If you marvel at how well UMBC’s buildings have been maintained over the last decade or so, you can point to the hard work of James Donlan ’85, economics, who until recently served as the university’s director of facilities management. In that position, Donlan supervised the maintenance of 3.6 million square feet in UMBC’s 49 buildings. He also guided the university through some of its most challenging renovations of major buildings and constructions of new buildings in the past 15 years. And while his departure means the university has big work boots to fill, Donlan is tackling a challenge that… Continue Reading Building and Bonding – James Donlan ’85, economics
Sideshows featuring amazing feats and astonishing freaks became an industry in the United States in the 19th century. But these traveling caravans have been on the endangered list in recent decades. Collecting the artifacts and celebrating the artistry of this vanishing industry has proven addictive to James Taylor ’73, interdisciplinary studies. Taylor’s magazine about the sideshows – James Taylor’s Shocked and Amazed! On & Off The Midway – has been featured prominently in The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Baltimore Sun. His collection of sideshow memorabilia was the backbone of Baltimore’s late, lamented American Dime Museum, and… Continue Reading Carny Attraction – James Taylor ’73, INDS
When Laura Pasquini ’98, visual arts, started her studies in art at UMBC, she thought she wanted to be a museum curator, creating exhibits that set great art in narrative contexts. Pasquini did end up working at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., one of the most prestigious museums in the United States. But she did so in way that’s making a difference for thousands of young people and their families by opening up the Corcoran’s magnificent collection and the gallery’s other assets for learning. As the director of the Corcoran’s Youth and Family Programs, Pasquini has revamped… Continue Reading The Art of Educating – Laura Pasquini ’98, visual arts
The magazine’s staffers have had their taste buds tickled and their bellies filled as we put together an issue that focuses on food. (Excuse us if we’ve put on a few pounds in the process.) We also have not been starved for outside attention as a university or a magazine. Check out our “News” section (pages 6 and 7) for stories about Time magazine’s recognition of UMBC president Freeman A. Hrabowski, III and the bevy of awards that UMBC Magazine already has picked up in its first months of existence. But I want to spend a few moments articulating a… Continue Reading To You – Winter 2010
UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III takes your questions. Q. You are well-known for your unending energy. Many students and alums marvel at it and wonder: What is your secret? Do you have any advice for staying energetic and healthy while maintaining a busy work schedule? — Julia Tillman ’07, Modern Language and Linguistics A. Balance in life is so important. I am thrilled to be moving towards my 40th wedding anniversary and my 40th reunion from college. So I’m reflecting this year about what’s important in life. And what I’m thinking about more and more is balance. That has… Continue Reading Up On The Roof – Winter 2010
Judge Dana M. Levitz ’70, theater and Alicia Wilson ’04, political science, have more in common than legal careers. Both are also winners of UMBC’s Outstanding Alumni of the Year Award (Judge Levitz in 1993, and Wilson in 2009). Levitz was a member of UMBC’s first graduating class. He retired from a long and distinguished career on Maryland’s Circuit Court last year. Wilson is an associate at Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger and Hollander. She was a Sondheim scholar and the recipient of a prestigious Harry S. Truman scholarship. How did studying drama help you become a good trial lawyer, Judge… Continue Reading Over Coffee – Winter 2010
Arbutus ♥ UMBC UMBC is a community that is surrounded by two other communities – Arbutus and Catonsville. But many who work and study at the university don’t know much about their neighbors. In August, Arbutus did its part to change that dynamic by welcoming UMBC back to campus with snazzy black-and-gold “Retriever Believer” banners, emblazoned with the names of local businesses and hung along the town’s main drag. Arbutus’ Hollywood Theater even put the welcome up on its marquee. The initiative was spearheaded by Terrence Nolan ’82, political science, president of the Arbutus Business and Professional Association. “UMBC represents… Continue Reading The News – Winter 2010
Wanna be a celebrity culinary entrepreneur like Ace of Cakes star Duff Goldman ’97? UMBC’s Outstanding Alumnus of the Year in the Humanities for 2009 offers a few hints: Don’t sweat the numbers. Don’t get complacent. And prepare for some hard knocks. By Ana Marie Cox Images courtesy of Charm City Cakes Look at the numbers and Jeffrey “Duff”Goldman ’97, history, is a business whiz of the first order – a thriving entrepreneur whose successful cake making business was launched into the stratosphere by a hit reality show. But as any viewer of Food Network’s Ace of Cakes can tell… Continue Reading The (Business) World According to Duff
UMBC alumnus Father Leo Patalinghug ’92 finds the divine in cuisine and competition. His quest may yet make him one of America’s best-known Catholic priests. By B. Rose Huber Images courtesy of Grace Before Meals Rev. Leo Patalinghug ’92, political science, says he never gets nervous when he hosts his popular online cooking show, Grace Before Meals. But even he might confess to having a bit of anxiety at a taping of his show that was also filmed by the Food Network last June. As a rule, Patalinghug concentrates intensely on whatever task is at hand. He often grows impatient,… Continue Reading Break Bread. Break Boards. Break Dance.
UMBC American studies professor Warren Belasco has pioneered food studies’ explosive growth in the classroom and the larger culture. By Phoebe Connelly “You did not go into food as an academic in 1972,” Warren Belasco told an audience of fellow scholars in Oxford, Mississippi this past October with a smile. “That was not something you did.” So how did a professor of American studies at UMBC who did so end up as one of this country’s most prominent researchers on food and culture? In his 30 years at UMBC, Belasco has not just pioneered a discipline that has now captured… Continue Reading The Scholar at the Supermarket
Food is not only a means of individual sustenance. The act of sharing a meal helps to form and sustain communities as well. UMBC is no exception. Whether it’s a student and a professor discussing a term paper over a cup of coffee from Au Bon Pain or an off-campus expedition to a restaurant in Arbutus, Catonsville or Ellicott City, food and drink help cement the university community together. And as 2010 dawns, almost anyone would agree that today’s UMBC students, faculty and staff are luckier than ever in their choice of eateries. The Commons boasts sushi, pizza and barbecue.… Continue Reading Edible UMBC
A Date with Darwin Forgive Sandra Herbert if she’s a bit exhausted as 2009 comes to a close. Herbert, a professor emerita of history, is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the work of Charles Darwin, whose theorizing on natural selection and evolution revolutionized the course of scientific thought. And 2009 held not one but two significant Darwinian anniversaries: the 200th anniversary of his birth (on the same date, February 12, 1809, that Abraham Lincoln was born) and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his classic text, On the Origin of Species. The “Darwin Year” saw Herbert giving… Continue Reading Discovery – Winter 2010
