College Park, MD 20742-4451 0305 Marie Mount Hall University of Maryland THE The Faculty Voice IN THIS ISSUE: TAKinG HEALth COMMunicAtiON TO ZIMBABWE, P. 2 FACULTY CELEBRAtinG DR. MARAVene LOeschKE, P. 4 CURTAINS?: THE FUTURE OF THE ARTS IN AMERICA, P. 5 TWO POEMS BY BILL HAnnA, P. 7 MORE ON the WEB AT FAcuLTYVOice. UMD.edu University of MarylandVOICE November 2015 Vol. 31 No. 1 The Professor Who Ran Away to me: (1) In general I don’t think the general By Professor ‘X’ public has an inkling of what goes into ensur- ing their travel is as safe and trouble-free as How it started possible, (2) It is of paramount importance to I was a newly-minted Ph.D. Just prior to ensure that if, during an emergency landing, graduation I had accepted a job with a large an airplane has ‘safely’ left the end of the run- federal agency; one which actually did very way and would have no further damage than good, cutting-edge, research. As gradua- the wheels being stuck in the soft sand of the tion approached I was simultaneously look- runway run-off area, that equipment from an ing for housing at the new location, getting experiment doesn’t inadvertently kill them, ready for my defense, searching for a mov- (3) the stacks of paper and meetings needed Bill Hanna, longtime UMCP faculty ing company….Upon graduation I used the just to get clearance to install a single experi- member, social activist, and editor of short amount of downtime between my aca- ment on an active runway is astronomical, the Faculty Voice, died September 18. demic stint and my new role as public servant and (4) I might actually die of old-age before He had laid out much of this issue of re-locating and trying to make the transition I had gotten clearance to install even a single the Voice, with an emphasis on Africa, as smooth as possible. My selected agency experiment. particularly African women. For a cele- was responsible for dealing with all aspects Somewhere in all of this, I was asked to go bration of Bill’s life, see pages 2, 4 & 8. College Park, MD Non-Profit Org. Permit No. 10 of air-travel: ground operations, controller op- represent the agency at a conference and to U.S. Postage erations, in-flight, airport capacity .…The divi- try to find some suitable engineering students PAID sion in which I would be working performed who might be candidates for employment at research into the measurement and under- our agency. During one of my breaks from standing of wake-vortices. The phenomena the agency’s booth, I was wandering around of wake vortices directly affects how closely and saw a guy with a name tag which read spaced two aircraft can be when approach- ‘Dean - XYZ University’. My parents were in- ing the runway for landing. This spacing in creasing in age and it wouldn’t hurt to live a turn directly affects airport capacity. bit closer; working at ‘XYZ University’ would This was a very interesting and fulfilling job enable that to happen. We talked a bit and and one which I looked forward to every day. arranged a visit and an interview. Despite ev- eryone’s best efforts, the first attempt didn’t work out, so I had to stay at ‘Agency X’ a bit Somewhere in longer than anticipated. Was this a message, the Middle a harbinger of things to come? I settled back Eventually, I was given charge to develop into my agency job – which I actually did still and implement an experiment to instrument enjoy – and waited patiently. Eventually an one of the runways at JFK International Air- offer did arrive for the upcoming Fall semes- port in New York to measure jet-blast, anoth- ter and I finally made my move – off to Aca- Maravene Loeschke, recent past presi- er factor which can impact airport capacity. demia. dent of Towson University, died last Things began smoothly enough: the class This experience pointed out several things June 25. See page 4. Professor ‘X’, Continued on page 3 The Underrepresentation of African Women in the Women Teachers in Past Five Decades Sub-Saharan Africa By Gloria Chuku By Nelly P. Stromquist that of boys. In sub-Saharan Africa, Professor of Africana Studies and girls represent about 47% of prima- Affiliate Professor of Gender and Professor, International Education ry school enrollment, but going into Women’s Studies, and Language, Lit- Policy, UMCP secondary their presence drops dra- matically. It is estimated that 54% of eracy and Culture Ph.D. Program at In countries with substantially fewer girls of junior high school age are not the University of Maryland, Baltimore girls than boys in education, there attending school. Over the past 10 County. is often a cycle of gender disparity years, global policies with great vis- that is difficult to break: few girls in ibility such as Education for All and Introduction school means few women teachers; the Millennium Development Goals few women teachers means few girls have sought gender parity at both The past five decades have wit- in school. Increasing the presence levels of education, but unfortunately nessed a dramatic expansion of stud- of women teachers in such countries the goal was reached in only a few ies and literature on African women’s has been found to promote girls’ en- sub-Saharan African countries. The history. There have equally been ongo- rollment and permanence in school, presence of women teachers is cor- ing critical debates on the connections Professor Gloria Chuku as parents trust women teachers and respondingly low—about 25% of between African women’s history and girl students have a role model. the teaching force at the secondary their current status in society; as well debates on African women’s roles and Long considered a distant conti- school level for the region, with some as on the issues of economic develop- status since independence by focus- nent, Africa is receiving increased well below this proportion. ment, aid and women’s agency; and on ing on three key areas: formal educa- attention by policy makers and re- Within this reality, over the past five women’s political participation in differ- tion, political participation and economic searchers, and the mainstream press years researchers in the Interna- ent African countries. Efforts are being development. What role have African has not overlooked Africa’s election tional Education Policy Program in made to correct and present more bal- women played in these three spheres of a woman president (in Liberia) the College of Education have been anced and nuanced accounts of African and how have they been impacted by years before this may happen in the exploring the factors and dynam- women’s history against the typical por- Western-style education and by political US. Yet the participation of African ics that account for the low propor- trayal that they totally lack in autonomy and economic policies pursued in their girls in education—critical as it is— tion of women teachers. This team and are objects and victims of custom- respective countries? What were the shows large disparities compared to comprises Professors Steven Klees, ary subjectivity and patriarchal control. gains made, the challenges and linger- This essay explores some of these Continued on page 3 Continued on page 6 An Independent Faculty Newspaper Edited at College Park by and for all faculty members in the University System of Maryland 2 The Faculty Voice November 2015 Bill Hanna, Social Activist, Humanitarian and Editor of The Faculty Voice By Judith Hanna, lege Park (UMD), from 1978 to 2013. profit Action Langley Park in 1998 and daughters), Estonia, USSR, Israel, At UMD he was in the Department of organized annual health and job fairs Turkey, Jordan, Mexico, Jamaica, Wife, Lover and Friend Urban Studies and Planning, empha- and folklórico performances. He wrote Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and Ecuador William John Hanna (Bill), resident sizing the challenges of planning and the biweekly newsletter, Barrio de (where he tried to learn Spanish), Ja- of Bethesda, Maryland, was born in policy-making when crossing cultures. Langley Park. He gave many lectures pan, Korea, and Indonesia. Music was Cleveland and later moved to Los An- He was devoted to his students, some on Latino health at the National Insti- salve to his soul and he was a theater geles. He passed away from cancer of whom have remained family friends tutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. buff. New operas and folk music were and was buried in Hollywood Forever over the years. He took students to The Takoma/Langley Crossroads De- of special interest. He wrote poetry Cemetery near his parents’ graves. Mexico for summer field work. A stu- velopment Authority and the Maryland and created Photoshop art, work that He did not want any funeral or memo- dent field research project in Langley National Capital Park and Planning appeared in his self-published book- rial service. Park, a community near the university, Commission gave him awards for dis- lets. Bill was a big sports enthusiast, After being a world competition led to Bill’s long term involvement with tinguished community service. played tennis, and followed bas- bridge player, he earned a Ph.D. at the immigrants from Central America, In 2005 Bill became editor of the ketball, soccer, tennis, and golf. He UCLA in political science. Bill and Africa, and Asia. quarterly Faculty Voice (distributed to coached his sons’ soccer teams and his anthropologist wife, Judith Lynne Bill was an activist fighting injustice the 10,000+ faculty members on Mary- when they went off to college, a girls’ Hanna, conducted research on stu- at the university and Langley Park.