Johns Hopkins Coach Babb Helps Baseball Take Root in Russia

Name: Coach Bob Babb

Affiliation: Head Coach, Johns Hopkins University Baseball

**********************************************************************************************

This past summer, head coach of the Johns Hopkins baseball program Bob Babb traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia on a program called “Helping Baseball Take Root in Russia.” Following his return to the States, Coach Babb compiled a detailed report of his experiences and shared that with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to re-print as a blog. For a full biography on Coach Babb, and his 32 years of success at Johns Hopkins University, visit this link: http://www.hopkinssports.com/sports/m-basebl/mtt/babb_bob00.html.

A Bit of Background on the Trip:
In 2011, Russian baseball coaches and players celebrated their 100^th anniversary of baseball in their country.  The history of baseball in Russia dates back to 1911, when the crews of the visiting USS Kansas and USS North Carolina played the first baseball game as a demonstration of the sport in St. Petersburg, capital of Imperial Russia at that time.

In 1986, when the International Olympic Committee granted baseball official status for the 1992 Summer Olympics, the USSR deemed it time to officially develop baseball.  Coincidentally, the Johns Hopkins squad visited Leningrad (St. Petersburg) in 1988 and played a game against Russian baseball players from that city.  Various teams struggled to survive in St. Petersburg over the next twenty years.

In 2010, the development of baseball in St. Petersburg moved into a new phase.  First, the Vyborzhanin St. Petersburg Children’s Sports School financed by the city government incorporated baseball classes into its curriculum.  At present, about 150 kids are enrolled in baseball courses.  Second, the decision to build a baseball stadium was made, and a piece of land in St. Petersburg was selected.

On April 3-15, 2011, six Russian baseball professionals visited the United States on a program called “Helping Baseball Take Root in Russia.”  The two-week programs was funded by the US Dept. of State under the auspices of the US-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, and organized by the Institute of international Education in DC and the US Consulate General in St. Petersburg.  The program was intended to introduce the Russians to the organization of baseball in the US.

The group began their trip in Washington where they met with govt. officials at the US Dept. of State to discuss international sports exchanges.  They then travelled to Aberdeen and met with Ripken Baseball, Williamsport, PA to meet with officials from Little League, and New York City and Major League Baseball.  Along the way, the Russians met with me at Hopkins, where I shared with them my experiences in Russian and the Soviet Union.  The Johns Hopkins Baseball team had participated in an exchange program with the Mendeleyev Institute of Technical Engineering in 1988 in Moscow.  Our Blue Jays played 3 games against the Mendeleyev team that summer during the same time that president Reagan and Premier Gorbachev were having a summit in Moscow.  During that trip, we ventured to Leningrad and played a game there.  The following summer, I and one of my assistant coaches returned to Moscow for two weeks of instructional work with the Mendeleyev team.  Then, in 1992, the JHU baseball team returned to Moscow (now part of Russia) to play in an international tournament with teams from Russia, Japan, Korea, and JHU.  Thus, when I met with the Russian delegation this spring, I showed them my scrapbooks, score cards from those games, etc.  many of the players from those teams are now the coaches in Russia.

In addition, I showed the group our facilities and explained many of the drills which we employ.  They also came out and watched one of our practices.  Upon leaving, they asked if I would be interested in coming to St. Petersburg to work with their teams of various ages.  I said I would if it could be worked out.

In late June, I was informed that I was granted permission to serve as a visiting baseball coach for the continuation of the “Helping Baseball Take Root in Russia” program.  The US Consulate General in St. Petersburg agreed to cover my visa and airfare expenses, while the Institute of International Education covered accommodations, group excursions, airport costs, etc.  Plans were made, and I traveled in mid-August to St. Petersburg!

Coach Babb’s Journal:

My Trip to St. Petersburg – August 2011

On Tuesday night, August 16^th, I boarded an Air France plane at Dulles Airport and made the 7 ½ hour flight to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France.  I then had a four hour layover before boarding another Air France flight to St. Petersburg.  This was a 3 hour and 20 minute flight, arriving at 9PM St. Petersburg time (which is 8 hours ahead of USA East coast time), Wednesday evening.  I was fortunate that both planes were nearly empty.  Crossing the Atlantic, I had 4 middle seats to myself, so I stretched out and slept most of the trip.  I then had 3 open seats on my flight north to Russia.

Upon arriving in St. Petersburg, I was amazed how small the airport actually is.  I slid through customs easily (much easier than obtaining a Russian visa) and waited for my luggage.  I purposely packed one huge yellow bag with solely baseball equipment (bats, pants, old gloves, catchers’ equipment, etc.) which I intended to give to the St. Petersburg baseball organization with whom I would be working.  Well, the yellow bag came tumbling on the baggage belt, but my personal bag never appeared.  There was a desk for luggage problems manned by a single lady, so I headed that way.  As I got closer, I noticed about 20 other people form a line at this desk.  Reluctantly, I joined them.  After about 30 minutes, I was at the front and given 3 forms to fill out.  I was fortunate that the lady understood English and spoke some.  She helped me with the forms, had me go back to customs to get them stamped, then return to her, only to have to complete three more forms.  After about another half hour, I was told that my bag was still in Paris and would be delivered to my hotel the next day.  Fortunately, I had placed some of my baseball uniforms in my carry-on bag, so I had a few T-shirts and athletic underwear to hold me until my suitcase arrived.

At this point, I was somewhat worried that my scheduled driver may no longer be waiting.  There was no one else left on the secured side of the airport other than airport officials.  I thought that the driver might have believed that I missed my plane and, thus, gone home already.  This was, happily, not the case.  Nikita Yegorov, one of the St. Petersburg coaches with whom I had met in April, was waiting for me.  He helped with the yellow bag and took me to a waiting car.  We were then driven to the Moscow Hotel which is in St. Petersburg proper, a 25 minute drive.

I arrived at the hotel at about 11:30 and saw a group of Americans who were there also in conjunction with St. Petersburg Baseball.  They were from the New York Public School Athletic Association (PAL) and had brought a group of 14 tenth graders, each one from a different NYC public high school, to work with and play against the St. Petersburg North Stars.  My trip was scheduled to coincide with theirs for a few days, and then I would be on my own.

My room in the Moscow Hotel was a single containing a small single bed, a TV, a small chest of drawers, and a telephone.  There was no clock and, being forgetful, had brought no watch.  The bathroom was nice and modern.  The towels in the bathroom were small and contained a bare number of cloth threads!  On the whole, the room was about half the size of a modern college dormitory room and just as sparse!

I awoke at 7:30AM Thursday morning and had breakfast in the huge banquet room in the Moscow Hotel.  It was a buffet with an odd variety of food:  shredded carrots, cold meats and cheeses, spaghetti noodles, scrambled eggs, various breads and rolls, sliced and cooked tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.  Many people ate an assortment of cold and pickled salads.  I stuck with scrambled eggs to which I added some cheese and cold meats.  There was also apple, tomato, and orange juices (not freshly squeezed OJ) and strong coffee and a variety of teas.

After breakfast, I walked next door to the grocery store.  What a surprise!  The last time I was in St. Petersburg (1988), it was actually called Leningrad and was part of the Soviet Union.  At that time, the grocery stores had virtually nothing; a few pathetic looking apples, some fish, breads, tomatoes, cucumbers, and that’s about it.  Now, the market looked no different from a supermarket in the USA (certainly smaller) other than the fact that there was row after row of alcohol, much of it different brands of vodka.  I have never seen so much vodka!  I bought several bread rolls, from the deli section, a few bottles of ice tea and water, and a toothbrush, toothpaste (Colgate), and deodorant (Speedstick) since my missing suitcase contained these items.

I then met with the travel agent lady, Natalia, who arranged my stay.  She had wanted me to pay her in US dollars and bring the cash.  I told her that in no way would I be carrying that much money from Washington DC to St. Petersburg.  She told me that she could not accept a credit card either, so I brought travelers’ checks.  Natalia had never seen one and took a picture of one of my checks.  She was a bit suspicious.  We then walked to the exchange booth (located in the lobby of the Moscow Hotel) where Natalia was surprised to see the attendant gladly accept the traveler’s checks and give her US dollars back.  I had had enough foresight to exchange some dollars for Russian rubles here in the US before leaving, so I did not need to exchange money.

At noon, I joined the group (~22) from NYPAL as they boarded a bus and toured the St. Petersburg Military Museum followed by the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.  The military museum was fascinating, but all the writing was in Russian so it was difficult to comprehend much.  Nevertheless, seeing old weapons, carriages, pictures, armor, etc. was to my liking.  The church was spectacular in that all the pictures were made of mosaics.  The outside domes were impressive, but the inside was incredible.

We then lunched at a local restaurant (3:30PM) and afterwards drove to a park where  the NY team and the St. Petersburg team would conduct joint workouts.  The traffic in St. Petersburg is horrendous.  During my whole stay, there wasn’t a day when I did not experience a time where I just sat stopped in traffic.  The streets are not built to handle the volume of traffic which the city has.

Speaking of St. Petersburg, I’m told that the city has a population of over 6 million people, but there may be many more as it is difficult to count all the incoming people.  I was surprised that I saw almost no blacks or Asian people (not counting the Japanese tour groups).  St. P. has to be the city that has the largest lily white population in the world.

St. P. was founded by Peter the Great.  He loved Venice and, as a result, had his people build canals throughout the city.  St.P.  is called the Window to Europe.  The Neva River flows through the city and empties into the Bay of Finland.  There are supposedly more than 360 bridges in the city spanning the river and all the canals.  Thus, there is a great deal of boat traffic throughout the city.

Around 6PM Thursday night, our bus arrived at a park where the Americans and Russians would conduct a joint practice.  We changed in a small locker room and went out to the field which happened to be an old, runned -down soccer stadium.  The grass was high, there was no mounds and only drop down bases.  For the first hour, we worked with the young players on the North Stars team.  Their ages ranges from 7-15.  We assigned one American with one Russian and described and demonstrated many skills: throwing, catching, etc.  The Russian players, numbering about 15, were then divided into groups based on their positions.  I worked specifically with the pitchers, showing them the proper mechanics in a step-by-step sequence.  They picked things up very quickly.  We then had a similar workout with the older group before ending at 9PM.  The older group of North Stars vary in age from 19-44.  The 44 year old actually played against the Hopkins Baseball team in 1988 and remembered me.  He still catches and does a very nice job.

After changing back into our traveling clothes, we took the hour bus ride back to the Hotel Moscow and had dinner at 11PM.  I would soon realize that I would be eating dinner every evening between 10PM and midnight!  The hotel had a special dinner for our group as the regular dining room was closed.

On Friday morning, I again put together my scrambled egg concoction and then our group departed at 10:30 for the Yusupov Palace, the sight where Rasputin was murdered.  The incredible palace was rated as one of the top 20 private palaces in the world.  There was a five man singing group who performed a traditional Russian song, which was fantastic.  I actually bought one of their CD’s.  The palace contained its own theatre with stage and balcony seating, plus seating for over 100 others!  We then ventured to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, probably the tallest building in old St.P.   There was a model showing how the cathedral was built as it used a new type of scaffolding.  Many beautiful works of art adorn the interior.  I would revisit this place later and climb to its top.

Lunch was next.  Since the traffic was so bad, it was decided that we would take the subway back to the hotel after lunch, rather than have the bus try to fight its way through.  The St.P. subway has an interesting feature, when the subway trains are not at a stop, a door blocks the entry so that no one can get near the tracks.  As the train arrives, this door opens followed by the subway train’s door.

Upon arriving back at the hotel, I spotted my suitcase sitting in a corner behind the main desk.  What a great moment, even if it was a day later than they had promised.  I quickly unpacked and found my beloved jar of Jiff peanut butter which had been the first thing that I packed.  Again, when last in St. Petersburg, the food was not to my liking and very sparse.  Now, there was a McDonalds (with prices lower than in the US) right next to our hotel!  However, my peanut butter would serve as my breakfast (on the rolls which I had purchased) from here on.

At 5PM, we made the trek to a different soccer stadium for an exhibition game between the North Stars and the NYC boys.  The Americans were victorious as they made fewer errors, walked fewer hitters, had fewer passed balls/wild pitches.  Essentially, they made fewer mistakes.  I was very impressed with the level of play of the Russians.  It was clear that they had the physical skills to be good, but they lacked the technical skills and did not have years of playing experience on which to rely.  What comes pretty naturally to an American who is familiar with baseball and has been playing catch since he was 4 or 5 is something which requires practice by the Russians.

The NYC contingent made some tourist stops on Saturday, while I was picked up by  North Star player, Petr Denisov, and driven to their game against the Moscow Green Sox.  The game was held in a suburb north of St.P. about 40 minutes, named Kolpino.  Our game was held at a big soccer stadium there, although the start was delayed by 30 minutes due to the soccer match which ended in a tie and was finally settled by penalty kicks.  At its conclusion, I marveled as the North Stars assembled a 4-piece pitching mound (made of wood and covered in carpeting and rubber), pulled a tape measure to place bases, and connected a large net to two soccer goals to create a makeshift backstop.  When finished, the field actually looked pretty good.

The Moscow Green Sox had beaten the North Stars twice in Moscow earlier in the year.  The teams take the 4 hour fast train between the cities (8 hours on the old sleep trains) early Saturday morning and then play a late afternoon game that day.  They spend the night, play a 10AM game on Sunday, and then return late Sunday so as to be able to get to their jobs on Monday morning.  The sports clubs pay for their tickets, hotels, and supply meal money.  Teams then usually practice 2-3 nights during the week at 7PM allowing workers to get there.

On Saturday, the North Stars played pretty well and led 5-2 entering the top of the ninth.  The lead should have been larger, but they squandered several scoring opportunities with runners on 3B and less than 2 outs.  After retiring the first hitter in the 9^th, the pitcher yielded a hit, then threw 8 consecutive balls to load the bases.  I suggested to the manager, Denis Novokshonov (President of St. Petersburg Baseball federation), whom I had also met in April in Baltimore, that he should bring in a reliever.  He waited and two consecutive singles followed, making the score 5-4 with the bases loaded and still only one out.  My driver, Petr, was summoned from shortstop to pitch.  His first batter to face was the cleanup hitter, an excellent player from Cuba, who had ripped the ball all day.  On a 3-2 pitch, he enticed the Cuban to swing at a high fastball and struck him out.  The next batter hit a fly ball to left field which was an easy third out.  The celebration by the North Stars then began.  They were so happy and thanked me for all the help.

During the game, I took notes on the Green Sox hitters, what pitches they liked, how they ran, etc. and also was able to steal their signs from their third base coach.  These would prove to be a valuable weapon during the next day’s game.

In typical American fashion, Petr asked if I would mind if we stopped at McDonalds after the game.  It was nearby so we stopped, and I experienced my first Russian McDonalds.  The Big Mac, fries, and coke were no different from any in America!  Upon arriving back at my hotel at about 9PM, I bought internet time and started catching up on all my emails that I had not seen since arriving in St.P.

Petr picked me up at 8:30 on Sunday morning for the 40 minute drive back to Kolpino.   We had a nice pre-game workout before the 12:00 start.  The North Stars cruised to an easy win.  We (the North Stars) used the purloined signs to pick a couple of runners of base, pitched very effectively to their hitters, and played an excellent defensive game.  It was a pleasure to watch.  The local St. P. TV station was there and actually interviewed me after the game. (Here is a link to the video (entirely in Russian): http://www.tv100.ru/news/Slovom-my-vse-bolny-bejsbolom-44647/). Again, a huge celebration occurred after the game, and I was thanked for all my help!  I had brought a bag full of Hopkins T-shirts, golf shirts, old jerseys, hats, etc. and distributed these after the game making sure every player got something.  They, in return, gave me a few gifts.  We agreed that we would meet later that day (6:30PM) in an Irish-bar where one of the North Star players worked.

Again, we stopped at McDonalds on the way home.  Petr had to go to work, but Nikita met me at my hotel and got me to the bar.  We were joined by 7 of the North Star players who asked me questions, through Nikita or another player who spoke English, about everything from major league baseball to my favorite movies. This group was a very nice bunch of guys who I could see myself being friends with back in the states!  I was given a T-shirt from the bar and treated to my drinks and food.  They all chipped in, not allowing me to pay a penny (ruble).

I had planned on seeing the Hermitage on Monday with Petr as my tour guide (he stayed at work until 3AM Sunday night so as to be free to show me around on Monday).  Unfortunately, we discovered that the Hermitage is closed on Mondays.  Thus, we visited St. Isaac’s Cathedral and this time climbed to the top where the view of the city was spectacular.  We then traveled to a park on the river Neva where I saw two baby black bears on leashes.   I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them bound through the park.  The bears were about the size of a huge German Shepherd, but with claws about six inches long!  One baby bear actually held a baby bottle by himself and drank the milk inside.

Later, we met Nikita and drove an hour to practice.  I worked first with the younger team showing them both infield and outfield drills.  Afterwards, I worked with the North Stars, introducing how to play slow rollers, pitchers covering 1B, double play turning drills, etc.  It was a very good session!  Upon returning to the Moscow Hotel, we stopped at the McDonalds next door and again had an 11 o’clock dinner.

I worked on emails Tuesday morning before taking a taxi to meet with a member of the American consulate.  The taxi driver had been given instructions the night before as to where to deliver me. When I got out of the cab, I realized that I was deposited at the fanciest hotel in St. Petersburg.  I entered and asked if anyone spoke English.  Fortunately, everyone working had this skill.  I met a receptionist who had attended Richmond University.  She made several calls to the US Embassy and then  informed me that the building which I wanted was about 500 yards away.

I walked to the proper building and met with Cathy Hurst, a Public Affairs Officer in the Consulate.  We were joined by Nikita and Denys and discussed my trip along with other ideas for future exchanges.  After the meeting, I met Petr, and we went to Pizza Hut for lunch.

Practice that night consisted primarily of hitting drills using tennis balls.  We went over 8 or 9 different drills which the Russians carefully watched and then executed quite well.  They had a really good time doing the drills.  We then met for about half an hour where I went over the notes of mistakes, suggestions, etc. which I had compiled during my trip.  The team was fascinated with some of my thoughts and nodded their understanding as Petr translated for me.  The group then presented me with a number of gifts which they had individually purchased.  I was touched by their generosity!

Wednesday was my final day in St. Petersburg!  Peter picked me up early, and we headed to Peter and Paul Fortress, the original fort built by Peter the Great.  At noon, we watched as the attendants fired a huge cannon, a St. P tradition.  We then made our way to the Hermitage, a spectacular museum.  Inside, we saw an Egyptian mummy, Sumerian artifacts, Roman and Greek sculptures, the throne of the Russian Czars, and many works of art from masters such as Van Gogh, Rembrandt, DeVinci, Monet, Picasso, etc.  We walked for over four hours and only saw about half of the exhibits.  There are over 360 rooms in the museum!

I wanted to treat my Russian friends to a steak dinner that night, so they took me to the Montana Steak House.  Joining me were Petr, Nikita, and Valeri, the centerfielder of the North Stars.  We each ordered steaks (fine, but nothing special), and had a grand time.  Before returning to my hotel, we walked to a coffee shop and had dessert and coffee, and said our goodbyes.

I was picked up by my driver at 4:30AM and driven to Pulkovo airport.  My flight to Paris was easy and, after a brief layover, boarded for the 8 hour and 20 minute flight to Dulles.  Upon landing, I got in the Customs line for US citizens and was amazed at the diversity of races, etc. who were in this line.  I knew then that I was back in the USA!

An interesting aside, Petr, my main chauffeur and translator, had scheduled a trip to Virginia through Dulles.  He had taken a summer course at Mary Washington University two years ago and had planned to return last week.  In Russia, it is a national law that all workers get 28 vacation days!  I convinced Petr to come to Baltimore (with his girlfriend who travelled with him).  They arrived late one night at my house as their luggage, like mine, did not make it.  Because of Hurricane Irene, we had no power in our house.  Nevertheless, Petr found it and stayed with us two nights.

The next day, Denny and Chris Cox took them to the Babe Ruth Museum and Baltimore Sports Museum.  Petr actually was allowed to hold the bat which Babe Ruth used during the season when he hit 60 home runs!  I took them to an Orioles game, and Petr received two game balls!  They toured Johns Hopkins and were amazed at our facilities! I also took them to Outback Steak House, a real treat for the Russians!  They had a great time, and the Babb family had an equally great time hosting them!

I hope to return to St. Petersburg within a few years and work again with the North Stars and see the many new friends who I made on this year’s journey!

The New Girl on the Block – Tales from the Office of Alumni Relations

Name: Lisa Belman

Affiliation: Johns Hopkins Office of Alumni Relations

******************************************************************************************************************

Hi there – first, here is a little bit about me and how I eventually came to work with the amazing team of people in the Johns Hopkins Alumni Relations Office. Born and raised here in Baltimore, I received my bachelor’s degree from Towson State University and my MBA from the University of Baltimore; in other words, I am not a Hopkins grad. I did however, frequently attend the Hopkins Spring Fair and had one or two beers at PJs during my college years, so that might be worth something.  After working for the Federal Reserve Bank, followed by Starbucks Coffee, I ended up in the stationery and invitation business.  I loved the business – so much so that I decided to open my own shop.

After considering several different locations, I selected the Charles Village neighborhood as the site for my new store. I thought what better place to open a stationery and card shop than near a college campus, where well educated students and faculty are longing to purchase cards and stationery and handwrite letters to mail (no not email, not text, actually mail!) to friends and family.  After writing a “this can’t fail” business plan and stocking up on the tons of great stationery and card items, I opened the doors to Signatures Charles Village in January 2006, just in time for Valentine’s Day.  Business began to grow- albeit at a slower pace than I had anticipated.  They say timing is everything and in retrospect, mine could not have been worse for my new business. As the economic recession began, plans froze for the shopping and high rise condo development slated to be across the street from my store (the still vacant lot on the corner of St. Paul and 33rd, now owned by Hopkins). Over the next year and a half I hung in there, but ultimately closed the store and shifted my focus to getting a job.  Having met so many students, faculty and staff from Hopkins – that seemed like a natural place to explore.

Within two months after closing the store, I had a position with the Johns Hopkins Alumni Relations Office, which at the time, was located in the old Steinwald Alumni House on North Charles Street.  Well, this was one cool place to work!  The building was once a family home, which was donated to the University many years ago. The building was named in honor of Osmar Steinwald, A&S ’28, the first director of Alumni Relations.

The house had been converted into office space, but the original living room complete with a fireplace and piano, was left intact, and was a favorite spot for meetings (and the occasional nap).  The house was charming, but definitely had some quirks and shortcomings, in terms of functional office. For example, you had to remember to unplug the electric heaters before you turned on the microwave or printed – otherwise you blew out the electricity on the first floor (including our Executive Director’s office). I was famous for doing this! The upstairs bathroom had a window that just wouldn’t stay closed, especially if it was windy out.  This resulted in some slight embrassment when one of our staff members was using the bathroom (on a windy day), while workmen were up on a ladder doing some repairs to the outside of the building!  We also had a huge basement, which was stuffed with supplies and decorations for chapter events, reunion and the infamous Steinwald Holiday Party.  The party had been a Steinwald tradition for many years – as I would quickly learn traditions and maintaining connections were a vital part of Alumni Relations.

In the summer of 2009, we were told that the Steinwald House had been officially declared “no longer inhabitable” and our office was being relocated. So, much like moving out of a home, we threw out, sold and packed up our stuff to move into our current digs here in the San Martin Center. We now enjoy a more modern office space and work alongside many of our Development colleagues.  Our staff meetings take place in an actual conference room – rather than a living room and there are no bathroom windows that fly open on a windy day!

One of the first things I learned when I came to work at Hopkins was just how much I didn’t know – about the University, the Institution and the Alumni Relations Office.  Nine schools, multiple campuses, a research hospital, and 160,000+ alumni; it was quite a lot to take in.  How could I know so little about this place when I had lived in Baltimore all of my life?  Luckily I was surrounded by Hopkins pros, armed with a wealth of knowledge about the school and our alumni, who were always willing to share some history and some fun stories.

Here is some of what I came to learn about Alumni Relations (AR).  Alumni Relations is under the DAR umberella – the “D” standing for Development.   The AR office provides central support for alumni of all nine Hopkins schools.  Additionally, we strive to connect all alumni to the University community, current students and one another. One of the main ways we connect our alums is through the Alumni Association, which was originally formed in 1886 (ten years after the school was founded).  All graduates are automatically considered alumni of the University.  However, only dues paying alumni are considered members of the Alumni Association (current annual dues are $50).  Please visit our website to see all the benefits of becoming a member.  All of the initiatives in our office are overseen by a voting group of alumni, called the Alumni Council (think Student Council, but all grown up).

The Forster Room – Anything is possible

Our office is responsible for many varied functions. Our frontline consists of the staff in the Forster Room, the operations center of the Alumni Relations office.  The room was named after Lou Forster, A&S ’41, ’48 (MA), who volunteered in the office for over 25 years.

The Forster Room is always buzzing with activity as Ercell Buckson, Diane Heavel, Jen Kafka and Vanessa Logan take reservations for events, process new memberships, and seamlessly handle any and every request ( no matter how peculiar) from our alumni and other constituents. Ridia Anderson, our “jack of all trades” heads this team, which falls under our Alumni Services umbrella.

More on Alumni Services – Bus Tours R’ Us

A group of Canadians were traveling by tour bus through Holland. As they stopped at a cheese farm, a young guide led them through the process of making cheese, explaining that goats’ milk was used. She showed the group a lively hillside where many goats were grazing. These, she explained, were the older goats put out to pasture when they no longer produced. She then asked, “What do you do in Canada with your old goats?”A spry old gentleman answered, “They send us on bus tours”.

- Quote posted on our office bulletin board

We would certainly never call any our alumni “old”; most of them are hardier and more adventurous than we are, especially when it comes to traveling. Our Alumni Journeys travel program offers trips all over the world, while our Alumni College program offers shorter educational trips a little closer to home.  Both programs are run by Marguerite Ingalls Jones and Lisa Auchincloss.  In June 2009, Marguerite travelled with a group of alumni to a dude ranch in Dubois, Wyoming, accompanied by history Professor, Ron Walters.  Amy Brokl, who holds a dual position in Alumni Relations and the Admissions Office and spearheads our Legacy Admissions programs, is also a part of our Alumni Services team.

The Chapter Team – details, details, details

We currently have chapters of the alumni association in over 20 domestic cities and more than a dozen international clubs (smaller versions of chapters). Chapters are formed in areas where there are a substantial about of alumni living in a region.  Each chapter holds several events a year, including everything from wine tastings to museum visits, allowing alums an opportunity to meet one another and have an entertaining afternoon or evening.  Our talented chapter team including Angela Baldwin, Deborah Saunders, Jocelyn Lynch and Mike Brooks, are the men and women behind the curtain for all of our events.  They plan all the details and frequently travel to the events themselves to ensure that everything runs smoothly.

We love our students and young alums!

Our Student and Young Alumni Programs are run by Justin Fincher and Tricia Shalka, along with several student interns.  This team orchestrates the highly successful TASTE (Take a Student to Events) program, which connects students and alumni with similar interests, the Student Ambassadors Program and the newly formed Student Alumni Society.  Basically, if it has the word “student” or “young alumni” in it – this team is all over it!  Justin and Tricia also help to organize the very popular young alumni party (are you starting to see the pattern?) during Reunion and Homecoming Weekend, which was sold out last year.  And speaking of Reunion….

Reunion & Homecoming – you haven’t aged a bit

There is no other time of year in our office that is more fun and more work than Alumni Weekend (traditionally known as reunion and homecoming weekend).   The power team behind this always amazing and nostalgic weekend is Pat Conklin, Judy Fusting, Michell Dorsey-Jackson and Stephen Walsh.  They plan year round for this weekend, tirelessly working with each class committee to create a special feeling of homecoming for each and every alumnus. During the actual weekend, all of DAR pitches in and reconnects with our alumni while making sure that all the event details are falling into place.  Alumni Weekend 2011 is scheduled for April 29- May 1.

Wanted: one really cool Executive Director

As of this writing, interviews are being conducted for our Executive Director position.  Sandra Gray, our previous Executive Director, recently retired and left big shoes to fill.  In the meantime, Bonnie Horning is successfully juggling a wide variety of office responsibilities and Marietta Carandang is keeping our expenses on track and our budget balanced!

Marketing & Membership – so many benefits, so little time

Last but not least, is my own hardworking team – Marketing and Membership, which includes Kirsten Lavin, Kristie Collins and me.  Our team maintains the Alumni Association website, and Facebook page, spearheads the membership campaign, produces the Alumni Section of the Johns Hopkins Magazine and assists with any writing and marketing tasks for our office – all with a smile (most days at least)!

I think that says it all for me.  As I reflect back, I realize that I have found through my job at Hopkins, not just a new career – but a new perspective.  Although I was extremely disappointed that my business venture did not work out, I feel fortunate to have landed here at Hopkins, in the warm embrace of my fabulous colleagues in Alumni Relations.

A Perfect Partnership

Full Name: Susan M. Vazakas

Affiliation: Milton S. Eisenhower Library

Good news! Every department and program on Homewood campus has its own librarian! We work at the Milton S. Eisenhower Library, also known as MSEL. I’m one of the science/engineering librarians.

More good news – We all have backgrounds in our subject areas, and we come to your classes to give presentations. We’re all extremely nice and you’re never “bothering” us when you contact us. Working with you is our job, and we love our jobs!

What is she talking about? I don’t need a librarian.

Here are two of the reasons why you need a librarian:

• This is Hopkins. You’re not going to have a lot of time to spend wandering around the web; you’ll need to find information quickly. Your librarian can show you how.
• This is Hopkins. Your professors expect you to find scholarly research in a methodical way, not by searching Google. (Anyway, our tools are faster, weed out the junk to get higher-quality results, and search things that Google doesn‘t know about.)

Here’s the best news: you know things that no one else on the planet knows. Your experiences, knowledge, and world view are different from everyone else’s. So when you get an assignment – like “write a proposal to a non-profit organization so that they will fund your idea for improving the lives of a given group of people” (yes, this is a real class topic) – you will approach that project in your own unique way.

And when you come to talk to a librarian, we will always be delighted to hear what you have to say, because every student who talks to us is unique and interesting. We learn as much from you as you do from us. This is why student + librarian = a perfect partnership.

I don’t plan on spending a lot of time hunting for librarians to talk to. So how will I communicate with them?

Excellent news! Not only are we not offended if we never see your smiling face, but we offer many ways for you to talk to us from wherever you are. Here are a few of them:

1)    Ask a Librarian – The link is on the home page.

 

2)    The library’s blog has a suggestion box:

3)    E-mail your librarian! We don’t get paid unless we hear from you! (Not really, but we do love getting notes from students.) Here’s the list of subject librarians.

 

4)    Yes, your library is on Facebook and Twitter:

Most of us have individual accounts, too, that students can use to contact us:

You don’t have to wait until you actually arrive to contact us. Please send a note or call whenever you wish, and I or my colleagues will be happy to talk with you. Then we’ll be one step closer to that perfect partnership!

Jewish Life at Hopkins

For this staff blog, Assistant Director of Admissions and liaison to Hopkins Hillel, Chloe Rothstein, sat down to interview Rabbi Debbie Pine, Executive Director of Hopkins Hillel. We hope this Q&A session helps provide a helpful perspective on Jewish Life at Johns Hopkins University.

Chloe Rothstein: I’ll start with a very important question. How’s the Matzoh ball soup at Hopkins Hillel?

Rabbi Debbie Pine: It’s awesome. We have it every Friday night for Shabbat dinner. If you’re sick we bring it to your door!

CR: How would you, with a broad brush stroke, describe the Jewish population at Hopkins?

RDP: There are about 550 self-identified Jewish students on campus.

We have an active Orthodox community of about 40 students. You can check out http://hopkinsorthodox.com. Koach, the Conservative group on campus, hosts Friday night services and weekly study opportunities.

There is also a rapidly expanding Jews in Greek Life group. We call them JiGL, pronounced “jiggle” for short. They plan community service, education and social events targeting Jewish students who are also involved in Greek life.

There is a thriving Israel advocacy group, called CHAI (Coalition of Hopkins Activists for Israel). Their Web site is http://www.wix.com/jhuchai/chai.

CR: What types of events do you host each week at Hillel?

RDP: Well, each week is a little bit different. Just this week alone, we have Jewball, informal pick up basketball league with Jewish students in the Rec center. They’re forming a team called the Matzoh Ballers and their first game is tonight.

Last night, Neil Lazarus, who is an international expert about the Middle East, was at Hillel to discuss the current campus climate surrounding Israel.

Tonight we also have comedy night in the AMR Multi Purpose room, a freshman dorm here on campus. This program is completely freshmen organized and run and gives them a chance to form a community of Jewish first years.

Tomorrow night we have Pizza and Parsha. There will be free pizza and a discussion of the weekly Torah portion. Right afterwards, we have a World Series party planned, where students can hang out and watch the game on Hillel’s big screen.

And, on Friday night for Shabbat dinner, we are expecting about 150 students and their families because it’s Family Weekend. There is also a discussion over dessert this week featuring the Director of the Jewish Studies Program, Ken Moss.

Earlier this year, one of the most popular events was our New-Year-themed Rosh Hashana party with a great student DJ. There are some fun photos up at HopkinsHillel.org. http://hopkinshillel.org/articlenav.php?id=29

Once a month, we have Saturday Night Lights, where students do Havdalah, a ceremony that signifies the end of Shabbat and the start of the new week and then they go out and explore Baltimore together.

Jews in Greek Life “JiGL” hosts Hanukah and Purim parties. Last year we had 200 students at our Purim party!

CR: What do students do for Shabbat?

RDP: About 65 students come for dinner every week. Once a month we have a free dinner and then about 120 students come out. Everybody loves a free meal!

There are also services Friday nights and Saturday mornings and lunch every Saturday.  

We really encourage students to make Shabbat their own. This month freshmen are making Shabbat dinner in their dorms, baseball players are hosting a Shabbat dinner in their home, Jews in Greek Life are hosting another dinner in a fraternity house and the Interfaith Center is hosting a Thanksgiving-themed Shabbat.

On Monday afternoons all leftovers from the weekend are donated to Manna House, a local homeless shelter.

CR: And, what if you keep kosher?

RDP: Hot kosher food is available at the FFC, the freshman dining hall, for lunch and dinner every day. This way, students who keep kosher can enjoy meals with their friends on campus.  And we also host all Shabbat and holiday meals including a full kosher meal plan for Passover at the Hillel building.  

Chloe: I’ve heard that a lot of students travel abroad through Hillel? Is that right?

RDP: We feel that is it very important to offer travel opportunities so that students have the chance to experience Judaism from a more global perspective.  We try to offer a variety of trips throughout the year. One is Taglit Birthright Israel, which is a free ten-day trip to Israel during winter and summer break. I went on the trip with the students last year and had a really fantastic time.  One of the highlights of the trip was a meal that the Bedouins served us during our stay overnight in their tents.

This year during spring break students are also going to Uruguay and Miami to do social service work. On November 6^th, students are traveling to New Orleans for the General Assembly, which is the national Jewish federation conference.

Next spring students will be able to travel to Poland with the head of Judaic studies, Ken Moss, who is teaching a class right now at Hopkins about Jewish life in Poland between the wars. That’ll be really interesting.

Chloe: What about Jewish education on campus?

RDP: This is actually one of my main areas of interest.

We host Lunch and Learn, a monthly free lunch with Judaic studies professors around campus.

There’s also Torah on Tap: a monthly discussion at a local restaurant on hot topics in Judaism. Hillel pays for snacks and if students are above 21 they can purchase beer. It’s a lot fun.

Pizza and Parsha is discussion of the weekly torah portion with free pizza taught by Rabbi Magence. He is a full-time rabbi on our staff as part of the Jewish Learning Initiative. This is cosponsored by the Orthodox Union. Throughout the week, students have the chance to study with Rabbi Magence and lead their own classes on topics such as Jewish Law.

There’s also a biweekly Muslim-Jewish dialogue and a discussion group for African-American and Jewish students.

CHAI also provides many opportunities to learn about Israel. They host a huge Israel fair in the spring.

Oh, I don’t want to forget about the Latke-Hamentashen debate. Our professors have tons of fun arguing over which Jewish delicacy is better. At the end everyone gets to sample both tasty treats.

Chloe: Last, but not least, how do students celebrate the High Holidays?

RDP: We offer Reform and Conservative services on campus. There are great, full kosher meals with Matzoh ball soup, excellent kosher meat and challah.  Between fifty and one hundred students come to the meals. Most Orthodox students either attend services at Chabad or travel home.

During Sukkot, students build two sukkot: one in front of the freshmen dining hall where there is kosher food, and the other at Hillel. Students eat, sleep and celebrate in the sukkot all week long. There are also lots of opportunities for students to take the lead in services.

Visit Hopkins Hillel for more information: http://www.hopkinshillel.org/.

Entrepreneurship and Management Minors: Be Creative and Innovative!

Name: Joshua Reiter, Ed.D.
(Faculty Profile)

Department: Entrepreneurship and Management

Classes Taught: Business Process and Quality Management, Technology Management

****************************************************************************************************************

Google, Apple, Nintendo and Business Process and Quality Management students at the Johns Hopkins University all have something in common.  Whether it is creating a new search engine, an innovative communication device, a state of the art game controller, or an ingenious solution to a current business issue, all have to be creative and innovative in order to achieve and succeed.

In my Business Process and Quality Management class in the Center for Leadership Education program at Johns Hopkins, we learn how to make companies more efficient and more effective.  While there is a book to read and lectures to hear, the students spend most of their time in group projects and analyzing real-life business cases.  Throughout the semester the students are continually encouraged and challenged to use the tools taught in class in order to assess how best to improve current business processes.  The ultimate goal is to understand why businesses failed and how to assure new processes are implemented to assure success in the future.

The Business Process class is a great class to teach (and to take) because it requires and demands the students think and are creative.  The answers on how best to make companies more efficient will not be found in a book or in my lecture notes.  The students have to take the time to think about how to innovate the way the company operates.  I enjoy watching students learn and obtain new skills throughout the semester so they can develop new solutions to business issues.

Recently, I realized it would not be fair to require students in my classes to be creative and innovative, if I don’t practice what I preach.  Also, I wanted to keep the class current, enjoyable, and fun.  After all, we do spend 13 weeks together.  It would be boring if the class wasn’t at least partly fun!

As I thought about how to improve my course, it dawned on me that my course introduction was the same each year and I noticed even I was getting tired hearing it.  So I took my own advice and developed a more creative method for introducing the course.  I hope the students now will take my lead and be more innovative in my classes.

Enjoy my course introduction in the video below and perhaps I will see you in my class in the future!

Editor’s Note: Be sure to check out Professor Reiter’s previous blog entry, “Why it is great to teach at Hopkins (and be a student)!“

Tales From the Student Activities Office

Name: Jillian Rickerd

Department: Office of Student Activities

**************************************************************************************
Hello there!

My name is Jillian Rickerd and I work in the Office of Student Activities, which is the hub for all student involvement on campus!  Our office is located in the Mattin Center right next to the large statue we call Dookie. Sometimes we dress Dookie up, we think he likes it.

- Dookie at Halloween –

So like I said, I work in the Office of Student Activities.  I sometimes call it the fish bowl because I literally work in a glass box in the middle of the office.

- My Office: The giant fish bowl –

- This is me! –

Our office works with over 300 student groups on campus.  There are student groups for just about anything you can imagine.  To read more about our student groups click here. We help to manage the group’s finances, offer training, help to negotiate contracts and advise students on how to run successful events.

The Student Activities Fair:

My favorite activity and biggest responsibility is organizing the Student Activities Fair.  It is the only time of year that all of our student groups get together to try and recruit new members.  The fair takes place during the first week of school every year.

Even if you are not interested in joining a new group, it’s an awesome way to meet new people.  The best thing about being a freshman at Hopkins is that everyone wants to make new friends, new connections, and new memories.  Therefore, you don’t have to feel awkward about putting yourself out there to meet new people.  In my opinion, it’s the best time of year!

- This is me at the 2007 Student Activities Fair –

Hopkins 100:

For those of you who do want to get involved and join a group – Great!  We love meeting students who are excited to get involved with the campus.  We offer lots of fun activities for our group leaders.  One of the perks to being a student leader is that you can participate in a huge camping trip at the beginning of the school year with all of the other student group presidents and leaders.  We call this retreat Hopkins 100.

At Hopkins 100 student leaders will have the opportunity to meet other student group leaders, and attend various workshops that they are interested in.  Some of the workshops include Event Planning, Group Goal Setting, and Leadership for You Career.

We have tons of fun activities like roasting marshmallows by the camp fire, ropes courses, volleyball, and so much more.  This year we had 115 leaders from various organizations attend, and we had a great time.

- Apparently I become one of those people who can never get their Power Point to match up with the screen! –

- Group Shot –

- Team building exercises –

- Campfire! –

So those are just some of the things that our office does every year.  Hopkins has an energy that is infectious and just makes you want to get involved.  There are so many events happening every day, it’s impossible not to get involved.  I tend to venture out of the office and participate in other activities around campus after work.

Greek Life:

The past 2 years I have helped assist in Sorority Recruitment.  I was in a sorority in college (Alpha Phi!).  Our campus has over 1,000 students involved in Greek Life.  We have 13 fraternities and 5 sororities.  This year I brought my dog Pugsley to recruitment to help out.  Below is a pic of me, my dog Pugsley and Sarah Lloyd who is the Assistant Director of Housing (she’s the one involved in helping you find a roommate!).

- Sorority Recruitment Sign-In 2009 (I’m on the left, Sarah on the right, and Pugsley in the middle) –

Fun with Buddhism:

This week I went to an event at the Interfaith Center (which is the hub for all religious activity on campus) and made dragon flies with Buddhist Monks.  There were people from all different religions at the event, and I even met someone from Houston (which is where I used to live).

- Buddhist Dragon Fly making 2009 –

- Dragon Fly! –

I also participated in a workshop last week called FiSH!  The workshop was apart of the Leadership Certification Initiative, which is a program at Hopkins that facilitates leadership workshops that can be applied to any career, and actually gives our students recognition for being leaders on campus.  To read more about LCI click here.

During this workshop we watched a video about the Seattle Fish Market, which is world famous for their high amount of energy and productivity.  We are interested in capturing that energy and bringing it back to our campus so that our students can apply it to their everyday life. You can read more about the FiSH program here.

Lacrosse:

This past week I went to the JHU Lacrosse game, and it was so much fun!  I went with my friends from Michigan and another friend from New Zealand.  Being a girl from the south, I have come to expect that football is everyone’s college sport of choice.  But lacrosse is so much better!  I highly recommend anyone who visits the university to check out a lacrosse game.  The energy at the games is amazing, and the JHU team is awesome!

- Lacrosse game … This is “The Nest” which is the student section –

- Our fierce team! –

Getting into Marketing or Advertising with an Undergraduate Degree From Johns Hopkins University

Name: Leslie Kendrick, Senior Lecturer
(Faculty Profile)

Department: Center for Leadership Education / W.P. Carey Program in Entrepreneurship & Management (Whiting School of Engineering)

**********************************************************************

Having taught marketing to undergraduate Arts & Sciences students (and even a few engineers) for eight years in the Entrepreneurship & Management Program, I can honestly say that JHU students are as competitive as business or marketing majors when it comes to landing internships and jobs in the marketing field.

I am a full-time Senior Lecturer and have developed the five undergraduate marketing courses that are taught out of our Center for Leadership Education(CLE).  This includes Principles of Marketing, Marketing Strategy (an MBA-style case course), International Marketing, Advertising & Promotion, and Media & P.R. in the Big Apple (an intersession course with a NY trip component).  Students who minor in business, or those just interested in the marketing field, can take any or all of these courses.  All feature small sections (15-35 students) and lots of personal interaction and mentoring (all students have to do is ask!).

CLE Lecturers come from industry and we integrate this experience into the classroom.  Many of the group exercises that I use in Marketing Principles come from my experiences as a Sales Representative for Harper & Row, a Brand Analyst for Londontown Corporation and a Marketing Director at Lippincott Williams & Wilkins medical publishers.  When we cover non-profit marketing, I describe the challenges of marketing a merit scholarship award (for which many of my JHU students are eligible) and an annual job workshop as a 20-year board member of the Baltimore Chapter of the American Marketing Association.

Guest speakers in my classes are often JHU alumni—former students of mine who have landed positions at local firms—in market research, marketing management, or as entrepreneurs.  There’s nothing more rewarding to me than seeing my former students mentor my current students, whether it’s through informational interviews or assistance with internships or jobs.

The other hat I wear is that of Internship Coordinator.  I place and supervise 40 students per year in internships locally in marketing and finance.  Being located in a large city is a major advantage when it comes to doing internships for academic credit during the school year.  Many of my students have at least three quality internships on their resume before graduating.  And even more important, they know from these internships the functional area of marketing in which they’d like to work.

And speaking of gaining practical experience, students now have the opportunity to work for a real client and spend real money in the Advertising & Promotion class—one of the upper-level courses.  Every spring, I work with a firm that matches my JHU class up with clients like Nissan and The U.S. Navy and then oversees the development of an integrated marketing communications campaign targeting JHU students.  The class is run like a real advertising agency—with student-run departments such as Market Research, Advertising/Multimedia, Public Relations and Events.  Many students have landed internships and jobs based on this unique experience.  The class that worked with The Navy won a Scholastic Achievement Award and five students from the class were flown (along with me) to the Navy recruitment headquarters to present our project to high level officers.

My marketing colleagues in Baltimore often choose my JHU students for internships and jobs over those from competing local colleges because they are not only versed in marketing through the applied and experiential courses I teach, but they are bright and highly motivated!

For more information on the Center for Leadership Education, including courses offered and experiential programs, visit our website: http://web.jhu.edu/Leadership.  If you have questions for me, I can be reached at: kendrick@jhu.edu.

Dr. Richard Conn Henry

Recently, Hopkins Interactive contributor Rohit Dasgupta, a freshman Chemical Engineering student from Virgina, had the pleasure to sit down with Dr. Richard C. Henry, a professor in the Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy.  Dr. Henry’s research interests lie in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics, and he teaches such classes at Hopkins as Introduction to Frontier Physics.  He also serves as the director of the Maryland Space Grant Consortium and is highly accomplished: among many other successes, he has published over 140 research papers, participated in the discovery of the first x-ray pulsar, and has conducted many rocket-astronomy experiments.

****************************************************************************************************

Interview with Dr. Richard Conn Henry
by Rohit Dasgupta

“I’ve been an astronomer since I was a small child, very interested in the heavens,” reflects Dr. Richard Conn Henry on his beginnings as a physicist. “So it was very natural for me to take math, physics, and chemistry in college.”

Today, as a Professor in Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy at Johns Hopkins, he finds himself on the other side of the classroom. Educated at the University of Toronto and Princeton University, Professor Henry has been teaching at Johns Hopkins since 1969.

“Not only is he a good professor, but he has a passion for physics that inspires his students” says Saumya Gurbani, a freshman currently taking his Physics 101 course. He is one of the students who has signed up for Introduction to Frontier Physics, a course that Professor Henry will teach second semester.

“Introduction to Frontier Physics will be a seminar style lecture where I will go into depth about topics such as special relativity, general relativity, and quantum physics,” he says. “Students will be required to write a final term paper that will be graded at the end of the course.”

Outside the classroom, Professor Henry is actively involved with research. “Science is on the march,” he says, “and we have tremendous potential for advancement in astrophysics.” He is currently collaborating with Professor Jayant Murthy in India on research regarding Diffuse UV radiation using the GALEX imaging. He recently submitted a paper on the topic to the Astrophysical Journal.

Professor Henry was one of the first physics professors with a PhD in Astronomy that Johns Hopkins hired 40 years ago. Since then, he has watched the department grow and flourish. This year, a new study measuring scientific impact places Johns Hopkins in the top 3 among American institutions granting PhD’s in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

Professor Henry has also been very involved with the production and release of Mathematica 7.0, a computational software program used widely in scientific, engineering, and mathematical fields.  He was intrigued to work on the project when he noticed that one of his calculations on black holes, which had worked successfully in Mathematica 2.0, produced errors in Version 3.0 and subsequent versions. He was selected as a beta developer for the Mathematica 7.0, which came out last month, and is happy to report that his calculations are now working.

On the qualities of a successful student, he places the most importance on a student’s passion and intellectual curiosity about a subject. Consequently, he spends much time working on his lectures, many filled with Keynote animations and Mathematica simulations. “In my lectures, I want the student to achieve a real understanding of the subject,” he says.

Amidst all his classes, research activities, and hobbies, Professor Henry still finds some time for fun. He dressed up as Senator Ted Stevens for Halloween this year.

As a freshman student who just took his Physics 101 class, I am glad to say that it has been a great experience. The material was challenging yet stimulating, and Professor Henry was always very prompt in responding to email questions. He is also helpful during office hours, and it is an opportunity that students should take advantage of. I am looking forward to taking Introduction to Frontier Physics next semester.

Why it is great to teach at Hopkins (and be a student!)

Name: Joshua Reiter, Ed.D.
(Faculty Profile)

Department: Entrepreneurship and Management

Classes Taught:
Business Process and Quality Management
Technology Management

************************************************************************************

As a lecturer at Johns Hopkins, I teach part time (one class per semester) in the Entrepreneurship and Management minor. (I am also an Alum- but more about that in another blog)  It is a great program as both Arts and Sciences and Engineering students take my courses so I get to know a very broad cross section of the JHU community.

As a member of the Adjunct Faculty, I typically teach one class per semester.  In the fall I teach Business Process and Quality Management, and in the spring I teach Information Technology Management.

Both courses stress business decision making, leadership, data analysis, technical expertise, ethics, and teamwork skills.  In addition, the Business Process class focuses on analyzing companies for inefficiencies and developing new processes to assure success.  The IT Management course, while not a programming class, prepares the student to be able to better understand technology issues, terms and uses which will be of benefit in their future endeavors.

My classes are also relatively small- perhaps 30 to 40 students per semester which is great.  Not only am I able to get to know all the students by name, but also the class time can be used for discussion as well as lecture.  As you can imagine, I am intrigued hearing the views of the students on the subjects we discuss.  I enjoy watching the students grow each semester from telling me what the book says, or what they think I want to hear, to being able to tell me what THEY think on the topic.  When they tell me what they think, I know they “get it.”  It is obvious the students, who didn’t even know what the course was about at the beginning of the semester, have become passionate and knowledgeable about the subject matter at the end of the semester.  It is a very rewarding feeling for any instructor!

I also enjoy getting to know the students better during the semester.  Because of the smaller class size, I am able to know each of the student names and sometimes can customize the lecture to include topics of importance to the class. I never realized how unusual this might be.  I always thought it was important for me to not only address students by name in the class, but also to be able to understand them better and say hi to them outside of class.

One day I was on campus and I saw one of my students on the other side of the quad.  I called out to him by name and said I missed him in class that day.  He explained he had a meeting and was unable to attend, but would stop by my office hours to see what he missed.

At that time, an Admissions Tour was coming by and a parent noticed the discussion I had with the student.  The parent left the tour and came over to me.  He asked if I was a professor at Hopkins.  I told him I was and he asked if knew all the names of the students in my classes.  Without hesitation I told him I did.  He followed up and said he was impressed that not only did I know the name of the student, but I also knew he wasn’t in class that day.  I smiled and told him I make sure I am prepared for class so the students can learn.  Obviously they can’t learn if they aren’t there, so I notice those things.

Clearly there are lots of benefits to a Hopkins education. One of the major advantages is because of the smaller size of the University, you can get to know your professors to engage them in discussion, assist with research, or even ask them for advice on a host of topics.

And those are a few reasons I think it is great to teach at Hopkins (and to be a student here as well!)