Hood College

MAY 11, 1971-MAY 2, 2011 Sheri Lee Saunders, 39, of Hagerstown, Md., went to be with her Lord after a lengthy battle with chronic liver disease on Monday, May 2, 2011, at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore. Born May 11, 1971, in Arlington, Va., she was a daughter of Robert L. and Janet S. Saunders of Falling Waters, W.Va., and Sherlyn M. Weaver Saunders of Hagerstown. Sheri was employed as a QA/QC auditor for Bio Reliance, Rockville, Md. She graduated from Williamsport High School and Hood College, Frederick, with a master's degree in biomedical science.

A Hood College alumna from Hagerstown has left the college a $1 million gift to fund international programming at the school, the college announced in a news release. The gift from Shirley Conner Hardinge, a 1944 graduate of Hood, will establish an endowment for a center for global studies. the release said. Hardinge, who was a French major, was a longtime supporter of Hood, according to the release. Her long professional career was spent at Fairchild Aircraft and later as senior vice president at Sharrett Inc. She died in May 2010 at age 87. The center, to be called the Shirley Conner Hardinge Center for Global Studies, will support faculty research in international areas, provide funding for Hood students to study abroad and scholarships for new students studying in international areas and fund a lecture series to bring international scholars to Hood, the release said.

It’s Easter egg time again at St. Andrew’s UMC. The church fundraiser committee is making creamy peanut butter eggs and coconut eggs. They cost 75 cents each — the same price for the same size as last year.   Orders will be taken until March 27 by calling 301-739-7431. Please leave a name and phone number, along with the order. Buyers will be called when the order is ready for pickup. St. Andrew’s UMC is on Maryland Avenue across from South End Shopping Center and behind South Hagerstown High School.

North Hagerstown High School awarded 28 International Baccalaureate diplomas and certificates Dec. 20.   The recipients of IB diplomas and their current colleges are:   Shaina Alvarez (Hood College), Laura Bell (University of Maryland), Madison Bondoc (University of Maryland), Adele Bowers (College of Wooster), David Burkey (University of Maryland), Fedora Copley (Reed College), Patrick Creighton (University of Maryland), Suzanne Dunn (James Madison University). Michelle Ferreira (Swarthmore College)

Cynthia J. Shank of Hagerstown was recently awarded a master of library and information studies degree from the University of Alabama's distance education program. Shank was one of 40 students out of 230 applicants accepted into the Fantastic Fourth Cohort in 2008.   Shank maintained a 4.0 grade-point average throughout her studies.   As part of her studies, she completed a 100-hour internship at the NCI-Frederick Scientific Library, where she indexed the library's newsletter using EndNote Web.   She also holds a M.S. in administration and management and a B.A. in English, both from Hood College.

GWYNEDD VALLEY, Pa. - Gwynedd-Mercy College has named Robert N. Funk of Frederick, Md., as interim vice president for academic affairs. He has held positions in the higher-education field for nearly 50 years. Most recently, Funk served as provost and dean of the faculty at Hood College in Frederick. He previously served in numerous administrative positions, including president of Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, a position he held for nine years, and president ad interim of Hood College, Villa Julie College in Maryland, and St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.

BOONSBORO --Boonsboro High School graduate Andrew Landsman started college as a Spanish major, but after a summer job working for the National Park Service at Antietam National Battlefield, there was no going back. "I liked working outside so much, I switched my major," he said. Landsman, now 25, went on to get a master's degree in environmental biology from Hood College and now works full time for the battlefield as a biological technician. The job is one many visitors to the park might never stop to consider.

The Community Foundation of Washington County has announced the recipients of the South County Scholarship and the Clear Spring Alumni Association Scholarships. The four recipients and scholarships include: o Chad Love of Boonsboro High School received the South County Scholarship. o Nathan Brandt of Clear Spring High School received the George A. Sites Memorial Award. o Lakyn Sanders of Clear Spring High School received the Science Award of the Walter W. Peterman Scholarship.

Thanks to the successful AAUW used book sale, the Hagerstown Branch of the American Association of University Women has been able to award scholarships to 19 Washington County students for the 2010-11 academic year. According to scholarship chairwoman Diane Sanford, a record number of students applied. For those students who met application requirements, including academic criteria, scholarships were awarded on the basis of demonstrated financial need. New AAUW scholarship recipients for 2010-11 included Tiffany Arnett (Hancock Middle-Senior High)

Editor's note: Each Sunday, The Herald-Mail runs "A Life Remembered. " Each story in this continuing series takes a look back -- through the eyes of family, friends, co-workers and others -- at a member of the community who died recently. Today's "A Life Remembered" is about Shirley Hardinge, who died May at the age of 87. Her obituary appeared in the May 24 edition of The Herald-Mail. Shirley Conner caught the attention of a young man named Thomas Hardinge back in 1945. "Tom" had been drafted to serve in World War II and had just returned home to Hagerstown when he laid eyes on her. "I can't remember where we met. I just saw her someplace and I asked to take her out," he said.