“Martin O’Malley is on the short list of Democratic presidential contenders. Can he win?” So reads a headline in this month’s Baltimore Magazine, which delves into O’Malley’s political background and aspirations, personality and reputation. Donald Norris, professor and chair of public policy at UMBC, comments in the article on O’Malley’s experience.

“He has a lot going for him as a potential candidate,” says Norris. “He’s run a city government, a state government, and managed to balance the budget every year. He came into office [as governor] at the start of the recession, balanced the budget, and at the same time, has come close to closing the state’s structural deficit.”

As for O’Malley’s prospects, Norris responds to recent poll numbers indicating 58% of Marylanders don’t think O’Malley should run for president by saying that ultimately he believes the majority of Marylanders would support an O’Malley bid.

Ellen Handler Spitz, honors college professor of visual arts, recently spent several days in southern Appalachia as part of a program at the University of the South sponsored by the Yale University School of Medicine and Scholastic Books.

During her visit, Spitz spoke on “Reflections on Children’s Cultural Lives.” Spitz’s lecture was the third event in the annual Easter semester lecture series presented by Community Engaged Learning, the University of the South’s academic community engagement program. This annual series features a range of speakers from all over the world. Speakers address a variety of topics of concern for people living on the Cumberland Plateau and in surrounding communities.

Spiz was also a guest lecturer in “Child, Family, and Community Development in Rural Appalachia,” a psychology course developed out of a partnership between Sewanee’s Psychology Department and Yale School of Medicine’s Child Study Center. The purpose of the program is to help children and families in poverty-stricken Appalachia and to build community and foster a rich cultural life.

In addition to lectures, meetings, classes, Spitz also read aloud to four groups of small children in Grundy County. She read “Trumpet,” “A Birthday for Frances,” and “Miss Agatha’s Lark.”

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On Saturday, March 16, Ellen Handler Spitz, honors college professor of visual arts, will participate in a panel discussion in New York City about what we can learn from the perennial controversies about children’s books that are “too dark.”

Spitz will be joined on the panel by author Lois Lowry and former New York Times children’s books editor Julie Just.  The event will take place at 2:00 p.m. at the New School’s Arnold Hall, 55 West 13th St., New York, NY.

An iconic Silicon Valley company says it’s in the second year of a five-year turnaround plan. But the IT business is moving much faster than that.

I met with two top executives from Hewlett-Packard this week and got the impression that the company is buying time before it figures out something big. But I wonder if it can do that before it’s too late.

At 3:30 p.m. on Friday, April 5, Robert Provine, professor of psychology, will discuss “Curious Behavior” and his concept of “small science” at the Goddard Space Flight Center. This talk, part of the Goddard Scientific Colloquium series, will be Provine’s 4th colloquium at Goddard.

The talk will be held in the Building 3 (Goett) auditorium. Access to the Goddard Space Flight Center is limited to those holding Goddard badges or official visitors; if you would like to attend, contact Scientific Colloquium at (301) 286-0660 or by e-mail more than 48 hours beforehand.