All posts by: UMBC News Staff

Shawn Bediako receives inaugural Marilyn Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement

A message to the UMBC community from Provost Philip Rous:

I am pleased to announce that Shawn Bediako, Associate Professor of Psychology, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement. This annual award is provided through an endowment established by Marilyn E. Demorest, Professor Emerita of Psychology and former Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, to support the advancement of all UMBC faculty members in their academic careers; to facilitate their professional development; and to recognize their contributions to faculty advancement and success at UMBC.

Dr. Bediako is recognized for his deep commitment to fostering the professional excellence and career advancement of a wide range of faculty and postdoctoral scholars at UMBC and beyond. His mentoring activities emphasize methods that enhance scholarly productivity and support a meaningful work/life balance. Most recently, in collaboration with Claudia Galindo (LLC), Brandy Wallace Harris (SOCY/ANTH), and Angelica Herrera (formerly of SOCY/ANTH), Dr. Bediako created the UMBC Summer Writing Accountability Group (S.W.A.G.) to help participants maintain their work/life balance and increase their research and writing productivity within a supportive community environment. Over the course of 19 weeks, a total of 60 faculty, administrators, and instructional staff collectively logged more than 1,800 hours of writing time toward advancing their manuscripts, book chapters, and monographs.

During his tenure as the Demorest awardee, Dr. Bediako will work closely with the Faculty Development Center (FDC) to offer a series of faculty development workshops during the Spring 2016 semester that will help faculty and instructional staff members:

  • Learn why and how to align institutional priorities, personal values, and long-term goals
  • Avoid the time management mistakes that many faculty and instructional staff make
  • Develop a consistent daily writing routine to increase research and scholarly productivity
  • Develop a network of support and accountability for academic writing.

Also, Dr. Bediako will consult with Dr. Linda Hodges, Director of the FDC, and other experts on campus to identify the best methods for assessing the effectiveness of the workshops. The evaluation results will be used to determine if this form of professional development should be institutionalized to further promote an intellectual sense of community at UMBC.

Dr. Bediako is a leader in the field of community health psychology and is internationally known for his research on the clinical implications of sickle cell disease stigma and its impact on health-related outcomes. His honors include, among others, the Innovator in Academic Hemoglobinopathies Research Career Development Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and the Champion Award from the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America. He also is a member of the UMBC Executive Committee on the Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement of Underrepresented Minority Faculty and one of the founders of the UMBC Postdoctoral Fellowship for Faculty Diversity.

“I am deeply honored to be the first recipient of this award. Dr. Demorest’s generous gift will provide an opportunity for me to collaborate with faculty colleagues across campus and find innovative ways to align our personal and professional goals with the institution’s vision” says Dr. Bediako. “I’m particularly excited about the possibility of partnering with our Faculty Development Center to complement their program and services.”

Dr. Demorest admires UMBC for its commitment to academic integrity, to diversity and the overall success of all of its students. “I am very proud of UMBC and what it has accomplished in the last 50 years,” says Dr. Demorest. “[There are] good reasons why we’ve been the number one up-and-coming national university in the country.” With her gift to UMBC, she hopes that this legacy can continue through the next 50 years.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Bediako on this recognition and supporting his work with the Faculty Development Center.

Image: Shawn Bediako. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Roundup: UMBC in the News

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

For more campus community news, visit UMBC Insights!

Prepare for a double take: West Hill gets a makeover

West_Hill_renovated-2315

After 35 years on campus, West Hill Apartments are finally getting a makeover! Over the summer, UMBC began work  to fully renovate five apartment buildings that house 236 students. West Hill, UMBC’s first campus apartment complex, has been here since 1980, so we’re sure you’ll agree the updates are as welcome as they are striking.

West-Hill-cropped

The work on West Hill caps off several years of renovation projects for the campus apartments, and completion is anticipated in summer 2016. Earlier this fall, students moved into the completed halls with work continuing on the newly vacated spaces.

New exterior community gathering spaces will be developed as part of the project, including a small recreation field. The community is supported by the adjoining Residential Community Center, with large communal rooms, meeting spaces and laundry facilities.

When renovations are complete, the buildings will feature:

  • New siding and windows
  • Enclosed stairwells that feature key-swipe access.
  • Each room in each apartment requires key-swipe access
  • Lifted ceilings
  • Sensor-activated lighting for increased energy efficiency
  • Upgraded electrical wiring and mechanical systems
  • New wall finishes
  • Improved bathrooms
  • ADA accessible rooms
  • Full refrigerators
  • Built-in routers
  • Smart desks

Check out photos of the transformation!

Patrick Jose Dawson appointed director of Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery

A campus message from Provost Philip Rous and Antonio Moreira, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs:

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Patrick Jose Dawson as director of the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, effective February 1, 2016.

pdawsonMr. Dawson joins UMBC from Northern Illinois University (NIU), where for the past seven years he has served as dean of libraries. Prior to his appointment at NIU, he served as associate university librarian for information and research services at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

Mr. Dawson’s appointment brings to a conclusion a successful national search that began this past spring. On behalf of the entire campus community we would like to express our gratitude and thanks to all members of the search committee. Their commitment and hard work constitutes an outstanding contribution to the future of the library and UMBC. We also wish to acknowledge the advice and counsel provided by various members of the campus community to the search committee.

Throughout his career, Mr. Dawson has been actively involved in the promotion of innovative and emerging trends and technologies for the improvement of information retrieval and delivery. He has extensive experience working in research university libraries and brings strong skills in strategic planning and budgeting. Mr. Dawson also has a focused area of expertise in Chicano studies. While at UCSB, he served as head of the Colección Tloque Nahuaque, a nationally-recognized resource for comprehensive Chicana/o and Latina/o information and specialized reference services. He has also been active on issues related to library services for Latinos and collection development of Hispanic American materials.

In addition to a master of library science from the University of Arizona, Mr. Dawson has a master of arts in history/Latin American studies and a bachelor of arts in history from the University of New Mexico. He was a member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) Leadership and Career Development Program in 1998 and is a fellow in the ARL Research Library Leadership Fellows Program.

Mr. Dawson says he is impressed and inspired by the success of UMBC students in completing degrees and by the percentage of students that go on to graduate education. He also expressed much appreciation for the rich diversity reflected in our student population.

Mr. Dawson will build on the strong legacy of Dr. Larry Wilt, who retired as director on July 1, 2015.

The library is central to teaching and research and an integral part of the UMBC community. We are very fortunate to have someone of Mr. Dawson’s experience and ability to serve as director of our Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery. We know he will be a valuable addition to our campus community.

Please join us in welcoming and supporting him.

Image: UMBC Library Pond. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Jessica Berman presents research at prominent international symposium in Sweden

Jessica BermanAt a recent symposium held at Uppsala University, Sweden featuring prominent international modernist research, Jessica Berman, director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities and professor of English, presented an invited lecture about her research on transnational movements of people in the development of twentieth century media, with a focus on global radio.

Berman’s talk “Radio Relations and Transnational Listening” examined listening in the early days of radio in India. She argued that the diverse nature of the radio environment that used several languages, particularly in programs sent out over the All India Radio airwaves, helped to create a community among the listeners that resisted the directed messages coming to them from the center of the British Empire.

The talk was part of a symposium with the theme “Intimate Modernism.” The event forms part of a collaboration between the Department of English, Uppsala University, and the School of Critical Studies at the University of Glasgow. For more information about the symposium and other scholars who presented, visit Uppsala University’s English department website. Read more about Jessica Berman’s research.

Image: Jessica Berman speaking at UMBC Dresher Center event. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

George Derek Musgrove’s research on gentrification in the nation’s capital featured in the Washington Post

In advance of the annual Conference on D.C. Historical Studies, the Washington Post highlighted research by George Derek Musgrove ’97, history, associate professor of history, that identifies four distinct waves of gentrification in Washington, D.C. and reflects residents’ viewpoints of how it has impacted the city.

At the D.C. historical studies conference, Musgrove presented a talk with his colleague Chris Myers Asch at the University of the District of Columbia titled “We Are Headed for Some Bad Trouble: Gentrification and Displacement in Washington, D.C., 1920-2014.” Musgrove and Asch were part of a panel discussion to assess how historical patterns of race- and class-based inequality shape today’s urban landscape in Washington.

The talk was previewed in the Washington Post by columnist John Kelly. In his research, Musgrove identified the first wave of gentrification in 1920s Georgetown: “[Musgrove] said that when gentrification later moved across other neighborhoods, people would say they didn’t want them to end up ‘like Georgetown,’ which was seen as exclusive — and nearly exclusively white.

Poorer white residents moving out of neighborhoods such as Anacostia had ample housing options. But blacks were constrained by segregation and restrictive covenants. Policies such as rent control have allowed some neighborhoods, such as Adams Morgan, to remain diverse,” Musgrove said in the article.

“Our purpose in writing this was to give people an idea of how old gentrification is in the city and, in the process, to give people an idea of why older residents in particular react to it in the way that they do,” he added.

Last year, Musgrove was interviewed by WAMU’s Metro Connection program about his gentrification research.

UMBC education department, CADVC partner with Arbutus Middle School on environmental art outreach

As part of an ongoing partnership with professional development schools, UMBC’s education department and Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) hosted Arbutus Middle School students and teachers on campus October 26 and Nov 2 to learn about environmental art and artists.

During the program, students participated in an instructional session about artists Andy Goldsworthy and Scott Wade, learned about the elements of art, and defined terms such as ephemeral art and reverse graffiti, among other topic areas in environmental art.

Students then learned about the process of creating nature journals, walked over to the Joseph Beuys Sculpture Park, and after completing outdoor observation work, they worked on sketching and journaling activities. The students’ completed art projects will be featured in an exhibition on campus.

“This experience is about more than art,” explains Barbara Bourne, clinical instructor and director of elementary education and arts coordinator in the education department. “In addition to the hands-on activities and the follow-up gallery show, students take their first steps onto a college campus. It’s especially rewarding to watch as they proudly share this campus experience with their parents and siblings, many of whom are visiting a university for the first time themselves.”

“It is important for CADVC’s Educational Outreach Program to partner with professional development schools such as AMS because it allows us to make our gallery exhibitions accessible to K-12 groups and the families of those students. This is our mandate as we are a community art institution as well a gallery for the campus, and we receive Maryland State Arts Council grant funding for this purpose,” shares Sandra Abbott, curator of collections and outreach for the CADVC.

Beginning November 12, the student artwork will be displayed as part of an exhibit titled “Natural Connections: Linking Art and Nature,” UMBC’s K-12 Educational Outreach Exhibition, Fall 2015. The exhibit runs until December 17 and is open to the public in the hall gallery on the first floor of the Fine Arts Building.

Image: Photo courtesy Parastoo Aslanbeik, IMDA graduate student

Kimberly Moffitt discusses GOP presidential debate and impact of social media on student activism

Following the November 10 Republican presidential debate on Fox Business Network, Kimberly Moffitt, an associate professor of American studies, was a guest on the Baltimore Sun’s “Roughly Speaking” podcast to provide reaction and analysis. Other guests on the podcast hosted by Dan Rodricks included Melissa Deckman, chair and professor of political science at Washington College, and Peter Jensen from the Baltimore Sun editorial board.

The segment covered a range of topics, including how candidates received more equal air time than prior debates and were given a chance to cover differences in several significant policy issues.

“There has been so much attention drawn to the two front runners that often times it appeared that Trump and Carson were receiving a lot more air time,” Moffitt observed. “In this particular debate, it seemed that there was a cross section of being able to hear the different voices and also to hear about those divides in terms of immigration, higher education, and whole notion of the family…those pieces I had not heard before, and it was simply because we had the opportunity to hear from so many of the candidates.”

Listen to the complete “Roughly Speaking” podcast on The Baltimore Sun website.

Also this past week, Moffitt joined ABC 2 Baltimore on November 12 for a segment on the role of social media in college protests. She discussed how social media can promote both positive and negative outcomes.

“What we see social media doing is helping to advance student activism and movements across the country, but it also has its negative side affects, especially what we see with people responding to these student activists,” explained Moffitt.

Watch the full segment on ABC 2’s “In Focus” program.

Image: Kimberly Moffitt speaks with students in her class. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11. 

WEAA’s Marc Steiner Show broadcasts UMBC Critical Social Justice Week keynote panel

The Marc Steiner Show aired a special two-hour broadcast November 2 that was a recording of UMBC’s Critical Social Justice Week keynote panel “Baltimore in Action: Always Rising.” Marc Steiner moderated the panel which featured several prominent social justice activists and leaders from across Baltimore to discuss a range of issues currently impacting the city. Topics discussed included the city’s rich history of social justice and activism and the power of community organizing in addressing challenges.

Guests on the panel included  Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III, pastor of Pleasant Hope Baptist Church and executive director of Orita’s Cross Freedom School; Dr. Marisela B. Gomez, physician, community activist and author of Race, Class, Power, and Organizing in East Baltimore: Rebuilding Abandoned Communities in America; Tawanda Jones, activist and sister of Tyrone West, who was killed by Baltimore police in July 2013; Jacqueline Robarge, founder and director of Power Inside, a project of Fusion Partnerships; and Kwame Rose, social activist and hip-hop artist.

Critical Social Justice: Baltimore 365 was held October 19-23 at UMBC. The initiative was coordinated by the Women’s Center with Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity. Critical Social Justice Week aims to explore social justice in both theory and practice from academic, activist, and artistic perspectives. This year’s event explored ways to cultivate deep and lasting commitments to Baltimore City.

Image: Critical Social Justice Week 2015 discussion. Photo courtesy UMBC Women’s Center.

Business Insider ranks UMBC one of America’s 50 most underrated colleges

Business Insider has placed UMBC at #32 on a list of the 50 most underrated colleges in America.

The site combined the PayScale ranking with those produced by U.S. News & World Report to discover colleges and universities with a large disparity between their college rank and their salary rank.

The group ranked more than 1,000 colleges and universities based on their reputation and graduates’ mid-career salaries, paying particular attention to schools with lower U.S. News rankings but stronger than expected career salaries.

Image: True Grit statue, fall 2015. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

UMBC celebrates launch of campaign to reconnect with 70,000 global alumni ahead of 50th

Can hundreds of committed UMBC alumni, students, faculty and staff spread the word about our exceptional public research university and its 50th anniversary to almost 70,000 alumni and the rest of the world?

The first wave of those “hundreds” – including more than 200 alumni – gathered at Homecoming 2015 in a tent on UMBC’s new campus entrance to kick off a year-long effort to do just that.

It was a festive evening where old friends reconnected and new relationships were forged. In coming together, attendees found unity in the fundamental power of unique UMBC stories across many decades to enrich lives and engage others in telling the story of the university.

The brand for UMBC’s 50th anniversary also made its debut at the event. UMBC 50: Grit and Greatness blends the pioneering spirit of the students, faculty, staff and academic leaders who built a new university in Maryland and the successes in teaching, research and diverse excellence that have thrust UMBC into the public conversation about best practices in higher education.

“Your Story Is Our Story” was a key theme of the evening, and amidst music from the UMBC Jazz Ensemble and the clinking of cocktail glasses, alumni told their stories in video booths installed for the event, or scrolled on a large screen inside the tent.

The kickoff event also featured alumni storytellers selected from diverse backgrounds and decades who shared their experiences from the stage, preceded by remarks from their fellow alumna, Adrienne Jones ’76, psychology, who serves as Speaker Pro Tem of the Maryland House of Delegates.

In her time in Annapolis, Delegate Jones has helped UMBC find the resources to grow along with its achievements and ambitions. But she also observed that “whatever I am able to accomplish for our alma mater is possible because UMBC is such a great story – your story.”

Some alumni storytellers summoned up the spirit of volunteerism to UMBC that animated the event. Diane Tichnell ’70, political science, and a member of the very first class to graduate from UMBC, recalled the opportunities that UMBC provided its very first students in 1966: “The watchword of that day was ‘innovate, innovate, innovate.’ We couldn’t do anything else.” Tichnell also challenged her fellow alumni: “Stick close to this campus. Make sure that the students now and the students in the future have the same chance.”

Other stories directly spoke to the theme of UMBC’s 50th anniversary year. Corey Fleischer ’05, ’08 M.S. mechanical engineering, and a founder of UMBC’s successful Mini-Baja racing squad, recalled taking that team from the challenges of its first races to eventual triumphs. The winner of the engineering-themed TV competition Big Brain Theory: Pure Genius told the audience: “Anything worth doing requires a significant amount of grit. And the amount of grit really helps define that total greatness.”

The stories also reminded the audience of UMBC’s power to change lives. “I learned so much from being on the UMBC campus,” said Joseph Jones ’06, social work, founder of Baltimore’s Center for Urban Families (CFUF). Encouraged by President Hrabowski to earn his degree at UMBC after working past a troubled youth that included a stint in jail, Jones observed that “I learned how to be a scientist in social services by coming to this honors university.”

Reflecting on the many stories told that night, President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III observed “In each case, it was the story of a transformation. Of grit, and then, of what I want to call ‘moments of greatness.’ It is not that we, as an institution, are great. It is that we aspire to greatness and we have moments of greatness.”

The upcoming year will be filled with many more stories of grit and greatness. And, as with any kickoff, this is just the beginning. And UMBC is seeking many more of the “hundreds” of alumni who will volunteer to help the university forge personal connections with thousands of alumni over the coming year.

There are other ways to get involved as well. The organizers of the university’s 50 anniversary celebrations are seeking ideas for events that celebrate UMBC’s legacy and look to the university’s future as well. There is even a competition open to alumni and the university to propose ideas for events that will connect more alumni to UMBC in its anniversary year and provide support and funding to make them happen.

You can be part of the party. And part of the story. Go to 50.umbc.edu to find out more.

Image: Guests at UMBC 50th anniversary launch celebration. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Ramon Goings spotlights possible harm to minority-serving institutions from new teacher-prep policy

Writing on the website Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, Ramon B. Goings raises red flags about a federal regulation-in-the-making that will require states to come up with formulas to evaluate teacher-education programs.

ramongoingsGoings, the program coordinator of the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program, and co-author Larry J. Walker, an educational consultant, argue that such evaluations are likely to threaten minority-serving institutions (MSIs) more than other higher-education institutions because MSIs typically enroll a higher proportion of students underprepared for college work. If teacher- preparation programs don’t meet the new standards, they may lose federal funding, including grants that support students who agree to teach in high-poverty schools.

“While it is important to hold universities accountable for preparing teachers [well] … policymakers must consider the important role of MSIs in educating [aspiring teachers] of color,” Goings and Walker write.

Despite school districts’ increased interest in hiring minority teachers, the regulation could discourage talented but underprepared students from pursuing education majors by, for example, imposing minimum test-score requirements. The teacher-prep programs either adopt the federally mandated standards or risk losing federal funds, including grants that draw students.

Either way, according to the authors, the capacity of the institutions to graduate dedicated minority teachers for underserved schools would be undercut.

Walker and Goings urge states to carefully consider the impact of the new standards. If states want to diversify their K-12 teaching workforce, the authors write, they must find ways to support MSIs in their longstanding contributions to the preparation of teachers of color.

In addition to his position at UMBC, Goings is a doctoral candidate in urban educational leadership at Morgan State University

Read the article here.

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