UMBC grads share what inspires them: family, Baltimore communities, international experiences


Community, Policy & Society

“I had never been part of a university whose work was centered around social justice,” says Nicholas Nguyen ‘21, M.A. sociology. “The Peace Corps showed me how political systems work at an international level. UMBC’s Peaceworker Program is giving me an understanding from a social justice and antiracist perspective.” Continue reading UMBC grads share what inspires them: family, Baltimore communities, international experiences

Graduating Retrievers find joy and career inspiration in supporting K-12 students and families


Community, Science & Technology

“I was able to access excellent research opportunities in the humanities that I never thought would be available at the undergraduate level,” says Emily Rose Paul ‘21, global studies. “UMBC is known as a STEM school, but I have received the most amazing humanities education as a global studies student. You will be surprised at all that you can find here.” Continue reading Graduating Retrievers find joy and career inspiration in supporting K-12 students and families

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UMBC expands arts opportunities for K-8 students in Baltimore through Charlesmead partnership


Arts & Culture, Policy & Society

Two UMBC projects have taken flight this spring, designed to support the academic, creative, and social success of Baltimore City students through arts opportunities. Both projects are funded through the UMBC-Charlesmead Initiative for Arts Education, which was established in 2018 with a $500,000, five-year gift from the Charlesmead Foundation. Continue reading UMBC expands arts opportunities for K-8 students in Baltimore through Charlesmead partnership

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UMBC celebrates 25th Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day with an expanded global audience


Arts & Culture, Policy & Society, Science & Technology

“While we are eager to get back to the live event, there are definitely aspects of the online event that have widened the scope of URCAD,” says April Householder, director of undergraduate research and prestigious scholarships. “Presenters were able to invite friends and family members from other countries to view their presentations, and invite international scholars as potential future collaborators.” Continue reading UMBC celebrates 25th Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day with an expanded global audience

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UMBC’s Faith Davis is named a 2021 Newman Civic Fellow for work on healthcare, food, and housing insecurity


Community, Policy & Society

Campus Compact Mid-Atlantic has named Faith Davis a 2021 Newman Civic Fellow. “My greatest hope for this fellowship is to connect with a large network of change-makers who I can learn from and be inspired by throughout my life,” says Davis. “I hope to eventually work together to create a better world.” Continue reading UMBC’s Faith Davis is named a 2021 Newman Civic Fellow for work on healthcare, food, and housing insecurity

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UMBC education faculty and partners work to humanize K-12 distance learning


Policy & Society

“We value the humanizing practices that are often embedded in the teaching practices of Black teachers,” explains Keisha McIntosh Allen, assistant professor of language and literacy education. “This is an opportunity for them to lead and share their knowledge, which is often overlooked by teacher evaluations that do not acknowledge these approaches to teaching.” Continue reading UMBC education faculty and partners work to humanize K-12 distance learning

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UMBC’s Erle Ellis and international team show people have shaped Earth’s ecology for 12,000 years


Policy & Society

“Our work shows that most areas depicted as ‘untouched,’ ‘wild,’ and ‘natural’ are actually areas with long histories of human inhabitation and use,” says UMBC’s Erle Ellis, professor of geography and environmental systems and lead author.
Continue reading UMBC’s Erle Ellis and international team show people have shaped Earth’s ecology for 12,000 years

UMBC-Montgomery College collaboration expands with digital storytelling humanities internship for transfer students


Arts & Culture, Policy & Society

The heart of the internship program “is about building meaningful relationships between Montgomery College students and UMBC faculty and staff as a bridge to university life,” says Sarah Jewett. It’s a mentoring process that reveals what is possible at UMBC and beyond. Continue reading UMBC-Montgomery College collaboration expands with digital storytelling humanities internship for transfer students

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Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education honors UMBC’s innovative leadership in the field of aging


Policy & Society

“Dr. Hrabowski has been at the forefront of creating and promoting a vision of how we think and talk about aging and longevity,” shares Dana Bradley, dean of UMBC’s Erickson School of Aging Studies. And the inclusive, forward-looking vision that he and the Erickson School emphasize has had notable impacts, including on the student experience. Continue reading Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education honors UMBC’s innovative leadership in the field of aging

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NIA grants UMBC’s Laura Girling $750K for research on living with dementia, including the impacts of COVID-19


Policy & Society

“Persons with dementia are often portrayed as bedridden,” shares Laura Girling, director of UMBC’s Center for Aging Studies. “When I show clips of people living with dementia leading active lives, there is a realization that people with dementia can do many of the same activities others can.” Continue reading NIA grants UMBC’s Laura Girling $750K for research on living with dementia, including the impacts of COVID-19

A young woman with shoulder length black curly hear wearing a light blue dress shirt and dark blue pants stands in front of a group of people sitting at a table. Behind her is a white board with math equations written in black marker.

NSF grants UMBC’s Chris Rakes and Michele Stites $3M to transform undergraduate secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs


Policy & Society

“I want the mathematics classroom to be a vibrant place,” says Rakes, “where students have the opportunity to put all the things they’ve learned together into a coherent web of knowledge, connected through mathematical thinking and understanding.” Continue reading NSF grants UMBC’s Chris Rakes and Michele Stites $3M to transform undergraduate secondary mathematics teacher preparation programs

A woman with long dark hair pulled back in a pony tail by a white, black, and orange scarf wearing a black shirt and white pants walks on a paved walkway with a green tree and some green shrubs behind her and a short yellow wall and a city behind her.

New UMBC grads honor parents’ immigrant journeys by forging their own paths


Policy & Society

Graduating seniors Anthony Cano, Renato Zanelli, and Maya Scheirer came to UMBC with pride and hunger instilled by their immigrant parents’ work ethic. They brought rich cultures, languages, and hearts full of dreams and aspirations with the goal of forging futures of their own. “As a first-generation college student,” Zanelli says, “I can now be a role model for my younger cousins. I can help and inspire them. They will not have to do it alone.” Continue reading New UMBC grads honor parents’ immigrant journeys by forging their own paths

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In “Blood on the River,” UMBC’s Marjoleine Kars examines enslaved people’s accounts of a nearly successful rebellion 250 years ago


Policy & Society

Kars’s new book chronicles a rebellion by enslaved people in the Dutch colony of Berbice, 1763 – 1764, thirty years before the Haitian Revolution. Kars says there is “a long tradition of people having different ideas about how to fight oppression and what life should look like at the other side.” Continue reading In “Blood on the River,” UMBC’s Marjoleine Kars examines enslaved people’s accounts of a nearly successful rebellion 250 years ago

UMBC’s Jasmine Lee elevates diversity and inclusion work as director of new Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging


Community

Jasmine A. Lee, director of inclusive excellence in UMBC’s Division of Student Affairs, is now also leading UMBC’s Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion and Belonging (i3B). The new i3B brings together UMBC’s Mosaic Center, Interfaith Center, and Pride Center to create “opportunities for students to build their awareness and knowledge of diverse people, cultures and belief systems.” Continue reading UMBC’s Jasmine Lee elevates diversity and inclusion work as director of new Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging

A group of woman of different races and ages stand next to eachother smiling at the camera while holding hard cover picture books in their hands. They are standing in between one white and one yellow standup banner with the words Sherman Center written on them.

UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities is transforming early childhood education in Maryland


Policy & Society

UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities is now in its third year of supporting, strengthening, and expanding early childhood education in Maryland. The center was founded with the support of a $6 million grant from the George and Betsy Sherman Family Foundation in 2017. It has developed a series of research-based initiatives to address the needs of children from birth to eight years old in Maryland, and the workforce dedicated to educating them. Continue reading UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities is transforming early childhood education in Maryland

Fifteen women stand in a group together next to a white standup banner with the words Maryland Early Childhood Leadership Program. There are brick buildings next and behind them.

Maryland State Dept. of Education invests additional $150,000 in UMBC’s Maryland Early Childhood Leadership Education Program


Policy & Society

UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Childhood Learning in Urban Communities has been leading change in this field in Maryland since 2017 through its Maryland Early Childhood Leadership Education Program (MECLP). The program’s 12-month post-baccalaureate course equips current leaders in early childhood education with the skills, knowledge, and network needed to implement effective and long-lasting change in classrooms, school districts, and nonprofits across the state. Continue reading Maryland State Dept. of Education invests additional $150,000 in UMBC’s Maryland Early Childhood Leadership Education Program

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Struggle for justice and change: Karsonya Wise Whitehead presents UMBC’s 42nd annual Du Bois lecture


Community, Policy & Society

Whitehead will present on the intersection of COVID-19, systemic racism, and anti-racist action. Her talk, “Black COVID Stories, Black Lives Matter, and Protest: A Conversation about the Ongoing Struggle for Justice and Change,” will examine the long-term societal impacts of today’s conversations about anti-Blackness, anti-racism, policing, and justice in the context of Du Bois’s research. Continue reading Struggle for justice and change: Karsonya Wise Whitehead presents UMBC’s 42nd annual Du Bois lecture

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UMBC’s Kindel Nash’s new book shares best practices for culturally sustaining teaching in early education


Policy & Society

Culturally sustaining pedagogy, Nash explains, focuses on countering structures that systematically erase the culture and language of communities of color. Her book is an example of the impact teachers can have when they commit to this work. “This includes not only changing how we teach,” she says, “but whom we teach with.” Continue reading UMBC’s Kindel Nash’s new book shares best practices for culturally sustaining teaching in early education

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Chinese American parents and children have experienced increased racism due to COVID-19, report UMBC researchers in Pediatrics


Policy & Society, Science & Technology

A team of researchers led by UMBC psychology professor Charissa Cheah has found that a high percentage of Chinese American parents and children have witnessed and experienced an increase in racial discrimination since the outbreak of COVID-19. The researchers’ findings are now published in Pediatrics. Continue reading Chinese American parents and children have experienced increased racism due to COVID-19, report UMBC researchers in Pediatrics

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UMBC celebrates 2020 – 2021 Fulbright recipients


Community, Policy & Society, Science & Technology

Ten recent UMBC alumni are recipients of 2020 – 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards, including seven from UMBC’s Class of 2020. Each year over 11,000 students apply and just over 2,000 are selected from hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States. The award secures funding for U.S. students to pursue international graduate study, research, internships, or teaching. Continue reading UMBC celebrates 2020 – 2021 Fulbright recipients

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UMBC’s Taka Yamashita receives $1.4 million grant for research supporting workers returning to community college


Policy & Society

UMBC’s Taka Yamashita has been awarded a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences for an innovative three-year research project on how adult literacy impacts success in community college STEM education and job training programs. Yamashita is an associate professor of sociology and faculty member in the UMBC/UMB gerontology Ph.D. program. Continue reading UMBC’s Taka Yamashita receives $1.4 million grant for research supporting workers returning to community college

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UMBC’s Elizabeth Patton dives into history of remote work with “Easy Living: The Rise of the Home Office”


Policy & Society

Elizabeth Patton’s new book explores how Americans think about the modern home office and why. Due to COVID-19, remote work has hit unprecedented highs, but Patton’s scholarship reveals that it’s far from a new idea. Continue reading UMBC’s Elizabeth Patton dives into history of remote work with “Easy Living: The Rise of the Home Office”

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UMBC alumnus Mark Doms is appointed chief economist of the Congressional Budget Office


Policy & Society

UMBC alumnus Mark Doms ‘85, economics and mathematics, has been appointed chief economist of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Doms will be one of the leads of the agency that provides Congress with objective, nonpartisan, and high quality information about the economic and financial impacts of existing laws, new laws, and policies under consideration. Continue reading UMBC alumnus Mark Doms is appointed chief economist of the Congressional Budget Office

A picture of beige stone bench in the sunlight with a quote by Walter Sondheim etched into the back of the bench, "Try to understand someone else's position and not assume you know what's best for others."

UMBC’s first virtual conference on inclusive language engages hundreds of education professionals from around the world


Community, Policy & Society

“To acknowledge that Black lives matter, that abuse of power must be stopped is paramount,” shared DàVida Plummer, keynote speaker at UMBC’s Inclusive Language Conference. “And for journalists the world over, we must capture this reality, tell our stories, and maintain objectivity.” Continue reading UMBC’s first virtual conference on inclusive language engages hundreds of education professionals from around the world

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UMBC’s Sydney Gaskins competes in the final round of Trial by Combat, a national mock trial championship


Policy & Society

UMBC Mock Trial continues to reach new heights at a national level, even with COVID-19 impacting the competition season. Sydney Gaskins ’22, political science, finished as a runner-up in the final round of the national Trial by Combat (TBC), a head-to-head individual mock trial championship hosted this summer by the UCLA School of Law and Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. Continue reading UMBC’s Sydney Gaskins competes in the final round of Trial by Combat, a national mock trial championship

A large white paper is posted on a wall showing multiplication factoring in red and green ink and Spanish words in red around it in red ink

UMBC and Baltimore’s Lakeland Elementary/Middle School launch innovative online summer math program


Policy & Society

UMBC’s Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program has launched an intensive virtual math incubator for Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City this summer. The free, voluntary five-week program is a math intervention for 150 Lakeland students in third through eighth grade. The program seeks to prevent summer learning loss, which could increase this year, intensified by COVID-19’s impact on student learning during the school year. Continue reading UMBC and Baltimore’s Lakeland Elementary/Middle School launch innovative online summer math program

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UMBC historian Constantine Vaporis brings samurai scholarship to the public through TED-Ed animation


Arts & Culture, Policy & Society

UMBC’s Constantine Vaporis, professor of history, has partnered with TED-Ed Animations to produce “A Day In The Life of A Teenage Samurai.” This original video draws from over thirty years of scholarship Vaporis has completed on Japanese history and culture, and it’s already received over 550,000 views. Continue reading UMBC historian Constantine Vaporis brings samurai scholarship to the public through TED-Ed animation

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UMBC’s Gloria Chuku is named the 2020 – 21 Lipitz Professor for her research on the Igbo people of Nigeria


Policy & Society

Gloria Chuku, chair and professor of Africana studies, has been named UMBC’s Lipitz Professor for 2020 – 21. This distinguished professorship recognizes and supports innovative teaching and research. Chuku will carry out research for her new book project, “Becoming Igbo in Nigeria and the Diaspora: A History of Ethnic Identity Formation and Negotiation.” Continue reading UMBC’s Gloria Chuku is named the 2020 – 21 Lipitz Professor for her research on the Igbo people of Nigeria

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UMBC’s Fei Han, of The Hilltop Institute, receives grant to develop model predicting patients’ COVID-19 hospitalization risk


Policy & Society

UMBC’s Fei Han has received a COVID-19 Accelerated Translational Incubator Pilot (ATIP) award for research to help predict and reduce patients’ risk of being hospitalized due to COVID-19. He will further develop the Hilltop Pre-AH Model™, a preventative risk model, to apply to pandemic conditions. Continue reading UMBC’s Fei Han, of The Hilltop Institute, receives grant to develop model predicting patients’ COVID-19 hospitalization risk

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UMBC’s Lucy Wilson, an infectious disease transmission expert, helps governors and the public respond to COVID-19


Policy & Society, Science & Technology

For more than a decade, Wilson has served as a public health expert on disease response and public health planning at the international, national, and state levels. When the NGA called, she joined an interdisciplinary team of experts in developing “The Roadmap to Recovery: A Public Health Guide for Governors.” Continue reading UMBC’s Lucy Wilson, an infectious disease transmission expert, helps governors and the public respond to COVID-19

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Acting locally and globally: Four UMBC students embark on community-engaged careers


Policy & Society, Science & Technology

Community-engaged work has been integral to the UMBC experience for so many Retrievers, including the four featured here. Despite coming from such different academic programs, they have all been able to connect in meaningful ways with local and international communities. And after graduating this week, they’ll each apply their talents, skills, and sense of commitment to community-engaged careers. Continue reading Acting locally and globally: Four UMBC students embark on community-engaged careers

Three UMBC student veterans adapt to a new mission: teaching science and math online


Policy & Society, Science & Technology

As military veterans, these student teachers are used to managing stressful and rapidly changing situations. They have drawn on skills and strategies from their years in the military to support their students and their own families during this time. Continue reading Three UMBC student veterans adapt to a new mission: teaching science and math online

UMBC doctoral student Ciara Christian receives AAC&U 2020 K. Patricia Cross Award for equity and inclusion work


Policy & Society

The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) has honored UMBC’s Ciara Christian with its 2020 K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award. Christian, M.A. ‘18, sociology, is a doctoral student in the language, literacy, and culture program. Continue reading UMBC doctoral student Ciara Christian receives AAC&U 2020 K. Patricia Cross Award for equity and inclusion work

Three years in, UMBC’s Inclusion Imperative connects humanities scholars focused on diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice


Policy & Society

“The Inclusion Imperative has created real excitement about the benefits of connecting humanities faculty with one another,” shares Jessica Berman, director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities. “Faculty at UMBC have learned a variety of new tools to practice inclusive and engaged teaching.” Continue reading Three years in, UMBC’s Inclusion Imperative connects humanities scholars focused on diversity, inclusion, equity, and justice

UMBC historian Anne Rubin examines food scarcity in the Confederate South through NEH fellowship


Policy & Society

“I research people who don’t always leave letters or diaries, but can be found through a receipt for the food they were given,” says Rubin. “I want students to think of food history as another tool in the historian’s toolbox—that you can look at a recipe and you can piece together a whole social network from it.” Continue reading UMBC historian Anne Rubin examines food scarcity in the Confederate South through NEH fellowship

The Carnegie Foundation honors UMBC as a leading community-engaged university


Community, Policy & Society, Science & Technology

“Carnegie’s definition of community engagement emphasizes the importance of reciprocity and mutual benefits in the partnerships that are created,” explains Michele Wolff, director of the Shriver Center. “Shriver Center programs ask us to think about how we can make our partnerships more authentic, to effectively meet the needs of all involved. In this way, the longstanding approach of the Shriver Center also reflects the Carnegie Foundation’s principles of reciprocity and mutuality.” Continue reading The Carnegie Foundation honors UMBC as a leading community-engaged university

Baltimore Field School: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports UMBC’s inclusive approach to community-based research


Policy & Society

“We want to think differently about how public humanities work can be done by reflecting on what ethical community-university partnerships look like,” says Nicole King, associate professor of American Studies and director of the Orser Center. “This collaborative process takes a great deal of time, listening, and building trust.” Continue reading Baltimore Field School: The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation supports UMBC’s inclusive approach to community-based research