All posts by: UMBC News Staff

CHEE Names UMBC’s Student Affairs in 15+ Most Promising Workplaces List

Student affairs iconThe Center for Higher Education Enterprise (CHEE) named UMBC as one of its 15+ Most Promising Places to Work in 2015. UMBC was honored on the list along with other 16 other universities, including Florida State University and The Ohio State University.

CHEE conducted the study as part of a partnership with Diverse: Issues in Higher Education and the American College Personnel Association. The list was created using a web-based survey that focused on workplace diversity, staffing practice, and work environment and examined categories such as family friendliness, salary and benefits, and professional development opportunities.

Crowdfunding Highlight: Alternative Spring Break

Here at UMBC, we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of spring; spring means mild temperatures, longer afternoons, outdoorsy fun, and, of course, spring break.

For most, this much needed respite from school is chance to take a mini-vacation, but for our amazing students, spring break is an opportunity to give back to the community through week-long service engagement trips. This year UMBC is offering four different Alternative Spring Break trips, and they all could use your support.

Please consider funding these wonderful opportunities.

Homelessness (led by students Markya Reed and Megan Lynch): Participants in this ASB trip will learn about the experience and challenges of homelessness, and reflect on approaches to addressing the issue through public policy and community action. Participants will work with local organizations and people in Baltimore experiencing homelessness.

Click here to donate.

Public Health (led by students Poulomi Banerjee and Monsuru ‘Neyo’ Adekoya): Working with free clinics and other health-focused nonprofit organizations, participants will learn about the state of health care in Maryland, social factors that can affect health, and populations that suffer from health disparities. Through reflection and conversation, the participants will consider approaches to making positive change in this area.

Click here to donate.

Intellectual and Physical Disabilities/ARC (led by student Simin Hossain): Participants will spend time each day at the ARC of Carroll County (which serves people with intellectual and physical disabilities), developing relationships with clients, learning about the population, and dispelling stereotypes and stigma.

Click here to donate.

Alternative Healthcare /Gesundheit! Institute (led by students Tina Nassehi and Lisa Dang): During spring break, students will interact with patients as they learn about the Patch Adams’ medical model–the belief that laughter, joy, and creativity are an integral part of the healing process. Students will also study the Institute’s approach to social justice and lend a hand in maintaining the sprawling 300-acre campus.

Click here to donate.

Round Up: UMBC in the News, 02/27

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

Read more at UMBC Insights!

 

Richard Forno on Cybersecurity

umbc-faculty-Rick-FornoRichard Forno, assistant director for UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity, addressed the Southwest Baltimore Economic Forum on February 24, 2015.

He considered such questions as: What is cybersecurity? How safe is your network? What threats are there to our government?

BreakingGround Initiatives Highlighted in Diversity & Democracy

breakingground_fnlBeverly Bickel, associate director of Language, Literacy and Culture doctoral program, Craig Berger, and David Hoffman, Student Life, were published in the latest edition of Diversity & Democracy, a publication by the Association of American Colleges and Universities.

In the article, Bickel, Berger and Hoffman write about the democratic strands in UMBC’s history and how BreakingGround initiatives are fostering civic engagement and imaginative thinking. They describe how transparency and authenticity created spaces for positive contributions, saying “[BreakingGround’s] philosophy emphasized that individuals and collaborative groups are powerful agents of meaningful change, and that students deserve genuine respect as agents in their own lives and as partners in building community.”

Another article in the issue written by Timothy Eatman and Scott Peters, co-directors of Imagining America, praises the initiatives fostered by BreakingGround. “UMBC is suggesting answers to the questions… about what should be done—not just for relatively new public institutions, but across all of higher education,” they write.

Click here to read “Democratic Agency and the Visionary’s Dilemma” by Beverly Bickel, Craig Berger and David Hoffman.

New Book Highlights UMBC Leadership in Business-Higher Ed Partnerships

Advancing a Jobs-Driven Economy Book Cover - Times Square

STEMconnector’s STEM Higher Education Council recently released Advancing a Jobs-Driven Economy, a book that explores partnerships between educational institutions, businesses, and non-profits.

The book highlights UMBC’s partnerships with corporations, government agencies and laboratories, and other colleges and universities as ways to support student learning and enrich the academic environment. It also praises UMBC’s innovations in course redesign, including more group learning and hands-on work to address real-world problems as evidence-based ways to encourage student success.

In the preface of the book, President Hrabowski states, “We must ensure that we are effectively connecting students with internships, jobs, and careers… We argue that quality is not measured by how many students you weed out, but by setting a high standard and then supporting your students so they can attain and surpass that standard.”

Click here to read more about Advancing a Jobs-Driven Economy.

Alumni Perk: the RAC

colleges.nicheWith spring right around the corner (fingers crossed), we hope that you’ll shake off the winter lazies with us at the RAC.

The UMBC athletic/recreation department offers a special discounted rate to all alumni who want to use the facilities at the newly-renovated Retriever Activities Center. Amenities include exercise equipment, weight room, indoor track, pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, locker rooms, and group fitness classes. The alumni rate for membership is $250 per year, with 6 month, 3 month and 1 month rates available.

Click to download RAC membership application and 2015 Spring recreation and group fitness schedule.

Vanderlei Martins on the Value of Cube Satellites

CubeSatVanderlei Martins, a professor of physics and researcher with the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET) joined Sheilah Kast on Maryland Morning to discuss his cube satellite or CubeSat project. Martins is working with students, other professors and NASA scientists to build the backpack-sized satellite. Martins plans to use his tiny satellite to study the role of aerosols, particles in the atmosphere, in cloud formation. Aerosols, he says, are essential for forming clouds. If there weren’t any aerosols there wouldn’t be any clouds.

Listen to the program

 

Swimming and Diving Teams Win Championships

aechampionsLast week, the women’s swimming and diving team won the 2015 America East Championship with 791 points. The men’s swimming and diving team became the 2015 Coastal Collegiate Swimming Association (CCSA) champions several days later.

This year marks the fourth year in school history that the UMBC women’s swimming and diving team has won the America East Championship. Sophomore Emily Escobedo won the Most Outstanding Swimmer of the Meet award and Coach Chad Cradock, as well as assistants Chris Gibeau, Brandt Nigro, Rob Bellamy and diving coach Petar Trifonov, earned Coaching Staff of the Year.

At the CCSA Championship, Nikola Trajkovic won Freshman of the Year, Ryan Green won Diver of the Year, and Petar Trifonov won Diving Coach of the Year. 16 Retrievers were also included in the CCSA All-Academic Honorees.

Read more about the championships below:
CHAMPIONS! UMBC Swimming and Diving Claims the 2015 America East Championship (UMBC Retrievers)
UMBC Wins 2015 #AESD Championship (America East)
The Champs Are Here! UMBC Men’s Swimming and Diving Takes the 2015 CCSA Crown (UMBC Retrievers)
University of Maryland, Baltimore County Crowned 2015 CCSA Champions (CCSA)

Alums in the News: Jones, Barannikova, and Berlin

Here at UMBC, we take pride in what our alums accomplish after graduation. Take a moment to see which Retrievers have been on the move and making news!

ph-ph-fl-2418348-ph-om-3-julian-jones-0212-ruark--20150213Earlier this week, Julian E. Jones, Jr. ’98, information systems management, was featured in a Baltimore Sun article where he discusses his work as the new Councilman for Baltimore County’s 4th District, as well as his prolific district activities before becoming Councilman.

Jones ran unopposed in the 2014 November election and was sworn in on December 1.

Read the full article here.

3adadc9Last week, Scientific American posted an article featuring Evgenia Barannikova ’11, biochemistry and molecular biology. In it, she discusses her recent work using specialized peptides to improve lithium ion batteries, an breakthrough inspired in part by the structure of snail shells.

Barannikova is currently pursuing a graduate degree in chemistry at UMBC.

Read the article in full here.

bs-bz-five-questions-ivy-bookshop-20150210-001Last week, Ed Berlin ’70, history, was interviewed by the Baltimore Sun. In the interview, Berlin discusses his experiences owning and operating an independent bookstore.

Ed and his wife, Ann, bought the Ivy Bookshop in January 2012, and since then have maintained an annual 8 percent to 10 percent sales growth as well as their commitment to high literary quality.

Click here for the full interview, and here for more information about the store.

Richard Forno on Cyber Attacks on State Facilities

umbc-faculty-Rick-FornoRichard Forno was interviewed by the Associated Press about cyber attacks on the rise in Utah.

“Utah state officials have seen what they describe as a sharp uptick in attempts to hack into state computers in the last two years, and they think it related to the NSA data center south of Salt Lake City,”

wrote the Associated Press.

“Maybe these hackers are thinking: ‘If we can attack state systems, we can get info that NSA isn’t releasing,”

said Richard Forno.

Where does this leave Utah? Forno and Tim Junio, a cybersecurity researcher at Stanford University, say that the NSA data center may interest hackers who think they can get to the NSA by targeting state-run facilities that power the center.

 

 

 

Richard Forno on Cybersecurity and Government Accountability

Richard Forno, assistant director for UMBC’s Center for Cybersecurity, made an
appearance on All Sides With Ann Fisher, a public radio program broadcast out of
umbc-faculty-Rick-FornoColumbus, Ohio to discuss cybersecurity and corporate accountability. Mandy Trimble was sitting in for Fisher. Guests along with Forno were: Joseph Marks, a cybersecurity reporter for Politico Pro, and Dakota Rudesill, an assistant professor of law at the Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University.

Trimble posed the question to Forno, should we implement corporate accountability in the event of cybersecurity breaches. Forno said, there is the “practicality of accountability,” because “problems like this [cybersecurity breaches] are quite likely to occur.”

“Would we “hold someone accountable for a traffic jam on the way to work?”

“It happens,” he said.

Listen to the program

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