News

The University of Maryland has announced its senior marshals for Spring Commencement, slated for Friday, May 20. Six College Park Scholars alumni number among the 60 graduating seniors serving as marshals:

College Park Scholars is grieving the loss of Dr. Mark Wellman, director of the Business, Society and the Economy (BSE) Scholars program, who died unexpectedly last week of a heart attack. He had served as director of BSE since 2005. A clinical professor in the Robert H. Smith School of Business, Wellman had been at the University of Maryland since 1990 and had also recently stepped into the role of assistant dean of alumni and corporate engagement in the Smith School.

When the Scholars Citation Class of 2021—all 930 of them—stepped onto the University of Maryland campus in August of 2019, spirits were undoubtedly high. College Park Scholars was celebrating its 25th anniversary, with branded #ScholarsAt25 shirts, buttons and laptop stickers, and even a Maryland Dairy ice cream flavor created specifically for the occasion. But spirits sank in March of 2020 with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, sending the cohort into a virtual experience for the rest of their time in the program.

Three Scholars alums were among the seven students named University of Maryland’s 2021 Undergraduate Researchers of the Year. Andrew Forschler, Arts Rebecca Gordon, Public Leadership Neehar Peri, Business, Society and the Economy Selected by a panel of faculty and staff, this honor recognizes select undergraduate students who displayed exceptional commitment to and accomplishments in undergraduate research at the university

When the Scholars Citation Class of 2020 arrived at the University of Maryland in fall 2018, they were wide-eyed freshmen who took part in the usual rites of passage in Scholars: Service Day, excursions related to the annual theme, a kickball tournament the spring of their freshman year. And, while the 984 students’ second year in Scholars fell during the program’s 25th anniversary, “that year turned out to be anything but ordinary,” observes Scholars Executive Director Marilee Lindemann. In March of their second year, the UMD campus shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and these students faced an abrupt pivot to remote learning.

The following article originally appeared in Maryland Today: We’re scrolling instead of unfolding the paper, barking commands at speakers to play music and now, turning video games from slacker pastime to competitive sport. What better way to navigate this new marketing terrain than Generation Z? FOX Sports University teamed up with College Park Scholars’ Business, Society and the Economy program this semester to develop marketing campaigns for a new gaming-focused joint venture from FOX Sports and social broadcast company Caffeine: Caffeine Studios. The 21 freshman and sophomore participants made their presentations to Caffeine and network executives this week.