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The 2025 Maryland Folk Festival will take place from September 19-21 in downtown ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. The event will include a special stage for local performers, sponsored by ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ and the Charles R. and Martha N. Fulton School of Liberal Arts. This will be the third year SU and the Fulton School supports the ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ Locals Stage, which highlights musicians from the Eastern Shore and nearby areas.

Two recent graduates from ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ will spend a portion of next year teaching in, learning in, and experiencing cultures abroad. Andersen Herman ’25, a chemistry major from Fruitland, and Vicky Vazquez ’25, an English for Speakers of Other Languages and Spanish major, were both chosen as recipients of the 2025-26 Fulbright Student Award. Three additional SU semifinalists were closed as alternates for the program, including Stephora Alberi ’25, Masha Goncharenko ’25, and Kelly Mitzel ’24.

Freeman Arts Pavilion has announced a new arts education initiative in partnership with ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ to introduce elementary students to music through ukulele instruction. The pilot program, developed in collaboration with ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥’s Dr. Louise Anderson, gives Buckingham Elementary School in Worcester County with a full classroom set of ukuleles and teaching tools. According to the Freeman Arts Pavilion, the program is intended to last at least five years, with plans to expand to additional schools across the Delmarva Peninsula.

¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥’s TRIO Student Support Services Program recently celebrated the 2024-25 academic year by honoring 42 of its students with year-end awards. Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the program plans and coordinates services with campus and external partners, and provides support and enrichment programs that help participants develop academic, interpersonal, career, civic engagement and social skills they need for success at SU and for the rest of their lives.

A local business owner is firming up plans for her winnings in ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥’s Philip E. and Carole R. Ratcliffe Foundation Shore Hatchery Competition. Nicole Blackwater was awarded $10,000 to enhance her store, Blackwater Apothecary, in downtown ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥. “It’s a very prestigious entrepreneur competition," she said. "We’re going to use the funding from it to expand our business …. I hope that has a ripple effect on other businesses downtown. We hope that we’re able to expand enough to hire more employees, and more employees mean more foot traffic, and we hope that flows out to our business neighbors, as well."

Governor Wes Moore announced that the Maryland Higher Education Commission will provide $1 million in grants to 11 colleges and universities to support new career paths for displaced federal workers. Through the Teacher Quality and Diversity Program, institutions of higher education can help federal workers secure jobs in education through targeted training, licensure support, and school district partnerships. Institutions receiving awards include ¾ÅÐãÖ±²¥ - "USM Consortium Alternative Certification Pathway."