All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Kerry Kidwell-Slak, Career Services, in Policy Link

Kerry Kidwell-Slak, associate director of internships and employment in UMBC’s Career Services Center, recently spoke with Policy Link (for the newsletter America’s Tomorrow) about tech employers seeking diverse candidates.

The article “Coding for Equity: Connecting Young People of Color to Tech Careers” discusses the disconnect between growth in the technology industry and underrepresented groups, including women, African Americans and Latinos. Kidwell-Slak described how companies are looking to recruit diverse candidates, saying, “They value diversity, they know they aren’t the experts in being diverse, and they are willing to listen and learn.” The article also mentions UMBC’s reputation for graduating large numbers of minority students in STEM fields.

Click here to read the article.

Donald Norris, Public Policy, on WJZ 13 and in The Washington Post and Baltimore Sun

The first televised debate in Maryland’s Democratic gubernatorial campaign aired Wednesday, May 7. Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown, Attorney General Douglas Gansler, and Del. Heather Mizeur discussed everything from the rollout of the Affordable Care Act to legalization of marijuana.

Donald Norris UMBC

Public Policy Professor and Chair Donald Norris was interviewed for several stories previewing and recapping the debate. In The Washington Post on May 6, Norris discussed what was at stake for the front-runner in the race, Anthony Brown, saying “his main goal has got to be not to make any colossal mistakes.”

In a Baltimore Sun article analyzing the debate, Norris commented on Mizeur’s performance: “She was positive, she was direct, she said what she wanted to do very clearly,” said Norris. “The other two guys were beating each other up.”

Norris was also interviewed for a story that aired on WJZ Channel 13 recapping the debate. He commented on the discussion of the troubled rollout of the state health exchange, saying it likely will not play a major role in the election.

“The Baltimore Sun poll back in February showed that only about six percent of the respondents cared about that issue,” said Norris. He also said the candidates failed to gain any traction on the issues during the debate.

To read the complete article in The Washington Post, click here. For the full story in The Baltimore Sun, click here, and to watch the story on WJZ 13, click here.

Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, on The Marc Steiner Show and in The Baltimore Sun

On Saturday, April 26, Kimberly Moffitt participated in a panel discussion at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre as part of its World of the Play series. The event, called “Race and Representation: Our Greatest Accomplishment. Our Greatest Shame,” featured panelists who shared their commentaries on race, theatre and film, drawing from the current production at Everyman, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage. The discussion was broadcast May 2 on The Marc Steiner Show. Moffitt, an assistant professor of American studies, discussed how the play applies to present day society.

“What I thought was most interesting about Lynn Nottage’s work is that it makes the evolution of black women in film a contemporary issue,” Moffitt said. “Even though it is set in the 1930s, for us to watch what Vera Stark’s experience was in the 30s trying to be a Hollywood star…we’re still dealing with so many of those issues in present day.”

Moffitt also co-authored an op-ed that appeared in The Baltimore Sun on May 2 entitled, “Building strong children.” The column focused on the importance of educational opportunity for young black men in Baltimore. Moffitt, who is a founder of Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys, a public charter school in Baltimore City, wrote the article with Betsey Swingle Hobelmann and Jack J. Pannell Jr. Pannell Jr. and Hobelmann are also founders.

You can listen to the full segment on The Marc Steiner Show here. You can read the full column in The Baltimore Sun here.

Students Share Stories: Navigating College with Mental Health Challenges Recap

On Tuesday, May 6, as part of an event during the Children’s Mental Health Matters Campaign, the UMBC Department of Psychology’s YouthFIRST team, led by Associate Professor Jason Schiffman and YouthFIRST Anti-Stigma Division Director Danielle Denenny; Taking Flight and the Maryland Coalition of Families for Children’s Mental Health; the Mental Health Association of Maryland; and the UMBC Counseling Center hosted a panel discussion entitled, “Students Share Stories: Navigating College with Mental Health Challenges.”

Speaking to an audience of nearly 100 people, three UMBC student panelists shared their personal journeys through illness and recovery and discussed issues of stigma and mental health. Imparted were stories of isolation, despair, challenges, and fear; as well as stories of growth, meaning, perseverance, inspiration, friendship and love.

The messages of both pain and hope challenged the audience to understand new perspectives and began a dialog in the service of breaking down barriers and promoting inclusivity. The audience expressed gratitude for the panelists’ openness and asked questions that inspired ideas and created deep personal connections.

Flashmob1Earlier in the day, in an attempt to promote the panel event and to bring greater awareness to mental health in an uplifting way, Dr. Schiffman, Elaine O’Heir, Nicole Mooney and the entire YouthFIRST team organized a flashmob on campus in front of the Math/Psychology building. Led by Dr. Schiffman’s seven and eight-year-olds, Chloe and Jacob, more than 200 people united to celebrate mental health through dance. The video can be found here.

Jessica Berman, English, Elected Second Vice President of the Modernist Studies Association

Jessica Berman, Director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities and Professor of English, has been elected to be the Second Vice President of the Modernist Studies Association (MSA). She is set to take office in fall 2014, succeed to be First Vice President in fall 2015 and then become the President of the MSA for the 2016-17 year.

The MSA is a 1000-member organization in its 15th year of existence. It was begun to provide an interdisciplinary and international venue for research in what has since been called “the new modernist studies” – modernist studies that question the canon and works to break down disciplinary silos. The MSA hosts an annual conference and also sponsors the journal Modernism/Modernity, which has become the journal of record in the field. As an allied organization of the MLA, it also hosts an annual MLA conference panel and participates in other MLA organization initiatives. For more information on the MSA, click here.

Round-Up: UMBC In the News, 5/9

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.

Check out all the other great campus news on Insights Weekly.

Maurice Berger, CADVC, Latest “Race Story” in NYT

In the latest essay for his Race Stories column in the NYT, Maurice Berger, CADVC, speaks on the impact of a series of photos that document the 1964 Freedom Summer. According to Dr. Berger, the photos — now being published in a book by photojournalist Matt Herron entitled, Mississippi Eyes: The Story and Photography of the Southern Documentary Project — told a different story than many images of the time that highlighted anger and shock. He says, “Concentrating on educational and artistic activities, [the series] reminds us that the civil rights movement was as much cultural as sociological.”

Read “A Cultural History of Civil Rights” and view the photographs at the New York Times Lens blog.

Berger’s Race Stories column has featured several essays centered upon race and photography including, Malcolm X as image maker, Ken Gonzales-Day, images of emancipation, the photographs of Deborah Will, the civil rights work of James Karales, and the woman in a civil rights photo, fifty seven years later.

UMBC: The Power of Partners

The Power of Partners

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan highlights collaboration between UMBC and a Baltimore City school.

Education can blaze a path to a brighter future for kids in underserved communities, particularly when students have the support they need to tap into a passion for learning. Just ask the kids at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Southwest Baltimore.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan did just that on a recent visit to UMBC. Sixth-grader NaShaya Maxwell trumpeted her pride in Lakeland’s robotics team. Student Johanna Funes glowed with energy when she described “the many ways to get an answer” in math, her favorite subject. When another sixth-grader mentioned a love for math, Duncan helped the students puzzle through an equation.

America’s top education official came to the meeting to see how a powerful new partnership between UMBC and Lakeland is promoting students’ academic success through providing innovative kinds of support inside and outside the classroom.

UMBC brings two essential pieces to the partnership, which began last fall. The first is a direct pipeline of teachers coming from the university’s acclaimed Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars Program to work in Lakeland classrooms. The second is a network of active personal and community interventions spearheaded by two key Shriver Center programs—the Choice Program and Shriver Peaceworker Program—to support Lakeland’s educational mission.

Lakeland principal Najib Jammal says that UMBC’s support for the school is already paying dividends. “The partnership is just beginning to scratch the surface as we just completed our first semester,” Jammal shares. “We believe it will help our students and teachers re-envision what is possible and result in opportunities that allow students to demonstrate their learning.”

The UMBC/Lakeland partnership is the product of a shared vision between UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III and George and Betsy Sherman, founders of the Sherman Family Foundation, to enable the university to have a more direct and immediate impact in Baltimore schools.

The Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program is a selective scholarship program that identifies and nurtures students who want to become science and math teachers serving high-need communities. Sherman Scholars bolster Lakeland’s efforts to improve student learning in reading and math, while gaining invaluable early experience that will shape their careers as professional educators.

“UMBC is providing a gateway to get these field experiences,” F. Atom Zerfas ’13, mathematics, a Sherman program alumnus and a teacher at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, told Duncan, “and the field experiences made me prepared to teach.”

Teaming up with Sherman Scholars at Lakeland are AmeriCorps fellows from UMBC’s Choice Program, a national model for sustained personal and academic support for young people who are in contact with the juvenile justice system. These fellows are providing direct assistance to 40 Lakeland students identified by teachers and administrators as those who would most benefit from the kind of intensive support the program offers.

Support involves 24/7 outreach and intervention from mentors who set high expectations for program participants and give them the stability and assistance they need to meet those expectations. The Choice Program has a success rate between 70 and 90 percent in combating recidivism among participating youth.

John Martello, vice provost of UMBC’s Division of Professional Studies, was the executive director of the Shriver Center when Mark Shriver, son of Center founders Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver, created the Choice Program in 1987.

“There wasn’t a university in the country that did direct service in the way that [the Choice Program] did when it was founded,” Martello told Duncan.

Although this type of program is still rare, new initiatives that reflect Choice principles and build on its success are emerging. President Barack Obama recently launched My Brother’s Keeper, an initiative to promote academic and professional achievement among young African American men. As chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans, Hrabowski attended the White House celebration announcing My Brother’s Keeper. David Johns, executive director of the White House initiative that commission supports, also attended the meeting with Secretary Duncan at UMBC.

The UMBC/Lakeland partnership is still new, but the institutions have already seen promising results. Early highlights include a boost in parent participation in the school and focus on health and urban gardening initiatives. The Shriver Center has enlisted scholars in its Peaceworker Fellows Program for returning Peace Corps volunteers to build support for the partnership in the local community, extending its reach.

Lakeland students who spoke with America’s top education official during his UMBC visit confirmed the effect that the partnership is having on their studies and goals.

“My teachers are giving me the power and the knowledge to get to the long-term [goals that I have],” said Johanna Funes.

“This isn’t just about making sure [these students] make it,” Hrabowski told Duncan. “We want these students to become whoever they want to become.”

(05/08/2014)

Join Us for a Jazz Brunch!

cbla_brunch_windowJoin UMBC alumni on Sunday, May 18, from 12-3 p.m. for the CBLA Scholarship Jazz Brunch. You’ll enjoy a fabulous buffet, energizing jazz and fantastic fellowship as we raise money in support of the Second Generation and Esperanza Scholarships.

This year’s event will be held in the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture and the ticket price includes an unlimited brunch buffet, special brunch beverages, and full access to the museum (brunch ends at 3 p.m., access to the museum is available until 5 p.m.).

Music will be provided by UMBC student members of the Jazz Ensemble and will include traditional, contemporary and Afro-Latin jazz.

If you would like to make a gift to support either the Second Generation or Esperanza Scholarships in advance of the brunch (or if you cannot attend but would like to support), please click here (be sure to type in the name of the scholarship in the field marked “other designation.”)

Questions? Contact Balvin Brown ’02 at balvinbrown@gmail.com or Stanyell Bruce in the Office of Alumni Relations at bruce@umbc.edu or (410) 455-2632.

Join us for the Jazz Brunch!

Avi Reichental Opens Potomac Photonics’ New Era of Digital Fabrication in Baltimore

3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental helped Potomac Photonics open a new era of Digital Fabrication at bwtech@UMBC Research and Development Park.

Keynoting a Digital Fabrication Summit that Potomac organized in celebration of the new Center, Reichental expanded upon the symposium’s theme: The Impact of Digital Fabrication on Our Lives. The inspiring talk included examples of the many ways in which people’s everyday lives were improved by 3D Printing. While cool medical applications such as the “sexy” prosthesis 3D Systems has created for amputees, it was the ways in which 3D Printing can lower barriers to market entry for entrepreneurs and spur economic growth that caught the attention of Maryland State and local business and government leaders who were in attendance.

The day was introduced by Potomac CEO and UMBC Alum Mike Adelstein, who is leading the company into a new era of digital fabrication. Founded as an excimer laser and laser micromachining manufacturing and contract services company, Adelstein has expanded the range of contract service offerings to include 3D Printing, micro CNC machining, hot embossing, and advanced quality control and measurement. Potomac is also an authorized 3D Systems 3D Printer re-seller, and one of the few re-sellers in the country with trained service technicians to support customers.

Adelstein’s inspiring talk, entitled IMAGINE, spoke to the many ways in which Potomac’s contract service work helps groups cure cancer, improve diagnostic testing through new microfluidics devices, create new businesses by building prototypes for innovators and entrepreneurs, and improve STEM education. He also described the company’s Education Manufacturing Initiative where thousands of dollars of digital fabrication work has been donated to college and universities. As part of this program, Potomac is conducting joint R&D with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County where the new Center is located.

Dr. Neil Gershenfeld, Director of the MIT Center for Bits and Atoms and founder of the MIT-based FabLab Network, spoke about Digital Fabrication advances that are at the center of his group’s work. These included Machines that Make Machines and self-assembling 3D Printed materials. A lively presentation followed by Kegan Schouwenburg, founder of Sols, who ispassionate about the intersection of 3D Printing and good business practice. Her vision to 3D Print customized orthotics in a way that is beautiful, efficient, and affordable seems clearly achieveable given her concrete analysis combined with boundless energy!

Following a welcome by the bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park Executive Director, Ellen Hemmerly, the ceremonial ribbon was cut by Potomac employees. Perhaps most fun of all was a tour of the Potomac Digital Fabrication center that includes all manner of CNC machines, lasers, 3D Printers, software, and measurement tools.

It was a day that saw a glimpse into what people are calling the next industrial revolution. And Potomac Photonics is leading digital fabrication toa time when technology will be impacting our lives in unimaginable ways.

Hearts and Minds: Amy Young-Buckler and John Buckler

It’s not clear which came first for John Buckler ‘93 ancient studies: interest in Amy Young ’92, history, or a disinterest in biology indicated by his chronic class absences.

What’s certain is that in 1991, John spent more time sitting by the pond outside of the Albin O. Kuhn Library getting to know Amy than learning about cells and molecules.

w14-amy-johnWith its fountain and the surrounding trees flowering in springtime, the pond is admittedly conducive to romance. “In April, we’d hang out and talk there,” recalls John. “I began to get interested in her, and I spent a lot of time figuring out how to ask her on a date.”

Amy figured out John was interested when, as she sat huddled in a cubicle of the library working on her senior thesis, John would “casually” stop by – sometimes at 3 a.m.

The now-married couple’s first date finally happened during spring finals week. Fittingly, it took place on campus. “I had been awake for almost two days typing my senior thesis. John asked me if I wanted to meet after I was done that day,” Amy recalls. “By the time we met, I was so exhausted. I don’t know what I agreed to.”

What Amy agreed to was a rendezvous at the Student Union. Over a bucket of Rolling Rocks and mozzarella sticks, the two UMBC students’ feelings for each other began to gel. Twenty-three years later, the couple remains together, through exciting educational and career moves, a 1996 wedding, and the birth of their son, who is now four years old.

In 1995, the couple began graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park, where Amy eventually received her master’s degree in library science and John earned a master’s degree in anthropology.

Today, John works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a geographic information systems developer for the Economic Research Service, where he spends much of his time performing computerized mapping of the agency’s databases and applications. Amy is the library media specialist for the Meade Heights Elementary School in Anne Arundel County. The couple lives with their son in Columbia, Maryland.

While Amy and John have come a long way from their days at UMBC, they have vivid memories of sitting along the stone wall bordering the pond 20 years ago and contemplating their future.

“At UMBC, I figured out what I wanted to do with my life, I met Amy. It gave me the tools to move forward,” John says.

Amy agrees: “For me, it was just one of those times and places where everything kind of happened. All the pieces just fell into place.”

Read the full issue of the Winter 2014 UMBC Magazine.

[Photos] You raised $6K for student scholarships!

Thanks so much to everyone who came out to the 9th Annual Wine Tasting and Silent Auction hosted by our Chapter of Young Alumni. By attending the event, you helped us raise more than $6,500 for student scholarships. In fact, since 2009, together we’ve raised almost $25,000 to support UMBC students.

We’re also grateful to our generous sponsors, whose contributions came in at nearly $7,000 this year. Without their support, this event would not be possible.

We loved seeing you all there and hope you had as good a time as we did! We’ve shared just a few photos from the event below, but we hope you’ll check out our full gallery on Flickr.

See more photos from the Wine Tasting!

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