All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Dennis Coates, Economics, on Econ Journal Watch

Economics Professor Dennis Coates was recently a guest on an Econ Journal Watch podcast discussing his research that found economists mostly frown on government subsidies for professional sports franchises, facilities and events. He was a guest on the program with Brad Humphreys, an associate professor of economics at the University of Alberta.

During the interview, Coates commented on claims that sports stadiums bring economic benefits and prosperity to cities and their immediate metropolitan areas.

“The evidence is that they are minimal at best, and may in fact even be negative,” Coates said. “We think of tangible benefits as job creation and income growth, and any benefits that occur, they occur in a form that is not job creation or income growth or tax revenue growth.”

To listen to the full podcast on Econ Journal Watch and for more on the research by Coates and Humphreys, click here.

Anna Shields, MLLI, Awarded Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies Grant

Anna Shields, an associate professor of modern languages, linguistics and intercultural communication, is part of a three-person team that has been awarded a Henry Luce Foundation/American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) grant for a collaborative reading workshop in 2015.

Shields, along with two colleagues at Cornell University and the University at Albany, were co-organizers of the grant, which was submitted in November. They were awarded $10,000 for the reading workshop, at which they will be studying the historical development of what “literary competence” meant in the Tang dynasty, looking at historical and literary texts from the 7th-9th centuries. The goal will be to produce a set of articles that they can then publish in a single issue of a journal or perhaps as a stand-alone volume.

Three other colleagues from the University of Colorado, Indiana University and Beijing University will also participate, and the workshop will be held at Cornell University in June
2015.

Road Trips Are Better When You’re An Alum!

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The flowers are starting to blossom, the air is getting warmer, the days longer – what does all this mean? It’s time for a spring vacation, even if it’s just for the weekend. Do it now before cabin fever gets the best of you.

If you are a UMBC alum, you have special perks awaiting. UMBC and Enterprise have paired up to give you a ride and a discount to wherever it is you’re aching to go this spring season. Take advantage of this perk while the weather is right.

Pick UMBC and Enterprise; we’ll cut you a deal and they’ll pick you up!

Pack your bags and get the details now!

Jason Schiffman, Psychology, in The Baltimore Sun

Danielle Denenny and Eryn Bentley, two graduate students working as part of Schiffman’s research team, are also quoted in The Baltimore Sun article titled, “UMBC study among efforts to increase awareness of mental illness.” To read the full story, click here.”

Maurice Berger, CADVC, Latest Race Story in New York Times

In the latest essay for his Race Stories column for the New York Times, Maurice Berger, CADVC, discusses “the power behind a remarkable interactive website called ‘Mirror of Race,’ which uses 19th century photographs depicting people of various races in situations that are often ambiguous in their content and intent.” Mirror of Race displays these photographs typical to the way in which they may be shown in a gallery setting, but in the absence of explanation and description.

Read “Holding a Mirror to Race” 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 Students Win Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship

We are delighted to share that Michael Moubarek ’15, biochemistry and molecular biology, and Akua Nimarko ’15, biological sciences and psychology, have been named recipients of the prestigious Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Talmo Pereira ’15, bioinformatics and computational biology, has received an honorable mention.

The intensely competitive Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program offers scholarships for students to pursue research careers in math, science and engineering.

This year marks a record for the number of UMBC students recognized by the program. Special thanks go to the dedicated UMBC committee managing applicant recruitment and nominations, including Stephen Freeland, Jennie Leach, Marcin Ptaszek and David Eisenmann.

Brian Grodsky, Political Science, Op-Ed in Al Jazeera America

As Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a bill that completes Russia’s annexation of Crimea, nearby Poland is keeping a watchful eye on the developing situation.

Brian Grodsky

Brian Grodsky, an associate professor of political science, wrote an op-ed for Al Jazeera America that explores Polish perspective on the most recent developments. Grodsky is currently a visiting professor at the University of Warsaw, where he teaches classes on democratization and comparative politics. 

“Poles are watching the latest developments in their next-door neighbor with a mix of quiet anxiety and resignation,” Grodsky writes in his column titled, “Poles jittery over Russia’s expansion.” In the article, Grodsky argues Poland has cause for concern.

“For starters, Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to protect ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. Securing Kiev, the source of the problems in Ukraine, would be a logical and easy next step for him. Putin has also warned “meddlers” farther west, including Poland and Lithuania, that they are under watch,” he writes.

Grodsky adds, “the West’s halfhearted reaction to Russia’s takeover of Crimea has made it clear to a growing number of Poles that they will be, at the end of the day, largely on their own in the face of a Russian threat.”

To read the full column in Al Jazeera America, click here.

Justin Vélez-Hagan, Public Policy, Op-Ed in Fox News Latino

In an op-ed on the Puerto Rican debt crisis published March 20 in Fox News Latino, Public Policy Ph.D. student Justin Vélez-Hagan argues default will be inevitable as a more than $1 billion deficit is expected to round out the current fiscal year. Vélez-Hagan is also executive director of the National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce.

“Puerto Rico’s well-known dependency on credit first made public waves when every credit-rating agency gave Puerto Rico a vote of no confidence last month, citing major liquidity concerns as the biggest culprit for the downgrades,” Vélez-Hagan writes.

To dig itself out of the debt crisis, Vélez-Hagan adds: “[Puerto Rico] has to shed its fat by yanking off the fiscal Band-Aid and restructuring its debt. Speculators will suffer the most, and may have the loudest complaints, but after the initial shock Puerto Rico will finally have the chance to break its cycle of deficit-spending and will only then have another opportunity to make the right decisions that ensure long-term economic prosperity.”

You can read the full column in Fox News Latino here.

Pres. Hrabowski to Receive Honorary Degree from Arizona State University

hrabowskiPresident Hrabowski will receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Arizona State University during their May 14th undergraduate commencement ceremony.

This honor recognizes President Hrabowski’s work promoting educational achievement for all students, regardless of background. An ASU press release announcing the honor specifically highlights his work promoting the success of students from underrepresented minorities in STEM fields, and his role as chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

Kate Brown, History, Wins Environmental History Book Prize

plutopiaHistory Associate Professor Kate Brown has won the 2014 George Perkins Marsh Prize for her book, Plutopia: Nuclear Families, Atomic Cities, and the Great Soviet and American Plutonium Disasters (Oxford University Press, 2013).

The award is given by the American Society for Environmental History (ASEH) for the best book in environmental history. Brown received her prize March 15 in San Francisco at the annual ASEH conference.

Last fall, Brown presented a Social Sciences Forum on Plutopia which explored the work and research behind her book. More information can be found here.

Meredith Oyen, History, on CNBC News Website

Meredith OyenMeredith Oyen, an assistant professor of history, is quoted in a CNBC News article about the five-man alternative rock band from Taiwan known as Mayday that is set to kick off a tour in the United States this month.

In the article, Oyen says music groups like Mayday are beginning to become more popular in countries around the world: “Mayday is starting to challenge the assumption that English-speaking pop stars are global stars, and Chinese-speaking acts are only regional ones,” she said.

Oyen is currently in China serving on a Chinese Service Center for Scholarly Exchange (Beijing) external evaluation panel to evaluate U.S. history courses taught at several Chinese universities. As part of the trip, she gave a lecture at Minjiang University called “The Meeting of Minds: Academic Exchanges in US-Chinese Relations.”

To read the full CNBC article that Oyen is quoted in, click here.

Judah Ronch, Erickson School, in The Baltimore Beacon

Judah RonchAn article published in the April 2014 edition of The Baltimore Beacon newspaper examines the current view of retirement and how it looks much different today than it has in the past.

Erickson School Dean Judah Ronch is quoted extensively in the article and comments on how people are living longer and healthier lives due to less demanding work environments and better healthcare.

“We have more vigor and more energy than our parents and grandparents did,” Ronch said. “As a result, we don’t feel the need – or the desire – to view retirement as a life of total leisure. Many of us still want to contribute, whether it’s using our skills in new ways, or developing new areas of expertise and new careers altogether.”

In the past, retirees would keep busy through volunteer work, but Ronch said that is one of the many aspects of retirement that is changing.

“Baby boomers are used to being compensated for their time,” he said. “We may still want to work and earn money, but perhaps in a less competitive environment.”

To read the full article titled, “Retirees are hardly retiring,” click here (Ronch is quoted extensively on page 24).   

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