maryland House of Delegates.

A Legislative Voice in Annapolis

�In the �70s if you were majoring in psychology or sociology, you wanted to save the world,� remembers Adrienne Jones, psychology �76.

More than two decades later, Jones is the first African-American woman to serve as the Speaker Pro Tem of the Maryland House of Delegates, where she has served as a Baltimore County delegate for over six years.

�I was very honored to be asked by Speaker Michael Busch and elected by my fellow House members to this prestigious position and to serve in this leadership position as the first African-American female Speaker Pro Tem,� Jones says.

�I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in the House, by keeping an open mind while maintaining the values of what we each believe is right for the hardworking, diverse and deserving constituency � the citizens of Maryland.�

Jones will attend her alma mater�s annual Alumni Reception in Annapolis on February 20. She believes that students and alumni who attend the reception send a powerful message about the positive impact of adequate funding and continued support. �To me, it�s far better as a fiscal leader in Annapolis hearing from a student about the needs of the University than hearing from a lobbyist,� she says.

She first became interested in politics after becoming an assistant to former Baltimore County Executive Donald Hutchinson in 1979. �I learned all about county government,� Jones says. �And it fascinated me.�

UMBC prepared Jones for her career in public service through her psychology courses and through her interactions on campus with people from all areas of the State. �I grew up in a close-knit community — Cowdensville in Arbutus — so UMBC was my first real outside community experience.�

Respected by colleagues and constituents alike, Jones takes great satisfaction in the  opportunity to be an advocate for Baltimore County. �I see my work as another level of community service,� she says. �Often people say why don�t �they� do something about this. Well, I see myself as being �they�.�

Ilse Schweitzer spent a year in Scotland studying Medieval Scottish literature. She will present her research at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day.

A New Perspective on a Legend
  

Ilse Schweitzer, a Humanities Scholar with a double major in English and history, spent a year in Scotland studying the Scot Gaelic language and Medieval Scottish literature at the University of Aberdeen. �I was fascinated with what I was learning,� says Schweitzer, who is also a student in UMBC�s Honors College. �My study abroad experience sparked my interest for going to graduate school and was the starting point for my research in Scottish literature.�

Schweitzer will present her research project, �King Arthur the Tyrant and the Scottish Call for Freedom,� as part of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day at UMBC on Wednesday, April 30. Her research looks into the 15th-century portrayal of King Arthur as a largely negative influence, and how this interpretation reflects the historical and political period of the time.

�Dr. Gail Orgelfinger in the English department helped me to develop the idea and suggested other writings, including works from England and France. I bounced my ideas off of her and she helped to direct my research,� says Schweitzer. �There has been so little research done in this area, but many of the writings of the period show strong links to historical legends including King Edward I and King James III. It is amazing to see the connections.�

Schweitzer was one of two UMBC students selected to participate in the National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Utah and is an alternate for the Marshall Scholars program. Outside of the classroom, she has been the president and vice president of the UMBC crew club and an active member of the university’s Maryland Camerata.

She plans to continue her studies and earn a master�s degree in literature from the University of York in England before returning to UMBC for a Ph.D. in order to become a professor of English and Medieval literature.

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) is an opportunity to recognize outstanding student work through oral presentations, poster sessions and artistic exhibits and performances. This year�s seventh annual event is open to the UMBC community, prospective students, alumni, family, friends and campus supporters. Programs and exhibits will take place in the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, the University Center Ballroom and the Fine Arts Building.

UMBC HHMI Lab Student Researchers (left to right: Chun Tang; Isaac Kinde; and Erin Loeliger;)Not pictured: Samson Kyere.

A New Target in the Fight Against HIV
  

A team of researchers from academia and industry led by Dr. Michael Summers, UMBC professor of chemistry/biochemistry and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator, have discovered a new target on the HIV molecule that could potentially lead to a new class of drugs to fight the virus that causes AIDS. The discovery is the cover article of the April 11, 2003 Journal of Molecular Biology.

Summers and his team of undergraduate and graduate student researchers in his UMBC HHMI lab collaborated with Achillion Pharmaceuticals, a privately held drug firm based in New Haven, CT, and a group of researchers from Oregon Health and Science University on the discovery.

“The greatest challenge in treating HIV today is drug resistance brought on when the virus mutates and renders existing drugs ineffective at stopping viral replication,” said Summers. “Our research has led to the identification of a new class of compounds that inhibit a novel target in HIV. These compounds disrupt the assembly of the HIV-1 capsid protein, which is a vital step in changing immature, non-infectious HIV into its mature, infectious form.”

The discovery is all the more remarkable considering its origin – a group of two graduate and two undergraduate students working with Summers. The team includes biochemistry graduate student Chun Tang; sixteen-year-old college sophomore and Presidential Fellow Erin Loeliger; Meyerhoff Scholar and HHMI Undergraduate Scholar Isaac Kinde; and former Meyerhoff Scholar Samson Kyere, now an MD/PhD student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

According to Summers, “Investigators around the world have been looking at the HIV-1 capsid protein as a potential anti-viral drug target for more than a decade, and we are therefore particularly pleased to finally have solid leads to guide these efforts. While we are encouraged by the laboratory tests of the compounds we’ve identified so far, additional testing needs to be undertaken before this approach can be tested in humans.”

“This work is yet another pivotal achievement for Dr. Summers and his students,” says Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). “The fact that undergraduate students played pivotal roles in this research makes it even more impressive.”

The UMBC team’s research is funded in part by NIAID, a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), along with the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

 
Don Norris, UMBC’s resident expert on Maryland politics, is director of the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR).

A Passion for Maryland Politics

In an election year that featured one of the most spirited gubernatorial races in state history, Don Norris, UMBC�s resident expert on Maryland politics, was in high demand by regional and national media.

As director of the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR), Norris leads one of the region�s foremost centers for applied social science and public policy research. He also has become more well-known to Baltimore/Washington political observers by lending his expertise to The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Post, The Marc Steiner Show, Maryland Public Television and other media.

Norris has been a �political junkie� almost his entire life. �As a child and teenager I was fascinated by politics and government, which were regular items of discussion among my family,� Norris says. Norris studied both history and political science as an undergrad, and went on to receive both a master�s and Ph. D. in government from the University of Virginia. He began following Maryland politics after moving here in 1986 and started looking closer at state elections when he came to UMBC in 1989.

According to Norris, Maryland has a unique political landscape that makes it intriguing to study. �The governor has incredible power,� he says. �Plus both houses of the legislature have four year terms, and are elected at the same time as the governor. Maryland has also traditionally been a one-party, liberal state, although that may change in the wake of this year�s gubernatorial election.�

On November 7, Norris moderated a post-election panel discussion at UMBC analyzing the 2002 Maryland General Election. The panel members were all political writers for Maryland newspapers and included The Baltimore Sun�s Howard Libit, The Washington Post�s Lori Montgomery, and The Baltimore Times� Associate Publisher Anthony McCarthy.

Norris thinks it�s too early to gauge the effect of Republican Robert Ehrlich�s historic election as Maryland governor. �It all depends on whom he installs, what his agenda is, how well he and the legislature work together, and the economy, among other factors,” Norris says. �I’m betting it will be pretty different; a more conservative policy and a more open operating style.�

Now that the election has passed, Norris, who is also a professor in UMBC�s Policy Sciences Graduate Program, can focus his attention on leading MIPAR, which continues to bring together UMBC faculty from a variety of social science fields to analyze important national and regional issues. Current MIPAR projects are examining issues like grassroots digital government, electric deregulation, child poverty, land preservation, the economic impact of community colleges, and public school financing.

MIPAR receives over $5 million in external funding annually and has been supported by a variety of organizations, including the National Science Foundation, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U. S. Social Security Administration, the A. S. Abell Foundation, the Morris Goldseker Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the American Library Association and various Maryland state government agencies, just to name a few.

One of Norris� favorite parts of his job takes place each spring. MIPAR conducts an annual, all-day seminar on Maryland state government for members of the U.S. Congressional Fellows program. The seminar connects the leaders of tomorrow with those of today, bringing 20 to 30 Fellows to the Maryland State House for presentations by state senators, delegates and secretaries of state.

�Giving the Fellows a chance to see how one model of state government operates is an important part of their education,� says Norris. �There’s nothing better for a political scientist than showing future leaders how the structure and processes of government and politics impact their daily lives.�

 
Claudia Lennoff ’91 recently received a Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Award.

An Advocate for the Uninsured

When community activist and 1991 UMBC graduate Claudia Lennhoff took the stage recently to receive a $120,000 award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her work fighting for affordable healthcare for the uninsured, it was the culmination of a personal struggle.

Lennhoff was diagnosed with cancer fourteen years ago while she was an undergraduate psychology major and women’s studies minor at UMBC. She was between semesters that summer, and thus had no health insurance.

While doctors urged her to seek immediate treatment, she was unable to find a physician in Baltimore willing to treat her without insurance. Fortunately, her parents found a doctor in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas, who agreed to accept Lennhoff as his patient and she was able to make a full recovery.

�While (beating cancer) is not the motivation behind my work, it allowed me to see that the failures of the health care system have a lasting psychological impact as well as posing a threat to physical health,� Lennhoff says. �Being denied medical care leaves a real sense that one�s life is not considered important.� 

Lennhoff first became involved with the advocacy organization Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC) in 1995 while a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Lennhoff became a full time community organizer at CCHCC in 1997 and was later named executive director in 1999.

She and her staff of four have led their 600 active volunteers in reinstating a popular Medicare program that eliminated out-of-pocket medical costs for low-income seniors and disabled citizens. CCHCC also worked to force the University of Illinois to provide contraceptive coverage for its employees.

In September, Lennhoff came to Washington, D.C. to receive one of 10 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Program awards. Winners were chosen from 463 nominees across the country. Lennhoff believes that, in large part, her time at UMBC enabled her to move on to bigger and better things.

�Of all my academic experiences, my education at UMBC was, by far, of the highest quality,� she says, �It was the most challenging, had the most integrity, and allowed me to do the most growing, both personally and intellectually.�

Policy Sciences PhD graduate Keith Elder’s studies how race impacts America’s health care system.

Inquiries and Inequities in managed Care
  

In a time when health care is one of the most urgent issues in the U.S. political spectrum, Keith Elder, Ph.D. graduate from the UMBC Policy Sciences (POSI) Graduate Program, is examining the tough questions surrounding our nation’s health care system.

Elder’s dissertation examines the racial disparities in managed care between majority and minority physicians. Specifically, it looks at health care contracts between physicians and organizations (such as HMOs) and attempts to determine if there is any connection between termination or denial of contracts and ethnicity.

“Patient demographics impact the rate of contract denials and terminations,” says Elder. “The greater the percentage of Latino and African American patients a physician serves, the higher the probability that physician will have a contract denied. The larger the percentage of Asian patients a physician sees, the higher the probability the physician will have a contract terminated.”

“After examining certain economic market level variables, the differences still exist. Some may look to other explanations for these differences in rate of contract denial and termination – namely, discrimination,” Elder says. Nancy Miller, assistant professor of policy sciences, corroborates Elder’s results, stating that they “offer evidence that requires serious reflection and action on the part of policy makers.”

Elder’s research draws data from the Maryland Physician Survey developed and conducted by the Center for Health Program Development and Management at UMBC. He drew from a sample size of about 1200 people. Elder will present his research at a symposium the center is holding March 26, The Effect of Managed Care on Minority Physicians and Socially Vulnerable Populations in Maryland: Data Findings and Policy Alternatives.

Unfortunately, the inequity that Elder identified in his research is not a new pattern in health care. “Minority physicians have reported inequities for years,” says Elder. In a 1994 survey of minority physicians, Elder says that “over 90 percent believed that they had experienced some form of discrimination. The same physicians believed that any health care reform would place them at a disadvantage in the managed care selection process.”

In addition to the Policy Sciences faculty, UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski has also been of great help to Elder: “He’s always given me support,” says Elder. “He gave me direction in how to plan for my dissertation defense, personal insights, told me what research opportunities I should be involved in. He wanted to make sure when I left here that I was ready for every opportunity that crossed my radar.”

Elder graduated from UMBC last fall and is currently doing research analysis for the POSI program. Next semester, he will begin a position as assistant professor in the School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. While he will teach a university course, he also plans to spend a lot of time pursuing his research interests: “I definitely hope to further examine aspects of managed care and racial disparity,” states Elder.

As program coordinator for The Commons, Norma Green developed an intercultural center that plays an important role at UMBC.

“Building a Future”
  

For the past 10 years, UMBC students from the University�s Habitat for Humanity  chapter and their advisor, Norma Green, have spent their spring break vacation working alongside hundreds of students in high-need areas across the country in a Habitat for Humanity International program called Collegiate Challenge. This year, from March 22 through 30, Green and 20 UMBC students will build houses in Florida.

In addition, on weekends throughout the semester, groups of UMBC students renovate houses in the West Baltimore community of Sandtown. To date, more than 200 UMBC students have helped build or rebuild over 50 houses in 12 communities along the East Coast.

Habitat got its start at UMBC 11 years ago as part of the �Into the Streets� program, a one-day service project meant to introduce students to community service opportunities on campus. Students helped out at Sandtown and come back each year, restoring houses sponsored by groups from Johns Hopkins, Towson and Goucher, among others.

The UMBC chapter began participating in Collegiate Challenge when Green was lobbied by then-Community Outreach Director Ramona Arthur and some students to head to Miami for Spring Break. �I had other plans, but Spring Break in Miami sounded alright,� said Green. �When they told me to bring my sleeping bag and flashlight I wondered what I had gotten myself into.�

Yet giving up her vacation time was not a stretch for Green, who has served without fanfare as a goodwill ambassador and role model both on and off campus, reflecting the community service values the University seeks to instill in its students. By nature, Green is always concerned about the welfare of others, asking insightful questions about the needs of her communities, how those needs can be addressed, and how her energies can best be channeled to improve the lives of others. She seeks always to promote and underscore the value of education, cross-cultural understanding, self-reliance and people�s hope.

As program coordinator for The Commons, Green developed an intercultural center that plays an important role on campus. Members of UMBC�s diverse student body come together to reaffirm their own cultural values by engaging in familiar cultural activities and to interact with and learn from others about different cultures.

In addition to Green�s efforts over her 20-year career at UMBC, her work with the �Gardens of Hope� project in Baltimore City yields produce not only for people living in local shelters but also for the communities that tend the gardens and grow in self-reliance. She is also president of her community association, secretary for the Pennsylvania Avenue Redevelopment Collaborative and a member of its umbrella organization. Green�s dedication has earned her many honors, including a 2001 USM Board of Regents Staff Award, a Governor�s Citation for her work with the Maryland Charity Campaign and a citation from her state delegate for her commitment to Habitat for Humanity.

Although the Habitat for Humanity Collegiate Challenge accommodations are usually sleeping bags on the floor of a church or community center, Green says the results are worth it. �My work with Habitat for Humanity is one of the most rewarding things that I do,� she says. �I see how much we can accomplish to help others, and watch our students develop leadership skills. It�s an incredible experience.�

Current and past participants are invited to contact Norma Green regarding an upcoming UMBC Habitat for Humanity reunion.

/b> to address the longstanding issues surrounding the gender gap in IT.

CWIT Advisory Board Member Anne Spence, a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering with a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, understands the challenges of being a woman in a technical field. �One of my college professors told me that women should not be engineers, so I got the highest grade in the class to prove him wrong,� she says. �When I graduated with my degree I had six job offers. I did encounter initial resistance as an engineer at Bell Helicopter, but I was always able to get rid of the resistance by proving myself.�

�Motivating girls to get involved in IT requires that we offer opportunities for them to work with computers in non-threatening environments,� Spence adds. �Computer Mania is one of those environments. It also gives the girls an opportunity to meet role models � from college age women to business leaders and college faculty.�

Spence believes that Computer Mania will help diminish the �geek� stereotype that discourages young girls from IT and will provide resources to help them understand the importance of technology in every aspect of their lives. �Most girls start to lose interest in math and science during middle school. It is crucial that we keep them engaged during those years to make sure that they are taking upper level math, science, computer and engineering courses when they reach high school,� she says.

As a child, Spence says that both she and her brother were �raised to do anything we wanted to do. My father was an engineering professor and my mother an elementary school teacher. Often, we would go to a field near our house to launch the model rockets we had built � I thought that was normal! So it never really occurred to me that I could not succeed.�

Because not every young girl is so lucky, Spence set out to provide mentors for her female students at UMBC. She is advisor for the University�s chapter of Mentor Net, a national program that provides mentors for women studying engineering and computer science. �Some of the young women in my classes are not only the first member of their family to major in engineering but they are often the first member of their family to attend a university,� she explains. �This is a very difficult position since, often, they have very little support from home. That’s where my own role as mentor comes in to play. I can encourage them and show them that women can succeed in the field.�

Spence hopes to continue inspiring both girls and boys alike to learn more about engineering at an earlier age. She recently received a grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a program that will introduce engineering in middle and high school algebra classes across Maryland. �The students will see how algebra is used to solve engineering problems, not just how many apples and oranges you can buy for one dollar,� she says. When she�s not at UMBC, Spence is incorporating practical hands-on projects and engineering challenges at Oak Hill Elementary in her hometown of Severna Park, Maryland.