All posts by: Catalina Sofia Dansberger Duque

UMBC welcomes Dana Bradley as new dean of the Erickson School for Aging Studies

Dana Bradley, the new dean of the Erickson School for Aging Studies, considers herself an accidental gerontologist. Many leaders in aging services are inspired to work in the field through personal experiences with family members aging, but Bradley’s interest emerged in the classroom. She began to pursue research on programs and services for older adults and their families as a graduate student through curiosity about big questions and a passion for innovation across disciplines.

“I knew I would always find an interesting job in the field of aging,” says Bradley. “I came to UMBC because the Erickson School’s focus is on leading and being on the edge through engaged scholarship with endless possibilities.”

Bradley holds a Ph.D. in applied history and public policy from Carnegie Mellon University and has served in faculty and leadership positions at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and Western Kentucky University, where she directed the Center for Gerontology. At UMBC, in addition to serving as dean of the Erickson School, she is a professor of sociology, anthropology, and health administration and policy, and serves on the advisory board The Hilltop Institute, which focuses on healthcare policy.

Addressing the process of aging

Throughout her career, Bradley’s goal has been to help people understand the process of aging. “We are all aging,” she explains. “The better we understand how people manage life as they age the better products, services, and living environments we can create, with a lasting impact for our families and communities.”

This spirit of empowerment about how we think of aging led Bradley to become a founding member of the Global Aging Research Network and leader in the Age-Friendly Cities movement. In recognition of her decades of contributions to the field, she was elected a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education.

Bradley is energized by the breadth of expertise in the Erickson School, and the opportunities available through UMBC ’s entrepreneurial and collaborative culture, and close proximity to Washington D.C. “The Erickson School covers a lot of policy issues and issues that are not related to long-term care,” she shares. “We are developing programs and research collaborations looking at how we support and maintain people as they age in the workforce, whether that may be out of choice or because they may not be able to afford retirement. We want to innovate solutions for a workforce that is engaged much longer than ever before.”

Calling all innovators

Innovation, engaged research, and collaboration all have one thing in common, Bradley points out — questions. “The questions are mind-boggling,” she says. It isn’t just how to serve an aging workforce that keeps her busy but looking beyond. Bradley believes, “This is a world where engineers, designers, coders, visual artists, musicians, writers, mathematicians, economists—you name it—they are all needed to design living, working, and transportation spaces that are responsive to how humans age. This is a collective question that needs answers from all fields.”

For the year ahead, Bradley is particularly excited about the Erickson School’s annual summit for leading researchers in memory care at Disney World. Even in the “Happiest Place on Earth,” Dr. Bradley is applying research to help create inclusive experiences. “This year we are focusing on creating environments which are supportive for people with dementia,” she says. “We are spending some time behind the scenes at Disney World, understanding how they as a company think about that issue with their guests.”

Whether it’s in the classroom, at an academic conference, or working with a company or a community, Bradley explains, “Our work is always about supporting engaged conversations to discuss aging given the resources and tools to plan and act accordingly, to be responsible and ethical citizens, to be engaged with people of many different ages in their lifetime.”

Banner image: Dean Bradley outside of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC’s McNair Scholars Program prepares the next generation of leading researchers

What does it take to be a professor? That is exactly the type of question the McNair Scholars Program wants students to ask early on in their undergraduate years. The national program prepares talented students who are first-generation and low-income, or from other underrepresented groups, for doctoral study. Over 200 McNair Scholars from UMBC and other universities across the nation recently gathered at UMBC for a McNair Scholars National Research Conference to share their work and connect with faculty mentors and each other.

The McNair Scholars Program was created in memory of Ronald E. McNair, physicist and NASA astronaut who lost his life on the Challenger mission. UMBC has carried on McNair’s legacy for 26 years through a highly active McNair Scholars chapter. Over 300 UMBC students have tapped into the academic, social, professional, and personal support the national program offers via workshops, trainings, conferences, and networking events. Students traditionally enter the program their junior year, but applicants are welcome to apply earlier so they can benefit even more.

The conference experience

As a first-time conference participant, Luwam Gebreyesus ‘19, health administration and policy, was in awe of the diversity of research and thought among her peers. “I joined my junior year and I wish I knew about the program earlier. I always knew that I would pursue a doctorate degree,” says Gebreyesus, who studies trauma and sound. “McNair has been a catalyst for opening my eyes to how much preparation goes into getting ready for a Ph.D program, connecting me to resources, and developing in me the agency to embrace being ambitious and successful.”

While the conference is a platform for UMBC student scholars to share their own research, it also offers them important opportunities to gain skills organizing and hosting an academic conference. Networking is also a fundamental part of the experience. Students value the opportunity to connect with peers with similar backgrounds, and also practice the skills involved in building professional relationships.

Blake Hipsley ‘19, physics and math, presented a poster on his research on different materials that can maximize imaging frequencies in fields like medicine. “Neither one of my parents earned a college degree. I didn’t have anyone I could relate to tell me how to get into graduate school,” says Hipsley. “McNair helped me access a network of people to help me develop research skills and manage the graduate school application process. Now I tutor other students in math to help them with their graduate school entrance exams.”

The impact of mentors

Mentorship is crucial to the success of McNair Scholars. Faculty, staff, and alumni can become McNair Mentors or Faculty Research Mentors, to support students as they navigate the graduate school preparation process.

Maria Sanchez, mechanical engineering, and director of education and outreach for the College of Engineering and Information Technology, was drawn to the McNair mission and offered inspiring words for the attendees as the keynote speaker. “As a woman in mechanical engineering, I always struggled with feeling out of place,” Sanchez reflected. “After I came to the United States to attend graduate school and became part of another underrepresented group, I understood that I have a responsibility to other women and Hispanics that are trying to do the same.”

Sanchez sees a direct link between faculty sharing their journeys and students feeling like they are not alone in a challenging yet rewarding path. “I know now that we need to embrace the differences that we bring and recognize them as assets and advantages,” she shared with the group. “I hope that by participating in events such as the McNair conference, I could give strength to those that are struggling in the same way that I did.”

The conference also offered an opportunity for faculty who were themselves McNair Scholars as undergraduates to share their journeys with today’s students. UMBC’s Earl Brooks, assistant professor of English, and Christine Hawn, assistant professor of geography and environmental systems, moderated a conference panel. “The McNair program was critical for me, and it was awesome to experience being on the other side of things as a faculty member,” said Brooks. “The conference is such a great opportunity for students to gain the experiences of presenting their research.”

Participating students also spoke to the profound impact that mentorship can have. Damarius Johnson ‘19, Africana studies, transferred to UMBC from the Community College of Baltimore County Essex, where he learned about the McNair Scholars and about UMBC as a place to help him prepare for his Ph.D. aspirations.

“I would not have been able to come to UMBC and be in this program if not for the fact that I had mentors who made it possible for me,” said Johnson. “If I can do that for other people that would be a very powerful thing because I am the first in my family to get a college education. The mentors have helped me see that my dreams are possible.”

Future scholars

As assistant director of the McNair Scholars Program at UMBC, Michael Hunt ‘06, mathematics, Ph.D. ‘25, language literacy and culture, sees the program’s impact both in the opportunities it creates for students and in the value of scholarship those students produce. “McNair scholars are doing important work in math, science, the humanities, and the arts,” he notes.

Hunt hopes to continue to grow the program and is working to connect with eligible students as early as possible in their UMBC careers. He emphasizes, “There should not be any student that limits their aspirations because they are unsure how to pursue a Ph.D. or because of financial constraints.”

Current and prospective UMBC students can learn more about the McNair Scholars Program by completing this brief interest form at any time. The application window is December 1 – February 8. Faculty and staff interested in mentoring can contact program staff at any time through the McNair Scholars website. 

Banner Image: McNair Scholars induction ceremony with Peter DeCrescenzo, project coordinator (L))  and Michael Hunt, assistant director (right). All photos by Eric Stocklin.

Jasmine Abrams receives an NIH grant to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma in Haiti

UMBC’s Jasmine Abrams, assistant professor of psychology, is working to increase pregnant women’s access to healthcare and HIV prevention resources in Haiti through a $390,000 award from the National Institutes of Health via the Fogarty International Center. Abrams will focus on creating new ways to reduce HIV/AIDS stigma impacting low- and middle-income pregnant women in Haiti. The grant is part of a $3 million Fogarty International Center program focused on reducing HIV/AIDS stigma in six African countries, as well as Haiti, India, Nepal, and Ukraine.

“Poverty and HIV stigma of pregnant women in Haiti encourages women to avoid hospitals and have babies at home or in other locations without proper access to healthcare,” says Abrams. “This stigma results in increased risks for infant and maternal morbidity and mortality.”

Abrams further explains that due to HIV stigma, HIV positive women are less likely to access treatment, which can put them at greater risk of passing on HIV to their children and can make it harder for them to keep their viral load low enough to avoid transmitting HIV to their partners. To overcome these challenges, she says, the bottom line is that “we need to grant more access to quality prenatal and maternal healthcare.”

Foundational collaborations

Abrams has worked in Haiti since 2014, initially focusing on developing prenatal and maternal health interventions with the organization Midwives for Haiti. Her new multilevel intervention project continues her partnership with Midwives for Haiti, and forges new collaborations with the Haitian Ministry of Public Health, the Caris Foundation (a research organization), USAID, and Zanmi Lasante, the Haitian branch of Partners in Health and the largest non-governmental healthcare provider in Haiti.

Abrams in Haiti with members of the Haiti-based research team and the Community Advisory Board.

Abrams’ work in community-based health psychology is rooted in her goal to tackle the health disparities she has found in her research among Black women in the United States and abroad. “On almost every indicator of health, Black women are disproportionately impacted by various illnesses and more likely to die from chronic illnesses,” Abrams says. “I want to change this.”

An integral part of this grant is to improve healthcare access for Haitian women in the longer term by strengthening the capacity of Haitian researchers to collect, analyze, and report their own data. “The intervention will be developed by a group of Haitian HIV prevention experts, healthcare providers, and community members and will be used to train Haitian healthcare workers and community members to reduce, and hopefully eliminate, stigmatizing attitudes and behaviors,” says Abrams.

Jasmine Abrams (right) with Joanne Gaillard (left), project manager, and Denis Joseph Jean Baptiste (center), director of the Ministry of Public Health for the Central Plateau.

Building bridges across the Caribbean

Abrams also plans to foster structures that support Haitian-based research by establishing an exchange between UMBC faculty and students, and healthcare professionals and medical school students in Haiti, as well as other Caribbean countries.

Abrams has already taken steps to expand her work to other nations in the Caribbean, including the Dominican Republic and, most recently, Cuba. In the spring of 2018, she earned a Pedagogy and Teaching Award from UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences to travel to Cuba, where she received training in Spanish and Cuban culture and developed a course that examines the intersections of psychology and culture. Her new Psychology and Culture (PSYC 230) class in Cuba is scheduled to debut in  May 2019.

Banner image: Jasmine Abrams, psychology, in UMBC’s Academic Row. Image by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. All other photos courtesy of Abrams.

UMBC inaugurates new center to serve as hub for social science research

UMBC’s Center for Social Science Scholarship has opened its doors this fall with Christine Mallinson, professor of language, literacy and culture, as its inaugural director. The new center, which will promote faculty, student, and alumni research across multiple fields of study, is the result of many years of cultivating deep levels of scholarship on campus as well as collaboration and planning by the social science faculty.

“The Center for Social Science Scholarship answers a longstanding need at UMBC: to provide a hub, a connector, and a microphone for our extraordinary work on critical issues facing communities and societies today,” explains Scott Casper, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS).

The Center will emphasize areas of research such as civic and political participation, global patterns of labor and migration, educational access, the relationship between humans and the environment, human behavior and health equity across the lifespan, the social context of technology, and policy impact.

Mallinson, who joined UMBC in 2006, researches the context of and mechanisms involved in communication within major social institutions, including education, the workplace, and the legal system. By working with teachers, lawyers, and judges to better understand how perceptions cause bias, Mallinson’s has developed research-based strategies to remove inequalities and barriers.

“Christine Mallinson’s innovative, collaborative scholarship has influenced academic debates, informed policy, and empowered communities. I look forward to her leadership on behalf of UMBC’s social science research community,” says Casper.

Through her interdisciplinary work in language, literacy, and culture, Mallinson said she has immersed herself in multiple campus partnerships and experienced first hand the extent of dynamic social science research happening across UMBC.

Banner image (l-r): Mejdulene B. Shomali, gender, women’s, & sexuality studies; Carole McCann, gender, women’s, and sexuality studies; Christine Mallinson, director of the Center for Social Science Scholarship; Charissa Cheah, psychology. All images by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC inaugurates new center to serve as hub for social science research

UMBC’s Center for Social Science Scholarship has opened its doors this fall with Christine Mallinson, professor of language, literacy, and culture, as its inaugural director. The new center, which will promote faculty, student, and alumni research across multiple fields of study, is the result of many years of cultivating deep levels of scholarship on campus as well as collaboration and planning by the social science faculty.

“The Center for Social Science Scholarship answers a longstanding need at UMBC: to provide a hub, a connector, and a microphone for our extraordinary work on critical issues facing communities and societies today,” explains Scott Casper, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS).

The center will emphasize areas of research such as civic and political participation, global patterns of labor and migration, educational access, the relationship between humans and the environment, human behavior and health equity across the lifespan, the social context of technology, and policy impact.

Mallinson, who joined UMBC in 2006, researches the context of and mechanisms involved in communication within major social institutions, including education, the workplace, and the legal system. By working with teachers, lawyers, and judges to better understand how perceptions cause bias, Mallinson has developed research-based strategies to remove inequalities and barriers.

“Christine Mallinson’s innovative, collaborative scholarship has influenced academic debates, informed policy, and empowered communities. I look forward to her leadership on behalf of UMBC’s social science research community,” says Casper.

Through her interdisciplinary work in language, literacy, and culture, Mallinson said she has immersed herself in multiple campus partnerships and experienced first-hand the extent of dynamic social science research happening across UMBC.

“What I am most excited for with the Center for Social Science Scholarship is the ability to spotlight the depth and breadth of the social science research that our faculty and students commit to on a daily basis,” says Mallinson.

MIPAR grant workshop.

As part of these efforts, current social science programming—such as the research-based events and assistance offered by the Maryland Institute for Public Policy and Research (MIPAR), and the Social Science Forum lecture series—will be housed in and managed by the Center for Social Science Scholarship. Located in the Public Policy building, the center will also serve as a partner in connecting and sharing key insights and perspectives of social science alumni and community partners.

Mallinson sees this collaborative work as a continuation of UMBC’s values and commitment to applied research. “This is an opportunity at a pivotal time in our country,” she says, “to tackle some of the big picture questions that are significant in the social sciences, but that also have applicability to other fields, are relevant across UMBC, and matter to our communities.”

Featured image: Christine Mallinson. All photos by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC

As Lakeland sees continued gains in math scores, UMBC expands local school partnerships

Teachers at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School celebrated another year of impressive gains in math performance when Baltimore City published the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) standardized test scores on August 28. UMBC’s Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars program was by their side to celebrate, as the team enters the sixth year of a comprehensive partnership that includes transformative professional development with math teachers.

UMBC staff and students have been working alongside Lakeland teachers to build a model for success that can be replicated at other schools through the Zone Math Project. Teachers at Lakeland Elementary/Middle regularly meet to analyze and utilize data from PARCC, other summative school-based assessments, and curriculum and classroom-based assessments to improve student learning.

In these professional development sessions, Lakeland teachers articulate a data story for each student. The profiles inform teachers as they develop individual plans for enrichment, extension, and support. These discussions also guide how to structure planning time and the development of lesson plans to meet individual needs.

Professional development success

Carly Harkins, a fifth-grade teacher at Lakeland and a 15-year veteran of Baltimore City Public Schools, sees great value in taking all the information she has at her disposal to create individualized success plans for her students. “I was able to see, in a very visual and concrete way, which students understood major content, which students were successful at problem-solving, and, conversely, which students had gaps in those areas and, as a result, create actionable plans.”

What is even more cause for celebration is that Lakeland is not alone in its success. In the past year, this model of support has expanded to Mary Rodman Elementary and Liberty Elementary, both in Baltimore City. The three Zone Math Schools have experienced an average annual growth of 7.5 percent in PARCC math scores. Over the past two years, Lakeland’s scores have improved by 11.7 percent. Over the past year, Liberty’s scores moved up 4.3 percent and Mary Rodman, which experienced the fastest growth in the region, saw scores increase by 14.6 percent.

Josh Michael ’10, political science and education, assistant director of UMBC’s Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars Program, attributes this growth to two things. “Teachers are the key lever to student success in the classroom,” Michael says. “By developing their vast skill set in data analysis and engaging in changes to classroom practice, teachers can facilitate learning that creates a strong foundation for long-term success.”

The Zone Math Project will expand to James McHenry Elementary School, Federal Hill Preparatory School, and Maree G. Farring Elementary School over the 2018 – 2019 academic year.

Inside the classroom

Creating individualized learning plans for students can pose challenges, but teachers in the Zone Math Project have found successful approaches.

Emily Phillips, a third-grade teacher at Mary Rodman Elementary, describes this process: “With three groups of students, I taught the main concept to the entire class,” she says. “The class then went into differentiated learning groups. The highest group worked on advanced and independent problem-solving with critical thinking, often multi-step problems focusing on the standards-based lesson.”

This progression in a math lesson allows students to have multiple opportunities to learn information, evaluate it, share it, and create with it, minus the fear of failure. Through the Zone Math Project, teachers also aim to increase the time that students are engaging in material. Students are placed in fluid groupings and receive ongoing feedback about their growth, allowing them to gain confidence and move between groups depending on the skill they are working to develop.

At the core of this work are the goals of creating more pathways to success for teachers and students, and making sure they feel supported in their growth. Teachers have noticed exciting results not just in test scores, but also in their classrooms.

“Students began to step up and take ownership of their work from start to finish. This was where I saw the most progress with students,” says Phillips. “Motivation and participation sky rocketed.”

Featured image: UMBC Hour of Code. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 unless otherwise noted.

PIEoneer Awards recognize UMBC for career initiatives supporting international students

UMBC’s work to support international students in their career development has earned the university a place in the global spotlight. Professionals in International Education (PIE) has selected UMBC as a finalist for a 2018 PIEoneer Award, with UMBC being the only U.S. university honored in the Student Support category. The selection recognizes UMBC’s work to cultivate a supportive community for international students and to help them pursue careers that utilize and value their unique language, academic, and professional skills.

PIE is specifically recognizing a series of programs designed by UMBC International Education Services (IES) in collaboration with the UMBC Career Center. Responding to the needs of international students and area employers, these initiatives help international students be as competitive as possible in entering the workforce after graduation.

“This recognition is incredibly important for UMBC because it acknowledges on a global stage our commitment to meeting the real and unique needs of our international students,” says Michelle Massey, associate director, International Student and Scholar Services. “We listen to our students, we develop solutions together as a community, and we implement them to help these students have the best possible experience at UMBC, and as alumni.”

A sign reflecting UMBC’s participation in the national #YouAreWelcomeHere campaign.

These opportunities help international students manage a range of challenges that they may encounter on their path to career success in the United States through a tiered process. International students learn about the Career Center’s supportive resources in their earliest days on campus, during orientation. As they progress in their degree programs, the Career Center guides them through the process of identifying and exploring specific career goals and skill sets that match their talents and aspirations within the sphere of the U.S. job market, particularly through internship experiences.

Spring 2018 UMBC International Student Orientation.

IES and the Career Center co-organize an annual International Student Career Conference focused on the unique needs of international students in their job search process in the United States. Now in its fourth year, the conference is an opportunity for students to network with alumni, industry experts, and local employers, and get expert legal information from an immigration attorney.

IES has also partnered with the Career Center and UMBC’s Mosaic Center to offer the workshop “International Identities in the Workplace.” International students who have already completed internships in the U.S. share their experiences with others through the workshop. The event also explores the interview process, business etiquette in American culture, and policy issues like protections against workplace discrimination.

2018 UMBC Career Fair

Networking opportunities, career fairs, internships, and conferences help connect students directly with local start-ups and global companies such as Google, McCormick & Company, and Amazon. “Obtaining internship and work experience is vital for student career success,” says Christine Routzahn, director of the Career Center. “By working with partners such as IES, we ensure our international students have access to these opportunities and are prepared to advocate for themselves and thrive in the workplace.”

The UMBC Career Center team.

The impact of these programs has been profound. After first connecting with the Career Center during orientation, 93 percent of international students report that they continue to access Career Center services during their time at UMBC. Over one hundred international students attend the International Student Career Conference each year. International graduate students participating in these programs overwhelmingly report finding jobs that align with their career goals. Employers participating in the summer internship initiative report very strong interest in working further with students, extending job offers to those who have already participated or offering internships to future students.

“The value of this campus-wide partnership is immeasurable for international students working to overcome significant obstacles to meet their goals in the U.S.,” shares Massey. “I am so proud at how quick the UMBC community is to rise to the occasion of learning about these challenges and supporting this group of students to reach their potential together.”

Maseey will attend The PIEoneer Awards ceremony on behalf of UMBC International Education Services, in London on September 7, 2018.

Banner image: International flags in the UMBC Commons, looking out on a crowd of students gathered for a campus event. All images by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

National “Humanities for All” initiative features innovative work by UMBC scholars

How are scholars across the country creating humanities-centered solutions for our communities’ most pressing challenges? The National Humanities Alliance (NHA) is working to answer this question through Humanities for All, a new website connecting researchers, students, and community members with a database of over 1,400 public humanities projects across all fifty states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Over fifteen UMBC projects are included in the site, half of them from UMBC’s Baltimore Traces initiative. Jessica Berman, director of the UMBC Dresher Center for the Humanities, is proud of the work the center supports, and how it is featured through Humanities for All. “Word is getting out that UMBC is a powerhouse school for humanities teaching and research,” she says. Our faculty are showing how exciting publicly-engaged humanities work can be, and how crucial the humanities are to the way we live and imagine our future now.” Daniel Fisher, project director at the NHA, notes that the goal was not to define “publicly-engaged humanities,” but to provide an active resource. “First, we want to encourage humanities faculty members and students to engage with the public in their research, teaching, and programming. Second, we want to help humanities advocates tell a broader story about the value of the humanities in higher education and in communities across the U.S.,” shares Fisher. The site is also intended to grow and change over time. “We have built into the website a submissions portal so the database will always be reflective of the evolution of the field as it engages diverse audiences in the creation of knowledge and solutions,” Fisher explains. “UMBC’s humanities projects are reflective of this. We want to provide support for the kind of work Baltimore Traces produces.” Bill Shewbridge, professor of practice in media and communication studies, has multiple collaborative projects represented under the broader Baltimore Traces initiative. He appreciates being included in Humanities for All, with its potential to connect his work to new audiences. “A site like Humanities for All is an opportunity to have these stories heard beyond our immediate community,” says Shewbridge. “Seeing Baltimore Traces included in this showcase of publicly-engaged humanities work reinforces that these stories resonate beyond Baltimore and should be a part of a wider conversation.” Through Humanities for All, the NHA has also sought to show how these kinds of projects are advancing teaching and learning at universities and enriching communities through partnership. “These projects highlight what is possible in the humanities and focus not on the transfer of knowledge but the creation of an experience and the strengthening of communities,” says Fisher. “Projects like Baltimore Traces are creating innovative and practical learning experiences for undergraduates and are creating forums for dialogue to talk about what is happening in the community.” Several projects by Nicole King, associate professor and chair of American studies, are featured on the NHA site, particularly under the Baltimore Traces feature. King’s work is representative of the variety of multimedia projects included in the database, incorporating not just written materials but also apps, podcasts, websites, and photography, to effectively facilitate and enhance conversations about identity, history, self-expression, culture, political agency, and power. “Public-engaged humanities are essential to UMBC’s vision, specifically its commitment to civic engagement and social justice,” she says. “It is essential for our students to show up and to listen to the neighborhoods and communities that surround the university in ways that are honest, respectful, and ethical.” Shewbridge and King’s work includes collaborations with several essential partners, including Kate Drabinski, senior lecturer in gender and women’s studies; Dustin Roddy ’14, manager of New Media Studio; Steve Bradley, associate professor of visual arts; Michelle Stefano, Library of Congress folklife specialist; Stefanie Mavronis ’12, political science and media and communication studies; and Marc Steiner, radio host. The Humanities for All database also includes “Revolution of the Eye: Modern Art and the Birth of American Television” and “For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights,” led by Maurice Berger, research professor of visual arts. Additionally, it features Preserve the Baltimore Uprising, led by Denise Meringolo, associate professor of history, and Joe Tropea ‘06, history, M.A. ‘08, historical studies, and the Breaking Ground civic engagement movement initiated by David Hoffman and collaborators. Banner image: Discover Baltimore group tour of historic Lexington Market, UMBC summer session 2017, by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC education policy expert Jane Arnold Lincove helps launch national center for research on school choice

UMBC’s Jane Arnold Lincove, associate professor of public policy, is collaborating with colleagues across the U.S. to launch the National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH) through a $10 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences.

“The goal is to gather top researchers across the United States who are studying different aspects of schools of choice,” says Lincove. “It allows us to share information and research questions to better understand the impact of how different school districts implement school choice.”

The new center will be based at Tulane University. Additional partners include faculty from Michigan State University, Syracuse University, Johns Hopkins University, and ten other higher education institutions across the United States.

Lincove’s research on education policy includes a focus on the charter school system in New Orleans post-Katrina. In addition to her academic publications in journals like Education Finance and Policy, Lincove has also written for policymakers and the public, through groups like the Brookings Institution and the Education Research Alliance for New Orleans.

Through REACH, Lincove will do further research to identify whether schools systems that utilize school choice deliver on the promise of improving educational equity and offering greater access to high-quality education for students, given the variability of school enrollment practices and children’s transportation and housing challenges. Her work will include research in Baltimore’s public school system, which enables schools of choice, with the support of UMBC School of Public Policy graduate students. This work will be in collaboration with the Baltimore Education Research Consortium led by Baltimore City Public Schools, Morgan State University, and Johns Hopkins University.

Lincove explains that REACH will enable scholars in this field, who are based in cities across the United States, “to share information and research questions to better understand the impact of how different school districts implement school choice.” She points out that this is especially important in districts where leaders have replaced traditional education systems with school choice in hopes of better meeting the needs of vulnerable or underserved students, such as low-income students, students from racial or ethnic minority groups, English language learners, and special education students.

Lincove is highly aware of the complexities this work involves, but she looks forward to shedding light on an issue of such public importance. “Researching school choice is challenging because there are so many stakeholders that are for and against it. But in the end,” she says, “looking at research across the United States allows us to identify what is working and help inform policy to help school systems create equitable, successful, and safe learning environments.”

Learn more about Jane Lincove and REACH.

Banner image: Jane Lincove, public policy. Photo by Catalina Sofia Dansberger Duque for UMBC.

UMBC alumnus Chris Haffer becomes EEOC’s first chief data officer

Building on 25 years of experience in public policy research, UMBC alumnus Chris Haffer has started a new leadership role with the key federal agency that enforces civil rights laws against discrimination in the workplace. Haffer, M.P.S. ‘91, public policy, and Ph.D. ‘93, public policy, is now the first chief data officer and director of the Office of Research, Information and Planning for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

“In this role, I have an opportunity to help foster innovation and creativity to proactively identify how we share data safely with the public and ensure the greatest impact and reach for the community,” says Haffer.

Haffer began his first year of college with a love of foreign languages, and he expected that would be his career. That was until a social sciences requirement introduced him to sociology.

The course sparked in him an interest in applied research, leading to a summer job as a research assistant at the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. He continued on to UMBC’s master’s and Ph.D. public policy programs, and a career spanning over two decades at the Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMMS).

For Haffer, UMBC offered an important bridge between public policy theory and practice. Professors emeriti Marvin Mandell and Donald F. Norris, public policy, shared their vast applied research experience through both their teaching and also connecting Haffer with opportunities in the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research. Both mentors also guided Haffer to the highly competitive Presidential Fellows Program that began his 25-year service at CMSS.

“I remember Chris as a smart, talented and driven graduate student who was passionate about public service,” says Norris. “I know him now as a friend and it has been no surprise to me that he has achieved so much and risen so highly in governmental service.”

Through Norris and Mandell’s examples, Haffer says, he saw how public policy could make a difference in people’s lives. “I learned that with applied public policy research I could turn research into action in a focused way to help programs and agencies better meet the needs of the community,” he shares.

His advice for anyone wanting to work with big data and in the federal service is to move beyond misconceptions. Haffer explains that big data is not only about analysis, nor is federal service solitary work.

“We need more creative minds to help tell a more engaging and accessible data story,” says Haffer. He encourages graphic designers, media and communications majors, and marketing graduates to consider federal service careers in data-focused areas.

The most rewarding aspect of big data and federal service for Haffer has been learning how to best use, disseminate, and implement data with the collaboration of interdisciplinary teams.

“When you are trying to solve a problem, you may be able to do it faster yourself,” reflects Haffer, “but the product a team creates is better because it represents the intersection of different views. It will be of more value to your customers, who will be as diverse as the team that created the product.”

Banner Image: Chris Haffer at the EEOC.  All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC’s Evan Avila wins iOme Challenge with ideas to help millennials save for retirement

Evan Avila ‘20, economics and political science, is a millennial with retirement on his mind, and his fresh ideas are now capturing the interest of policymakers. Avila recently won first place in the national 2018 iOme Challenge, which asked students across the United States to innovate policies to help millennials save for retirement. Avila presented his winning paper, Rethinking Millennial Retirement: Policy Recommendations for a Gig Economy, to policymakers on June 20 at a symposium on Capitol Hill.

This year’s iOme (“I Owe Me”) Challenge asked participants to imagine they were invited to join a bipartisan task force to address a growing retirement crisis in the U.S. What policies might they propose on issues relating to gig economy workers or using social media to increase awareness about saving for retirement?

Avila had dealt with these topics before, in the classroom and through volunteering with tax assistance and financial counseling. Avila has served as a certified volunteer in the federal Volunteers Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program at UMBC, which provides tax return filing support for eligible people no cost to them. He’s also offered financial literacy clinics for fellow college students and was familiar with their common questions and concerns about how to make smart financial decisions.

Avila applied this knowledge and experience to creating an iOme Challenge entry that contest judge David Wegge, interim dean of Schneider School of Business and Economics at St. Norbert College, said, “demonstrated great policy depth, a keen understanding of the challenges millennials face, and creativity in devising solutions that are achievable for this age cohort.”


Cindy Hounsell is president of the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER), which sponsored the competition. She shared, “We are impressed by Mr. Avila’s response to the more complicated challenges and deterrents millennials face in preparing for their future retirement.”

UMBC economics professor Doug Lamdin mentored Avila as he developed his three-part policy proposal and transformed his essay into a video. He shares that typically students enter the contest as teams, but he wasn’t surprised that even competing as a team of one Avila emerged the winner.

“That Evan won the competition is not exactly a surprise. He had a very strong proposal,” said Lamdin. “Evan balanced the demands of the competition, usually placed on a team, exceptionally well in addition to a full class schedule, working as a teaching assistant, a research assistant, presenting at the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Day (URCAD), volunteering at the Esperanza Center teaching English, and his activities as a Sondheim Scholar.”

Avila, who recently completed his fourth semester with a 4.0, is currently serving as an intern in the Office of Comptroller of the Currency in Washington, D.C. This follows an internship in 2017 at the U.S. Census Bureau, where he worked in the Economics Indicators division, focusing on how to efficiently process massive quantities of survey data in a precise way.

Looking ahead, Avila plans to pursue a career in tax or administrative law. “I came from a Peruvian and Mexican household. I saw how hard my parents worked and the challenges they faced to have financial security,” says Avila. “In college, I see my peers trying to make sense of personal budgets, savings, loans, credit, and retirement. It is very rewarding to help people be financially literate and understand the laws and policies that affect their wallet.”

Banner image: Evan Avila with his economics internship supervisor in 2017. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

When did humans start to transform Earth? UMBC’s Erle Ellis introduces the Anthropocene.

“Humans have emerged as a force of nature on this planet,” UMBC’s Erle Ellis says, as he begins to explain his work. Ellis, a professor of geography and environmental systems is one of the world’s leading thinkers on the Anthropocene, a new word scientists are using to describe Earth’s current geological epoch, defined by human transformation of the planet. 

“We are changing Earth’s climate faster than at any time since the fall of the dinosaurs,” says Ellis. For scientists, he notes, “What’s controversial…is when did this begin? […] When did humans literally become the global shaper of the earth?”

In 2009, the International Commission on Stratigraphy, through its Subcommission of Quaternary Stratigraphy, created the Anthropocene Working Group (AGW) that is officially charged to examine whether the Anthropocene should be added as a formal time interval in the geologic time scale (following the Holocene, the current geological epoch after the last ice age) and, if so, what should mark its beginning. Shortly after its formation, Ellis was asked to join the Anthropocene Working Group as an expert on human transformation of the biosphere.

Scientists today disagree about when human impact on Earth reached levels sufficient to identify the start of the Anthropocene. Did this come with early forest clearing and agricultural production some 5,000 – 8,000 years ago? Or did this begin with European colonization of the Americas? Or very recently, with the Great Acceleration of environmental change that began in the 1950s?

Ellis tackles this question and others in his new book, Anthropocene: A Very Short Introduction. Right now the Great Acceleration of the 1950s is the leading candidate for the Anthropocene’s beginning, but heated discussions are ongoing, and will likely continue even after a formal Anthropocene is defined in the Geologic Time Scale, which could occur as early as 2020, when the International Union of Geological Science next meets.

The book Anthropocene builds on Ellis’s earlier writing about the complexities, evolution, and controversies surrounding the emergence of humans as a force transforming Earth in The New York Times, The Economist, and other media. Ellis offers readers new to this debate varying viewpoints from geologists, geographers, environmental scientists, archaeologists, political scientists, and scholars of the humanities. In exploring how people have impacted air and water quality, plant and animal life, and our own health and wellbeing through practices that have made our immediate lives easier but are also having serious, long-term consequences for the health of the planet.

“The Anthropocene engages us in seeking new narratives about what it means to be human, from humans as environmental destroyers to humans as the salvation of this planet,” explains Erle Ellis.

“One of the biggest questions about the Anthropocene is whether it should be considered to be a bad thing and the reason that it’s such a big question is because so many of the definitions of what humans are doing to this planet are negative things, like changing the climate and causing mass extinction,” says Ellis. “Yet, on the other hand, the Anthropocene is not over, and it really remains to be seen what we’re going to make of this human time period.”

Ultimately, Ellis argues, “We humans are going to shape the future of this planet.” So, he asks, “what kind of planet are we going to shape?”

Banner image: Grand Erg Oriental, Algeria, October 31, 2017. Image provided by the Sally Ride EarthKAM@Space Camp on the International Space Station.

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