“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
Meredith Oyen, associate professor of history and Asian studies, discusses President Biden’s remarks about U.S. military intervention should China attempt an invasion of Taiwan.y towards China. Continue Reading Biden again indicates that US will defend Taiwan ‘militarily’ – does this constitute a change in policy?
“In recent research, I studied how Americans’ perceptions of their own political knowledge shape their political attitudes,” says Ian Anson, associate professor of political science. “My results show that many Americans think they know much more about politics than they really do. Political overconfidence causes Americans to underestimate the political skill of their peers. And those who believe themselves to be political experts often dismiss the guidance of real experts.” Continue Reading Americans think they know a lot about politics – and it’s bad for democracy that they’re so often wrong in their confidence
Nkiru Nnawulezi, associate professor of psychology, is co-leading a community-based project focused on domestic violence survivors’ access to housing in collaboration with the DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Continue Reading UMBC’s Nkiru Nnawulezi and D.C. community partners make the case for survivor-centered housing services
The anti-abortion movement is often criticized as caring little about these matters. UMBC’s Laura Antkowiak, political science, who has studied the intersections of abortion and social welfare issues, I became intrigued by a large but little-known subset of anti-abortion activists who claimed to support women during pregnancy and after childbirth. Continue Reading Anti-abortion pregnancy centers will likely outlast the age of Roe – here’s how they’re funded and the services they provide
“As a political scientist who studies voting and public opinion, I have my doubts about the true power of Trump’s endorsements,” says Ian Anson, assistant professor of political science at UMBC. “Instead, it is more likely that most of the candidates Trump has chosen to endorse were already on track to win their respective races.” Continue Reading Trump-endorsed candidates would generally win even without his support – and that’s usually the case with all political endorsements
The notion of the “American dream”—that hard work can lead to social and economic mobility—has existed in the United States for centuries, and it has been disputed for almost as long. Pamela Bennett’s new book takes on this idea. Bennett, associate professor of public policy, explores some of the social, educational, and economic factors that impact the decisions that middle- and working-class parents make in hopes that their children can attain the “American dream.” Continue Reading “Parenting in Privilege or Peril,” a new book by UMBC’s Pamela R. Bennett, explores barriers to the “American dream”
Following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the Retriever community has turned to students and faculty to provide insight on the subject, as well as ways to help. Continue Reading UMBC Responds to Putin’s War in Ukraine
“Our work shows that most areas depicted as ‘untouched,’ ‘wild,’ and ‘natural’ are actually areas with long histories of human inhabitation and use,” Ellis previously shared with UMBC News. They might be interpreted like this, he suggests, because in these areas, “societies used their landscapes in ways that sustained most of their native biodiversity and even increased their biodiversity, productivity, and resilience.” Continue Reading Smithsonian features Erle Ellis’s research on how humans have shaped ecology over millennia as a top discovery of 2021
Senior year ended with a surprising turn of events for Dominique Ross ‘21 and Yianni Karabatis ‘21. Both received prestigious Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for 2021 – 2022. But, like many Fulbright recipients, their Fulbright experiences were initially stalled due to COVID-19. Now, with immunization and continued mask requirements, international travel is once again possible for Fulbright recipients. Continue Reading After COVID halted global travel, UMBC’s newest Fulbright Scholars begin their journeys
“This professorship will help Tim continue his research in wages, work, poverty, and income distribution in Latin America and East Asia,” says UMBC’s David Mitch, chair and professor of economics. “It brings to the forefront the importance of his research and its impact at an international level, which is in large part due to his ability to foster successful research collaborations.” This includes research partnerships in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia, Canada, China, and Taiwan. Continue Reading International labor economist Tim Gindling is named UMBC’s 2021 – 2022 Liptz Professor
STEM professionals need to prioritize the social impact of their work. Interdisciplinary teams at UMBC are researching methods to support these efforts. Continue Reading Innovation and Social Impact
