Offices and Service
Offices Held in Academic and Professional Organizations
- Amanda Bena, Access Services & Resource Sharing
- Chair, Access Services Conference Awards Committee
- Dr. Amy Branam Armiento, Department of English and Foreign Languages
- Treasurer and Immediate Past President, Poe Studies Association.
- Editorial Board Member, Poe Studies: History, Theory, Interpretation
- Treasurer, Poe Baltimore
- Andy Duncan, Department of Communication and Literature
- Coordinated our contribution to the campuswide Sponsor-A-Family Food Drive, (November 2024)
- Had an error corrected on our Academic Programs public page after it was spotted by Amy Branam Armiento, November
- Member, Curriculum Committee
- Member, Creative Writing Committee
- Member, Professional Writing Committee
- Participated in gen-ed assessment for the Assessment Committee
- Five mentees as of May 31, 2025
- Wesley Hartley, Department of Physician Assistant Medicine
- Director of Didactic Education, Department of Physician Assistant Medicine - Frostburg State University
- Major, US Army Reserve. 7250th Medical Support Unit. Alexandria, VA.
- Jeffery Simcoe, Frostburg Outdoor Recreation Economy Institute
- Board of Directors, Great Allegheny Passage Conservancy
- Advisory Committee, Garrett Trails
- Technical Advisory Committee, Maryland Transportation Trails Strategic Plan (MDOT)
- Planning Committee, 2025 Maryland Outdoor Recreation Summit
- Dr. Stacy Wassell, Division of Advancement and Regional Engagement
- Board Member, Maryland Business Innovation Association (MBIA)
- Executive Committee Member, USM Launch Fund
- Dr. Greg J. Wood, History
- Labor Network Representative, Social Science History Association (SSHA)
Offices Held in Community Organizations
- Lisa Clark, AmeriCorps Student Engagement
- Frederick County Human Relations Commission
- Frederick County Commission on Disabilities
- Special Olympics Maryland Banner School Team
- Richard A. Russo, Geography
- Member, Planning Commission, City of Frostburg
- Jennifer Walsh, Division of Advancement and Regional Engagement
- Fellow in the Appalachian Regional Commission’s inaugural 2019-2020 Appalachian Leadership Institute Class
- Serve on Comptroller Brooke Lierman’s Business Advisory Council
- Member of the Board of Trustees for the Rural Maryland Foundation. In 2023,
- Member of the Just Transition Working Group of the Maryland Commission on Climate Change.
- Member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond’s Rural Investment Collaborative Project Development Steering Group & Work Group
Service Performed (Academic and Professional Organizations)
- Amanda Bena, Access Services & Resource Sharing
- Peer-reviewer, Journal of Access Services
- Member, USMAI Access Services Committee
- Member, Access Services in Libraries Steering Committee
- Member, Maryland Interlibrary Loan Group
- Andy Duncan, Department of Communication and Literature
- One of 70-plus signers of a Society of Professional Journalists public-service advertisement supporting press freedom that was published in the first issue of “The Retrograde”, new independent student newspaper at the University of Texas Dallas, (January 2025)
- Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors
- Member, Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association
- Dr. Michael Monahan, Management
- Chair of Finance Committee, Divine Mercy Parish
- Chair of Finance Committee, Bishop Walsh School
- Dr. Bejamin N. Norris, Chemistry and Physics
- NACADA Assessment Institute Advisory Board
- NACADA Faculty Advising Community Steering Committee
- Dr. Elesha L. Ruminski, Communication and Literature
- Editorial board member for journal Qualitative Research Reports in Communication
- Donnell H. VanSkiver, Office of the President
- Awards Judge, Admin Awards, Chicago & Midwest Region
- Dr. Stacy Wassell, Division of Advancement and Regional Engagement
- USM Launch Grant Reviewer
Service Performed (Community)
- Amanda Bena, Access Services & Resource Sharing
- Prose Editor, Backbone Mountain Review
- Andy Duncan, Department of Communication and Literature
- Spoke at the Free Speech on Campus community discussion sponsored by the Strategic Communication program, (April 2025)
- Participated in the nationwide Frederick Douglass Day transcription event sponsored by the Library of Congress, (February 2025)
- Election Judge, Allegany County (Maryland) Board of Elections, ongoing. Served as first check-in judge at the Frostburg Community Center on Water Street for the November general election
- Co-sponsored, with Sydney Duncan, the Palace Theatre’s showing of “Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut” (1982, 2007), (November 2024)
- One of 300,000 volunteer research subjects in the “American Cancer Society’s Cancer Prevention Study-3" (CPS-3), ongoing
- Amy Hutcherson, Department of Advancement and Regional Engagement
- Member, Allegany High School Endowment Fund
- Troop Leader, Girl Scout Council Nation’s Capital Troop 14104 and 40058
- Dr. Elesha L. Ruminski, Communication and Literature
- Invited again to facilitate the “Like a Woman: Champion” Allegany County Chamber of Commerce event at the Cumberland Country Club, Cumberland, MD (April 2025)
- Assisted with planning and participated in a virtual Equal Rights Amendment discussion event with members of the Allegany County Women’s Action Coalition featuring a speaker from Maryland National Organization for Women (March 2024)
- Donnell H. VanSkiver, Office of the President
- Steering Committee Member, “Ladies Night Out,” Allegany County Chamber
- Jennifer Walsh, Division of Advancement and Regional Engagement
- Serve on Frostburg City’s Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee
- Dr. Greg J. Wood, History
- “Judge of Junior Individual Documentaries,” Maryland History Day, UMBC, (April 2025)
Service Performed (University)
- Amanda Bena, Access Services & Resource Sharing
- Treasurer & Secretary, Faculty Development & Sabbatical/Professional Research Leave Subcommittee
- Member, Critical Gender & Sexuality Studies Steering Committee
- Member, Library Review Committee
- Member, Frostburg Network for Intersectional Feminism
- Member, FSU Ort Library ILS Migration Team
- Shoshana Brassfield, Philosophy
- Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate
- Core FSU Team Member, USM Center for Teaching and Learning Matrix Self-Study Project
- Curriculum Design Lead, General Education Program Review Committee
- Andy Duncan, Department of Communication and Literature
- Attended the Leadership and Engagement Awards at the invitation of this year’s Derek Sheely Award recipient, English major Gracie Nelson, whose candidacy I initiated, recommended and mentored, May.
- Attended the Athletics Burg Awards, May.
- Attended the March Open House.
- Attended a Drake Group webinar, “Critical Issues in College Athletics: Reported Increases in College Athlete Suicide and Other Mental Health Risks,” then shared with faculty my notes and a link to the recording, which was shared in turn with top campus and USM administrators by the Vice President for Student Affairs, January.
- Six students from my ENGL 336 (Journalistic Writing) had their research published in December on the website of Project Censored, a California-based nonprofit that invites students to find current issues largely overlooked by the corporate news cycle, which brings the total number of published reports from my classes through the years to 66.
- Initiated (in 2023) and lobbied mightily for the Freedom of Speech and Expression Statement of Values that ultimately was added to the Faculty Handbook by Faculty Senate in November.
- Shared with faculty and staff the FY25 Frostburg State salary database compiled from Ort Library materials by students in ENGL 336 (Journalistic Writing), which for the first time included all union employee salaries, September.
- Donated two large bags of to-go plastic utensils and napkins in their original wrappers, all accumulated during lockdown, to PAWS Pantry, August.
- Voting Faculty Assembly member, August.
- Maintained the Canvas shell titled Media Jobs and Opportunities for Students, which I created in January 2022. Total of 26 announcements posted in AY25 to more than 150 self-enrolled students across multiple departments.
- Library Advisory Group, elected member.
- Bobcat Athletic Ambassador to women’s swimming.
- Coordinator, Journalism minor.
- Coordinator, Public Relations minor.
- Visiting speaker for Darrell Rushton’s “THEA 206” (Modern American Playwrights), (January 2025)
- Dr. Michael Monahan, Management
- Chair, Management Department
- College Curriculum Committee
- College Executive Committee
- College Strategic Planning Committee
- Faculty Athletic Representative
- Member of University Chairs Council
- Dr. Benjamin N. Norris, Chemistry and Physics
- Graduate Council, Chair
- Faculty Handbook Subcommittee, Chair
- Faculty Senate, ex officio Senator
- Faculty Senate Steering Committee, member
- Middle States Self Study, steering committee member, liaison for Standard III, writing team member
- Academic Advising Council, Member
- Undergraduate Research Symposium Working Group, member
- Faculty Concerns Committee, ex officio member
- Academic Standards Committee, member
- Dr. Elesha L. Ruminski, Communication and Literature
- Developed and presented “Civility and Community” module for the ORIE instructor session (August 2024). Led classroom sessions on “Civility and Community” (Larissa Allen Bobcat Academy section, Amy Shimko’s section)
- Co-coordinated meetings and activities of the department’s new advisory council and a Homecoming tailgate social (October 2024)
- Served on the Dean’s Recruitment Funding review committee (Fall 2024)
- Continued serving on an ad-hoc committee about faculty safety for Faculty Senate
- Served as a liaison member of the Women’s Studies Steering Committee
- Coordinated and negotiated printing of building directory signage for Gira CCIT with building faculty and staff as well as Facilities and Marketing Communication
- Helped set up a welcome-back step-and-repeat banner experience and communication campaign for students from the department and across campus. (Spring 2025 and Fall 2024)
- Continued to foster curricular/co-curricular partnerships around leadership development with the Student Affairs colleagues
- Supported the #BobcatsAgainstBias and Day of Civility campaigns (Spring 2025)
- Served as a steering committee member for the Allegany County Choose Civility chapter
- Formed new working partnerships with the Allegany Arts Council, Cumberland Historical Society, and Preservation Maryland
- Helped promote participation in the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce’s first local Civics Bee
- Continued as a member-owner of the Western Maryland Food Co-op and served on the Allegany County working group of the Western Maryland Food Council
- Donnell H. VanSkiver, Office of the President
- Program Coordinator, ADAPT Program
- Program Coordinator, ADAPT Community Conference Series
- Parking Appeals Hearing Committee
- Middle States Communications/Logistics Working Group, Member
- DEOP Coordinator, Hitchins 2nd Floor