McDaniel swimmer Chris Reed ’08 (left) won Feb. 18 gold in the 100-yard breaststroke at the Centennial Conference Championships at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pa. His time of 59.60 seconds was the second fastest time a Green Terror swimmer has ever posted at the event. Green Terror wrestler Tony Howard ’06 defended Feb. 18 his Centennial title at the Championships at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md. The 165-pound champion was named Outstanding Wrestler at the meet. » Full Story

Commercial real estate developer Leroy M. Merritt, whose 13 million square feet of industrial and office properties in the Baltimore-Washington area include several athletic clubs, will make a gift of $2 million to McDaniel College to support the construction of a new fitness center on its Westminster, Md., campus. » Full Story

Those who walk by Levine Hall in the evenings might hear haunting piano music, thanks to Kristen Ion ’07 (left). In addition to piano, she practices voice and percussion for long hours five nights a week. “I think in music,” Ion says. The junior will be the first to graduate from the recently established five-year program with a bachelor’s in Music Education and a master’s degree in Teaching. She will walk with her class at commencement next spring and will receive an M.S. after her fifth year, which includes graduate classes and student teaching. Ion will be certified to teach pre-K through grade 12. » Full Story

Barry and Fran Lazarus (left), contestants on the upcoming season of “The Amazing Race,” will no doubt have their own cheering section in the McDaniel community when the first show of the ninth season airs Feb. 28 on CBS. » Full Story

When he was an undergraduate, Ben Graff ’02 never took one of Education Professor Skip Fennell’s classes, but Fennell was Graff’s first call when he had to develop a Web program teaching mathematics to middle school students. “The first step of doing any project is understanding the audience and what they need,” says Graff. “I was trying to put myself in the mindset of how math teachers teach certain concepts to kids.” » Full Story

It was sticky hot this summer as English Professor Kathy Mangan sorted through box after box of her mother-in-law’s belongings in their dimly lit garage. Jane Twigg Willis ’35 was moving into Carroll Lutheran Village, but the accumulation of treasures from nearly 60 years of marriage to her late husband Lieutenant Colonel Eugene “Stoney” Willis ’34 could not come. » Full Story

Performing research in the field of Art and Art History took Michael Marlais (left) through library stacks and across the French countryside. Marlais will give the annual Honors Program Lecture 8 p.m. Mar. 2 in McDaniel Lounge. » Full Story

Katie Parks ’07 admitted she was a little nervous before meeting state Delegate Robert Zirkin. But the Political Science major impressed the Baltimore County Democrat so much he offered her a summer internship on the spot. Parks is one of several McDaniel students who, with students from 17 other independent Maryland colleges and universities, lobbied representatives in Annapolis Jan. 19 on Maryland Independent Higher Education Day. A week later, first-year students Jennifer Beckwith and April Curley were invited to testify before a legislative committee. » Full Story

McDaniel College students are offering free tax filing through the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for community members with low to moderate incomes. Although eligibility depends on individual circumstances, low to moderate incomes are generally considered less than $35,000 a year for singles and less than $45,000 for couples. » Full Story