TU Student Among Winners Selected For USM Public Health Challenge

Press release from Towson University:

February 11, 2021

Towson University student Chris Edwards '21 was among six people honored by the University System of Maryland (USM) COVID Research & Innovation Task Force
today for the Public Health Challenge.

Undertaken with the support of several local organizations, a task force in mid-December
invited members of the USM community to take part in this multimedia challenge, seeking
creative ways to highlight how USM students, members of the broader university community,
and all Marylanders can stay safe and healthy while waiting for a vaccine.

Edwards submitted an animated video encouraging Marylanders to do their part to keep
everyone safe. The submission creatively uses motion graphics to outline the state’s
vaccination distribution plan and promote CDC-approved preventative health and safety
measures such as hand hygiene and wearing masks.

“This was an important competition and our COVID Research & Innovation Task Force
thanks the many sponsors who made it possible,” said Tom Sadowski, USM Vice Chancellor
for Economic Development and member of the Task Force. “In the midst of a pandemic,
it was amazing to see such creative minds, with limited resources, at work—the winners
of this competition exemplify the type of leadership our community requires in these
challenging times.”

Submissions were accepted in two categories—videos, and images—with the top three
winners in each category receiving $3,000.

Winning teams come from several USM institutions: Towson University (TU); University
of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC); University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP); University
of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB); and University of Maryland Center for Environmental
Science (UMCES).

View all the entries. “The task force and the competition judges are grateful to see the creativity and
effort from all the entries,” said Laurie Locascio, vice president for research at
University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and
chair of the COVID Task Force. “These messages about overcoming pandemic fatigue are
important. It is gratifying to see the range of participation in this endeavor, with
entries from various USM institutions that include undergraduates, graduate students,
and alumni.”

This press release was produced by Towson University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.