Annapolis, MD, April 5, 2013- On Sunday, April 21, Historic Annapolis's St. Clair Wright Lecture Series will feature an illustrated talk by Harvard professor and Civil War scholar John Stauffer.  Author of the best-selling book "Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln," Stauffer will look at the often similar lives and unlikely friendship of Douglass and Lincoln.

The lecture will be held at the First Presbyterian Church at 171 Duke of Gloucester Street in downtown Annapolis from 6:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. Tickets are $25 per person. Space is limited and reservations can be made online at www.annapolis.org or by calling 410-267-7619. A book signing will follow the lecture.

Additionally, lecture ticket holders who are also Historic Annapolis members at the Sponsor ($100) level and above are invited to a private, complimentary reception with John Stauffer.  Held in the "Freedom Bound: Runaways of the Chesapeake" exhibit at the Historic Annapolis Museum, located at 99 Main Street, this hour-long reception will give guests the opportunity to meet the acclaimed author.  For additional information about membership and to reserve your spot at the reception, please call 410-267-7619.

Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln were the self- made men of their time.  One man was a former slave and a radical reformer who became one of the nation's most brilliant writers and speakers.  The other was an outsider, born dirt-poor, who became one of America's greatest presidents. While the Civil War raged, these two titans formed an unlikely friendship that changed the nation's course.  The two men had great respect for each other. Lincoln once said that Douglass was "one of the most meritorious men in the United States," and Douglass said that Lincoln was "the king of self-made-men."

John Stauffer is a leading authority on antislavery, social protest movements, and interracial friendship. He is a Harvard University professor of English and American Literature and African American Studies and Chair of the History of American Civilization program at Harvard.  He is the author of eight books. 

For additional information visit www.annapolis.org or call 410-267-7619.

ANNAPOLIS— Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts (MHCA) will host a major exhibit of sculptures and drawings by nationally-known artist Claire McArdle in an exhibit called Anima Mundi (World Soul). The exhibit features more than 25 sculptures, including several large-scale (5 to 7-feet tall) works, as well as smaller pieces and drawings, each reflecting McArdle’s relationship with land and animals. This major exhibit will occupy both galleries at Maryland Hall— the Chaney and Martino Galleries— from April 12 through June 9, 2013.

A 24-page full-color exhibit catalog was produced in conjunction with this exhibit with an essay by David S. Whitley, an archeologist and author of Cave Paintings and the Human Spirit:  The Origin of Creativity and Belief.  The catalog will be for sale to patrons during the course of the exhibit.    

McArdle grew up in the Washington DC metro area where she began studying art in high school. Her regular trips to national museums at a young age exposed her to a wide range of sculpture from around the world. She was particularly inspired by sculpture of the European modern masters, Old Europe and Africa.

After earning a Bachelor in Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University, she moved to Italy in 1988 to work with the master carvers in Carrara and continues to travel to Italian quarries to rough out her travertine and marble work. Her style has been influenced by classical figures and the soul that speaks within tribal art, but her figures emerge from her own personal mythology and archetypes. Her energy for exploring these mysteries and an insatiable passion for working in stone, clay, and bronze, combine to create forms with harmonious balance and an ethereal quality.

Her works are in private and public collections throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and Japan. She was selected to carve marble sculptures on-site for two public parks in Japan. McArdle's commissions for public, educational, and religious institutions include monumental works for Spring Hill College, Mobile, AL; Marian House, Baltimore, MD; The Holton-Arms School, Bethesda, MD; St. Bede, Williamsburg, VA; Holy Trinity Church, Washington, DC; Holy Redeemer College, Washington, DC, as well as many private commissions.

Marble, travertine, bronze, and terra cotta are the media through which I represent visions from my subconscious mind and dreams. These sculptures represent symbols from deep within my psyche and create a framework for my own personal mythology.

Maryland Hall will host a free gallery talk by McArdle on Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 7:00 p.m. as well as several workshops for children through our ArtReach partnership program which brings the arts to underserved students in our community.

Support to bring an exhibition of this size and scale to Maryland Hall came from sponsors including Tom and Kitty Stoner, Lynne and Joe Horning, McArdle Insurance Agency, Inc., Mary Robbins and Stephanie and Kenneth Shipp.  Additional support came from the proceeds from MHCA’s annual All That Art auction fundraiser and exhibition program sponsor Richard Caruso.    

Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts is located at 801 Chase Street, Annapolis, MD. For more information, visit: www.marylandhall.org or call 410-263-5544, ext. 10.

Recipient of a Verizon Community Innovator Award.

Alycia A. Marshall, Ph.D., of Upper Marlboro recently received a Verizon Community Innovator Award for her work as the principal investigator for the Engineer Scholars Program at Anne Arundel Community College.

Dr. Marshall, an AACC professor of mathematics and the interim chair of the mathematics department, was one of 10 recipients of the award presented at Verizon’s statewide Black History Month Celebration at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture in Baltimore.

The Engineers Scholars Program provides up to $4,000 per year for tuition, mentoring opportunities, funds for students to attend professional conferences, organized study groups and scheduled opportunities for students to interact with industry professionals on a regular basis. The program targets underrepresented groups in Engineering (women, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans), but the scholarships are open to all students.

Donate Life Maryland to Celebrate National Donate Life Month

One organ donor can save the lives of eight people and enhance the lives of more than 50 through tissue donation

ANNAPOLIS— At Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC), eight donors provided organs saving 37 lives in the last year. In Maryland more than 2,200 people are waiting for life-saving organs; an average of 18 people on that national waiting list die due to the lack of available organs for transplant.

“Saving lives through organ and tissue donation is important to our hospital,” says Aimee Yu, MD. “Anyone can save a life by being a donor,” adds Dr. Yu. Although the latest advances in transplant medicine have created more options for patients on the transplant wait list, the demand has never been greater.

 To help bring awareness to this growing healthcare crisis, AAMC has partnered with The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland (LLF) and Donate Life Maryland for April National Donate Life Month. The partnership provides employees and members of our community information about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation.

“Last year, the national waiting list reached more than 114,000 people and the gap between those who are waiting for a life-saving organ transplant and registered donors keeps widening every year,” said Charlie Alexander, president and CEO of The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland. “One of our goals is to provide advocacy and comprehensive public and professional education to help increase the number of designated organ donors throughout the state.”

“Donate Life Month is an opportunity for Anne Arundel Medical Center to honor those who have given the gift of life through organ, eye and tissue donation,” said Dr. Yu. “We are excited to partner with The Living Legacy Foundation and Donate Life Maryland to spread the word about the importance of organ, eye and tissue donation and the need for donor designation.”

AAMC was recently awarded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Silver Medal of Honor for achieving and sustaining national goals for organ donation. AAMC was one of five hospitals in Maryland and 237 nationwide to receive this award for integrating practices of donation as part of standard procedures so more lives can be saved.

With more than two million Marylanders having already made the decision to designate themselves as organ, eye and tissue donors, either through the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration or the Maryland Donor Registry at www.donatelifemaryland.org, this statewide outreach will hopefully encourage others to make the decision to be a donor.

For more information on organ, eye and tissue donation, visit the Donate Life Maryland website at www.donatelifemaryland.org or call 866-MD-DONOR.

The Living Legacy Foundation of Maryland is a federally designated organ procurement organization dedicated to saving lives by facilitating the process of organ and tissue donation, recovery and transplantation.