A University and Its Community

"Patapsco: Portrait of a Valley"
Their portraits--their faces, their own words, their surroundings--tell the stories of their lives and give a vivid sense of a certain time and place in Maryland. And their world came alive on the walls of UMBC's Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery when the exhibit "Portraits of the Patapsco" made its debut this spring. (more...)

Urban Transplant Analysis
UMBC policy sciences graduate student George Wagner didn't need to look far for a compelling research project. It was right at his doorstep. As a transplanted suburbanite who moved into Baltimore City two decades ago, Wagner has been part of the upsurge in urban living that has turned several South Baltimore neighborhoods into some of the most desirable places to live in the city. (more...)

Shady Grove Center Opens
UMBC has joined the Universities at Shady Grove, "a new concept in advanced education" pioneered by the University System of Maryland. The Universities at Shady Grove brings together select programs from 11 universities in the University of Maryland system at a campus in Rockville, Maryland, allowing students to complete the last two years of requirements for their baccalaureates in daytime classes at a convenient location. (more...)

Swapping Lacrosse Sticks for Saddles
They've become friends: the big strapping UMBC men's lacrosse team players and the disabled children who come to the Patapsco Horse Farm to ride horses for therapy. The athletes stand by the physically challenged children, guiding their horses and giving them a sense of accomplishment and confidence. The kids look up to the UMBC guys, trust them, and go to UMBC lacrosse games to root for their pals. (more...)

Connecting Kids With Their History
Omar Akbar Young '01, a France/Merrick Fellow at UMBC, has a deep-rooted knowledge and appreciation for African and African-American history, an interest he's helping to cultivate in children in Baltimore's inner city. Working through the Shriver Center's acclaimed Choice program, Young developed the "Ghetto Griot Program," connecting an ancient storytelling tradition with the contemporary language of rap. (more...)

Ideas in Focus: Birds of a Feather
Baltimore is filled with people who think they're experts on Orioles and Ravens--you can hear them on sports-talk-radio shows every day, dissecting the nature of the hometown teams. But Kevin Omland, assistant professor of biological sciences, really is an expert on the nature of orioles and ravens--the fine-feathered, rather than big-muscled, species-and he certainly has landed in the right town. (more...)