Welcome from President Volpe | Hood at a Glance | Mission | Leadership | Visit Campus | Significance | Hood Magazine
U.S. News and World Report Hodson Gallery - Hood College
People of Significance

People of Significance

The Hood College faculty are scholars, teachers and experts in their fields. They have a commitment to know their students as individuals and to help students carry out academic programs that meet individual interests and needs. They serve as mentors helping students chart their way through the wide spectrum of learning opportunities available at Hood.

2,522 Outstanding Students

  • 1,448 undergraduates from 33 states and 25 countries
  • 21 percent are either members of racial or ethnic minorities or are from foreign countries
  • 1,074 graduate students

2007 Freshman Class:

  • 51 National Honor Society members, as well as valedictorians, salutatorians and Maryland Distinguished Scholars

80 Full-time Faculty

  • 96 percent hold doctorates or terminal degrees in their fields
  • 24 part-time faculty and numerous adjunct instructors who are community scientists and professionals complement the faculty with their expertise
  • Student-faculty ratio: 15:1
  • Average class size: 18

Faculty Achievements

Faculty have earned grants and awards from organizations including:

  • Fulbright Foundation
  • National Endowment for the Humanities
  • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • National Science Foundation
  • United Nations Industrial Organization
  • U.S. Department of Education
  • American Council of Learned Societies
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Coca-Cola Foundation
  • Whitaker Foundation
  • Bonner Foundation
  • The Getty Foundation

Student Awards

Our students have been recognized for academic excellence and community service with prestigious awards, including:

  • Truman Scholarship
  • Portz Award
  • Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship
  • Stockholm Junior Water Prize

Alumni

Our more than 16,700 alumni live in 50 states, three territories and 56 countries. Some of the more notable Hood graduates include:

  • Beryl Pfizer ’43, Emmy award-winning producer for NBC News

  • Patricia Chapple Wright ’66, Sc.D. ’90, professor of anthropology at SUNY Stony Brook and MacArthur Fellowship recipient

  • Gail L. Gamble, M.D., ’69, Sc.D. ’93, co-director of the lymphedema clinic at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

  • Mary Clark Stuart ’69, former president of the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Riverdale, N.Y.

  • Christine McHenry, M.D., ’73, director of medical ethics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

  • Charlotte Ponticelli ’73, deputy undersecretary for international affairs with the U.S. Department of Labor

  • Laura Lee Miller ’73, president of licensing and marketing for Vera Wang

  • Frances Vaughan Folta ’75, vice president for institutional advancement at Hilbert College in Hamburg, N.Y.

  • The Honorable Donald Beachley ’77, circuit court judge in Washington County, Md.

  • Susan Gearey Van Pelt ’79, vice president of Tiffany & Co.

  • Cassandra Walker Pye ’81, former deputy chief of staff for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger

  • J. Ray Ramsburg III ’83, senior vice president and regional agency manager of BB&T Frederick Underwriters

  • Linda Burgee M.A. ’84, superintendent of Frederick County Public Schools

  • Maria Meluskey Dissinger ’89, magisterial district judge in Lebanon County, Pa.

  • Tina Wells ’02, CEO Buzz Marketing Group

  • Amber Miller ’06, news reporter at KTAL-TV in Shreveport, La.