“Place-based public history projects demonstrate that students and scholars can engage and collaborate with communities to identify, analyze, and respond to pressing social problems,” says Nicole King, professor of American studies and director of the Orser Center for the Study of Place, Community, and Culture. Continue Reading Community-building in Baltimore through public humanities
The Hilltop Institute at UMBC has led numerous high-impact health care research projects over a nearly 30-year history at UMBC. “The Hilltop Institute epitomizes the spirit of UMBC’s mission to integrate teaching, research and engaged scholarship, and service to benefit communities in Maryland and beyond,” says Cynthia Woodcock, executive director of Hilltop. Continue Reading The Hilltop Institute at UMBC revolutionizes data analytics to advance health and wellbeing
For Christopher Tong, discovering clues hidden in texts documenting history’s most devastating floods isn’t just about the promise of making social, cultural, and political change. It’s also a personal journey inspired by generations of his own family. In July of 2021, the city of Zhengzhou, China, had more than seven inches of rain in one hour, flooding subway train cars filled with commuters and forcing hundreds of thousands to evacuate. Around this time Christopher K. Tong, an assistant professor of modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, was surrounded by materials he had collected during his trip to the People’s Republic… Continue Reading Turning the Tides
UMBC alumni Michael Hassett and Chiara Collette have built a life — and an internationally recognized nonprofit — while following their callings as Peaceworkers. Continue Reading Peaceworkers in Action
The success of taco trucks and Soul Food pop-ups in post-Katrina New Orleans has raised complex questions about food truck regulation, worker rights, immigration issues, and local vs. tourist experiences that often pit these communities against each other. UMBC’s Sarah Fouts and local organizers Toya Ex Lewis and Fernando López are implementing Project Neutral Grounds to share these vendors’ experiences and histories. Continue Reading Rethinking collaborative public humanities research in New Orleans and Baltimore
Nine recent UMBC graduates and alumni will soon travel to the UK, El Salvador, Kuwait, France, Colombia, Taiwan, South Korea, and Germany as 2022 Fulbright U.S. Student scholars. They include emerging leaders in education, astrophysics, cybersecurity, human rights, and more, and they are excited to explore difficult questions through fresh perspectives. Continue Reading UMBC’s 2022 Fulbright student scholars will travel the world to explore difficult questions
“Service is a pathway to opportunities for everyone if we allow it to be accessible to all,” says Keenan Hickman, M.P.S. ’22, community leadership. “It is about leading through example and perseverance, and finding joy in completing innovative complex projects with a myriad of community members and organizations.” Continue Reading Community leader renews his Baltimore roots
“When I arrived in Spain as a teenager, my teachers did not expect me to go to college because I was an immigrant and because I didn’t have the resources to access certain learning opportunities,” says Melisa Argañaraz Gomez, Ph.D. ’22, geography and environmental systems. “Now, as a graduate student in the U.S., remembering my experience as a teenager helps me connect with the students I support and empathize with their lives.” Continue Reading Giving voice to immigrant experiences