The St. Mary’s College Board of Trustees approved tuition and fees for the 2023-2024 academic year in their meeting on Saturday, February 4, maintaining a fourth consecutive year of no increase in tuition. The Board also received an update on the progress of the College’s strategic plan, as well as news that Moody’s Investors Service has maintained the College’s A2: Stable credit rating.

Christine Wooley, professor of English at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, recently began a year-long term as president of the Association of Departments of English (ADE) after being named to the position last spring. The ADE supports academic departments focused on studying literature, writing and culture by helping its members successfully lead and manage their programs.

Professor of History Adriana Brodsky was interviewed by “Bridges to Argentina” podcast host Gabriele Dumpys Woolever as one of a six-part series, “Immigrant Stories & Lives.” The series, directed by Benjamin Bryce, discusses the history of immigration to Argentina.

Pamela Mertz, professor of chemistry & biochemistry, gave an invited talk at the University of Texas at Austin on January 26, “One Rubric to Rule Them All:  The Megalorubric for Assessment of Program Learning Outcomes.”  The talk focused on the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry’s development of a rubric where course assignment grades map onto a program level assessment system, with examples from the biochemistry program.  Mertz also participated in three days of steering committee meetings in Austin for the RCN-UBE project (NSF#1920270),

Sophia Garms, environmental studies major in the Class of 2023, presented her research "Investigating the critical thermal maximum of Pacific Arctic Bivalves" at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage, Alaska, from Jan. 23-27, 2023. Garms' research mentor, Marine Biology Visiting Assistant Professor Christina Goethel, also presented her research "Effects of temperature on sediment community oxygen consumption and individual respiration rates at a long-term mooring site as part of the US Synoptic Arctic Survey" at the same conference.

Professor Betül Başaran was invited to attend the international conference on the Balance of Justice in the Ottoman Empire, where she talked about her research on intercultural sexual intimacy and mixed marriages among foreigners and Ottoman women in the early modern era. Her paper entitled "Actors and Agents in Murky Legal Waters" emphasized women's agency in such relationships, and their ability to bargain with patriarchy to attain short-term advantages.

Professor of Psychology Elizabeth Nutt-Williams and colleagues recently published an article entitled "Cultivating Authentic Leaders: Toward Conceptual Coherence and Sustainable Practice" in The Journal of Values-Based Leadership. In addition, Professor Williams was elected to her second three-year term on the American Psychological Association's (APA) Council of Representatives.

Professor of Art Sue Johnson has been awarded a prestigious 2023 Virginia Commission for the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship.

St. Mary’s College of Maryland President Tuajuanda C. Jordan has appointed Katherine L. Gantz as vice president for academic affairs and dean of faculty, effective January 9, 2023. The leadership position reports directly to the president.