All posts by: UMBC News Staff

A Voice for Students in Maryland

In a time of budget challenges for Maryland, UMBC is fortunate to have an experienced voice for students’ interests as a member of the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents. Phil Shockley, only the second UMBC student to be named to the governing body for the 11-campus system, was appointed by Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich in July for a one-year term.

“Phil Shockley has already begun his career in public service, demonstrated by his various academic and community accomplishments,” said Ehrlich. “His dedication to his fellow students will serve as an asset to the Board.”

“I hope to not only represent the student voice, but also represent those who have a vested interest in the future of higher education in Maryland,” Shockley says. “Having a chance to shape the future of higher education in this state is an awesome opportunity.”

Shockley’s goals for his term include improving communication between the Board and student governments at all System schools and working to increase financial aid available to all students in the midst of significant tuition increases throughout the System.

“I have found that one of UMBC’s core values is making each student feel special, and I want to bring that approach to my position on the Board of Regents,” said Shockley. “I hope to ensure my fellow students that their voice will not only be heard, but listened to as well.”

Shockley, a native of Snow Hill on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, has already learned how to work with both sides of the political spectrum. He previously interned with Democratic former Governor Parris Glendening and former Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, while being appointed by Ehrlich, a Republican.

Shockley also has extensive student government experience, having served as UMBC Student Government Association president from 2002 to 2003. He will graduate next year with a BS in information systems, a BA in political science, and a certificate in public administration and policy.

Shockley is a member of the Golden Key International Honor Society, Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society, the Honors College at UMBC, and interned as a business analyst in the summer of 2001 with T. Rowe Price. Shockley is also a T. Rowe Price scholar and received several other scholarships including the Byrd Scholarship from the Maryland Department of Education.

Shockley’s post-graduation plans include law school followed by entering the political realm. His ultimate future goal is to one day become Governor of Maryland, and possibly the President of the United States. But for now his focus is on representing his fellow students.

“Unlocking the Mysteries of the Ancient Past”

The faculty members in UMBC’s Department of Ancient Studies share a common goal to provide a classical liberal arts curriculum with an interdisciplinary approach that includes instruction in languages, ancient history, and classical archaeology. This year, the five faculty members who form the core of the department celebrate 25 years working together to offer a fresh perspective on the study of the ancient past.

The department dates back to UMBC’s earliest days. Professor Walt Sherwin has been on the UMBC faculty since the University’s opening in 1966; within the next two years, he was joined by colleagues Rudy Storch and Jay Freyman. The 1978 additions of Carolyn Koehler and Marilyn Goldberg brought together the foundation of today’s Department of Ancient Studies. From the very beginning, the department has embraced an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating the work of historians and archaeologists with the study of the classic Greek and Latin texts. This approach has since become a model for similar programs across the country.

Ancient studies faculty has also been quick to respond to the expanding educational interests of their students. Study abroad has become an integral part of the academic program, with many ancient studies students taking advantage of the department’s yearly travel and funding opportunities. Recent years have also seen the addition of coursework and field opportunities for students whose primary interests are in New World archaeology.

The department’s alumni have found professional success in a wide range of occupations. In addition to teachers, lawyers, and field archaeologists, the ranks of ancient studies alumni also include corporate executives, a former director of the Baltimore Opera Company, and an owner of a private investigation firm. This professional success comes as no surprise to their former professors. “Our program exemplifies the values of the traditional liberal arts education,” says Sherwin. “The skills of critical reading and writing and the exposure to foreign languages and cultures offered by ancient studies are as important now as they ever have been.”

Ancient Studies will celebrate its 25th Anniversary Reunion during its annual Ancient Studies Week (October 3-10). Festivities begin with a special lecture by former UMBC professor Kaddee Vitelli on October 8 at 4 p.m. in the Library Gallery, followed by a Greek dinner at 6 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom. Tickets for the dinner are $20 per person and should be reserved in advance. Contact Joyce Tenney at tenney@umbc.edu, (410) 455-2343 for details or visit the ancient studies Web site.

“Forging” the Way to Success

Since graduating from UMBC, alumnus Paresh Shah has successfully navigated the fickle waters of the business world many times over. Now, the highly accomplished businessman and entrepreneur is paving the way for his own success by helping others do the same.

Shah is founding partner and managing director of Forge Advisors, a leading international management consultancy firm that provides valuable business advice to Fortune 1000 clients and entrepreneurs. Forge Advisors helps clients gain or maintain a competitive edge by working with them to formulate business strategies, to identify and evaluate business opportunities, and to launch new products, services or businesses.

A successful academic as well as businessman, Shah graduated first in his engineering class at UMBC, earning his B.S. with honors, including the Chancellor’s Prize, Phi Kappa Phi and President of the Honors Student Association. “UMBC  provided me with the essential knack for problem solving that all successful entrepreneurs must possess,” says Shah.

From UMBC, Shah went on to the Harvard School of Business Administration to earn his MBA. While at Harvard, he founded his first company, Tribeca Designs, which marketed and manufactured consumer and office products. He authored several Harvard Business School cases studies in marketing and distribution, and is currently president of the Wireless Industries Council for the Harvard Business School’s Technology Alumni Association. He also serves on the board of directors of the Indian CEO council and KSJ Travel holding, and is a charter member of TIE, the Indus Entrepreneur. 

Shah’s consulting expertise draws upon his extensive experience as a businessman and entrepreneur. He was senior vice president of business development and strategic sales at Cidera, a wireless satellite networking company. Prior to this, he was vice president of marketing and business development for Aether Systems, a wireless data communications firm. Shah gained managerial experience working as an operations and program manager for Northrop Grumman Corporations (formerly Westinghouse) and gained consulting experience working for Monitor Company, a strategic consultancy firm founded by Harvard Business School professors, as well as from his work at Gemini Consulting. His strong entrepreneurial spirit led him to found the company SafeExchange, which provided software and services to help companies securely conduct business. He later strategically sold SafeExchange to a publicly traded firm.  

In addition to working with companies, Shah also applies his business skills to help guide students on the road to business success. He is an adjunct professor for the MBA program at the University of Maryland’s Robert Smith School of Business.

Leading the Maryland Bar Association

Harry S. Johnson, Political Science ’76, a partner in the Baltimore law firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, became president of the Maryland Bar Association in July 2003. He is the first African-American president of the 20,000-member organization. As president, he hopes to encourage lawyers to be leaders in the community and enhance the involvement of minorities in the legal profession.

After graduating from the University of Maryland School of Law, Johnson joined Whiteford, Taylor & Preston and in 1986 became the firm’s first African-American partner. His legal work focuses on product liability, mass tort, professional liability, and other complex litigation. In addition, he continues to be an advocate for minority recruitment in the state’s law firms and has established a mentorship program pairing African-American law students with Baltimore attorneys.

A student-athlete and former president of the Student Government Association, Johnson remains connected to UMBC. He hires UMBC student interns, taught a business law class in the Department of Economics and was instrumental in helping to establish the Second Generation Scholarship Fund for undergraduates who have demonstrated a commitment to the advancement of minorities.

Johnson credits UMBC faculty and advisors for guiding him in the direction of law and setting him on a path to success. “UMBC provided a network and a support system that have stayed with me to the present,” he says.

Telling the Story of Afghan Women

In the two years since the horrific attacks of September 11 and the ensuing American invasion of Afghanistan, the world’s attention has shifted away from the plight of the Afghan people, who have been ravaged by decades of war. But even before 9-11, Anne Brodsky, an associate professor of psychology and affiliate professor of women’s studies at UMBC, was already risking her life to tell the story of Afghan women under the oppression of the Taliban and other fundamentalist Islamic factions and she continues that fight today.

Brodsky’s research background studying the resilience of women and the role of communities in resisting societal risks such as violence, poverty and racism led to her current work with the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

RAWA is a humanitarian and political women’s organization that has operated clandestinely in Afghanistan and Pakistan for the past 26 years. Brodsky has been working with the group for over three years to help raise awareness of the plight of women who still risk their lives when they stand up for basic freedoms like going to school, having a job, wearing modern clothes, and being able to leave the house unescorted by a male.

As part of these efforts, Brodsky has traveled to underground girls’ schools, orphanages and refugee camps in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She has risked her life – both from the dangers facing a Western woman in areas controlled by  fundamentalist groups, and from the ongoing fighting and unexploded landmines and ordnance that litter the countryside.

Recent news items have underscored the relevance of Brodsky’s work: a report released this summer by Human Rights Watch detailed how women are still being raped and attacked by Afghan warlords outside of Kabul and a Newsweek story noted the post 9-11 rise in domestic violence in American Muslim families.

Even worse is the apparent resurgence of the Taliban, who have launched several recent attacks on Afghan border police and girls’ schools from just across the Pakistan border, a development that doesn’t surprise Brodsky.

“While schools for girls have reopened, only about 32 percent of the students who returned were girls,” she says. “Girls’ schools have been fire bombed and threatened; and forced marriages, imprisonment of girls and women for attempting to escape abusive marriages, forced medical chastity tests and other extreme forms of oppression are ongoing, thus RAWA’s activities and message are still urgently needed.”

Since 9-11, Brodsky has continued her research through multiple trips to the region and by helping to bring members of RAWA to the United States and UMBC to tell their stories. Earlier this year, Brodsky published a book about RAWA and her experiences with the group, With All Our Strength: The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (Routledge).

Publisher’s Weekly described With All Our Strength as “Groundbreaking…The first writer with in-depth access to RAWA, Brodsky writes a passionate narrative…[S]tands out as a lone and important study of a remarkable organization.” Ahmed Rashid, author of Taliban, calls it “A powerful story.”

Brodsky will never forget her five months in the field with the brave women of RAWA. “I gained a much deeper understanding and appreciation for their struggle, and was able to record the in-depth stories of real people’s lives under so many years of oppression, war and trauma,” she says. “But more than being victims, RAWA has empowered women, children and men to use education as a tool to fight for democracy, freedom, human rights and peace.”   

According to Brodsky, the fight for democracy and human rights in Afghanistan is far from over. “RAWA remains a threatened group for their outspoken opposition to the oppression of women and all democratically minded people that continue under the current, warlord dominated government,” she says. “They fervently hope that the rest of the world will continue to support them and will not, once again, turn their backs on the long suffering people of Afghanistan.”   

Brodsky’s work on behalf of women at UMBC and beyond was recognized with the 2003 award from the President’s Commission for Women, one of several presented at UMBC’s 37th Anniversary Opening.

UMBC 9/11 Commemorative Events

Join faculty, staff and students for a day of inter-cultural drumming for global understanding and peace from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Main Street, The Commons. Performers include the Global Percussion Trio, founded by Barry Dove, UMBC music faculty; Stream Ohrstrom, drummer and peace-builder; Linda Joy Burke, Baltimore poet and performance artist; Sankofa Dance Theater, acclaimed Baltimore organization featuring dance, music and folklore. The UMBC Study Abroad Fair will be held from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. on the Commons Terrace. 

Expression Boards will be placed on Main Street in The Commons beginning Wednesday, September 10 and will remain up through Friday, September 12.

For more information call UMBC’s Student Life office at (410) 455-3462.  

Discovering Her Direction

Reflecting on her life’s work, Karen Osborne, a senior statistical consultant for Fortune 500 executives for the past six years, made an important discovery. “I realized that, in my career, what I enjoyed most was teaching and training customers and internal staff how to use statistics to enhance their marketing,” she says. Now, Osborne is a Ph.D. student and graduate assistant in UMBC’s mathematics and statistics department, in order to pursue her goal of becoming a statistics professor.

With a B.S. in mathematics and statistics and an M.S. in statistics, Osborne has had a keen interest in the field for some time. As a senior statistician, she applied statistical modeling techniques to analyze the marketing needs of corporate clients and to recommend marketing strategies and solutions. Osborne also has a strong background in computer sciences, and worked as an information systems manager and computer software trainer.

It was the events of September 11th that caused Osborne to carefully consider her life’s work. Working near the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia at the time, she explains, “My company had an office in the World Trade Center.  Everyone was fortunate to get out. The event caused me to step back and look at my life and to think about what is important.

“I looked at my entire life’s work, chronologically, and it sort of hit me,” says Osborne, describing her discovery of her love for teaching. From internal staff training to computer training to cooking classes, she realized “I was always hovering around teaching.” Inspired by her long-time involvement with local clean-up and nature clubs (such as the Appalachian Trail club), Osborne decided to concentrate in the area of environmental statistics.

She zeroed in on UMBC for its well-rounded graduate statistics program and–with her interest in environmental statistics–for its well-known Marine-Estuarine Environmental Sciences (MEES) program. She is hoping to work with a MEES graduate student in analyzing biological data.

Osborne was also impressed by caliber of the faculty and their research.  “When I looked at the Web site, it was clear to me that they are doing very active and diverse research.”

This summer, before formally starting the program, she took an environmental statistics course co-taught by Dr. Nagaraj Neerchal, professor of statistics, and Dr. Brian Bradley, professor of biological sciences.  “I loved it,” says Osborne. “It was a great class and it served to reinforce for me that this is what I want to do. I can’t wait to get started!” 

UMBC’s Impressive Incoming Classes

UMBC’s reputation just got hotter with the arrival of our incoming undergraduate and graduate classes. This year’s freshman class of 1550 is our largest since 1986. Graduate School enrollment is on the rise, and 500 new graduate students will attend UMBC this year. We also welcome 1100 talented transfer students.  

Our incoming freshman class boasts an impressive and diverse list of achievements.

*Their average SAT is 1220. The average SAT for incoming UMBC Honors College students is 1400.

*They are extremely accomplished, and include: National Merit Scholars, Eagle Scouts, Model U.N. participants, community activists, chess champions, members of all-state choruses, Baltimore Sun and Washington Post 1st -team athletes.

*Their future goals include becoming a member of Congress and joining the Foreign Service.

Our new graduate students are already becoming well known in their fields.

*They come from prestigious undergraduate programs at MIT, University of Virginia, University of Texas at Austin, James Madison University, University of Beijing, University of Illinois, and the University of Wisconsin. And UMBC, of course.

*They include a principal and co-principal investigator on several NIMH grants; a Fulbright Scholar; a first author publishing in prestigious journals and presenting at international conferences; and a 2002 Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies Cooperative Research Fellow.

Watch this space for individual profiles of the newest members of the UMBC community.

UMBC IS A HOT SCHOOL!

In August 2002, UMBC was named one of a dozen Hot Schools” by Kaplan/Newsweek 2003 How to Get Into College” guide.

UMBC joined some prestigious company on the list of Hot Schools, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Boston College, the University of California at Santa Barbara, the University of Washington at Seattle, and Macalester College.

Hot schools were selected based on academic prowess, affordability, location, and, of course, surging popularity. The guide noted, “With a tough economy, the hottest schools may well be the best bargains – those offering excellent academics at more affordable prices. That’s why our list for 2002-03 is dominated by some of the country’s top publics.”

The Kaplan/Newsweek profile references the fact that UMBC is ranked 16th in the country in NASA funding and that 40 percent of students go on to graduate and professional schools right after graduation. The average member of the 2002 freshman class had an average SAT score of nearly 1220 and was a member of the National Honors Society. Incoming Honors College students have an average SAT of 1400 and a high school GPA of 4.2.

The article credits a variety of factors that have helped UMBC build a stronger national reputation, including creating an environment where it’s cool to be smart.” UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski discusses the broad variety of things to do at outside of the lab and classroom. Many students design their own curricula,” Hrabowski says. This is a place where you’ll find students thinking about the hard questions of society.”

The issue marked the second time UMBC has been recognized by the Kaplan/Newsweek Guide. The 1999 issue called UMBC a powerhouse in Baltimore” as part of a list of Schools on a Mission.”

A Scholar and an Athlete

Karl Strauss epitomizes the phrase “student-athlete.” As a swimmer, he was part of four straight ECAC Championship teams and 2003 men’s co-captain, but he worked equally hard academically, and was the men’s winner of the Matt Skalsky Outstanding Scholar Athlete award.

A member of Golden Key, Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa, Strauss compiled a 3.85 GPA and served as the treasurer of the Student Athlete Advisory Council. He was one of two students awarded the Outstanding Scholarly Leader Award by the Political Science department.

Strauss placed first in the 200 meter breaststroke in four NEC dual meets this season and was part of the NEC champion men’s 400 medley relay team. “It’s a lot of work, but the UMBC swim team made things exciting and fun during my time here,” Strauss says. “It’s like a big family.” Strauss also worked as a swim lesson instructor, student tutor and as a writer for The Retriever Weekly.

Now on his way to Law School at the University of Toledo, Strauss credits faculty mentors like Political Science professor George LaNoue as being a vital part of his UMBC experience.

“The open door policy and personal attention from professors here makes a difference,” says Strauss. “I thought I would be a pre-med major originally, but I took some political science classes, got comfortable with the subject matter very quickly, and really opened up and found my motivation.”

Turning Dreams into Plans

Having grown up near the campus of Tuskegee University, Jasmine McDonald was taught the importance of higher education at an early age. “My late grandparents were very college and academics-oriented, so a question that has driven me throughout my education has been ‘How will I make them proud of me?'” she says.

McDonald, who graduated in May with a B.S. in Chemistry, has done a lot to be proud of during her UMBC years. As a Meyerhoff scholar working in Dr. Michael Summers’ Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) lab, she was part of a research team whose findings were published in The Journal of Molecular Biology.

She also worked in the Boulder, Colorado, HHMI lab of Nobel Prize winner Dr. Thomas Cech. Back at home, she has spent her past year doing research in the Molecular Microbiology and Immunology Department of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Last summer took her to Connecticut, where she worked for Pfizer Global Research and Development.

Over the past two years, McDonald honed her leadership skills as president of UMBC’s Golden Key International Honors Society, which she led through two community service projects per month. She also participated in various service projects through the Meyerhoff program, ranging from picking spinach for the homeless on Maryland’s Eastern Shore to clearing the grounds of a historic park with a machete. Her hard work and dedication was recognized by Golden Key, which awarded her its Mid-Atlantic Region Leadership Award.

As she prepares for her next step, McDonald’s late grandparents indeed have even more to be proud of. She’s headed to Harvard on a Prize Fellowship to pursue her Ph.D. in immunology and infectious diseases.

“During my time at UMBC I’ve been able to turn my dreams into plans,” McDonald says. “I feel fortunate to have made my grandparents’ hard work pay off. They’re looking down right now and glowing.”

Leaping to New Heights

In June, senior jumper Huguens Jean became the third Retriever to earn Division I All-American honors.

The powerfully built Jean, on course to earn a degree in computer engineering next spring, literally leaped to new heights during his spectacular athletic career at UMBC. Jean is the second Retriever track and field athlete to earn All-American honors in two years (the other is Cleopatra Borel), after placing fourth in the nation at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the high jump this past June. Standing just 6’, his effort of 7’ 3¼” broke his own school record by two inches.

“I feel like I am just getting started in the sport,” Jean said.  “My ultimate goal is to win a medal in the Olympic Games.  I never would have thought that any of this was possible before coming to UMBC.”

Jean collected numerous accolades this past year. Last January, he competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas and finished 10th in the nation in the high jump, coming up just shy of earning All-American status.  He dominated the competition in the Northeast Conference and was named the NEC’s Most Outstanding Field Performer at both the Indoor and Outdoor Championships after sweeping the high jump and the triple jump events.

In April, Jean sent a clear message to high jumpers around the nation by winning the event at the highly prestigious Penn Relay Games, thus pronouncing himself ready to compete against America’s elite at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

“I was more prepared for the NCAA Outdoor Championships and much more confident,” Jean admitted. “The NCAA Indoor Championships was a brand new experience and I felt like I had to rush to get ready for the event because I had qualified only a week before.”

Success for Jean, who was named UMBC’s 2002-03 Athlete of the Year, is not limited to his athletic prowess. He excels in the classroom, earning a 3.29 GPA in computer engineering. His achievements landed him a spot on the Verizon Academic All District II Second Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) this past year, after earning First Team honors in 2001-02. Jean, who would eventually like to run his own company, is considering attending graduate school for business management after he graduates from UMBC.

One of the most recognizable student leaders on campus, Jean is an extremely active member of campus society and student government. He has served as vice president of the Engineering Council of Majors and is a member of the Presidents’ Council for Athletic Awareness. Jean has also been a dormitory resident assistant, and has tutored students in numerous courses. 

“UMBC has given me so much,” said Jean.  “It is only right that I give back and help others as much as I possibly can.”