Perspectives

Postcards From Pyongyang – Brian Souders ’09, Ph.D., LLC

/ 4 minutes of reading

Brian Souders ’09, Ph.D.,  language, literacy and culture, has directed UMBC’s Study Abroad program since 2000. His own travels and study have taken him to (among many locations) Finland and Russia, but Souders spent a week this past spring in one of the most secretive and closed-off nations in the world: North Korea. Officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (or DPRK), North Korea hosts only a few thousand tourists annually – and only a fraction of that number are Americans. A week spent in North Korea in March is not a spring break trip to Cancún by… Continue Reading Postcards From Pyongyang – Brian Souders ’09, Ph.D., LLC

How To Sew (a Flag) and Tell (a Great American Story)

/ 4 minutes of reading

With Kristin Schenning ’15, Mimi Dietrich ’70, and Vickie Greisman ’13 By Meredith Purvis Americans take immense pride in their flag. The simple rectangle of red, white and blue fabric sewn together is a national symbol that helps knit Americans together as a people. But how much does the average person know about the actual flag that “Star Spangled Banner” author Francis Scott Key saw flying over Fort McHenry during the War of 1812? Kristin Schenning, a UMBC graduate student and the education director for the Maryland State Historical Society, and a team of volunteers want to help Americans reconnect… Continue Reading How To Sew (a Flag) and Tell (a Great American Story)

Discovery – Fall 2013

/ 10 minutes of reading

STAYING POWER On May 17, 1968, the eyes of the nation turned to an unassuming two-story building on  Frederick Road in Catonsville. The building was the local Knights of Columbus Hall, and during the Vietnam War, its second floor housed Selective Service Local Board No. 33.  On that sunny spring day, nine Roman Catholic anti-war activists, including priests Philip and Daniel Berrigan, broke into the draft board, took records outside, and burned them with homemade napalm. The Catonsville Nine, as they would become known, then held hands, prayed, and waited to be arrested. Hit & Stay, a new documentary co-produced… Continue Reading Discovery – Fall 2013

Back Story – Fall 2013

/ 13 minutes of reading

One of the challenges in creating a greener planet earth is to carefully consider what policy initiatives will most effective for achieving sustainability goals. Virginia McConnell, a professor of economics and co-chair of UMBC’s Climate Change Task Force, is an expert on assessing the effects of policies to improve the environment. She talked with UMBC Magazine about her research on fuel regulations for motor vehicles — and the unintended consequences that often arise from well-intentioned initiatives. UMBC Magazine: CAFE is an acronym that one often hears when we talk about fuel economy. What is it? McConnell: CAFE stands for Corporate… Continue Reading Back Story – Fall 2013

Up On the Roof – Summer 2013

/ 4 minutes of reading

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, takes your questions. Q:  I want to thank you for making me proud to have a degree from UMBC. The legacy you are building not only enriches students’ experiences, but adds value to their postgraduate lives. How will you continue the momentum you’ve built – and specifically where will additional capital be directed in the coming years? – John Becker ’01, information systems A:  Wherever I go in the country, people talk about UMBC as a university that is setting a standard for inclusive excellence. So how do we keep the momentum? First, I… Continue Reading Up On the Roof – Summer 2013

To You – Summer 2013

/ 2 minutes of reading

I am on UMBC’s campus almost every working day. As the editor of UMBC Magazine, that’s not unexpected. It’s my job. But before I became editor, I came back to UMBC a number of times after graduating in 1986. Sometimes I returned to see a former professor. Other times, I was invited to speak to young journalists, or a new generation of Bartleby editors. I also attended alumni events. The staff of our alumni relations department work hard to come up with events that will entice you to reconnect with the university and your fellow alumni. These events include talks… Continue Reading To You – Summer 2013

Back Story – Summer 2013

/ 11 minutes of reading

The Hrabowski Fund for Innovation – established in honor of UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, to help UMBC faculty pursue new approaches to teaching – made its inaugural awards in January. Among the recipients were Marie desJardins, a professor of computer science and electrical engineering, Nagaraj Neerchal, chair of the department of mathematics and statistics, and Leslie Morgan, a professor of sociology and anthropology. Each project pushed UMBC’s already burgeoning culture of curricular innovation and pushed it into new directions and disciplines. DesJardins created the ACTIVE (Active Computing Teaching and InnoVation Environment) center to create a more collaborative environment… Continue Reading Back Story – Summer 2013

Composition as Conversation – James Polchin ’89, PoliSci and English

/ 6 minutes of reading

Teaching students how to write more clearly and powerfully in introductory writing classes is at the heart of the university’s mission. But technology is transforming the task, says James Polchin ’89, political science and English, who teaches writing and founded a website – WritingInPublic.com – that celebrates the contemporary essay. Polchin has taught in the Princeton Writing Program, the New School for Social Research, and is currently on the faculty of the Global Liberal Studies Program at New York University.  by James Polchin ’89 It has been nearly 30 years since I walked into a small, green-walled classroom in what… Continue Reading Composition as Conversation – James Polchin ’89, PoliSci and English

Up On the Roof – Winter 2013

/ 4 minutes of reading

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, takes your questions. Q. With the many tools needed for success as president of a university, what’s that one thing you wish you’d known before you became UMBC’s leader? — Israel Cross ’04, biological sciences, and Ph.D. ’10, gerontology A. In the early years, I didn’t know as much about how to work effectively with public officials and the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland to get support for the university. In the early 1990s, we were still at a disadvantage when we were talking to the state legislature, partly because… Continue Reading Up On the Roof – Winter 2013

To You – Winter 2013

/ 3 minutes of reading

UMBC boasts an amazing faculty, and one of the great pleasures of editing this magazine is getting to know many of them and bring the work they do to a much wider audience of alumni and other university stakeholders. In the Winter 2013 issue of UMBC Magazine, the rich diversity of our faculty’s activities in the arts, social sciences, humanities, mathematics and sciences is on full display. In our “Discovery” section, you can read how UMBC faculty members are working to attract students to the field of psychology, make our lawns cleaner and greener, create new opportunities for composers to… Continue Reading To You – Winter 2013

The Power of Tri – Randianne Leyshon ’09, MLL

/ 5 minutes of reading

Studying a language not only expands your mind, but it expands your circle of friends to far-flung lands and even closer to home, as alumna Randianne Leyshon ’09, modern languages and linguistics, and two other friends discovered as they studied Russian at UMBC. Fate plays a fundamental role in Russian literature. Unexpected tragedies, reversals of fortune, missed connections. Somewhere Annushka’s always buying and spilling the sunflower oil – an unremarkable event which leads to a horrible death and sets off the fantastical plot of Mikhail Bulgakov’s magical realist masterpiece The Master and Margarita. It was fate – in the form… Continue Reading The Power of Tri – Randianne Leyshon ’09, MLL

Back Story – Winter 2013

/ 3 minutes of reading

Public universities have a tradition of commitment to social responsibility. The UMBC community has taken a giant leap forward in addressing social challenges through a new movement called BreakingGround which debuted in Fall 2012. UMBC Student Government Association President Kaylesh Ramu ’13, political science, and David Hoffman, assistant director of student life for civic agency, are at the forefront of this effort to empower campus stakeholders to tackle issues that matter to them through innovative courses and co-curricular programs. Where did the idea for BreakingGround originate? Hoffman: UMBC has been participating for eight or ten years in national conversations about… Continue Reading Back Story – Winter 2013

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