BRAC plan says Harford County could get a new school for Ph.D.'s in tech fields

Harford County could get a new four-year school for earning higher level degrees in technology fields, according to a story in this morning's Aegis. The school would resemble an applied physics lab and would provide the research and resources needed for Masters and Ph.D. degrees, the story says. This information was included in the Maryland BRAC Action Plan put together by by a state subcabinet headed by Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and released in draft form on Nov. 16. The plan says a timeline for a feasibility study for this kind of an institution is scheduled to be offered next year.

The plan also calls for the relocation of the Aberdeen MARC station and improvements to the Edgewood station to improve north and south commuter rail times, the story says.

It goes on to say that the plan calls for:

• interchange improvements at Route 24 and 924 by 2011
• new lots at the park and ride at 152 and Route 24 by 2011
• deck replacement on the Hatem Memorial Bridge by 2011
• resurfacing of Route 40 from Route 152 to the Route 24 overpass by 2008
• resurfacing of Route 152 to the APG gate
• resurfacing of Rote 465 to Beards Hill Road by 2009

The plan also calls for completing a community safety and enhancement project from Route 24 to Willoughby Beach Road by 2011 and for wastewater treatment plant upgrades in Aberdeen, Havre de Grace, Joppatown and Sod Run.

Baltimore Sun editorial today mulls 'The BRAC Effect' on higher education

The Baltimore Sun's editorial page today urges Central Maryland's community colleges to "be on their toes" so they can respond to the as-of-yet-undetermined needs of an as-of-yet-undetermined number of people who will be looking for training when BRAC moves them here.

"There could be a demand for midcareer credits and professional training from the contractors and military personnel themselves. Or it might be that their spouses, having relocated, will be looking for the sort of training -- in who knows what fields -- to get new jobs here. Or simply that their children, as they leave high school, will put new demands on the community colleges for undergraduate education."

The story details some things schools already have in the works:

"Harford is weighing a capital fundraising drive, in search of private donations. Harford and Cecil have entered into partnerships with Towson University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, respectively; this is a good start, but both have a long way to go. Harford and Arundel operate higher-education centers that make it possible to take graduate-level courses through four-year universities -- another good idea that needs to be pushed further. These partnerships make increased capacity possible. So do online courses, and the use of high school classrooms at night; that's not a perfect arrangement, but it works."

It ends by saying that if colleges can rise to the challenge ....

"...they'll have made a strong argument for more state financial support in the years ahead."

BRAC jobs are on the way, but we're all going to have to get a lot smarter

A story in today's Baltimore Examiner newspaper says that a good portion of the jobs that are coming to Aberdeen Proving Ground are going to require workers who have more than a bachelor's degree.

"Nearly 2,200 positions coming to Aberdeen from Fort Monmouth, N.J., require either a doctoral degree or several years of higher education beyond a bachelor’s."

Unfortunately the colleges within fewer than 30 miles of APG, don't offer much in the way of much higher education. The story says Harford and Cecil community colleges are working with Towson State and the University of Maryland to come up with ways that students up here won't have to travel too far to get their degrees.

"Harford Community College has started 22 “two plus two” transfer programs that allow students to combine two years at Harford with two years at Towson, said Vice President for Instruction Luba Chliwniak, and negotiations are in the works for another 10 to 12.

"Towson University also is offering undergraduate courses on-campus at Harford and at the Higher Education and Technology Center in Aberdeen, and the college is considering offering more Towson undergraduate programs when 100 acres of additional campus land is developed, Chliwniak said."

Otherwise, these new students are going to have to compete with people like my dear cousin who heads from her Forest Hill home to Towson hours before her first class to make sure she'll be able to score a parking space in enough time to make it to her classes start.

It seems the Harford Community College president James F. LaCalle has been giving this all some thought recently. He mentions BRAC several times in his Major Initiatives for 2007 report found on the school's website.