All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Labor We Love

Labor We Love

UMBC is a major research university, but one of its successes is that it still retains the personal touch of a much smaller institution. 

One reason that UMBC has managed to be so welcoming is the university’s dedicated faculty and staff – many of whom go the extra mile to ensure students’ success, create environments for exceptional teaching and research, or keep the campus looking attractive and inviting.

That UMBC’s faculty and staff enjoy their work is also part of this reputation. The Chronicle of Higher Education confirms that in its 2012 survey of “Great Colleges to Work For.” UMBC was again named to the “Honor Roll” in the Chronicle’s annual survey because its own faculty and staff ranked it highly in seven of the 12 areas canvassed by the newspaper.

 “We are a ‘Great College’ because of the people here,” says President Freeman Hrabowski. “This honor yet again affirms what we all know: UMBC is a place that supports people, values collaboration, and fosters trust, respect, and enthusiasm for educating our students.”

UMBC’s faculty and staff said the university was particularly strong when it came to:

  • Collaborative governance
  • Professional and career development
  • Work/life balance
  • Confidence in senior leadership
  • Supervisor/department chair relationship
  • Respect and appreciation
  • Tenure clarity and process

“The upper administration understands that working with the faculty is an effective way to move the university forward,” says Tim Topoleski, a professor of mechanical engineering and former president of the Faculty Senate. “Because the faculty are directly involved with UMBC’s primary mission, listening to their ideas – everything from increasing campus efficiency to innovative ways to deliver the curriculum – is hugely beneficial to the university.”

Staff, too, are encouraged to play a major role in moving UMBC forward. Carrie Sauter, an assistant director in the interdisciplinary studies program and president of the Professional staff Senate, says she’s thrilled to help shape the university she graduated from.

“I feel so lucky to be able to return to the campus that provided so much to me as a student, and to serve in a role that helps students to achieve their goals,” Sauter says.

Terry Aylsworth, executive administrative assistant in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and president of the Non-exempt Staff Senate, draws energy from her co-workers and especially the students.

“I have always felt that it was a privilege to work at UMBC, and after 16 years, I still feel the same,” she says. “I have had wonderful, brilliant bosses and smart and generous co-workers.  I still get a thrill walking across campus and feeling the energy radiating from the students.”

To read the full survey results, visit The Chronicle.

(8/6/12)

 

 

Alan Kreizenbeck, Theatre, On The Freeman Institute Workshop in Japan Studies

Associate professor Alan Kreizenbeck, theatre, attended the 2012 Summer Freeman Institute Workshop in Japan Studies, which was held at Tokai International College in Honolulu, Hawaii from May 20 to June 10.

The workshop was sponsored by the Japan Studies Association, and involved Kreizenbeck and thirteen other scholars from across the United States. The scholars attended lectures covering a breadth of material, covering Japanese history, religion, literature, visual arts, music, theatre, social policy and international relations. The workshops also afforded Kreizenbeck and his colleagues an opportunity to strengthen their knowledge of the Japanese language through interactions with young native Japanese speakers.

“I would recommend applying to this workshop to anyone interested in learning about Japan,” Kreizenbeck says. “The information I gathered during the three weeks will be of immense help in planning a course in Japanese cultural performance that I plan to offer for the Asian Studies Program in the spring of 2013.”

Bryan Kelly ’92, Economics, Wins Re-Election to Harford CC Board of Trustees

Alumnus Bryan Kelly ’92, economics, won reelection as Chair of the Harford Community College Board of Trustees, according to local news website The Dagger.

Kelly, who is also managing partner and owner of The Kelly Group, has served on the board since 2005 and is also co-chair of the Board of Directors of the UMBC Economics Visitors Council. Other current positions include President of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges; the chairman of the board of the Academy of Finance, Harford County Public Schools; and membership of the Harford Leadership Academy Alumni Association at Harford Community College.

He was named the 2007 UMBC Economics Alumnus of the Year, as well as being named a member of the 2010 Leadership Maryland Class, among other achievements.

UMBC Named “Great College to Work For”

UMBC has again been named one of America’s “Great Colleges to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

“We are a ‘Great College’ because of the people here,” says President Freeman Hrabowski. “This honor yet again affirms what we all know: UMBC is a place that supports people, values collaboration, and fosters trust, respect, and enthusiasm for educating our students.”

An annual survey by The Chronicle asks faculty and staff at institutions across the country to rank their workplaces on a host of factors. UMBC has made the list of “Great Colleges” for three years running. This year, it landed on the survey’s “Honor Roll” because it was ranked highly in seven categories:

  • Collaborative governance
  • Professional and career development
  • Work/life balance
  • Confidence in senior leadership
  • Supervisor/department chair relationship
  • Respect and appreciation
  • Tenure clarity and process

You can read more on The Chronicle’s website. Congratulations to all our faculty, staff and students—you truly make UMBC a great place to work!

Labor We Love

Labor We Love

UMBC is a major research university, but one of its successes is that it still retains the personal touch of a much smaller institution. 

One reason that UMBC has managed to be so welcoming is the university’s dedicated faculty and staff – many of whom go the extra mile to ensure students success, create environments for exceptional teaching and research, or keep the campus looking attractive and inviting.

That UMBC’s faculty and staff enjoy their work is also part of this reputation. The Chronicle of Higher Education confirms that in its 2012 survey of “Great Colleges to Work For.” UMBC was again named to the “Honor Roll” in the Chronicle’s annual survey because its own faculty and staff ranked it highly in seven of the 12 areas canvassed by the newspaper.

 “We are a ‘Great College’ because of the people here,” says President Freeman Hrabowski. “This honor yet again affirms what we all know: UMBC is a place that supports people, values collaboration, and fosters trust, respect, and enthusiasm for educating our students.”

UMBC’s faculty and staff said the university was particularly strong when it came to:

  • Collaborative governance
  • Professional and career development
  • Work/life balance
  • Confidence in senior leadership
  • Supervisor/department chair relationship
  • Respect and appreciation
  • Tenure clarity and process

“The upper administration understands that working with the faculty is an effective way to move the university forward,” says Tim Topoleski, a professor of mechanical engineering and former president of the Faculty Senate. “Because the faculty are directly involved with UMBC’s primary mission, listening to their ideas – everything from increasing campus efficiency to innovative ways to deliver the curriculum – is hugely beneficial to the university.”

Staff, too, are encouraged to play a major role in moving UMBC forward. Carrie Sauter, an assistant director in the interdisciplinary studies program and president of the Professional staff Senate, says she’s thrilled to help shape the university she graduated from.

“I feel so lucky to be able to return to the campus that provided so much to me as a student, and to serve in a role that helps students to achieve their goals,” Sauter says.

Terry Aylsworth, executive administrative assistant in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and president of the Non-exempt, Excluded Staff Senate, draws energy from her co-workers and especially the students.
“I have always felt that it was a privilege to work at UMBC, and after 16 years, I still feel the same,” she says. “I have had wonderful, brilliant bosses and smart and generous co-workers.  I still get a thrill walking across campus and feeling the energy radiating from the students.”

To read the full survey results, visit The Chronicle.

(8/6/12)

 

 

Raymond Hoff, Physics, Honored with NASA’s Distinguished Public Service Medal

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) held its 2012 Agency Honor Awards on August 2nd to honor individuals who “have distinguished themselves by making outstanding contributions to the Agency’s mission.” Among those honored was Raymond Hoff, physics, who received the Distinguished Public Service Medal (DPSM) at an awards ceremony held at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The DPSM serves as NASA’s “highest form of recognition that is awarded to any non-Government individual or to an individual who was not a Government employee during the period in which the service was performed, whose distinguished service, ability, or vision has personally contributed to NASA’s advancement of United States’ interests,” according to the agency’s website. Hoff received his medal for Hoff is receiving the medal “for distinguished service and leadership in Earth observations and their application for societal benefit.”

Footage of the entire ceremony can be watched on NASA’s YouTube channel here, with Hoff’s award coming at approximately 30:15.

Alex Onischuk ’07, Modern Languages and Linguistics, Named Director of Texas Tech Chess Program

Alex Onischuk ’07, modern languages and linguistics, was named the director of Texas Tech University’s chess program on July 30, according to an article in The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The Ukraine-born grandmaster was captain of UMBC’s chess team, during a period in which the team won four consecutive national championships from 2002 to 2006. Texas Tech’s team are also champions, winning the President’s Cup for the second consecutive year this year.

Onischuk, currently ranked third in the country among chess players, released a statement saying, ““I am thrilled to be selected as head coach of the defending national collegiate championship chess team at Texas Tech, and I hope to use my national and international chess experience to help the Texas Tech chess team successfully defend its championship.”

Lorraine Remer, Tianle Yuan JCET, Co-Authors Study on Foreign Aerosol Imports

NASA and UMBC issued a joint press release August 2nd announcing the first measurement-based estimate of the amount and composition of tiny airborne particles that arrive in the air over North America each year. Co-authored by Lorraine Remer, senior research scientist and Tianle Yuan, research associate in the climate and radiation laboratory of UMBC’s Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), along with NASA and University of Maryland, College park scientists the study determined that it was dust and not pollution which constituted the main ingredient in small airborne particles which arrive in the air over North America every year.

The results published in Science Magazine showed that 64 million tons of dust and other particles with the potential to effect climate and human health survive their trans-ocean journeys to North America, a figure which parallels the estimated 69 million tons of aerosols produced domestically from natural processes, transportation and industrial sources.

Speaking on how this imported dust particles account for a third of the reduction in solar radiation over North America, Remer said that “[g]lobally this can mask some of the warming we expect from greenhouse gases.”

Furthermore, Remer noted that climate change resulting from greenhouse gases could greatly increase dust’s influence in the future, saying, “[d]esertification and reclamation, [and] the land use modifications that change the exposure of dusty soils to wind erosion, are going to have a big impact on particle distribution and climate around the planet.”

Jeremy Yap ’08, Biological Sciences, Wins Predoctoral Fellowship

Alumnus Jeremy “Jerry” Yap ’08, biological sciences, was recently honored as one of four national winners of a 2012-2013 American Chemical Society (ACS) Medicinal Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship.

Yap is currently attending the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, where his work “focuses on the design and synthesis of small-molecule inhibitors (drugs) of oncogenic protein–protein interactions,” according to University of Maryland here. The story also notes that the fellowship will allow Yap to pursue his research by providing a full, year-long stipend.

“This is as an excellent example of how important collaboration is in any professional setting,” said Yap upon being named to the fellowship. “The ACS Medicinal Chemistry Fellowship is the result of the joint efforts of my mentor, Dr. [Steven] Fletcher, highly efficient University staff, and a dedicated faculty both on and off campus. All their efforts and support have allowed me the chance to apply for such a generous opportunity. Success in any field is never entirely the result of just one person’s effort, but through extensive collaboration and teamwork.

“Through this fellowship, there are many opportunities that will undoubtedly be available to me in the future. This is a very unexpected award, and I am very grateful for whatever doors it may open in my future career.”

Julie Rosenthal, Asian Studies, in Washington Jewish Week

Julie Rosenthal of the Asian Studies Program was interviewed by Washington Jewish Week about her work fighting hunger in the community.

In neighboring Howard County, Julie Rosenthal, founder of the program Food on the 15th, is working with county parents and student volunteers to fight senior hunger while operating without any overhead. To date, Julie’s teams have delivered nearly 14,000 free bags of nonperishable regular and diabetic groceries and toiletries to low-income seniors right around the 15th of the month, when social security checks often run out.

“What people don’t realize is senior citizens don’t have transportation to food banks,” says Rosenthal. “These seniors look like you and me, but they’re hungry.”

President Hrabowski in US News and World Report

U.S. News & World Report’s “STEM Education” blog recently featured President Hrabowski’s thoughts on the future of science, technology, engineering and math in higher education, including ways to develop a more robust pipeline for students and workers in those fields.

President Hrabowski, who was recently inducted into the magazine’s STEM Hall of Fame, was interviewed along with four other inductees. He spoke to U.S. News about the necessity for greater cooperation across spectrums. “Let’s knock down the boundaries between public and private sectors,” he said.

Doing so, President Hrabowski said, would help businesses better communicate exactly what they need in the STEM workforce, and universities could adjust their programs to incorporate more real-world problems. He also emphasized the importance of helping students with an interest in the STEM fields to stick with those programs of study, as opposed to continuing the current trend of many students leaving those fields before graduating.

“Two thirds of those who begin with a major in those areas are not making it,” he said. “And we assume that’s OK.”

Atmospheric Lidar Group’s Smog Blog on Maryland Morning

Maryland Morning‘s Sheila Kast spoke with Tad Aburn of the Maryland Department of the Environment for a segment entitled “Heat and Air Quality” on July 20th.

On the program’s web page is a link to UMBC’s U.S. Air Quality: The Smog Blog, run by the university’s Atmospheric Lidar Group and which serves as “a daily diary of air quality in the U.S. prepared using information from satellites, ground-based measurements, and models,” according to the website.

That diary has been important in compiling data for Maryland to determine the effect of pollution and other atmospheric elements on Maryland not only from its own contributions, but contributions from other states as well, with Aburn concluding to Kast that “we clearly need help in reducing the pollution that floats in from upland areas [outside of Maryland].”

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