Osher Lifelong Learning Institute Spring Preview

January 2, 2012

Jackie Gratz

Want to know what’s coming up for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute’s spring 2012 semester?   Attend its Preview of Spring Classes to be held on Thursday, January 19 from 10 a.m. until noon in the Merrick Lecture Hall at Goucher College.  There’s plenty of free parking with a short walk to the Lecture Hall.  At the Preview you’ll see and hear teachers as they give brief presentations of their upcoming courses.  A wide array of courses in the Fine Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences will be offered in spring as well as two book clubs and two film series.   Among the courses are

  • Cosmic Puzzles
  • Russia in Revolution
  • Disease and History
  • Roots of the Blues
  • Jewish Women in the American Labor Movement
  • Physics for Everyday Life
  • Traits of Triumphant Survivors
  • French Wines Demystified
  • and many more

Some of these courses are four-week courses and some are eight-week with all offered during the day.  The spring semester begins on March 5 and ends May 3. View the full list of course offerings.

The Osher Institute offers courses to persons 50 years of age and older, but makes a special offer to Towson University faculty and staff of any age who may join Osher at a reduced rate and take one course each semester without further charge.  If you are reading this blog, you are no doubt still employed and may not have the time to attend even one course.  But please spread the word about the Osher Preview and its upcoming spring semester among the older generations of your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles.

For more information about the Osher program, visit the Osher website call the office at 410-704-3688.  We’d love to send you a spring 2012 catalog with descriptions of all of the courses being offered and biographical information on the teachers who will teach them.

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Guest Blog: A Time to Give – ArcGIS Online Research Leads to Volunteerism Mapping Application

December 13, 2011

Michael Bentivegna

Doesn’t it seem like the pace of life is getting faster and faster, and that technology is at least supporting this change, if not causing it? With every time-saving productivity gain that technology provides, the expectations for the speed and the amount of work to be completed in any time frame seem to just increase.  Within the field of GIS (Geographic Information Systems), this expectation is being driven by consumers that want to search for and view information in a spatial context (a map). In the world of media mashups, the publishing of new GIS data and applications is expected in a few weeks, if not days, and updates are expected to be nearly instantaneous.

For GIS professionals, Esri’s ArcGIS Online comes to the rescue or further enables this trend (depending upon your perspective). This platform enables the discovery, sharing, and display of GIS data in a free cloud-based software-as-a-service, social GIS ecosystem. In plain speak, it allows you to create map data mashups with great Esri hosted/developed basemaps and lots of national and global scale GIS data. In the past few months, Esri has added the capability to upload basic spreadsheets with address information and other data in GIS formats that are processed and made available through the site. They even offer templates to provide simple applications with functions like search, measure, identify, and social media integration. All of this can be shared within a group of your choosing or out to the greater public, embedded in your website. Exciting stuff!

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to dig into ArcGIS Online so I could share the new capabilities to CGIS’s staff in a brown bag lunch, and I am glad I did. Later the very same day, I was in a meeting with the Maryland State Geographic Information Officer (GIO), Barney Krucoff, where we were asked to assist with a hurry-up effort to push information about volunteer locations out to the public for the holidays. After listening to the requirements of rapid and ongoing development of volunteer location data by interns and the need for a simple application to find the sites, I mentioned that this was a perfect project for ArcGIS Online. With the go-ahead given to investigate, I took a draft cut of the volunteer locations that the interns had compiled in Google Docs and within a few hours had the data set up on ArcGIS Online for review. Within a week of data refinement by the interns, investigation of the data update workflow process, and tweaking of the template application, we had the end product mapping application ready to be embedded in Governor O’Malley’s Maryland Stronger Together website. With the site up and running, the interns were trained to edit and update the data using ArcGIS Online tools, and the site was released to the public a few days later. You can see the map under the locate charitable organizations near you link in the website above. This is a great example of success in meeting the new accelerated expectations, and in this case, with free hosting.

I happily followed an interoffice email thread a few weeks after the Maryland Stronger Together site was launched, wherein team members were looking for an organization for DECO to donate food to this year (as we have done for the past several years). Without any prompting on my part, the site was used to find the nearest location to donate. I hope that in this time of need and giving, this tool might make it that much easier for you to find a place to donate to or to volunteer for during this busy holiday season.

View the Maryland Stronger Together map in mobile device.

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Guest Blogger: 2011 CUMU Conference focus on “Creating Tomorrow’s Future Today”

October 17, 2011

Nicole Schiraldi

Towson University is home to the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) Headquarters where I work as the Program Coordinator.  Members of CUMU use the power of their campuses in education, research, and service to enhance the communities in which they are located. Institutions located in metropolitan areas often do not fit the common definition of more traditional colleges and universities. With Bobbie Laur out of the office on maternity leave, I was left to fend for myself at the 17th Annual Conference.  The theme “Creating Tomorrow’s Future Today” focused on urban development and community engagement. This year’s host university location, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), served as the perfect backdrop for a conference.


View From Nicole's Hotel Room

The conference agenda was full of exciting speakers and sessions, but I’d like to share my top 3 conference moments:

  1. Networking.  I have some of the most impressive university presidents in the country on my speed dial.  How many people can say that?  I met many incredibly influential people and networked all day and all night.
  2. Meeting the 2012 Superbowl Chairperson.  Indy is home to the 2012 Superbowl and the Bowl Chairperson, Allison Melangton, was our Opening Plenary speaker.  I am now following their blog and stories of community engagement – some of which are incredibly inspiring.
  3. Visiting the NCAA Hall of Fame.  Mark Emmert, president of the NCAA, and former ACE Fellow, was gracious enough to host our conference guests at the NCAA Hall of Fame for a casual dinner and tour.  The Hall of Fame showcases some of the best athletes in college sports.  My favorite part? The quote they live by, “There are over 400,000 NCAA student-athletes, and almost all of us will be going pro in something other than sports.”

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Guest Blog: Maryland Stem Cell Research Symposium

September 26, 2011

Dan Gincel

The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) has been promoting state-funded research and cures for the past five years. This year, we are partnering with Baltimore County, Stevenson University and Towson University to bring the 4th Annual Stem Cell Research Symposium to Towson University campus on Thursday, October 6, 2011.

The Symposium will feature remarks from policy makers such as Governor Martin O’Malley and Baltimore County Executive, Kevin Kamenetz, on how MSCRF research is creating jobs, expanding opportunities for Maryland graduates and changing the state and regional economy to become hi- and bio-tech driven.

The day will also include an unparalleled opportunity to:

  •  Learn about stem cell ethics issues such as embryonic stem cell dilemmas, animal/human chimeras and other hot topics that are covered in the media.
  • Listen to scientific talks that will cover topics from induced pluripotent stem cells, adult stem cells, clinical trials and many more all being performed right here in Maryland.
  • See 120 plus research posters summarizing years of progress towards finding cures to devastating diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune disease and many more.
  • Join a community of 600 symposium attendees all of whom are passionate about stem cell research and cures.

Please check out our agenda and join Towson’s Interim President, Marcia Welsh, and myself and be part of this great event!

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Guest Blogger: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technology is great in Maryland, and it just got better!

August 15, 2011
Kenny Miller Headshot

Kenny Miller

GIS is a strategic, core business enabler, and a valuable analysis and communications tool state agencies use in their work with other state resources and the public. GIS mapping products are increasingly integrated in the state’s accountability and business processes, as well as in publicly available applications. Scores of live, dynamic maps–AgPrint, GreenPrint, GrowthPrint, Stream Health, Recovery, Budget, Energy, Broadband, PlanMaryland, and VisitMaryland, to name just a few–are readily accessible through www.maryland.gov.


Virtually all of Maryland’s GIS applications are built on Esri technology platforms and products. Esri is the GIS software leader and has become the state’s de facto GIS standard. Standardizing on Esri GIS enables the state’s agencies and business partners to keep the geospatial train on the same gauge of track, thereby securing the benefits of consolidation, interoperability, and cost efficiency. But this is only part of Maryland’s Esri GIS story. We’ve been working with Esri to forge an Enterprise License Agreement (ELA) that covers widespread GIS software use and support across state agencies and are pleased to announce that on August 10, 2011, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved the contract.

The ELA offers numerous advantages: lower unit cost of Esri software; fixed predictable overall costs over the life of the agreement; flexibility to deploy Esri software products when and where needed; streamlined procurement processes; increased leverage for achieving statewide GIS standards and interoperability; offer of GIS to agencies that otherwise could not afford GIS; and continuous support of the geospatial data and mapping requirements driven by agency and administration initiatives.

The major cost benefit of the ELA is its offer of unlimited use of Esri mainstream software products, upgrades, maintenance, and support for a fixed price. These items are unique and proprietary to Esri and are not available from an alternate source. Besides economizing the anticipated uptick in GIS use by the primary GIS agencies, the ELA encourages smaller or current non-GIS user agencies to start deploying GIS. The increase in deployment of Esri technology throughout state government will lower the unit cost.

The final price of the ELA was negotiated to a level approximately equivalent to current spending for Esri products and support. A nominal annual price escalation is permitted during the life of the contract. There are 56 state agencies and entities named in the ELA, with the option to add others. The fixed contract cost will be distributed to each agency in a proportion to its level of license consumption.

The ELA will become effective September 1, 2011. The Department of Information Technology will be responsible for Esri ELA contract administration, management and oversight, and is currently developing processes and a web presence for requesting and delivering products covered by the ELA.

Kenny Miller has held many leadership positions in Maryland at the Departments of Natural Resources and Information Technology, as well as professional organizations promoting the adoption of GIS technology in the state.

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Guest Blogger: The 2011 Esri International User Conference Experience

July 21, 2011

Ken Juengling

In my role as Project Manager for the Center for GIS, I am involved in many interesting efforts that leverage GIS technology to solve critical issues in today’s ever changing world.  Having just gotten back from the premier GIS conference, the Esri International User Conference, I feel a little overwhelmed – as I do every time I get back – and energized by Jack Dangermond’s plenary session that opened the conference.

Here are a few of my thoughts from the conference, which attracted over 15,000 attendees (about 5,000 were there for the first-time!).

Hopefully, you’ll have the opportunity to attend next year’s User Conference, which happens July 23-27, 2012.


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Guest Blogger: 2011 DECO Service Awards Breakfast

June 27, 2011

Cindy Knight

Once again DECO gathered together on June 22, 2011(in fine fashion I might add) to participate in one of our favorite activities together…Eating.  However this meeting of the minds and stomachs served a very special purpose; to honor and celebrate our colleagues who had reached their longevity milestones of five and ten years of service to the Division of Economic and Community Outreach and Towson University.

The day started bright and early in the Minnegan room.  Daraius Irani got the program started with a rousing, engaging, and extremely funny welcome, and then we dined on a delicious breakfast and enjoyed each other’s company.  After breakfast, Dan Leonard our keynote speaker captured our attention with his encouraging and thoughtful words regarding the contributions DECO has provided to the University.  Dan congratulated everyone because the phrase “That’s not my job” does not reside in the DECO vocabulary.

DECO Staff in the Breakfast Line

Next we heard from Vice President Dyan Brasington who motivated and congratulated the honorees on reaching this significant milestone in their careers.  After the speakers we were onto the fun part, the Service Awards.  The following staff members were recognized:

5 years

George Edmonds, Raquel Frye, Lance Konig, Robert Telewicz, Carol Williams

10 Years

Michael Bentivegna, Marina Gendlina, Ruslana Kachay, Sharyn Grove, Linda Natale, Erin Nueslein

After we completed the Service Awards we transitioned into The Annual Awards.  This was the first year DECO has had the Annual Awards.   There are two categories of Awards:  the Who’s Who awards and the Excellence Award.

The Who’s Who awards are peer nominated and peer elected :

Rising Star Award- recognizes a DECO employee with 2 years or less of service who their peers feels is a great addition to the team and sees great things in their future with DECO.

  • Anna Orfanidis, Budget Analyst, DECO Administration and Finance

You Make a World of Difference Award- recognizes the person who embraces the DECO culture, goes above and beyond to be friendly and increases morale, the person people most enjoy working with on a daily basis.

  • Linda Natale, Administrative Assistant, DECO Administration and Finance

The DECO Essential Piece Award- recognizes the person who exemplifies extraordinary customer service by consistently making superior contributions both to clients and to DECO by going above and beyond their day to day responsibilities.

  • Susan Wooden, Manager of Writing, Editing, and Technical Communications, Center for GIS

The 2011 Who’s Who Award Recipients:

After we concluded with the Who’s Who awards it was on to the Showstopper Award, The Excellence Award.

The Excellence Award is The Deco “crème de la crème” annual award.  This prestigious honor recognizes an individual who surpasses their current responsibilities and consistently excels in the following areas: innovation, developing new business opportunities, superior customer service, leadership potential, and valued by peers.    The nominees for these awards are nominated by Managers (however Staff are allowed to recommend a nominee to the manager) and the recipients are selected by a VP appointed panel of Directors;

The selection committee was unable to select one individual so we had two Excellence Award Winners for this year.

The 2011 Excellence Award Winners:

  • Sharon Seybold, Administrative Business Analyst, DECO Administration and Finance
  • Bobbie Laur, Manager of External Affairs and Strategic Communications, DECO Vice President’s Office

Overall this was a great time of reflection and acknowledgement.  DECO is proud of its employee’s longevity and achievements and recognizes that without their invaluable service and dedication, our division success would not be possible.  Congratulations to all our 2011 Service Award and Annual Awards Recipients!

2011 DECO Service Award & Annual Award Winners

For individual award photos as well as other photos from this event, please visit our Flickr Photostream.

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Guest Bloggers: How to get Active with GIS in Maryland

April 21, 2011

Ashley Buzzeo & Erin Lesh

If you are interested in getting involved with GIS in Maryland, there are several avenues you can pursue, including statewide committees and initiatives as well as local user groups and conferences.

MSGIC
You can start by becoming a member of the Maryland State Geographic Information Committee (MSGIC).  This volunteer organization is made up of members from all levels of government, academia, regional organizations, and private industry.  There is an Executive Committee that meets the second Wednesday of every month in Columbia at 9am.  While this meeting is open to all, there is a larger quarterly meeting that is held on the second Wednesday of January, April, July and October.  This venue is perfect for networking with fellow GISers and keeping up with statewide coordinated activities. The next quarterly meeting is April 27th at the Caroline County Health and Public Services Building in Denton MD.  MSGIC has a group on LinkedIn: MSGIC

MD iMap
Another great resource is Maryland’s Internet Map (MD iMap), which provides a wide variety of products and services to the citizens and government employees in Maryland at no charge. It represents a centralized collection of the most commonly used, best available GIS data and applications in the State.  Take a look at the MD iMap Portal.  This website details the current MD iMap initiatives in Maryland.  You can also get involved with the MD iMap initiative by joining the MD iMap Technical Committee, which meets the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at MDE from 1 – 3 pm.  Follow MDiMap on Twitter: @MDiMap

MD iMap Portal

Local User Groups & Conferences
There are also several regional users groups in Maryland – central, western, and eastern.

  • The Central Maryland User’s Group (CMUG) is the largest local user’s group, focusing on GIS activities in Central Maryland.  A meeting was just held on April 15th, and the next meeting will be in the mid-August timeframe.  Be sure to check out the blog for more details.
  • The Western Maryland GIS User’s Group (WMUG) meets 3 times a year – the third Friday of May, August, and November. The next meeting is scheduled for Friday, May 20 at Frederick City Hall.  Contact Elizabeth Stahlman at Allegany County for more details.
  • The Midshore Regional GIS committee (MSRGC) meeting is April 20 from 9 to 11:30 at the Public Safety Building in Easton, and the next meeting is October 26 in the morning, location TBD. Contact Lauren McDermott at Salisbury University for more details.

The ESRI Mid-Atlantic User Group (ESRI-MUG) is an organization of GIS users in PA, DE, NJ, MD, DC, VA and WV.  This group helps to identify and educate users regarding GIS trends, ESRI product development, local/regional applications, and events of interest.  They also have an annual conference for all users, which is a great place to see what how GIS is being applied in the mid-Atlantic region.  Follow ESRI-MUG on Twitter: @Esri_MUG.

The TUgis conference is held by the Department of Geography and Environmental Planning at Towson University.  This conference has some excellent presentations and is a great place to network with GIS users from all over Maryland.  The 25th annual conference will be held in March, 2012.

GIS Day Events
Another option to be more active or to learn more about GIS in Maryland is to attend a GIS Day event on November 16, 2011.  GIS Day is intended to promote GIS and Geography awareness.  You can find a GIS Day event near you by searching on ESRI’s GIS Day website.

Ashley Buzzeo works at Towson University Center for GIS (CGIS) as a project manager.
Erin Lesh works at Maryland Environmental Service (MES) as a GIS specialist IV.

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Guest Blogger: Three Things Mike Schroder Can’t Live Without

February 17, 2011

Mike Schroder

Three things, wow, that is tough…besides the basics for life (water, food, family, friends) I had to think deep and hard.  Well maybe not that deep, since it only took about 60 seconds to come up with:

Mobile Devices – Droid and iPad
It is hard to believe just a short time ago we operated with paper calendars. I don’t know where I would be without my mobile devices. Actually I do – I would be lost!  The calendar feature is something I rely on daily to know where I need to be and what needs to be done such as reports and budgets. Even tracking basics like am I picking up the kids today or is my wife and when is our next date night.  In today’s multi-function/multi-task work environment, these devices have truly become essential for me. From using these devices as my computer substitute when traveling to recording notes at a meeting so you don’t have transcribe notes when you get office time.

The Team: Extended Education – Osher Institute – CISCO Academy
A wise man once told me that one of the best things a person can do is to surround themselves with good people.  I follow this advise wholeheartedly.  I consider myself extremely fortunate to be surrounded by the present and past team (several have moved on due to promotions and graduations) .  Extended Education and Online Learning, the institutes and academies in the unit have blossomed, prospered and helped to fulfill the TU mission for outreach and lifelong learning in the community, region and nation because of the people I am blessed with on a daily basis. A special thanks to the team (past and present) for making a difference and “doing it right” for “One Towson”!

Sports – I am not a coffee drinker – sports are my caffeine
I learned from my parents that a person can easily get used to just 5 hours of sleep a day and the importance of work and life balance.  That gives 19 hours a day for work, family, friends, spirituality and sports!   Sports are my morning coffee and my evening night-cap.  I enjoy watching, visiting and cheering on many sports – especially the Towson Tigers (Women’s and Men’s basketball, Football, Baseball, etc.), Orioles, Capitals, Ravens and Redskins, Virginia Tech Hokies and many more. I especially love playing soccer, golf and a good game of catch with my kids Caleb and Abigail. And soon coaching will help keep my life in balance.  Some people need yoga or meditation; I just need my daily fix of sports in almost any form.

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Guest Blogger: At CGIS, GISP certification matters

January 13, 2011

Mark Helmken

Last November Jimmy Bayne blogged about various educational paths people can take to enter the IT workplace. I want to talk about another facet of professional development—certification. Many professions strongly suggest or require that practitioners acquire certain levels of certification. Having those certifications, usually awarded by the professional’s peers, is one way to say “Hey, I didn’t stop learning… growing… (fill in the blank…) after I finished my formal education.” Specifically, I want to focus this blog post on the value of certification as a GISP—a geographic information systems (GIS) Professional.

What’s so special about GISP?

Soon, the number of GISPs at CGIS is likely to double. Since GISP status is recognition of a certain level of achievement in the GIS professions, as well as commitment to a high ethical standard, that’s special—for Maryland’s GIS resource base, and for Towson University, DECO, and our clients. Even though we already regard all of these particular CGIS staff to be GIS professionals, the right to put GISP after their names must be earned from the GIS Certification Institute (GISCI) through a rigorous qualifying process.

Qualifying for GISP status

Through a portfolio that includes a 32-page points-based application plus submission of supporting documents, successful GISP applicants prove that they meet GISCI standards for ethical conduct and professional practice, educational achievement, professional experience, and the manner in which they contribute back to the profession. Certification is based on a range of benchmarks.

GISP Code of Ethics

The GISP Code of Ethics includes the same ethical standards that many other professional societies regard as essential, as well as some that are unique to the GIS profession.

The Value of GISP Certification

The rewards and value of GISP certification are both personal and universal. In their own words,

CGIS professionals share their thoughts about the meaning of their own GISP certification.

I like being a part of a professional group that is focused on the specific challenges in the GIS field. The requirements for GISP include not only education and experience, but community outreach, contributions to the field, and willingness to learn new things. Melanie Ruff, GISP, GIS Specialist III

I believe that certification as a Professional in my chosen field will add value to any organization I am a part of. It’s also gratifying to know that my accomplishments in the classroom, experience in the field, and contributions to GIS in Maryland are recognized and valued by other members of the GIS industry. Tom Earp, Jr., GISP, Project Manager

The GIS Certification Institute’s mission, “to maintain the high standards and integrity of the GIS profession and promote ethical conduct within it”, is one that I believe in, and obtaining GISP Certification reinforces that belief. Ken Juengling, GISP, Project Manager

Obtaining the GISP certification as a GIS professional acknowledges to the industry and public that I value, support, and will abide by all standards and guidelines established, and that I am proficient in Geographic Information Systems and Science. The certification is one more step forward in professional development, which can lead to career advancement. As a GIS professional this certification informs me of what to expect from other GIS professionals.

Lionell Sewell, GIS Specialist II and GISP applicant

I’d like to repeat part of Lionell’s statement: “The certification is one more step forward in professional development…” I believe it’s important for any individual, regardless of his or her professional or trade, to seek opportunities for professional certification and to continually reach for the highest standard.

Click here to learn more about GISP certification.

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