All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Round Up: UMBC in the News, 10/31

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

Read more at UMBC Insights!

From Antarctica to the Chesapeake

In the Chesapeake Bay Quarterly, published by the Maryland Sea Grant program a recent article discusses seal level rise due to the melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica.

Antarctica is, in many ways, the king of the cryosphere. Greenland is melting at a faster rate, but the southern continent holds a lot more ice, says Christopher Shuman, a geoscientist at the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology, a collaboration between the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. In total, there’s enough ice on Antarctica to raise the world’s oceans by more than 200 feet.

“That’s what makes it the 800-pound gorilla compared to the more rapidly changing parts of the cryosphere,” Shuman says.

 

Shuman is no stranger to the Mid Atlantic.

The geoscientist grew up in the Philadelphia area and spent family vacations in his grandparents’ cabin on the Elk River near Cecilton, Maryland. Today, some of his cousins own the house. Like so many other property owners in Maryland, they’ve seen the handiwork of rising waters. These days, when a big storm hits the Chesapeake, waves often wash over the family’s dock.

“It’s a special place to us,” Shuman says. “It’s also a pretty good vantage point for appreciating the world that’s evolving around us.”

In recent years, scientists have learned more about the role that Antarctica will play in this evolving world. Their research points to big losses in the years to come.

 

Read the entire story

Clifford Murphy, American Studies, in the Washington Post

In a recent article published in The Conversation and The Washington Post, American Studies Lecturer Clifford Murphy wrote about his research documenting New England’s country music history and traditions in order to understand how the region once home to a robust country music culture merely sixty years ago now has a much different country music scene.

Yankee Twang

“In short, the arrival of television compromised the profit margins of radio, replacing live musicians with disc jockeys. Meanwhile, the country music industry consolidated in Nashville, where country format radio was born,” Murphy wrote. He discussed the culture shift away from “the people” to more centralized commercial broadcasts and how the concept has extended into other spheres of regional American life.

Murphy, who is Program Director of Folk & Traditional Arts at the Maryland State Arts Council, turned his research into a new book titled Yankee Twang, which was published this month by University of Illinois Press. For more information, click here. To read Murphy’s full article titled “Country pop is having a moment in the Northeast. But its soaring popularity is threatening to kill regional music,” click here.

George Derek Musgrove, History, in the New York Times

On October 30, the New York Times published an article about the Washington, D.C. mayoral election and how changing demographics in the District could affect the race. The article notes that a surge of roughly 80,000 new voters in the District in recent years could make the election outcome less certain than many expect.

Derek Musgrove

George Derek Musgrove ’97, history, associate professor of history, was interviewed for the article. The excerpt from the story can be found below:

“This race has a fascinating set of circumstances,” said George Derek Musgrove, a historian at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, who is writing a book on race and democracy in the District of Columbia.

Chief among them, Professor Musgrove said, is the shrinking black population in this city of about 650,000 people. It declined 11 percent from 2001 to 2011, while the white population increased by 31 percent, and the Asian population increased, too.

“No one knows how many new residents will vote, or in what numbers,” Professor Musgrove said.

Further, he said, residents, particularly the poor, have looked at the record of the past three administrations on the key issues of education and affordable housing and seen little progress. “Folks don’t quite know if Muriel Bowser can deal with those two problems, so there is a critical mass of people who are willing to try something new.”

To read the complete article, click here.

Thomas Schaller, Political Science, Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun

Tom SchallerIn his latest column in the Baltimore Sun, Political Science Professor and Chair Thomas Schaller wrote about his analysis of Maryland’s gubernatorial election. With the race much closer than many expected, Schaller wrote about five lessons voters can take away from the election.

Schaller discussed how it’s difficult to run as a lieutenant governor, how race could affect the election, how political party favors have been a factor, voter turnout, and Republican candidate Larry Hogan’s campaign strategy.

To read the full column titled “Race, party favors and early voting key in Md. governor’s battle,” click here.

Schaller is participating in a post election forum at UMBC on Thursday, November 13 along with Public Policy Professor and Chair Donald Norris and Washington Post Political Reporter John Wagner. For more information, click here.

Laura Hussey, Political Science, in the Baltimore Sun

An October 29th article in the Baltimore Sun examines how Election Day could play out in Baltimore County, a place where both candidates for governor have been holding campaign appearances in recent days leading up to the election.

Laura Hussey

Political Science Associate Professor Laura Hussey was quoted in the article and discussed how Baltimore County’s size and partisan diversity make it important territory for candidates to compete for votes.

“It’s attractive territory to campaign on for Democrats and Republicans alike, because both can reach large numbers of voters registered with their party relatively efficiently and simultaneously to get their message out to those outside their base,” Hussey said.

Hussey said even though the governor’s race has become more competitive in recent weeks, she expects Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown will win the race.

“The state partisan balance being what it is, it’s sufficient for Brown just not to alienate Democrats and make sure Democrats show up at the polls, especially in the state’s largest counties,” she said. “Hogan…must persuade large numbers of Democrats to either vote against their party or stay home.”

“This task is not quite so daunting as it sounds, though, because Republicans consistently do better in gubernatorial elections than in party registration statistics, suggesting that more than a few Maryland Democrats aren’t exactly loyal partisans.”

To read the full article, click here.

Donald Norris, Public Policy, in the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, and on WJZ

Donald Norris UMBCThroughout the week leading up to Election Day 2014, Public Policy Professor and Chair Donald Norris was in the news analyzing Maryland’s gubernatorial election. Norris appeared on WJZ-TV and was quoted in the Baltimore Sun and Washington Post.

Norris discussed the governor’s race drawing national interest, the candidates’ position on taxes, voter attitudes, and how turnout could affect the race. To read and view full coverage of Norris’ analysis, click on the links below:

Norris will be providing live election analysis on WJZ-TV during election night beginning during the 4 p.m. newscast and at 5, 6, and 11 p.m. with possible live cut-ins between 8 and 11 p.m.
On Thursday, November 13, Norris will participate in a post-election forum at UMBC along with Political Science Professor and Chair Thomas Schaller and Washington Post Political Reporter John Wagner. For more information, click here.

Amanda Knapp, Assistant Vice Provost, in The Baltimore Sun

Amanda Knapp, assistant vice provost for academic standards and policy administration, was profiled in The Baltimore Sun for her hobby as a dirt-bike racer.

Knapp recently started racing competitively and received her first sponsorship. In the article, Knapp encouraged more women to get involved in the sport and compared riding to applying for college. “Registering for a race which can be scary is much like applying to college and accepting admission,” she said. “You can’t earn a degree if you can’t get yourself started, which can be the hardest part.”

Click here to read “Columbia mom empowers women through motorcycle racing.”

Tyson King-Meadows, Africana Studies and Political Science, Co-Authors Report on Black Voter Turnout and the 2014 Midterm Elections

On Wednesday, October 29, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies released a report on black voter turnout and the 2014 midterm elections. The report was co-authored by Tyson King-Meadows, Chair of the Africana Studies Department and Associate Professor of Political Science, and Andra Gillespie, Associate Professor of Political Science and Interim Chair of the Department of African American Studies at Emory University.
The report determined that black voters are a critical component of the electorate in 17 competitive gubernatorial and Senate races across the country. It also found that black voter participation declines in midterm elections, and “assuming a black vote share identical to 2010, the 2014 midterm election cycle will be a challenging year for Democrats, even with overwhelming African‐American support.”
In conducting research for the report, King-Meadows and Gillespie analyzed national and state‐specific registration and voting patterns, black‐white differences in participation and in candidate preference, and the dynamics of inter‐racial coalitions needed to secure Democratic victories. To read the full report, click here.
King-Meadows and Gillespie’s report received considerable press coverage, including the Washington Post, The Hill and Christian Science Monitor. For a complete list of coverage, click below:
Even with ‘mobilized’ black voters, Democrats could struggle in South (Christian Science Monitor)
Democrats needs black voters on Election Day. But they need white Southerners even more. (Washington Post)
The Party’s Over: Black Voters Must Turn Out for Themselves (BET)
Dems pin hopes on black vote (The Hill)
Voting Impact: Black Turnout and 2014 Midterms Findings Released (Black Enterprise)
African-American Turn-out Up in Early Voting (Breitbart)
Will the black vote matter in 2014? (Sun Sentinel)
A Look at How Black Voters Affected the Election Results (Atlanta Black Star) 

UMBC Partnership with Arbutus Middle School Featured on BCPS TV

Baltimore County Public Schools TV recently profiled UMBC’s partnership with Arbutus Middle School (AMS), featuring student teaching interns from UMBC and tutors in the Arbutus Achievers program. AMS is a professional development school (PDS) in the UMBC PDS Network, which allows student teachers to complete yearlong Education Internships at the school.

Shriver Peaceworker Fellow Mark Zachar ’17 M.A., teaching, and Elizabeth Forney ’14, English, were highlighted in the video for their student teaching experiences at AMS. Forney is now a first-year teacher at AMS and credits her internship with preparing her for a career. “The transition from being an intern to a teacher here at the same school… definitely made it easier,” she said. Michael Guarraia ’07 M.A., teaching, was also included in the video in his position as the AMS science department chair.

Ciara Saunders ’17, social work and health administration and public policy, spoke about the Arbutus Achievers program and the impact one on one tutoring has on the students at AMS. The Arbutus Achievers Program is coordinated by Maryland-DC Campus Compact Americorps VISTA member Nick Ramundo through the Shriver Center.

Michelle Feeney, principal of AMS, applauded the relationship between UMBC and AMS, saying, “As we provide opportunities for collaboration, our teachers have a partnership with UMBC and they model that collaboration for our students.”

UMBC is featured 11:40-14:46.

[vimeo 109847539 w=500 h=281]

BCPS News 2014-15 SHOW#4 10-24-14 from Baltimore County Public Schools on Vimeo

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