News Updates and Briefs

Former UMUC Chancellor William Raymond (“Ray”) Ehrensberger Inducted into International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame

Former UMUC Chancellor William Raymond (“Ray”) Ehrensberger, “The Flying Dean,” visits an education outpost in Goose Bay, Labrador.

The late William Raymond (“Ray”) Ehrensberger, who served 1952–75 first as dean and later as chancellor of UMUC, was inducted posthumously into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame on March 3, 2004. The hall of fame is housed in the University of Oklahoma’s Oklahoma Center for Continuing Education, in Norman, Oklahoma.

Ehrensberger, whose constant travels earned him the nickname “The Flying Dean,” was recognized for his pioneering work in adult and continuing education. In a press release announcing the honor, a spokesperson for the University of Oklahoma wrote, “Dr. Ehrensberger recognized the need for higher education for American service members stationed overseas. With his guidance, University of Maryland University College . . . became the first university to offer academic courses and degree programs taught on site at U.S. military bases abroad; the first to send its faculty to teach in a war zone (in Vietnam); and the first to confer bachelor’s degrees at U.S. military installations overseas. More than any other individual, Ray Ehrensberger was responsible for these remarkable developments and their success.”

Ehrensberger died in 1997 at the age of 92. For more about the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame, visit the Web site; click on “Members” and “Class of 2004” to access Ehrensberger’s biography.

UMUC Partners with PBS to “Untangle the Web”

UMUC produced a live, 90-minute satellite broadcast, in conjunction with PBS Adult Learning Service, entitled Untangling the Web: Making Online Teaching and Learning Accessible, on April 22, 2004. The broadcast presented a panel discussion—moderated by Kojo Nnamdi, host of the popular Evening Exchange—with experts representing the University of Arizona, University of Texas, George Mason University, and Lesley University. Gerald Heeger, president of UMUC, and Larry Goldberg, director of media access for CPB/WGBH Boston’s National Center for Accessible Media, were both featured in short interviews during the event.

UMUC Hosts Biotechnology Symposium

UMUC’s graduate and undergraduate biotechnology studies programs hosted a symposium entitled “Successes, Careers, and Challenges in Biotechnology” May 7, 2004, at the Shady Grove campus in Rockville, Maryland.

Presentations focused on successful biotechnology entrepreneurs, career opportunities and employer expectations for biotechnology graduates, the future of biotechnology, and featured two UMUC graduates as speakers: Terry Chase, president and CEO of Chesapeake PERL, Inc., and Ron Peterson, president of Three Arrows Capital Corp., an investment banking firm that has helped capitalize dozens of emerging, high-growth companies. Other speakers include the CEOs of AdvancisPharm Inc., Sequella, and other senior executives.

“There are so many biotechnology companies and federal and state research organizations in and around the Washington metropolitan area, and given the field’s potential for growth and the impact of this technology on human lives, a lot of people are interested in pursuing careers in biotechnology,” said Rana Khan, program director of biotechnology studies in UMUC’s Graduate School. “This symposium offered them a chance to come and hear from people who understand the field and its potential, which is just tremendous. In medicine, agriculture, developing new drugs, combating bioterrorism—you name it, and chances are it includes a significant biotechnology component.”

UMUC’s graduate program in biotechnology studies currently enrolls more than 400 students and the University also offers a Bachelor of Technical and Professional Studies in biotechnology to undergraduates.