“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of medicine,” says Psychology Associate Professor Jason Schiffman when describing treatment of psychosis.

Schiffman is a staff member at the new “Center for Excellence on Early Intervention for Serious Mental Illness.” The center’s mission is to identify young people with psychosis or at risk for the specific symptom that makes violence more likely. The program aims to get them into immediate treatment and to provide support.

In an interview Monday on WYPR’s Maryland Morning, Schiffman outlined how early treatment of people with psychosis or showing signs of developing it is critical in getting those individuals on a path towards leading a life they want to live.

“The field has really moved towards understanding that the earlier we intervene, the better the life trajectory of individuals on a route with these symptoms or on a journey having these experiences,” Schiffman said.

He also described how the new center will focus on collaborative work to provide the best possible treatment and support.

You can listen to the full interview here.

Public Policy and Political Science Professor George La Noue suggests transferring or closing academic programs will not integrate Maryland’s historically black colleges in an op-ed in The Baltimore Sun.

The op-ed was written in response to a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Blake earlier this month in the case Coalition for Educational Equity and Excellence v. Maryland Higher Education Commission.

Part of the ruling considered closing, transferring, or merging academic programs that were seen as duplicative from traditionally white institutions (TWIs) to historically black institutions (HBIs). In his op-ed, La Noue argues this raises many questions:

Would faculty, research infrastructure and library resources be transferred as well?  Would faculty recruited to an institution, whose black and white students have average  SAT scores well above 1200, work well in institutions with many students requiring extensive remedial work? Would these faculty remain competitive for national research awards?

You can read the full op-ed in The Baltimore Sun here.

The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy is seeking an enthusiastic and motivated individual who wants hands-on writing and editing experience, primarily for organizational websites. This individual will assist with the development of content for the School’s website (www.pharmacy.umaryland.edu), an upcoming transition to a new content management system (CMS), and other communication and marketing tasks as assigned. He or she will report to the Assistant Dean of Communications and Marketing.

Although this is an unpaid internship, credit may be offered by the applicant’s college or university commiserate with the number of intern hours performed. Interns are guaranteed published bylines.

Intern Responsibilities:

·         Write stories for the School of Pharmacy website following appropriate grammar, style, and brand guidelines.

·         Interface with faculty, staff, and students in the reporting of stories for the website. Attend relevant events and activities.

·         Create, edit, and update web pages using CMS (currently SiteExecutive and WordPress).

·         Assist with content migration  to new CMS (will be Terminal4).

·         Create and use email marketing software to send out department newsletters, event announcements, and other communications from the School.

·         Other related responsibilities as assigned.

Qualifications:

 ·         Strong writing and proofreading ability.

·         Basic understanding and experience with a CMS (i.e., WordPress).

·         Basic understanding of HTML.

·         Basic knowledge of photo editing software (i.e., PhotoShop).

·         Experience with Microsoft Office programs (i.e., Word and Excel).

·         Strong attention to detail.

·         Strong interpersonal skills and experience collaborating in a team environment.

 How to Apply:

 To apply for this internship, please submit your resume and 2-3 writing samples to Becky Ceraul, assistant dean of communications and marketing, at rceraul@rx.umaryland.edu.

Department of Public Policy Chair and Professor Donald Norris was quoted in an article last week in Bethesda Magazine about recent controversies surrounding Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler’s gubernatorial campaign.

A photo surfaced last week of Gansler at a teenage beach week party in Delaware late last spring where he went to talk to his son, and Gansler was also in the news recently for controversy surrounding driving allegations in which he ordered state troopers who drive him to ignore traffic regulations.

“He’s got to get beyond this, and get beyond it quickly – [with] no new revelations,” Norris said about Gansler’s campaign in an article in the “MoCo Politics” blog.

Norris also said it’s early in the race so there is time to recover, but it will be difficult for Gansler because he is trailing Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown in the polls.

“Very few people are paying attention to an election that is as far away as [the June primary],” said Norris. “So I think he’s got plenty of time to make it up. The question is whether he is going to be able to make it up simply because Brown is so far ahead. There’s a really, huge deficit that Gansler’s got to overcome.”

You can read the full article here.

Norris was quoted in a Capital Gazette article about the Republican gubernatorial race. While the Republican race is picking up steam, Norris said it will be difficult for any of the candidates to win even with a strong campaign from Harford County Executive David Craig.

“Craig is going to be a very solid candidate, run a good campaign. But the numbers are just overwhelmingly in the advantage,” Norris said.

You can read more about Norris’s take on the race here.

Norris was also interviewed by The Baltimore Sun about Anne Arundel County Republican Del. Don Dwyer’s sentencing last week for operating a boat under the influence and driving a car while impaired.  Norris said Dwyer would be wise to resign after two alcohol-related convictions.

“He had very little effectiveness prior to his convictions,” Norris said. “He’ll have even less now.”

You can read the article here.