Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, on Midday with Dan Rodricks

Oct 16, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

On Friday, October 13, Kimberly Moffitt, assistant professor of American studies, discussed the vice presidential debate on WYPR’s Midday with Dan Rodricks. Rodricks opened the discussion by asking if the vice presidential debate mattered. Most viewers found the debate entertaining, but would anything that the vice presidential nominees said change voters’ minds? “I do think this was a sideshow, but it was a pretty entertaining one for us all,” said Moffitt. “These are two individuals who do matter, but they aren’t the voices we want to hear most significantly in the election. They made a difference in terms of reenergizing,… Continue Reading Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, on Midday with Dan Rodricks

Robert Provine, Psychology, to Give Talk at the Ivy Bookshop

Oct 12, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Robert Provine, professor of psychology, will read from his new book, Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond, at the Ivy Bookshop on Tuesday, October 16 at 6:30 p.m. In Curious Behavior, Provine boldly goes where other scientists seldom tread – in search of hiccups, coughs, yawns, sneezes, and other lowly, undignified human behaviors. These instinctive acts can be valuable tools for understanding how the human brain works and what makes us different from other species. The Ivy is located at 6080 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD 21209, and is owned by alumnus alumnus Ed Berlin ’70, history. More information about… Continue Reading Robert Provine, Psychology, to Give Talk at the Ivy Bookshop

Two Professors Discuss Collaboration in The Chronicle of Higher Education

Oct 10, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

In fall 2011, Michele Osherow, associate professor of English, and Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, collaborated to jointly teach a freshman seminar, “Mathematics and What It Means to be Human,” in which they explored the connections between the two disciplines. They are discussing their collaboration, and its challenges, in a three-part series on The Chronicle of Higher Education. In the first part of the series, the two discuss what led them to teach the class, and their experiences in planning it. “Ever since the word problems my father forced on us at dinner, I’ve always been terrified of math,” Osherow… Continue Reading Two Professors Discuss Collaboration in The Chronicle of Higher Education

Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, on Midday with Dan Rodricks

Oct 10, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Kimberly Moffitt, assistant professor of American studies, appeared on Midday with Dan Rodricks on Tuesday, October 9 to discuss the upcoming election. Moffitt discussed both the presidential election and Maryland ballot initiatives with Rodricks, the other guests, and callers. The first topic the group covered was the widespread consensus that Barack Obama lost the first presidential debate. This led to Mitt Romney’s poll numbers going up despite the fact that the unemployment rate fell below 8 percent. “Visuals make a difference for us. Being able to see Romney come out and be aggressive, seem confident and show us that he… Continue Reading Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, on Midday with Dan Rodricks

Center for Aging Studies Receives $1.37 Million NIH Grant for Diabetes Research

Oct 9, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

The National Institutes of Health has awarded researchers from UMBC’s Center for Aging Studies a three-year research grant totaling $1,366,702 to examine “The Subjective Experience of Diabetes among Urban Older Adults.” This ethnographic study seeks to inform targeted interventions to improve diabetes-related outcomes among underrepresented populations. Results may be used to design more sensitive and culturally appropriate education and self-management programs. J. Kevin Eckert, professor and chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Sarah Chard, associate professor of anthropology, are co-PIs on the project. Additional collaborators from the department include Assistant Professor Brandy Harris-Wallace, Professor Robert Rubinstein and… Continue Reading Center for Aging Studies Receives $1.37 Million NIH Grant for Diabetes Research

UMBC Study on Economic Impact of Dream Act in Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, WYPR

Oct 8, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

In one month Maryland voters will decide whether to allow undocumented immigrants who graduate from Maryland high schools and meet other requirements to pay in-county/in-state tuition at local community colleges and public universities. Until now, voters had little information to go on about the Dream Act’s likely effects, but a new report from UMBC professors T.H. Gindling (economics) and Marvin Mandell (public policy) offers hard data on its economic impacts. “Private and Government Fiscal Costs and Benefits of the Maryland Dream Act” is a working paper funded by the Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR) at UMBC. The… Continue Reading UMBC Study on Economic Impact of Dream Act in Washington Post, Baltimore Sun, WYPR

Ryan Bloom, English, in the American Prospect

Oct 5, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

“For major league baseball fans in Washington, it’s been 79 years of waiting for another postseason appearance. The last time they made it to the playoffs, Herbert Hoover was just leaving the first air-conditioned Oval Office. This Sunday, the wait ends,” writes Ryan Bloom, English lecturer, in The American Prospect. Bloom gives an account of the complicated history of baseball in the nation’s capital, concluding that “Whatever may come, the excitement in Washington is palpable… it seems D.C. fans of all stripes know what the rest of baseball is just figuring out: This time, the Washington Nationals are here to… Continue Reading Ryan Bloom, English, in the American Prospect

Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in the Baltimore Sun

Oct 3, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

In his latest Baltimore Sun column, UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller critiques conservative pundits’ concerns about “redistributive welfare” in the U.S. today. Schaller argues, “the threat of socialism swallowing America is as imaginary as a Martian invasion.” He writes: In fact, on almost any measure — from the growing share of income earned or wealth controlled by either the top 1 percent or 10 percent; the geometric rise in CEO-to-worker pay ratio; the declining rates of intergenerational mobility that reinforce and exacerbate these disparities — America is not becoming more socialist, nor is the country’s wealth being redistributed.… Continue Reading Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in the Baltimore Sun

Kathy O’Dell, CAHSS, Appointed to Maryland State Arts Council

Sep 28, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

Kathy O’Dell, the associate dean of the college of arts, humanities and social sciences, has been appointed to the Maryland State Arts Council. The Council is an appointed body of 17 citizens. Thirteen are named by the Governor to three-year terms, which are renewable once. Two private citizens and two legislators are appointed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House. “The newly appointed councilors represent broad arts expertise across a diversity of Maryland communities and professional backgrounds,” said Theresa Colvin, executive director of the MSAC. “Under the leadership of our new chair, Barbara Bershon, they will… Continue Reading Kathy O’Dell, CAHSS, Appointed to Maryland State Arts Council

Kevin Wisniewski, LLC student, Selected as 2012-2013 HASTAC Scholar & Mentor

Sep 28, 2012 / 2 minutes of reading

Kevin A. Wisniewski, first year Ph.D. candidate in the Language, Literacy, and Culture program, was named a 2012-2013 HASTAC Scholar. Dr. Craig Saper, Director of the LLC program, was selected to serve as Wisniewski’s HASTAC Mentor. HASTAC (Humanities, Arts, Science and Technology Advanced Collaboratory, pronounced “haystack”) is a virtual organization of over 7000 individuals and institutions inspired by the possibilities that new technologies offer for shaping how society learns, teaches, communicates, creates, and organizes at the local and global levels. It was founded by Cathy N. Davidson, former Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies and co-founder of the John Hope Franklin… Continue Reading Kevin Wisniewski, LLC student, Selected as 2012-2013 HASTAC Scholar & Mentor

Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, on artcritical

Sep 28, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Ellen Handler Spitz recently reviewed the Museum of Modern Art exhibit “The Century of the Child:: Growing by Design 1900-2000” for the online magazine artcritical. Spitz says that the exhibit “bypasses emotion.” “Much of the intense passion, however—the felt crises, anxieties, puzzlements, riotous humor, and delirious joys— that characterize living children both mentally and behaviorally has gone missing,” she writes. Spitz says that through the exhibit, you come to see how children are used to advance adult ideas, and that today’s “child is as much a projection of adult fantasy and social ideology as the pale coy innocents of the… Continue Reading Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, on artcritical

Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, in the Baltimore Sun

Sep 28, 2012 / 1 minute of reading

Kimberly Moffitt, assistant professor of American Studies, responded to the new film “Won’t Back Down” in a September 28 Baltimore Sun op-ed entitled “Education blame game leaves kids behind.” The film, inspired by true events, tells the story of America’s public school system through the story of two women from disparate socioeconomic backgrounds who find common ground when both are faced with the task of finding better public school alternatives for their children with learning differences. Moffitt relates the tone of the movie, with it’s heroes and villans, to the discussion around Baltimore’s public schools. “Where we go wrong is in focusing… Continue Reading Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, in the Baltimore Sun

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