http://www.smcm.edu/newsFrom the Office of Publications and Media Relationshttp://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/05/12-063 Commencement.htmlSt. Mary’s College of Maryland graduated 442 students with the degree of Bachelor of Arts on Saturday, May 12, outdoors on the campus’ Townhouse Green. The Commencement address was delivered by Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, mayor of Baltimore. Rawlings-Blake was presented with an honorary degree from St. Mary’s.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/05/12-061 Green College.htmlFor the third year running, St. Mary’s College of Maryland has been included in “The Princeton Review’s Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition,” a downloadable book that profiles 322 schools in the U.S. and Canada that demonstrate the greatest environmental and sustainability-related commitments and initiatives.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/05/12-059 RCS Overview.htmlThe ever-popular St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s River Concert Series on the shores of the St. Mary’s River begins its 14th year on June 22 and runs every Friday through July 27. The weekly celebration includes world-class music and delicious food from local vendors. Gates open at 5 p.m. and concerts start at 8 p.m. Renowned guest artists, including jazz vocalist Hilary Kole, pianist Brian Ganz, and jazz musician Don Stapleson will join music director Jeffrey Silberschlag and the Chesapeake Orchestra. The outdoor concerts are free and open to the public, and picnic baskets are welcome. For more information, visit the River Concert Series website at www.smcm.edu/riverconcert. http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/05/12-060.htmlEncore Creativity for Older Adults will be returning to St. Mary’s College of Maryland for its fifth season from June 19-23, 2012. As a result of the MetLife Foundation Creative Aging Program Grant recently awarded to the program, the program will be expanding this year, offering its award-winning Encore Chorale program in addition to a band program, a dance program, and a theater program.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/05/12-062 Board Mtg.htmlThe St. Mary’s College of Maryland Board of Trustees will hold the general session of its quarterly meeting on Friday, May 11 at 3:15 p.m. in the Glendening Annex on the college campus.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-058 Conservation Landscaping.htmlUniversity of Maryland Extension Watershed Restoration Specialists Amanda Rockler and Jackie Takacs will lead a conservation landscaping and native plant workshop on May 5 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. in Goodpaster Hall, Room 186 at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The workshop is sponsored by the St. Mary’s Arboretum Association.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-050 Chesapeake Writers Conference.htmlSt. Mary’s College of Maryland offers the first Chesapeake Writers’ Conference from July 11-15, 2012. For five days, writers will work with conference faculty to hone their craft in one of six genres—fiction, poetry, creative non-fiction, food writing, writing about place, and writing for children. Attendees will work in small workshops led by acclaimed writers, college faculty, and publishing representatives. Craft classes and readings will supplement the workshop experience.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-057 RCS Task Force.htmlThe president of St. Mary’s College of Maryland has commissioned the River Concert Series Task Force to develop recommendations to ensure the long-term sustainability of the college’s River Concert Series.  With planning for the summer 2012 season well underway, the task force will focus on summer 2013 and beyond. The River Concert Series Task Force, co-chaired by Trustee Glen Ives and Associate Vice President of Planning and Facilities Chip Jackson, is scheduled to hold its first meeting early next week. The task force, similar to the committee formed to reinvigorate Governor’s Cup in 2011, includes college trustees, faculty and staff, St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Arts Alliance members, and the local community.  A full list of the members can be found here. http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-056 TPP Physics.htmlThe Patuxent Partnership (TPP) announced Friday, April 13, its plan to contribute an investment of $1 million to grow and expand the physics department, including applied physics, at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The investment is projected to be used over the next six to eight years to develop curriculum, expand labs, increase the number of physics majors and develop new co-operative and internship programs. TPP’s investment reflects the organization’s mission to support education and research. See full press release from TPP. (photo by Bill Wood)http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/pressrelease.htmlThe Patuxent Partnership (TPP) announced Friday, April 13, its plan to contribute an investment of $1 million to grow and expand the physics department, including applied physics, at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. The investment is projected to be used over the next six to eight years to develop curriculum, expand labs, increase the number of physics majors and develop new co-operative and internship programs. TPP’s investment reflects the organization’s mission to support education and research. See full press release from TPP. (photo by Bill Wood)http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-055.htmlThe St. Mary’s College of Maryland Jazz Combo and Jazz Band will play a concert on Friday, April 20, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. in the Auerbach Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hall. The concert will feature the music of Henry Mancini, Scott Joplin, and Stevie Wonder. Vocalists Leah Klump ’12 and Camilla Rangel ’13 will sing with the Jazz Combo and the Big Band, respectively. Guitarist and former band member Henry Nam ’10 will also make a special appearance.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-049 Physics Center.htmlOpening May 8 at 5:30 p.m. Flow & Fluctuation brings together two distinct bodies of work, which at first glance share little in common—“The Atmosphere Exposed: Photographs of Halos, Mirages, Iridescent Clouds... and more!” and bronze sculptures by Carol Brown Goldberg. Both “The Atmosphere Exposed” photographers and Goldberg explore and record patterns of change over time as a way to understand underlying phenomena in our world. The resulting exhibition, Flow & Fluctuation, looks at points of convergence between atmospheric events in the photographs and recycled alchemy in the sculptures. Dr. Chuck Adler of St. Mary’s College of Maryland will give a presentation on “Light and the Landscape: Understanding What You See” at 6:30 p.m.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-054 Politics of Food.htmlThe Center for the Study of Democracy, the Environmental Studies Program, Student Environmental Action Committee, and Even’ Star Organic Farm in Lexington Park will sponsor an eye-opening panel discussion entitled, “The Politics of Food: How Washington’s 2012 ‘Farm’ Bill Affects Our Food, Our Farmers and Our Bay” on Thursday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. in Cole Cinema at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-053 Ping.html“Ping,” a new vocal group drawn from members of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland Chamber Singers and directed by Professor of Music Larry Vote, will give a performance on Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m. in the second-floor reading area of the library on the college campus.  The performance is free and open to the public. http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-052 Whitacre.htmlThe St. Mary’s College of Maryland Chamber Singers will perform a concert featuring the music of world renowned composer Eric Whitacre on Sunday, April 29 at 4 p.m. in the Michael P. O'Brian Athletics and Recreation Center. In addition to other works, the Chamber Singers will perform Whitacre’s "Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine" and "Cloudburst," featuring percussion and voices.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/04/12-051 Choirs.htmlThe St. Mary’s College of Maryland Choir, Chamber Singers, and Orchestra will perform a concert featuring Ralph Vaughn Williams' moving choral work, "Dona Nobis Pacem" on Sunday April 22, at 4 p.m. at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Lexington Park, Maryland.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/03/12-048 Nitze Fellow.htmlThe U.S. executive director of Doctors Without Borders, Sophie Delaunay, and this year’s Senior Nitze Fellow at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, will give her third and final lecture at 8 p.m. Monday, April 16, in the college’s Auerbach Auditorium of St. Mary’s Hall. Known globally as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the Doctors Without Borders organization was created by doctors and journalists in 1971 to send volunteer medical help to people threatened by disease and war in more than 60 countries. The talk and the reception that follows are free and open to the public.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/03/12-045 Film Screening.html“Stealing Trust,” a documentary created by the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition that investigates the predatory and fraudulent practices of businesses that negatively affect Maryland consumers, will be shown on Wednesday, April 18 at 6:00 p.m. in Cole Cinema of the Campus Center on the St. Mary’s College campus. Following the film screening, Franz Schneiderman, the director of communications for the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, will discuss what the agency has been working on this spring in the Maryland state legislature. http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/03/12-036 Commencement Speaker.htmlStephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore’s 49th mayor, will deliver the Commencement address at St. Mary’s College of Maryland on May 12, 2012. She spoke with the Class of 2012 at their 50-days-to-graduation event on March 23 at the reconstructed State House of 1676 in St. Mary’s City.http://www.smcm.edu/news/pressrelease/2012/03/12-044 Twain Rakoff.htmlDavid Rakoff's New York Times bestsellers, “Fraud” and “Don't Get Too Comfortable,” have caused him to be hailed by critics as one of today's funniest, most insightful writers. On Friday, April 27 at 7:00 p.m. in the Michael P. O’Brien Athletics and Recreation Center at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, David Rakoff will discuss, with his trademark incisive wit, defensive pessimism and his new award-winning book, “Half Empty.”