A black and white photo of a Black Vaudeville troupe of seven dancers posing in a row while sticking their leg out in unison.

Michelle R. Scott illuminates the lives of Black Vaudeville performers and their broader social impact in Jazz Age America

Apr 7, 2023 / 5 minutes of reading

“My new book explores the lives of the performers, theater owners, producers, managers, and audiences that were part of Black Vaudeville and the Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.),” says Michelle Scott, associate professor of history. “It’s a story about how these Black- and white-owned theaters fostered Black artistic exploration and development and the growth of Black-owned businesses.” Continue Reading Michelle R. Scott illuminates the lives of Black Vaudeville performers and their broader social impact in Jazz Age America

A nursing home resident using a wheelchair receives an injection from a health professional

CIDER program supports new approach to measuring nursing home quality, plus more research collaborations

Mar 15, 2023 / 5 minutes of reading

Assessing the quality of nursing home care has historically been a challenging and complex process that considers only a portion of the factors involved—generally, clinical indicators reported by the nursing homes themselves. UMBC researchers are collaborating on a new measure of nursing home quality that combines care experiences with clinical data. And they are doing it with funding from a new UMBC program designed to support novel research across different teams. Continue Reading CIDER program supports new approach to measuring nursing home quality, plus more research collaborations

A group of students and a professor stand stand close together holding small gold and black signs, civic engagment

Inaugural UMBC Paw Poll reveals high levels of student civic engagement

Feb 15, 2023 / 5 minutes of reading

“My guiding philosophy is to create applied-learning projects that have legs—that go beyond the classroom context. Paw Poll is one example,” says Ian Anson, associate professor of political science. “I want students to experience how political science theories and applications impact communities—in this case, the UMBC community.” Continue Reading Inaugural UMBC Paw Poll reveals high levels of student civic engagement

A postcard from the 1950s showing color and black and white photos of African American families at the beach.

UMBC humanities faculty receive NEH fellowships for research into “the why and how of our past”

Feb 15, 2023 / 3 minutes of reading

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has announced that George Derek Musgrove ‘97, associate professor of history, and Elizabeth Patton, associate professor of media and communication studies, have received the highly competitive 2023 NEH fellowship for research on Black political and cultural mobilizations and Black leisure and tourism, respectivel. Continue Reading UMBC humanities faculty receive NEH fellowships for research into “the why and how of our past”

A person with shoulder length, brown, straight, hair, wearing a black blazer and a spotted black and beige blouse.

NSF awards UMBC’s Lauren Clay $624K Convergence Accelerator grant to address food insecurity in disasters

Jan 6, 2023 / 3 minutes of reading

“Food security is a basic human need and is highly susceptible to disruption when families and communities experience disasters,” says Lauren Clay. She is working to improve food system resilience and decrease disaster-induced food insecurity in communities impacted by hurricanes. Continue Reading NSF awards UMBC’s Lauren Clay $624K Convergence Accelerator grant to address food insecurity in disasters

Three adults in business suits talk to each other.

Transforming the future of healthy aging: UMBC event highlights leading practices, research from Kanagawa and Maryland

Nov 30, 2022 / 7 minutes of reading

UMBC recently partnered with the government of Japan’s Kanagawa prefecture to host the seminar “New Frontiers in Healthcare Management,” examining innovative approaches to healthy aging in society, from a broad range of research and policy perspectives. Continue Reading Transforming the future of healthy aging: UMBC event highlights leading practices, research from Kanagawa and Maryland

Tackling food insecurity in disasters: UMBC’s Lauren Clay develops a new model through $520K NSF CAREER award

Oct 26, 2022 / 7 minutes of reading

“Dr. Clay’s research demonstrates the importance of bringing a social science lens to the understanding of disaster science, management, and resilience,” says Christine Mallinson, director of UMBC’s Center for Social Science Scholarship. Continue Reading Tackling food insecurity in disasters: UMBC’s Lauren Clay develops a new model through $520K NSF CAREER award

Two people sit on the stoop of a brick house as they talk to another person who is standing up and being recorded by a person holding a microphone

Community-building in Baltimore through public humanities

Oct 19, 2022 / 5 minutes of reading

“Place-based public history projects demonstrate that students and scholars can engage and collaborate with communities to identify, analyze, and respond to pressing social problems,” says Nicole King, professor of American studies and director of the Orser Center for the Study of Place, Community, and Culture. Continue Reading Community-building in Baltimore through public humanities

Three women stand side by side on a cement path with a white brick building behind them.

UMBC humanities faculty pursue groundbreaking archival research through over $135,000 in prestigious fellowships

Oct 12, 2022 / 9 minutes of reading

Elizabeth Patton, Mirjam Voerkelius, and Amy Froide have received prestigious research fellowships to explore archives and reveal new findings about unique historical events in the United States, Soviet Union, and United Kingdom. Continue Reading UMBC humanities faculty pursue groundbreaking archival research through over $135,000 in prestigious fellowships

two researchers, one just outside and one inside a large underground pipe several feet in diameter

UMBC to co-lead new Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative with $2.3M grant

Oct 4, 2022 / 5 minutes of reading

The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) has funded Urban Integrated Field Laboratories in three American cities (including Baltimore) to generate resilience-enhancing solutions to urban climate challenges in collaboration with community organizations. “What we want to try to do is partner with the communities to come up with solutions to these climate impact problems,” Claire Welty say, “and then what we’re bringing to the table are our tools to implement that.” Continue Reading UMBC to co-lead new Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative with $2.3M grant

Darryl Acker-Carter speaking on a dock, with the floating oyster aquaculture setup behind him, to a group of teachers

Students in UMBC’s ICARE program connect scientific research with community

Sep 19, 2022 / 6 minutes of reading

Bats as biomonitors, community connections to the zero-waste movement, and oyster aquaculture are just a few of the topics that students in UMBC’s Interdisciplinary Consortium for Applied Research in the Environment (ICARE) master’s program are exploring through Baltimore-centered community-engaged research. As the first cohort in the program heads into their second and final year, they are excited about their work and looking ahead to becoming the next generation of environmental science leaders. Continue Reading Students in UMBC’s ICARE program connect scientific research with community

about 20 black plastic pots containing small native plants

UMBC-led Baltimore Ecosystem Study receives federal support for critical environmental monitoring

Sep 13, 2022 / 5 minutes of reading

The Baltimore Ecosystem Study, led by UMBC in close collaboration with area partners, has been collecting data for more than 20 years on the Baltimore region’s watersheds, ecology, and social issues related to the environment. Continue Reading UMBC-led Baltimore Ecosystem Study receives federal support for critical environmental monitoring