All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Celebrating Undergraduate & Graduate Research

 

From opera to organic chemistry, this week puts UMBC’s core commitment to student research and creative activity on center stage for two full days.

The Carnegie Foundation ranks UMBC in the category of Research Universities with high research activity, and this week 120 undergraduates and 95 graduate students will prove that as they share their original, interdisciplinary research findings through oral and poster presentations and free arts performances and exhibits open to the campus community and public.

UMBC’s Tenth Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) on Wednesday, April 26, is the biggest in the event’s nine-year history, having doubled the number of student presenters from last year.

On Friday, April 28, the UMBC and University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB)Graduate Student Associations jointly host the 28th annual 2006 Graduate Research Conference (GRC) at the University Center (U.C.).

Founded in 1997 by the Office of the Provost, URCAD has grown steadily since then and is now a project of the Office of Undergraduate Education. The URCAD experience gives students valuable experience preparing for graduate school or future careers.

“Research experience is part of the distinctive undergraduate education offered at UMBC,” said Diane Lee, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Education. “The 120 students presenting during URCAD are representative of hundreds of students, across all disciplines, conducting research or bringing into existence a new artistic expression or interpretation. Our students and their faculty mentors are to be congratulated on the quality and creativity of these efforts.”

Another key component of UMBC’s commitment to student research is the Undergraduate Research Awards (URA). Each year, students apply during February for these competitive grants of up to $1,500 to support research during the following year. 26 URA scholars from 2005 – 2006 will be presenting their research results at URCAD this week. During the noon session, 36 newly selected URA scholars for 2006 – 2007 will be introduced along with their mentors.

URA scholars will present and perform from a broad spectrum of knowledge on Wednesday.

• Junior environmental science major Ramya Ambikapathi (pictured on homepage, right) studies the impact of the invasive tree species ‘Tree of Heaven’ on eastern U.S. deciduous forests. Her URCAD project helped prepare her for work this summer with the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Western Ecological Facility in Oregon.
• Junior music major Christina Finn (pictured on homepage, center) explores both the business and artistic side of her passion for classical opera singing. Her project, “The Art of Auditioning,” will help her prepare for auditions for apprentice programs at three major American opera companies in the fall.
• Sophomore biological sciences major Rasheeda Johnson (pictured on homepage, left) examines the structure and replication of the bovine leukemia virus, which could yield new approaches to fighting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Johnson does her research in the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) lab at UMBC, under the mentorship of HHMI Investigator Michael Summers.

For graduate students, the GRC is a chance to network with peers and mentors while getting a practice run at the rigors of presenting at research conferences in their fields and defending dissertations.

“The GRC provides graduate students with the opportunity to present the results of their ongoing research to peers, faculty members, the University of Maryland community at large and other interested parties,” said Naresh Sunkara, co-chair of the GRC and president of the Chemistry Graduate Student Association.

Like URCAD, the GRC allows graduate students from across disciplines to shine.

• Computer science Ph.D. student Alark Joshi’swork focuses on better visualization of the structure and evolution of hurricanes.
• Chemistry Ph.D. student John Kiser is working on a new type of spectroscopy that could help improve outcomes for one of the most difficult-to-remove forms of brain tumor.
• Language, literacy and culture Ph.D. student Joan Kang Shin studies how online learning environments can provide a unique space for the growth of global communities for teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL).

“We are also excited to have UMBC graduate student alumni attending and judging the conference for the first time, and a big highlight is our keynote speaker Jorge Cham,” said Sunkara.

Cham, an instructor at the California Institute of Technology, is the creator of Piled Higher and Deeper, a highly successful comic strip about graduate school life. In his keynote address, Cham will recount tales of bringing humor into the lives of stressed out academics and explore the guilt, myth and power of procrastination.

URCAD will be held on Wednesday, April 26 from 9 am to 4 pm at the University Center and Fine Arts Building. A full morning session will be devoted to dance and film presentations. The plenary session at noon in U.C. 312 will feature President Hrabowski and two UMBC/URCAD alumni. The complete schedule is available online.

The 2006 Graduate Research Conference will be held on Friday, April 28, from 9 am to 5 pm. Oral presentations will take place in the U.C. Ballroom and ITE building. Posters will be displayed in the Engineering and Computer Science building atrium. The complete schedule is online.

(5/22/06)

 

 

 

 

Two UMBC Students Named 2006 Goldwater Scholars

 

Two UMBC students are among the 323 sophomores and juniors who have been named 2006 Goldwater Scholars. The prestigious scholarship program honors outstanding students majoring in science, mathematics and engineering who are committed to pursuing careers as research scientists.

Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Adjoa Smalls-Mantey, a junior with a 3.95 cumulative GPA, is one of several UMBC students conducting research in UMBC’s Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Smalls-Mantey, from Upper Marlboro, Md., has worked in the lab since her freshman year. Her research involves improving the mechanics of gene therapy by focusing on the Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus (MMLV). She has participated in the Gene Search Program at Catholic University where she first learned basic lab principles. She also conducted research at Howard University and participated in the Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Gateways to the Laboratory Program, the first in the country designed exclusively to train undergraduate students to become successful MD-Ph.D applicants.

“This award will help support my goal not only financially, but it also provides me with the resources and networking opportunities as a scholar and researcher,” said Smalls-Mantey.

Smalls-Mantey is a trainee for the M inority Access to Research Careers (MARC), Undergraduate Student Training in Academic Research Program, UMBC’s preeminent undergraduate scholarship program that aims to increase the number of persons from underrepresented groups who pursue Ph.D. degrees and careers in biomedical research or mathematics. A Meyerhoff and HHMI Scholar, Smalls-Mantey is a member of the Honors College and Golden Key International Honor Society. This year, she helped establish Fellowship Under God’s Influence, a student organization based on Seventh-day Adventist beliefs. Off campus, she is the deputy director of Pathfinder, a Christian scouting organization for children at her church.

Smalls-Mantey expects to graduate in spring 2007 and plans to pursue a M.D./Ph.D degree, specializing in immunology.

Devin Burns, Mechanical Engineering

Devin Burns, a sophomore with a 4.0 cumulative GPA, has great aspirations of obtaining a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a focus on renewable energy systems and starting his own research lab.

For several years, Burns has worked as a research intern in the College Qualified Science and Engineering Apprentice Program at the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md. There he investigated mathematical tools to help detect and analyze deceptive activities by opposing forces. He also taught science and math to students in grades 8-11 as part of an outreach program at ARL.

Currently, Burns conducts research in the lab of Marc Zupan, UMBC assistant professor of mechanical engineering. He is studying the advanced materials of mechanical properties. Burns, from Smithsburg, Md., studied abroad in China and Vietnam during Winter Session 2006. He is a Meyerhoff Scholar, a member of the Golden Key International Honors Society and will soon be inducted in Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society. He also enjoys intramural sports at UMBC and is a member of the Running Club.

For additional information about the types of prestigious scholarships available, how to apply for them or to read about previous winners, visit www.umbc.edu/prestige.

Below are updates on UMBC’s 2005 Goldwater Scholars. All three students have maintained a 4.0 cumulative GPA.

Michael Aaron is a junior pursuing dual degrees in mechanical engineering and biological sciences with a minor in writing. Aaron recently went on his first international rugby tour. He accompanied the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Rugby Team to Paris, France where they faced off against Institut National d’Agronomie de Paris Grignon and won 24-7.  He met the team this past summer while conducting cellular mechanics research as part of the MIT Summer Research Program (MSRP) in biology.  He has worked in labs at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and at Case Western Reserve University.  A MARC, Meyerhoff and McNair Scholar, Aaron is the captain of UMBC’s Rugby Team, an active member in Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, and a Learning Resource  Center tutor. 

Andrew Kohlway is a senior MARC and Meyerhoff Scholar who has had outstanding summer lab experiences at a consortium of research universities in Pittsburgh and at Yale University. He is majoring in bioinformatics with a minor in mathematics. After graduating from UMBC in May, he will enter Yale University’s Ph.D. program in molecular biophysics and biochemistry. He recently received an honorable mention from the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship competition. He will present some of the research that he has conducted in the lab of Daniele Fabris, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, at the UMBC Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day on April 26.

Stephanie Nunez is a junior biochemistry and molecular biology major with a minor in modern languages and linguistics. In January 2006, she studied abroad in Granada, Spain. She currently interns with Anandarup Gupta, assistant professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore Dental School. She will present her research at UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day. Nunez is a MARC, Meyerhoff and HHMI Schoar. She recently was awarded the Alumni Association Outstanding Student Award in Biochemistry. A member of UMBC’s Honors College, Nunez also serves as an officer in the Golden Key International Honor Society. For the past three years, she has played the bass clarinet for the UMBC Chamber Players. This summer she will be interning at Stanford University for the second time.

(4/17/06)

 

 

 

 

Education, Exposure, Experience

 

While entrepreneurship may sound like a concept only studied in business school, at UMBC it is an important part of the university’s mission. “Faculty and students pushing the envelope in science and technology, breaking new ground in the creative arts or crafting new solutions to society’s problems can all be entrepreneurs,” said Vivian Armor, director of UMBC’s Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and a UMBC alumna. “There are many ways you can help prepare yourself for entrepreneurship. You can study it, you can learn from other’s experiences and you can jump in and try it yourself. Our Center initiatives focus on all three of these key areas: education, exposure and experience.”

The Center, founded in 2000 through a generous gift of $1 million from The Alex. Brown Foundation, is infusing the entire university with the thinking and attitude, activities and ideas that inspire entrepreneurial accomplishment. During Entrepreneurship Week, which runs through April 7, it offers events that highlight programs available to both the UMBC and Baltimore business communities. The week kicks off at 12 p.m. Monday, April 3 with a lecture by two successful UMBC alumni entrepreneurs, Eli Eisenberg, founder and principal, Video Production Consulting, Inc., and Frank Taylor, president, The First Choice.

Many UMBC students are not waiting until graduation to start their own businesses. Supported by entrepreneurship courses, internships and other programs, as well as the student-run CEO Club, they are already achieving success. CEO Club members Wan His Yuan, a graduate student in information systems, and Jason Servary, a senior in financial economics, have created OpenPosting.com, the first online classified community for college students. The site now has 1500 registered users and receives about 4,000 page views per day. While they look for funding, Yuan and Servary are participating in the Alex. Brown Center’s IdeaLab at techcenter@UMBC, which offers support for faculty and students engaged in the start-up phase of high-technology companies by providing business advisement, mentoring and space.

Servary and Yuan recently won the UMBC Business Plan Competition and are currently one of 40 finalists (out of 174 entries) to participate in the annual Mosh Pit Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Greater Baltimore Technology Center. During Entrepreneurship Week, Servary, Yuan and other CEO Club business owners will pass on their skills and experience to fellow students in UMBC’s residence halls.

William LaCourse, professor of analytical chemistry and CEO Club advisor, believes that programs like the CEO Club support students across the disciplines. “Every great invention, movement, or accomplishment begins with a single idea that someone had the courage to put into action,” he said. “Entrepreneurism empowers an individual to act upon their idea, organize and manage its implementation, and carry it through even in the face of adversity.

“We all have within us the power to change the world, and the CEO Club is a much needed venue for students to meet and share ideas, hopes and aspirations. Members connect with successful entrepreneurs, practice the tools of success, and learn the art of invention. Whether a fledgling art gallery or an up-and-coming biotech start-up, the CEO Club allows our students to achieve their dreams,” LaCourse added.

One of the Center’s programs for UMBC faculty is a summer entrepreneurship institute that will focus on a different discipline each year. This summer, the Center will work with visual and performing arts departments to incorporate entrepreneurship into the curriculum, from designing new courses to adding new modules to existing classes. To set the stage for creative thinking, the Center and the Departments of Music and Theatre will host a lecture Thursday, April 6 by Michael Gelb, an internationally recognized pioneer in the fields of creative thinking, accelerated learning and innovative leadership. Gelb’s lecture, open to the entire UMBC community and the general public, will be held at 7 p.m. in the Fine Arts Recital Hall. On Friday, April 7, Anne Bogart, associate professor at Columbia University and director of the Saratoga International Theatre Institute, will speak at 8 p.m. in the UMBC Theatre. (For more information, call 410-455-2917.)

Creating and supporting entrepreneurship in the region is another important part of the Center’s mission. In addition to offering classes and seminars, the Center is one of the University’s partners in the ACTiVATE program, funded by the National Science Foundation and designed to address the unique needs of women interested in starting technology companies. ACTiVATE is now in its second year and four women in the program are now heading up their own tech companies, including Mona S. Jhaveri Brown, whose Foligo LCC recently took up residence at techcenter@UMBC.

For more information on the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship, visit www.umbc.edu/entrepreneurship.

(4/3/06)

 

 

 

 

Living Learning Communities Create Rewarding Connections

 

When Tony Harris, a sophomore transfer student from Hofstra University, and Amanda Schwenk, a freshman computer science major, applied to UMBC, they had one question in mind: What is the best way to make new friends at UMBC? They both found their answer while researching UMBC’s Web site, although it wasn’t the traditional suggestion to join an organization or club. The solution was UMBC’s Living Learning Communities (LLC), where residents share common academic interests.

“I knew I would be able to make connections with people from other countries while also being around people who speak my targeted language,” said Harris, a modern languages and linguistics major studying Spanish and a resident of the Intercultural Living Exchange floor, a for-credit language immersion and intercultural communication program.

“We [students on the floor] go to dinner together and take classes at the Retriever Activities Center,” said Schwenk, a Center for Women & Information Technology (CWIT) Scholar, who lives on CWIT’s LLC floor.

However, residents of these communities gain more than friendships by living on one of the nine LLC floors. Students gain academic support with ready-made study groups and have more outside classroom interactions with faculty than non-LLCs residents, according to Kim Leisey, assistant vice president for student affairs and director of residential education. They also have the possibility of taking classes together, participating in community service projects, planning on-campus events or visiting the many Baltimore-Washington attractions.

These are all advantages that Jill Randles, assistant vice provost for undergraduate education, expects residents in the new Exploratory Majors Living Learning Community will experience. Opening this fall, this LLC will offer valuable support to the segment of UMBC students who hope to narrow their talents and interests into a defined major.

“We want to help the students identify their best academic fit at UMBC, and hopefully, by becoming engaged through our programmatic efforts, they will feel connected,” said Randles.

Each LLC offers unique experiences and lessons for residents. For example, students on the Visual and Performing Arts floor grow in their specific artistic area by being exposed to their classmates’ work, having late-night jam sessions and participating in engaging conversations about the arts, said Anna Rubin, associate professor of music, director of the floor and the Linehan Artists Scholars Program. Meanwhile, CWIT residents, particularly the male students, learn how to encourage their female counterparts pursuing careers in the male-dominated science and technology fields, said Bria McElroy, director of university initiatives for CWIT.

In all, LLC residents and their advisors agree these Communities embody UMBC’s commitment to diversity and inclusiveness — gaining a sense of belonging and understanding of various cultures and viewpoints.

Below is a list of Communities for the 2006-2007 academic year:

• Center for Women and Information Technology
• Emergency Health Services
• Exploratory Majors
• Honors College
• Humanities Floor
• Intercultural Living Exchange
• Shriver Living Learning Center
• Visual and Performing Arts Floor
• Women Involved in Learning and Leadership

For more information, or to download an application, visit the Living Learning Communities Web site.

(3/27/06)

 

 

 

 

A Hot Location for Collaboration

 

bwtech@UMBC , the university’s on-campus research and technology park, is maturing into a hot location for research.

This week, the park announced a multimillion dollar investment from the commercial real estate market at a time when the number of UMBC faculty, students and alumni working with the park’s tenant companies and organizations has grown to nearly 200 .

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has agreed to move its Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center to bwtech@UMBC. The move will bring to campus more than 60 scientists and support staff who monitor the ecosystems of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the health of the region’s water supply, rivers and streams.

The USGS news comes as technology transfer and workforce development connections collaboration between UMBC, the research park and its nearby business incubator, techcenter@UMBC, areon the rise. Thirty-six UMBC faculty members collaborate on research and development with tenant companies. One hundred students are employed part-time or as interns and 54 alumni work or partner with the UMBC family of on-campus companies.

Research collaboration with UMBC’s core of water and environmental science expertise was the key factor in the USGS decision. The USGS has a longtime research partnership with UMBC’s Department of Geography and Environmental Systems, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE) and Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, as well as the U.S. Forest Service and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study.

“Like many of my colleagues, I have worked with USGS or used their data for decades,” said Andy Miller, associate professor of geography and environmental systems. “In my view they are the premier science agency in the federal government.”

“This move gives the citizens of Maryland a unique, new resource in higher education as USGS scientists will work shoulder-to-shoulder with UMBC professors,” said Claire Welty, director of CUERE. “UMBC science and engineering students will receive an outstanding education that combines classroom training with hands-on research experience by simply walking across the street.”

According to Ellen Hemmerly, executive director of the UMBC Research Park Corporation, bwtech@UMBC’s growth depends on both human capital and bricks and mortar. “The entire UMBC community is buying into the value of the park, which makes us much more attractive to the market,” said Hemmerly.

Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT), one of the region’s largest suburban office companies, will build the USGS building, to be located at 5522 Research Park Drive. Ground breaking is slated for summer, and the completed facility is expected to open in spring 2007.

(3/14/06)

 

 

 

 

 

One Career Choice Gets Better
Every 10.9 Seconds

 

Every 10.9 seconds another American turns 60, and by 2030, one in every five Americans will be over the age of 65. To prepare leaders to meet the needs of the growing baby boom population, UMBC’s Erickson School of Aging Studies will launch an undergraduate major in Management of Aging Services this fall. It is the first program in the nation to integrate management science, public policy and the study of human aging.

As U.S. demographics change, so do the demands on the workforce, creating career opportunities in such diverse areas as finance, healthcare, marketing and product design, social services, and public advocacy.

“When today’s students hear the word ‘aging,’ they should think of the diverse and plentiful career choices they’ll have when they graduate,” said J. Kevin Eckert, dean of the Erickson School. “The multidisciplinary curriculum that the management in aging services major provides will give students the edge in a rapidly changing workplace.”

The Management of Aging Services major will include intensive individual advising, generous merit-based scholarships, internships and service learning opportunities, career counseling and job placement, in addition to courses taught by some of the nation’s leading researchers in the field, including UMBC professors in public policy, aging and health services. In addition, all declared Management of Aging Studies majors will be eligible for $1000 of financial assistance for fall 2006.

The Erickson School of Aging Studies at UMBC was established in April 2004 with a $5 million commitment from John Erickson, founder and CEO of Erickson, the Baltimore-based developer of residential communities for middle-income people over 62. The School’s goal is to educate leaders and build new knowledge to improve society for mid-life and older adults. In addition to the new bachelor’s degree, the School offers a graduate certificate as well as executive education courses.

For more information, visit www.erickson.umbc.edu.

 

2/27/06

 

 

 

 

 

Strengthening History Education

 

UMBC’s Center for History Education recently received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Teaching American History Grant Program to invigorate the teaching of history in elementary, middle and high schools. This is the fourth grant the Center has received from the Department of Education.

Over the next three years, the Center will collaborate with Baltimore County Public Schools to enable 30 elementary, middle and high school teachers of American history to become Master Teachers. Program partners also include the Maryland State Archives and the Maryland Historical Society. Participants will work with teams of historians, resource teachers and archivists to increase their own knowledge, develop effective strategies for teaching history and acquire new historical materials for their students.

Teachers will attend Summer Institutes and school-year workshops taught by UMBC’s distinguished history faculty on such topics as the American Revolution, the Civil War, the Great Depression and the Civil Rights Movement. John Jeffries, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and a professor of history, and Kriste Lindenmeyer, associate professor and chair of history, will be among the faculty at the 2006 Summer Institute.

“The UMBC history department has a long tradition of providing support to teachers of history at all levels, and the Center was born of this commitment,” said Daniel Ritschel, associate professor of history and director of the Center for History Education. “We seek not only to help teachers strengthen their knowledge of history, but also to develop instructional techniques best suited for the history classroom.”

The Center collaborates UMBC’s Martha Ross Center for Oral History (MRCOH) to offer teachers and students opportunities to study community history and create their own oral history projects. Barry Lanman, MRCOH director, has worked with teachers to develop local history projects at schools in Arbutus, Dundalk, Glen Burnie, Halethorpe, Lutherville and Timonium, among others.

The Center also is a resource for educators throughout Maryland and beyond: an online library of lesson plans, created by program participants, can be accessed by teachers across the country. In addition, the Center is planning a conference to bring together prominent educators, policy makers and foundations to discuss access to quality education and suggest policies to strengthen history education.

(2/20/06)

 

 

 

 

 

Recognizing Outstanding Alumni

 

UMBC celebrated its success in forging leaders in a wide array of fields at the February 8 Alumni Awards ceremony in Annapolis.

2006 Outstanding Alumna in Engineering and Information Technology

Donna Stevenson, 1987 Information Systems

As head of Early Morning Software, Stevenson is one of only a few minority women CEOs of an IT company in the country. She remains an active volunteer at UMBC, most notably as a member of the Center for Women and Information Technology Advisory Board and a mentor-in-residence for the ACTiVATE program, which promotes entrepreneurship among women.

2006 Outstanding Alumnus in Humanities

Steven Eidelman, 1973 American Studies

After serving for three decades as an advocate for people with disabilities – most recently as national executive director of The Arc of the United States – Eidelman last fall was named the University of Delaware’s first Robert Edelsohn Chair in Disabilities Studies, as well as a Senior Fellow at the university’s Center for Disabilities Studies. In his new position, Eidelman also develops leadership training programs for government and not-for-profit managers who support people with disabilities.

2006 Outstanding Alumna in Natural and Mathematical Sciences

Diane Auer Jones, 1988 M.S. Applied Molecular Biology

In addition to a successful career as an entrepreneur, government policy maker and administrator at Princeton University, in November Jones was appointed Deputy Associate Director for the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. She also has served as an active member of the UMBC Research Park Corporation’s Board of Directors for the past eleven years.

2006 Outstanding Alumna in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Lisa L. Dickerson, 1978 Political Science

Prior to her appointment as the first African-American female Administrator for the Maryland Transit Administration in 2005, Dickerson served as assistant secretary for equity and economic empowerment at the Maryland Department of Transportation, and before that garnered successes working as a Congressional fellow in Washington and serving as vice president of a national telecommunications firm. During his time in office, President George H.W. Bush also appointed Dickerson to the prestigious Committee for Small Business and the Republican Council of 100.

2006 Outstanding Alumnus in Visual and Performing Arts

Billy Kemp, 1995 Visual and Performing Arts – Music

An accomplished multi-instrumentalist and producer, Kemp received three nominations from the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) in 2004 including best producer. In 2003 Kemp produced Grammy-nominated and Wammy award-winning singer Debi Smith. He has acted as composer for the regional Emmy award-winning Maryland Public Television series, “Outdoors Maryland” since 1997 and served as adjunct faculty at UMBC since 1996.

2006 Distinguished Service Award

Michael L. Oster, 1974 Economics

As chairman of the UMBC Economics Advisory Board since its inception in 2001, Oster has helped shape the council’s objectives, facilitate scholarships and internships for students and created many valuable connections for the University. An accomplished banking executive, Oster joined BB&T in 1999 as a regional president and became Maryland group president in 2001. His time and talents also benefit the boards of a number of worthy organizations, many of them in his home, Carroll County. He currently also serves as chairman of the Maryland Bankers Association.

Visionary Leadership Award

The Alumni Association Executive Board will present this special award to the Reginald F. Lewis Event Committee (Kisha Matthews ’03, Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, James Wiggins ’75, Gary Brooks ’79, Michael Sterling ’85, Juan Holcomb ’81, Devin Walker ’89 and Crystal Watkins ’95) in recognition of their achievement in advancing the mission of the Alumni Association.

For more information about the UMBC Alumni Association awards, as well as alumni news and events, visit Retriever Net online at http://retrievernet.umbc.edu.

(2/9/06)

 

 

 

 

A Destination for Art and Culture

 

With its strong emphasis on exhibitions, outreach, public programming and scholarly research publications focused on contemporary art and cultural issues, UMBC’s Center for Art and Visual Culture (CAVC) fills a unique niche within the mid-Atlantic region.

CAVC’s exhibitions were recently recognized by both national and regional media. Washington Post reviewer Jessica Dawson called “Blur of the Otherworldly,” CAVC’s fall 2005 exhibition, “an ambitious group show….,” while locally, Baltimore magazine named CAVC the metropolitan area’s Best Contemporary Art Gallery. Said Baltimore: “UMBC’s Center for Art and Visual Culture mounts cutting edge exhibitions infused with aesthetic bravado, intellectual heft and cultural significance. (Recent shows) have turned the center into a budding contemporary art powerhouse.” (“Blur of the Otherworldly” is also part of a feature on art and the paranormal in the February issue of Art in America.)

In addition, the American Association of Museums awarded CAVC a First Prize in its Publication Design Competition, Exhibitions category, for “White: Whiteness and Race in Contemporary Art.” The traveling exhibition, organized by CAVC, has been profiled by news organizations such as ABC “World News Tonight,” Newsweek and National Public Radio.

Since 1992, CAVC has actively pursued the organization of exhibitions that contain the aesthetic, theoretical and educational potential to reach both a national and international audience. CAVC Director Symmes Gardner said, “David Yager, our executive director and founder, and I have worked together to build CAVC through the years. It’s been a fantastic experience because we’ve had a lot of time to maneuver and try out new things.” CAVC staff includes Curator Maurice Berger, a fellow at the Vera List Center for Art and Politics of the New School for Social Research in New York.

CAVC has traveled its exhibition projects to a broad spectrum of museums, professional non-profit galleries and universities in the U.S. and abroad. It also coordinates an internship program for UMBC undergraduate and graduate students, and collaborates with schools, museums and non-profit organizations to produce educational programs for children and adults in the city and suburbs.

On Thursday, February 2 from 5 to 7 p.m., CAVC will host an opening reception for “What Sound Does a Color Make?,” a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by Independent Curators International that explores the fusion of vision and sound in electronic media. At 6 p.m., Kathleen Forde, curator of “What Sound Does a Color Make?” will discuss the exhibition.

The Center for Art and Visual Culture is just one of the reasons UMBC is a destination for art and culture. For a calendar of upcoming arts and humanities events at UMBC, visit www.umbc.edu/arts.

(1/30/06)

 

 

 

 

Learning from New Zealand Public Policy

 

On January 18, leaders in public policy from across the U.S. will convene at UMBC for a one-day forum, “What Did We Learn Over There? Public Policy in New Zealand Through American Eyes.” Hosted by the University’s Center for Health Program Development and Management (CHPDM), the event will bring together for the first time individuals who studied in New Zealand as Ian Axford Fellows in Public Policy. The Axford Fellows program was established by the New Zealand Government in partnership with the private sector to give outstanding American professionals opportunities to study, travel and gain practical knowledge of economic, social and political reforms and management of the government sector.

Eight former Ian Axford Fellows will give presentations, and the program will be placed in context with remarks by Robert Reischauer, President of the Urban Institute and former chair of the Ian Axford Fellowships selection committee; Annette Dixon, the World Bank’s Director of Strategy and Operations for Europe and Central Asia Region; and Peter Watson, CEO of the Dwight Group and current chair of the Axford selection committee. UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and CHPDM Executive Director Chuck Milligan will speak, and faculty and students will also attend.

John O’Brien, CHPDM’s director of acute care policy and an Ian Axford Fellow in 2005, was inspired to bring former Fellows together to foster an ongoing dialogue about policy issues. “My six months in New Zealand allowed me to think broadly about how health care delivery systems work, and to question my own assumptions of how systems can and should work,” he said.

Though dwarfed by the United States in size and population, New Zealand faces many of the same issues that confront this country. Health care, the environment, taxes, ethnic diversity and education are but a few of the topics that past Axford Fellows have investigated. “One of the benefits of studying New Zealand is that the relationships across seemingly disparate topics are more apparent than in a large country like the United States,” said O’Brien. “Discussion among forum participants is likely to generate fresh insights and novel approaches that otherwise might not be considered.”

CHPDM is dedicated to improving the health and social outcomes of vulnerable populations through research, analysis and evaluations on behalf of government agencies and foundations. Formed in 1994 in a unique collaboration with the Maryland Medicaid program, the Center is actively engaged in the academic and research programs at UMBC, and partners with other University centers and departments on research initiatives, forums and symposia related to federal and state health policy. As a member of the University community, the Center offers research and employment opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, and currently employs eight UMBC alumni.

For more information on CHPDM, visit www.chpdm.org.

(1/10/06)

 

 

 

 

Learning from New Zealand Public Policy

 

On January 18, leaders in public policy from across the U.S. will convene at UMBC for a one-day forum, “What Did We Learn Over There? Public Policy in New Zealand Through American Eyes.” Hosted by the University’s Center for Health Program Development and Management (CHPDM), the event will bring together for the first time individuals who studied in New Zealand as Ian Axford Fellows in Public Policy. The Axford Fellows program was established by the New Zealand Government in partnership with the private sector to give outstanding American professionals opportunities to study, travel and gain practical knowledge of economic, social and political reforms and management of the government sector.

Eight former Ian Axford Fellows will give presentations, and the program will be placed in context with remarks by Robert Reischauer, President of the Urban Institute and former chair of the Ian Axford Fellowships selection committee; Annette Dixon, the World Bank’s Director of Strategy and Operations for Europe and Central Asia Region; and Peter Watson, CEO of the Dwight Group and current chair of the Axford selection committee. UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski and CHPDM Executive Director Chuck Milligan will speak, and faculty and students will also attend.

John O’Brien, CHPDM’s director of acute care policy and an Ian Axford Fellow in 2005, was inspired to bring former Fellows together to foster an ongoing dialogue about policy issues. “My six months in New Zealand allowed me to think broadly about how health care delivery systems work, and to question my own assumptions of how systems can and should work,” he said.

Though dwarfed by the United States in size and population, New Zealand faces many of the same issues that confront this country. Health care, the environment, taxes, ethnic diversity and education are but a few of the topics that past Axford Fellows have investigated. “One of the benefits of studying New Zealand is that the relationships across seemingly disparate topics are more apparent than in a large country like the United States,” said O’Brien. “Discussion among forum participants is likely to generate fresh insights and novel approaches that otherwise might not be considered.”

CHPDM is dedicated to improving the health and social outcomes of vulnerable populations through research, analysis and evaluations on behalf of government agencies and foundations. Formed in 1994 in a unique collaboration with the Maryland Medicaid program, the Center is actively engaged in the academic and research programs at UMBC, and partners with other University centers and departments on research initiatives, forums and symposia related to federal and state health policy. As a member of the University community, the Center offers research and employment opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, and currently employs eight UMBC alumni.

For more information on CHPDM, visit www.chpdm.org.

(1/10/06)

 

 

 

 

Studying South Asia

 

In the past decade, UMBC Associate Professor of Political Science Devin T. Hagerty’s region of expertise, South Asia, has gone from being an understudied corner of the globe to one of the most closely watched.

In 1998, India and Pakistan added nuclear weapon capability to what was already one of the tensest borders in the world. 9-11 made the world focus on Afghanistan, the Taliban, stopping the spread of Al Qaeda and the continuing search for Osama Bin Laden. Then Oct. 7’s devastating earthquake in the disputed Kashmir region added humanitarian disaster to the already volatile sociopolitical mix in this global flashpoint.

“It’s a horrible, horrible situation,” Hagerty said. “Comparisons of disasters are kind of ghoulish, but in terms of lives lost, the suffering of survivors, and the magnitude of the cleanup ahead, the earthquake will dwarf Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”

According to Hagerty, the earthquake’s aftermath will challenge the resiliency of both Pakistan’s citizens and its leader, President Pervez Musharraf. “ Pakistan is still a very poor country. The literacy rate is low, especially for women, and opportunities for women are scarce. Health care is generally poor. There’s also a big drug addiction problem plus many ethnic divisions and internal rifts.”

“It’s hard to think of a leader in a more precarious position than Musharraf,” said Hagerty. “The West perceives him as not doing enough to fight terror or find Bin Laden. But it’s important to realize that he sent Pakistan Army forces to the lawless border region to fight Al Qaeda and other violent fundamentalists. That’s something unprecedented in Pakistani history. I have more sympathy for him than most Western observers.”

According to Hagerty, while some criticisms of the U.S./Pakistan relationship are valid, national security concerns win out. “We need the Pakistanis’ information and access — something only they can give us right now in the Muslim world. If there were a rupture in our relationship with Pakistan, we would lose our ability to be effective on the ground in southern Afghanistan, where the Taliban is reconstituting itself, for example.”

Hagerty’s writing and research continues to underscore the importance of South Asia. He recently completed two books: co-authoring with Sumit Ganguly Fearful Symmetry: Indo-Pakistani Crises in the Shadow of Nuclear Weapons (Oxford University Press and the University of Washington Press) and editing South Asia in World Politics (Rowman and Littlefield). He is also the editor of Asian Security, a pioneering academic journal that takes a global, interdisciplinary look at security issues in the region.

“From the end of the Cold War to 9-11, we pulled back from the South Asian region and forgot about it, obviously in hindsight a terrible foreign policy mistake,” Hagerty said. “In my opinion, the Bush administration feels it has no choice right now but to ally with Pakistan. It’s a tough situation, but I always tell my students that if you like your answers nice and neat and consistent, then maybe international relations isn’t the field for you.”

Read more about Hagerty at www.umbc.edu/research.

(12/20/05)