Gary Kachadourian, IMDA Graduate Student, Receives Grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation

Jan 9, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Gary Kachadourian, an MFA student in Imaging and Digital Arts, has received a $25,000 grant from the Joan Mitchell Foundation’s Painters and Sculptors Grant Program. The Painters & Sculptors Grant Program was established in 1993 to assist individual artists. The grants are given to acknowledge painters and sculptors creating work of exceptional quality. Mr. Kachadourian will have work on display at UMBC from January 26 through February 18 at the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture’s MFA Imaging and Digital Arts Thesis Exhibition.

Donald Norris, Public Policy, on WJZ and in the Gazette

Jan 6, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

UMBC professor Donald Norris, chair of public policy, appeared on WJZ (CBS Baltimore) last night, commenting on Republican Nancy Jacobs’s campaign for the Congressional seat Democrat Dutch Ruppersberger has held since 2003. “It’s very, very hard to beat an incumbent, and I think it’s going to be very hard for anyone–Nancy Jacobs or whomever–to beat Dutch Ruppersberger,” Norris explained. He argued current public sentiment about politics may not be positive, but “it’s less an anti-incumbency mood than it is an anti-Washington, anti-Congress mood.” Norris also commented in the Gazette on the possibility of state referendums on same-sex marriage and the… Continue Reading Donald Norris, Public Policy, on WJZ and in the Gazette

Robert Deluty, Graduate School, Publishes His 34th Book

Jan 6, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Robert Deluty, associate dean of the graduate school, has published a new book of poetry, “A Scratch On The Wall.” In his review, Ronald Pies writes: “Robert Deluty’s latest collection takes its cue from William Faulkner’s observation that the writer ‘wants to leave a scratch on [the] wall… that somebody a hundred, or a thousand years later will see.’ Indeed, whether it is the ‘renowned scientist/ requesting to be buried/ holding his reprints’ or ‘the frightened man/ wishing he could be bold/ outside his dreams,’ Deluty’s memorable poetic characters often embody the deep desire to ‘leave a scratch’ on the… Continue Reading Robert Deluty, Graduate School, Publishes His 34th Book

Robert Provine, Psychology, on ARTE

Jan 5, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Work done by Robert Provine, professor of psychology, was recently featured in a film shown on the European television station ARTE. The film, ‘Une Histoire Naturelle du Rire’ was broadcast in both German and French on December 30. It can be viewed for a limited time here.

Christopher Corbett, English, in Style

Jan 4, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Christopher Corbett, professor of the practice of English, wrote about books and New Year’s resolutions in his latest column for Style magazine. Corbett has not resolved to get a Kindle, nor has he resolved to thin his massive book collection. “Kindle and e-books may be the future, but what kind of future would I have without my boon companions Eeyore and Christopher Robin and Kim and Long John Silver and Squire Trelawney? I still believe we ought to meet them in books, with actual pages,” he writes. The essay, “One For the Books” appeared in the January 2012 issue of… Continue Reading Christopher Corbett, English, in Style

Kathleen Wilson, Ph.D. ’03, Starts as New CMS Deputy Director

Jan 4, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Kathleen Wilson, who received her Ph.D. in health policy from UMBC in 2003, is the new deputy director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Division of Nursing Homes. In a special profile following the appointment, McKnight’s Long-Term Care News described Wilson as a “health policy powerhouse.” Wilson’s dissertation advisor at UMBC was Cheryl M. Miller, associate dean in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and associate professor of public policy. Miller told McKnight’s she was particularly impressed with Wilson’s ability to juggle her job, family and doctoral degree, saying, “She’s a great example of someone… Continue Reading Kathleen Wilson, Ph.D. ’03, Starts as New CMS Deputy Director

Constantine Vaporis, History and Asian Studies, Joins Walters Art Museum Advisory Panel

Jan 3, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Constantine Vaporis, professor of history and director of the Asian studies program, has been invited to become an advisory panel member at the Walters Art Museum. Vaporis is part of an international panel of humanities scholars advising the Walters Art Museum on the renovation of its Asian Art Collection. This is a two-year commitment for 2012-13. The focus of the renovation will be the Hackerman House section of the Walters. Renovations will begin in 2013, and the section is scheduled to reopen in 2015. Vaporis also works with the National Geographic Museum.

UMBC Chess Team Advances to the Final Four Following the “World Series of Chess”

Jan 3, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

The UMBC chess team came in second place on December 30 in the Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, advancing to the 2012 President’s Cup, known as the “Final Four” of chess. The UMBC chess team headed into the 2011 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship with a record nine titles to its name. The competition known informally as the Pan-Am, was held December 27 to 30 in Fort Worth, Texas. Since the tournament began in 1946, dozens of universities throughout the Americas have participated. The Retrievers won their first Pan-Am title in 1996, and then embarked on a five-year title streak… Continue Reading UMBC Chess Team Advances to the Final Four Following the “World Series of Chess”

Eric Zeemering, Public Policy, Receives IBM Center Research Grant

Dec 23, 2011 / 1 minute of reading

Congratulations to Eric Zeemering, assistant professor of public policy at UMBC, on receiving a research award from the IBM Center for the Business of Government. Through this grant Zeemering and colleague Daryl Delabbio will develop, “A County Manager’s Guide to Local Government Service Collaboration.” The IBM Center’s goal for the highly competitive award is “to help public sector executives and managers address real-world problems by supporting leading researchers who produce empirical evidence to inform the debates about whether particular management approaches will improve government performance.”

Tyson King-Meadows, Political Science, to Speak at Pratt Library (1/26)

Dec 23, 2011 / 1 minute of reading

Baltimore’s Pratt Library has announced that UMBC’s Tyson D. King-Meadows will read from his new book “When the Letter Betrays the Spirit: Voting Rights Enforcement and African American Participation from Lyndon Johnson to Barack Obama” on January 26, 6:30 p.m., at the Central Library (400 Cathedral Street) as part of the library’s Black History Month celebration.King-Meadows is associate professor of political science at UMBC. Published in August 2011, his new book explores weaknesses in the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and argues that the law often enables rather than prevents the disenfranchisement of minorities. King-Meadows is also co-author, with UMBC… Continue Reading Tyson King-Meadows, Political Science, to Speak at Pratt Library (1/26)

Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon

Dec 22, 2011 / 1 minute of reading

“This is the moment [Obama] and his presidency promised to deliver,” writes UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller in Salon, of the fight over the payroll tax cut extension. “This is,” he suggests, “a moment for the president to demonstrate the resolve that earned his hopeful believers’ support three years ago, and it comes as he begins asking the electorate for another four-year lease on the Oval Office.” Beyond supporting the payroll tax cut extension, Schaller argues, “the president should go a step further and call out the GOP’s Tea Party wing,” which blocked the passage of a two-month extension… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in Salon

UMBC’s New Media Studio and Erickson School in Catonsville Times

Dec 19, 2011 / 1 minute of reading

Today’s Catonsville Times highlighted an exciting collaboration between UMBC’s New Media Studio and Erickson School: a digital storytelling project paring university students with seniors at the Charlestown Retirement Community. Bill Shewbridge, Director of the New Media Studio, noted that the participation of freshman in the course inspired the theme of life transitions. The students and elders learned from one another’s life experiences through weekly meetings, culminating with the creation of 14 three-minute films, presented in the UMBC Library Gallery. “You can’t tell your life story in three minutes,” Shewbridge said, but the results are compelling. “They’re all different. Some are… Continue Reading UMBC’s New Media Studio and Erickson School in Catonsville Times