Newsbriefs

-------------------------------------
April Red Cross blood drive aims                               
to bring spring to life at Homewood
------------------------------------- 

     The second of five scheduled Red Cross blood drives on the
Homewood campus will be held this week in the Glass Pavilion.
Faculty, staff and students can donate blood on Tuesday, April
18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Wednesday, April 19, from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m.
     The February blood drive, coinciding with Valentine's Day,
yielded 210 units of blood, said Hopkins blood drive coordinator
Peggy Jones. Twenty donors gave blood for the first time. 
     "We thank everyone who gave blood in February," she said.
"Quite a few of the donors were faculty and staff; that was a
real plus for us."
      Jones hopes to attract 250 donors during the two-day spring
drive. As an incentive to give, each donor will receive flower
seeds, and all donor names will be entered in a drawing with two
winners receiving large plants as thank-you gifts.
     The Homewood Red Cross Blood Drive continues on July 12 and
September 13 and 14 and concludes on Nov. 14 and 15. To sign up
for donation time, call Peggy Jones at 516-8039.


--------------------------------------
Hopkins selected to host this year's                      
National Debate Championships
--------------------------------------

     The Johns Hopkins University Debate Council will host the
1995 National Debate Championships at the Homewood campus April
21 to 23.
     The Nationals, which is the last debate tournament of the
academic year, is the culmination of an academic season that
features weekend matches, each hosted by one of the 40 member
schools in the East Coast affiliation of the American
Parliamentary Debate Association. 
     "It's a huge honor to host the Nationals," said JHU's Debate
Council publicity chair Traci Beach. "We beat out Rutgers and
Columbia in the voting this year, which is a good indication that
the other schools have faith in us."
     As tournament host, Hopkins does not compete, which works
out well, Beach said. "Last year, [our senior team of] Mary Zupa
and Alex Cohen placed third in the Nationals. But this is a
rebuilding year for us, with one junior and about 14 sophomores
and freshmen on the team. But we're doing great. A sophomore team
of Rebecca Justice and Vince Thomasino finished first in the
sophomore championship tournament at Swarthmore last month."
     The preliminary rounds of the tournament will be held in
classrooms on the Homewood campus. The finals will be staged at
the Pikesville Hilton because of space restriction on campus that
weekend, Beach said. The public is invited free of charge. For
more information, call Vince Thomasino at 366-9166.


-------------------------------
Hopkins formalizes partnership 
with Howard Co. public schools
-------------------------------

     Hopkins president William C. Richardson and Howard County
public schools superintendent Michael Hickey signed an agreement
earlier this month formally creating a partnership to develop and
operate a professional development school at two Howard County
elementary schools.
     The PDS provides a framework for public schools and
universities to work together to design systemic approaches to
improving both schools and teacher education.
     "Our program is part of the basic structure for teacher
education reform in Maryland," said Ralph Fessler, director of
the School of Continuing Studies' Division of Education. Dr.
Fessler also served as chairman of a state task force, which last
year made recommendations for teacher education reform to the
Maryland State Board of Education and the state's Higher
Education Commission. "We're not only preparing new teachers but
supporting the professional development and growth of experienced
teachers as well."
     Since beginning as a pilot program in 1993, 19 Hopkins
teaching interns have worked in Swansfield or Pointers Run
Elementary Schools in Howard County, while pursuing their School
Immersion-Master of Arts in Teaching degree (Gazette, Jan. 9,
1995). Hopkins plans to add additional schools to the program in
the 1995-96 academic year.