All posts by: Catalina Sofia Dansberger Duque

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

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“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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Women with light brown hair wearing a navy blue shirt and gold hoop earrings smiles at camera. A green tree is behind her.

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

/ 4 minutes of reading

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

an image of a grey fuzzy small globe like object with red fluffy objects sticking out.

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

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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

Rows of international flags hang from a ceiling.

UMBC celebrates 2020 – 2021 Fulbright recipients

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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

A man with straight dark hair, wearing a grey dress shirt, smiles at the camera.

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

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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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