By Stacey Brown, Coordinator, Career Development Center

Part of any effective job search includes preparing for that all-important interview, but are your interviewing skills up-to-date?

What were considered correct responses in the 1990s could actually prevent you from getting a job these days. Why? Because the job climate has shifted and employers have different expectations of a prospective employee than they did even five years ago.

So how do you demonstrate that you're in touch with the business needs of today? The following information describes major shifts in the interviewing process and suggests ways to help you respond. You'll gain insight into the mind of today's typical interviewer and ensure that the questions you're asked don't catch you by surprise.

*Don't worry about your career aspirations five years from now; show what you are capable of doing now.
Just a few years ago, you walked into an interview nearly certain that you'd be asked the question: "What would you like to be doing five years from now?" The anticipated answer demonstrated a combination of loyalty and ambition -- you expressed a desire to remain with the same organization over a period of time and to step into roles of ever increasing responsibility.

Once a standard part of the interview process, this query is fading from use. Given today's tumultuous economic and social climate, employer concerns about longevity have been replaced with a desire to see rapid results. Three-year plans are practically unheard of, which means you need to show that you're capable of getting up to speed immediately and that you have the skills and experience to solve complex problems effectively and without hesitation. Instead of discussing where you plan to be five years from now, be prepared to answer something like: "How would you characterize a 90-day plan to meet the objectives of this position?"

*Demonstrate your ability to create synergy.
Five years ago, when asked to describe your management style, you could impress an interviewer by talking about using performance-management techniques, setting expectations, measuring feedback and rewarding performance -- evidence that you knew how to manage. Now the situation is more complicated -- and more urgent. In addition to showing that you're a capable leader, you must prove that you know how to encourage individuals to work together to accelerate problem-solving. In the past, team-building was recognized primarily for its ability to shape culture. However, given today's accelerated pace, you must show that you understand how to navigate in a complex environment, where how well you work with other parts of the organization is what ultimately produces results.

*Show that you're a decisive leader who's learned from past mistakes.
"How have you solved problems in the past?" Once, this question was best answered by demonstrating that you operated by a model, something like: "I solve problems in a linear fashion. I gather facts, I consider all approaches for solving the problem, I make recommendations, I implement them and I follow up." Several years ago, there was value in being right 100 percent of the time, but employers are beginning to recognize the importance of having failed and subsequently learned from your mistakes. Your ability to articulate the reasons for your choices, the circumstances contributing to the failure and the lessons learned to eliminate a repeat performance will help you to outshine an equally qualified executive, who lacks experience in dealing with adversity. In addition, the executive who gets ahead can demonstrate decisiveness, the courage to take a stand and the ability to adjust to change and forge ahead to produce results.

*Use storytelling to convince an interviewer that you're the perfect person for the job.
"Why are you the ideal candidate for this position?" In the past, when asked this question, you were expected to simply regurgitate your resume. You proved you had the necessary ability by referring back to prior roles. However, showing that you're experienced is no longer enough. Now, you need to provide a detailed account of relevant experiences you've encountered in your career and how they relate to your skills. In other words, you need to show real-life problem-solving in action -- which is probably the most valuable interviewing skill. How do you do this?

Before an interview, think about the skills you want to showcase and prepare an example of how you've put these skills to use. For instance, if you want to display your technical ability, talk about your former company's out-of-date point-of-service system and how you devised an innovative solution to speed checkout and increase profits.

Use this same approach for each skill you want to highlight. Remember to:

1. Lay out the problem you faced;
2. Explain your solution; and
3. Discuss the results.

While doing this, take the interviewer into your world. Paint a vivid picture. In other words, "show, don't tell" that you're the ideal person for the job.

*Show that you'd fit into the company culture.
Having the technical skills to do the job is just the price of entry. What really determines whether you'll get the offer is fit. An interviewer gauges this by listening not only to what is said, but also to the way it's said. Being articulate shows you're credible and aren't making things up as you go along. Speaking passionately shows you're discussing concepts you've spent time pondering. Asking thoughtful questions means you're naturally curious and a good listener who takes other views into consideration.

In the end, all interviewing boils down to one simple query, whether it's asked overtly or simply implied: "Will you make the company a better place?" Show that the answer is yes, and you'll ensure that you're the one who gets the nod.For more information on sharpening your interview skills, visit the Career Development Center Web site.

Presidential Teaching Professor and Associate Professor of Modern Languages and Linguistics Alan Rosenthal spoke with parents at UMBC's Family Day 2003 on October 4, 2003.

Good morning. I want you to know that you and I have something in common. My daughter is a graduate of UMBC, so I am a UMBC parent, just like many of you. As people who strongly believe in the importance of learning, my wife and I were happy to send our daughter to UMBC. She received an excellent education. I was not surprised.

I arrived here in 1968, and throughout the years, I have seen how devoted the faculty have been toward their students. Teaching is a high priority at UMBC. It is not so everywhere. Every profession has its dirty little secrets. In higher education, the unfortunate secret is that at too many places, teaching does not enjoy much prestige. At some very highly-regarded institutions, many of the famous professors who give the university its sterling reputation do not like to teach, or are reluctant to teach undergraduates. I am convinced that the students here are better taught than those at many famous universities that cost several times the tuition at UMBC.

For me and many here at UMBC, teaching is an exhilarating experience. The opportunity to work with young minds, to touch their lives, is a privilege. My first responsibility is to communicate my passion for my field to my students, hoping that some of it will rub off. Since my specialty is foreign language, I try to provide insights into cultural differences between countries, which are frequently the cause of misunderstandings. As an example, the recent round of French-bashing is nothing new. Americans have long delighted in denigrating the French. It has been all over the movies and television for a long time. The cause of this American hostility toward France is frequently a simple misunderstanding of French habits and attitudes -- which are neither better nor worse than our own.

I must confess that in my teaching, I have a hidden agenda. My hidden agenda is to teach my classes some history and geography, which are so important for making sense of today's world, and which are generally neglected in the high schools of the United States. It is said that God invented war so that Americans would learn some geography. If so, then I think he wanted them to learn some foreign culture, as well.

In the classroom, I try to tell the students things that open their eyes to possibilities they had never considered. I do not want them to simply give me back the information I convey to them. I want them to think. I try to draw out their opinions and impressions. I encourage them to make informed judgments, to do the groundwork to ensure that they know what they are talking about. I have taught French, world literature, foreign culture, and the phenomenon of stereotyping. The subject matter of each is important to me, but just as important are the formation of an inquisitive mind and the capability of critical analysis. The students will take these with them throughout their lives.

There are two things I do not discuss in the classroom: my own opinions about politics and about religion. I feel that these are inappropriate, since I have a captive audience. Whenever students press me about this, I give them facts but tell them that their opinions are more important than mine.

I love working with students. I love to see them develop intellectually. I feel that I have a personal responsibility toward them. No one can ever replace their parents or loved ones, but I feel that for a little while, and in a small way, they are my children, too.

To the parents, I welcome your sons and daughters to UMBC. I hope Iget to meet some of them. Rest assured, they have made a good choice.

By Mark Terranova, Associate Director, The Shriver Center

On Saturday, October 25, in coordination with Homecoming activities, many students will start their day by literally heading out "Into the Streets" to participate in one of UMBC's growing number of annual community service events.

Into the Streets -- a tradition here at UMBC -- is a project designed to introduce students to service through a one day activity that both meets a specific community need and introduces students to the values and rewards of serving others.

This year, students have the option of helping with food distribution with the Salvation Army, cleaning up our local UMBC community along Shelbourne Avenue and supporting a local Catonsville event with much needed volunteer support.

If you are interested in participating in any of these opportunities, please stop by the Student Involvement Center on the 2nd floor of the Commons or e-mail explore@umbc.edu.

Into the Streets is the latest event sponsored by a multi-year initiative called UMBC Serves, the coordination of multiple UMBC departments and student organizations committed to service to the community. At a recent meeting, representatives from the Student Life Office, the Office of Residential Life, the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, Athletic Community Outreach, Hillel and the Golden Key International Honour Society and The Shriver Center met to discuss future opportunities for partnership and support to ensure that UMBC's commitment to the larger community is effective, coordinated, and representative of the diversity and talent of our campus.

It is our hope that as we continue to meet, faculty and staff will also continue to participate in volunteer and service-learning initiatives. The list of engaged faculty is far too long to list in this column, and many have been mentioned in previous columns, evidence that the spirit of Ernest Boyer's Engaged Campus called for in the early 1990s is alive and well at UMBC. Civic engagement is the duty of faculty, staff, and students alike, and UMBC responds to that duty.

UMBC Serves hopes to launch a Web site this year to promote our initiatives and continue to meet each semester to coordinate our work. If you or your department are interested in participating in this process, please to not hesitate to contact me at terranov@umbc.edu.

Back in 1996, while working on a freelance assignment, UMBC English department instructor and writer Christopher Corbett found himself in Nevada on a 114 degree day with nothing to do. He glanced at a map and noticed there was a Pony Express station nearby, so the former New Englander decided to take a field trip and bone up on his knowledge of the Old West. Someone at Jerry Lee's Honky Tonk gave Corbett directions, and soon he found himself…at a deserted adobe hut decorated with a plaque.

It wasn't the most inspiring tourist spot, but it did get Corbett, a former Associated Press news editor and reporter, thinking about the Pony's legend. He bought every book on the Pony Express he could find. "I probably have the largest collection of Pony Express books there is," Corbett says. "As I read more about it I began to realize, this isn't just exciting, it's a whopper because it's such a weird yarn, and we'll probably never know the real story."

The result of Corbett's research is his new book, Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express, a revisionist history and an entertaining look at the creation of the myth of "the Pony," as it is known along the famous trail that runs from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California.

The Pony Express was established by William Russell, Alexander Majors and William Waddell in the spring of 1860 but was put of business just a year and a half later, when the wires of the first transcontinental telegraph were joined. Despite its short history, the Pony Express became an American legend, embellished in everything from Mark Twain's Roughing It, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show, and dime novels, to the western film classics of John Ford, the art of Frederic Remington and scores of children's books.

"Few icons of the American West are more powerful," says Corbett. "The book is not a debunking of the myth; it's more of a celebration of the legend."

Corbett has been teaching journalism at UMBC since 1990 and also advises young journalists at the University's student paper, The Retriever Weekly. His students have gone on to work at National Public Radio, the Discovery Channel, USA Today, the Baltimore Sun, the Annapolis Capitol, the Easton-Star Democrat and the Manhattan Mercury.

A columnist for Style Magazine, Corbett has written for the New York Times, Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer and the Boston Globe. He is the author of a novel, Vacationland.

Orphans Preferred is receiving rave reviews and significant attention -- film rights have already been purchased; Barnes and Noble added the book to its Fall 2003 Discover Great New Writers promotion; and it will be serialized in the upcoming issue of American Heritage. Corbett and his book have also been the subject of a recent features in the Baltimore Sun and City Paper and The Onion.

You can hear Corbett read from and discuss his book on at Borders Books in Towson on October 15 and on WYPR's Marc Steiner Show (88.1 FM) at 1 p.m. on October 17. On November 20 at 7 p.m., he will read at Borders Books in Columbia. He will also give a reading and book signing at the UMBC Bookstore in November; watch Insights Weekly for details.

History's Warren Cohen in the Baltimore Sun
Warren Cohen, distinguished university professor in the Department of History, is quoted in the October 26 Baltimore Sun article on North Korea, "Point of Axis."
www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/perspective/bal-pe.korea26oct26,0,702790.story?coll=bal-perspective-headlines

Public Policy's Donald Norris in the Baltimore Sun
MIPAR Director and Professor of Public Policy Donald Norris was quoted in a October 25 Baltimore Sun story "Plan for Hilton downtown gets city panel's OK."
www.sunspot.net/business/bal-te.bz.hotel25oct25,1,5836249.story

Center for Art and Visual Culture in City Paper
The Center for Art and Visual Culture's current exhibition, "White" is featured in the October 22 issue of City Paper.
www.citypaper.com/2003-10-22/gallery2.html

Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery in City Paper
The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery's current exhibition, "Intermedia" is featured in the October 29 issue of City Paper.
www.citypaper.com/current/gallery2.html

UMBC Dance in City Paper
UMBC's dance department, and faculty members Carol Hess (department chair) and Cathy Paine, are part of a October 29 City Paper story on the state of dance in Baltmore.
www.citypaper.com/current/dance.html

CWIT's Claudia Morrell in CIO Insight Magazine
Claudia Morrell, director of the Center for Women in Information Technology (CWIT), was quoted in the October 1 CIO Insight Magazine article "Where are All the Women IT Leaders?"
www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,3959,1309436,00.asp

English's Christopher Corbett in the Denver Post and on WJZ TV13
Christopher Corbett's book Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express, was reviewed in the Denver Post on October 19.
www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%7E26%7E1703911,00.html

On Monday, October 27, at approximately 6:40 a.m., Corbett will be a guest on WJZ TV's morning show with Don Scott and Marty Bass (channel 13).

Psychology's Robert Provine in the St. Paul Pioneer Press
Robert Provine, psychology professor and internationally acclaimedresearcher on contagious behavior, was interviewed by the St. Paul,Minnesota Pioneer Press on why yawning is contagious for an Oct. 19 story.
www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/living/7032006.htm

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the Washington Post
UMBC Political Science professor Tom Schaller's look at the pros andcons of challenging the legitimacy of Arnold Schwartzenegger'sCalifornia gubernatorial victory was featured in the October 12 Washington Post. "History and contemporary politics tell us that it is premature to challenge Schwarzenegger's legitimacy, not to mention politically dangerous," says Schaller.
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10978-2003Oct10.html

Donald Norris, Public Policy and MIPAR, in the Baltimore Sun
Donald Norris, professor of public policy and director of MIPAR, was quoted in the October 14 Baltimore Sun article "Key step on hotel is likely next week: Critics assail lack of input on big convention project."
www.sunspot.net/business/realestate/bal-bz.hotel14oct14,0,7961186.story?coll=bal-business-headlines

Political Science's Roy Meyers in the Baltimore Sun
A study released last week by UMBC's Maryland Institute for Policy Analysisand Research was featured in the Baltimore Sun on October 5. The report was authored by Roy Meyers, associate professor of political science and Thomas S. Pilkerton, a political science undergraduate and Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar.
www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/perspective/bal-pe.budget05oct05,0,3323094.story?coll=bal-perspective-headlines

Political Science's Mark Croatti in the Baltimore Sun
Political science instructor Mark Croatti was interviewed in the October 6 Baltimore Sun story "Ghost tour scares up tales of Ellicott City's specter-laden history."
www.sunspot.net/news/local/howard/bal-ho.nitkin06oct06.story

History's Rebecca Boehling Co-organizes Symposium at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (11/3)
Rebecca Boehling, associate professor of history, co-organized the symposium, "How Valid Are Comparisons? The American Occupation of Germany Revisited," an examination of the validity of comparisons between occupations of Germany and Iraq. Boehling, who is also a presenter, organized the symposium with Dieter Dettke, Washington Office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, and Robert Gerald Livingston, German Historical Institute. 1:45-6:30 p.m., Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Choate Room), 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, D.C.

Phillip G. Sokolove, Biological Sciences, is Keynote Speaker at Health Sciences Faculty Conference
Phillip G. Sokolove, professor, Department of Biological Sciences, served as the keynote speaker at the 1st Annual Academic Technology (AT) Mini-Institute for Health Sciences Faculty at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, MA on October 22. His presentation was entitled, "Using Technology to Motivate Students for Increased Attendance and Active Learning."

Soccer's Christy Sikorski Receives America East Rookie of the Week Honors
Freshman Christy Sikorski received America East Rookie of the Week honors for her performance during the week of October 20-26. Sikorski, a freshman defender, scored the game winner in UMBC's 1-0 upset of New Hampshire. After a scoreless first half, UMBC netted the game's only goal with just under 14 minutes to play. Kristin English sent a corner kick from the left corner in front of the near post, where Sikorski was able to get a head on it, to score her first collegiate goal.

Biological Sciences' John Kloetzel Hosts Conference, Presents Papers
John Kloetzel, associate professor, biological sciences, hosted the annual meeting of the East Coast Conference of the Society of Protozoologists this past June at UMBC. Later that month he delivered the past-president's address ("Deconstructing the Euplotes cortex") at the annual meeting of the entire Society in Gleneden Beach, Oregon.

Dr. Kloetzel also was an invited speaker at the 4th European Congress of Protistology, which met in San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy, in September. His address was "Articulins come in different flavors: the case of alveolar plate proteins (plateins) in Euplotes."

Mathematics Team Places 32nd out of 476 North American Teams in Putnam Contest
This last year 3349 contestants from 476 institutions in the U.S. and Canada participated in the William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Contest. This is a grueling six-hour exam in which any scope above three (out of 120) places contestants in the top 50 percent. Though primarily an individual contest, each school designates a three-member team. UMBC achieved its highest team ranking in the latest round, placing 32nd, with team members Kevin Li and Tommy Occhipinti, who are returning students, and Jonathan Nilsson.

Mathematics and Computer Science Double Major Maria Christin Llewellyn Receives American Mathematical Society Award
The AMS annually selects schools from each of the four geographical regions who in turn make one-time awards of $4000 each to mathematical students to assist them in the pursuit of careers in mathematics. This year UMBC was chosen from its geographical regions, and the department chose Maria Christin Llewellyn from a candidate pool.

CAVC's Maurice Berger Organizes "Museums of Tomorrow" Conference (10/6-19)
Museums of Tomorrow: An Internet Conference, sponsored by the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum Research Center, is organized and moderated by Maurice Berger, curator, Center for Art and Visual Culture and senior fellow, The Vera List Center for Art & Politics, New School University. The conference takes place October 6 through 19.

What is the future of the art museum? Given the increasing commercial -- as well as global -- direction of culture, the future of the art museum as we now know is it no longer certain. An international group of 35 scholars, artists, museum directors and curators will discuss and debate the role of the art museum in this Internet conference. Participants will explore a range of issues about the viability, relevance, effectiveness, responsibility and role of the museum in an ever-changing world.

The public can access the discussion on the Museum Web site at any time and can ask questions and offer commentary via a special e-mail address. The conference offers scholars, curators, artists and the interested public from all over the world an unprecedented opportunity to talk to and listen to each other. The interchange of ideas will never cease during the two-week period of the conference, because the discussion will be active and available on the Internet 24 hours a day.

Derek McElligott Named to College Soccer News' Team of the Week
UMBC junior forward Derek McElligott, who has helped UMBC to a 5-1-5 record and a ranking of #8 in the South Atlantic region, was named to College Soccer News' Team of the Week for the week of September 29-October 5.McElligott scored a pair of goals in each of UMBC's two games last week, a 2-2 tie with visiting Albany and a 3-0 win at Hartford. McElligott added a goal vs. Binghamton and now has 12 goals in 11 games this season and leads the SouthAtlantic region in goals and points (25).

Entering this week, McElligott was second in the country in goals per game at 1.10, trailing only sophomore Daniel Wasson of Air Force, who has 9 goals in 8 games (1.13 per game). He is tied with two other players in total goals -- Tulsa's Ryan Pore and Michigan's Mychal Turpin each have 11 goals. The UMBC standout was fifth in the country in points per game at 2.30 (11g, 1a).

His 36 career goals is third on UMBC's all-time list, behind Ray Ford's 51 (1977-81) and Giuliano Celenza's 41 (1999-2000). McElligott has seven goals over the last four games. He is a two-time First Team All NEC performer and was the league's Rookie of the Year in 2001.

McElligott will be a featured guest on Fox 45's Sports Unlimited after the Sunday, October 12 Fox news cast at 10 p.m.

English's Vincent Fitzpatrick and Carol Fitzpatick Co-author Book
Vincent Fitzpatrick, adjunct associate professor of English, and Carol Fitzpatrick, director, Writing and Rhetoric Division, Department of English, and Marybeth Ruscica of St. John's University are the co-authors of The Complete Sentence Workout Book with Readings, Fifth Edition. The book was published this summer by Longman Publishers.

By Jack Prostko, Director, Faculty Development Center

With the best will in the world, we can try to structure our lectures so that the words we choose to say (rather than put on screen or in handouts) are geared to cause students to think rather than transcribe, but it can all come to nothing unless students know what they should be trying to follow, and why we are choosing to get them thinking in the ways we have planned.

Sally Brown & Phil Race, Lecturing: A Practical Guide, p. 78.

The increasing emphasis placed on engaging students in the classroom may confound some faculty who feel that despite their desire to involve students in learning activities, they are compelled to lecture because of class size and a prescribed body of information that must be covered. The curriculum does indeed dictate, to a large extent, teaching strategies, and the lecture, long the primary teaching method of professors, will undoubtedly continue to shape undergraduate education.

Given this inevitability, how can we guarantee that lectures serve our students well, promoting learning and helping to develop crucial thinking skills? Of course there's no simple answer to this question or to the problem posed by a largely passive audience wanting to know what, of the many things we say, will be on the next exam.

Lecturers begin at a disadvantage. As Bligh points out, lectures are most effective at communicating information, but less effective than other teaching strategies in promoting thinking, inspiring interest in a subject, or teaching behavioral skills. But this does not mean that lectures can't motivate students or provide the structured knowledge students need to explore and resolve problems in a discipline. Lectures can pull together information, especially current research, that students might not otherwise encounter, and offer them methods of organizing their reading of textbooks or supplementary material. Enthusiastic lecturers can help motivate students by illustrating why certain issues or concepts are significant-perhaps by relating them to life as we experience it.

As McKeachie points out, "Not only is the lecturer a model in terms of motivation and curiosity, the lecturer also models ways of approaching problems, portraying a scholar in action in ways that are difficult for other media or methods of instruction to achieve" (68).

While mastering the art of lecturing takes time and conscious work, there are some principles to keep in mind when planning lectures, principles that help to make lectures effective learning experiences.

• Make your goals for the lecture explicit. Know what you want students to be able to remember or do with information you've provided. Often a simple way to clarify this in your own mind -- and at the same time grab students' attention -- is to pose a problem or question that the lecture will answer. In a way, the lecturer can rely on the natural pull elicited by the storyteller: given the mystery or set-up proposed at the outset, what will happen to the characters, that is, the concepts you're covering (or 'uncovering') for students?

• Clearly communicate the structure of your lecture, "spotlighting," as Brown and Race term it, the most important information. Experiment with the amount and type of information provided in handouts or on the Web, since as these authors note, "when detailed material is written up to be copied down, students don't tend to have time to think about what it means, being so busy getting it all down into their notes" (p.82). Providing partial outlines, which require students to fill in the missing pieces and add details and examples, are often an effective means of helping students learn to take accurate, useful notes.

• Remember that the attention span of listeners is limited. Most studies show that students' attention drops significantly after the first ten minutes of a lecture. Attempt to break lectures into 10 to 15 minutes segments, divided by questions from the audience or memorable examples or applications.

• Consider involving the students by using group work, paired discussion, or other active learning techniques. In an "Award-Winning Teachers on Teaching" presentation, Presidential Teaching Professor Lynn Zimmerman described her technique for getting students to summarize the previous class's lecture at the start of each session; this motivates students to review notes and come prepared to link new information to what they are expected to have understood.

• Explore resources and experiment. There are many useful books and articles on lecturing and teaching large classes-some of which are listed below. In addition, consider having someone (a colleague, a friend, an advanced graduate student) observe your lecture and give feedback; or solicit anonymous feedback mid-semester from students, either by asking for suggestions or by having me conduct a student small-group evaluation in the last 20 minutes of a class period.

In the end, whatever else we do at the podium, we want to make certain that as we lecture we have not adopted the philosophy of Dickens schoolmaster Mr. Gradgrind in Hard Times, who thought of his charges as "little vessels . . . arranged in order, ready to have imperial gallons of facts poured into them until they were full to the brim."

And don't forget these opportunities to explore teaching strategies:

• Award-Winning Teachers on Teaching" Lecture: Presidential Teaching Professor Alan Rosenthal on "How to Hook Students," Monday November 3 @ 1 p.m., The Commons room 318.

• Faculty Reading Group: the Faculty Development Center sponsors an informal reading group and provides copies of L. Dee Fink's Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2003) and Maryellen Weimer's Learner-Centered Teaching: Five Key Changes to Practice (San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002) to participants. Faculty involved stress that these are helpful problem-solving sessions. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday October 22 from 3:30-4:45 p.m. in ACIV 213. Contact Sue Hahn if you are interested in attending: (410) 455-3916 or hahn@umbc.edu.

And for professors interested in having the opportunity to experiment with small class teaching, proposals for teaching a First Year Seminar in AY 2004-2005 are due October 31. For more information see Initiatives on the Provost's Web site.

Books on lecturing and on teaching large classes (available at the FDC):

• Bligh, D.A., What's the Use of Lectures? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

• Brown, S. & Race, P. Lecturing: A Practical Guide. London: Kogan Page, 2002.

• MacGregor, J., Cooper, J.L., Smith, K.A., & Robinson, P. (eds.). Strategies for Energizing Large Classes: From Small Groups to Learning Communities. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2000.

• Stanley, C. A. & Porter, E. M. (eds.). Engaging Large Classes: Strategies and Techniques for College Faculty. Bolton, MA: Anker, 2002.

Chapters on lecturing in teaching handbooks:

• Davis, B.G. Tools for Teaching. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.

• McKeachie, W., et al., Teaching Tips: Strategies, Research, and Theory for College and University Teachers. 11th edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2002.

• Barbara Gross Davis: http://teaching.berkeley.edu/bgd/teaching.html
  See especially chapters 12 and 13.

• Idea papers: www.idea.ksu.edu/resources/index.html
  See especially papers 14 and 24.

• Indiana University Teaching Handbook: www.indiana.edu/~teaching/handbook_2.html#lectu_01

UMBC is one of only 15 universities selected by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to compete for a small number of $5-million challenge grants the foundation will award to universities that can make entrepreneurship a common and accessible experience for all students. Syracuse University, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, the University of Rochester, the University of Wisconsin, Wake Forest University, and Washington University are among the other institutions being considered for these awards.

If funded, UMBC's proposal would support faculty research about entrepreneurship in a wide range of disciplines, introduce students in wide-ranging majors to concepts of entrepreneurship in innovative, compelling ways, and provide opportunities typically afforded only to students in traditional business school settings. "At UMBC, we believe strongly in the potential of entrepreneurship education. The Kauffman Campuses Initiative fits perfectly with our emphasis on giving students across all academic disciplines access to entrepreneurship courses and programs,” said President Freeman Hrabowski.

UMBC already receives support from the Kansas City-based Kauffman Foundation for its Kauffman Entrepreneurship Internship Program, which gives undergraduates and graduate students hands-on experience working with start-up or emerging companies. Funding from the foundation's new Kauffman Campuses Initiative would increase opportunities to partner with regional businesses.

"I'm delighted to see UMBC recognized by the Kauffman Foundation for its innovative entrepreneurship programs,” says Mayo Shattuck III, president and CEO of Constellation Energy Group in Baltimore. Shattuck was instrumental in securing a million-dollar gift from the Alex. Brown Foundation to establish the Alex. Brown Center for Science and Technology Entrepreneurship at UMBC in 2000, and he serves as chair of the center's advisory board.

UMBC plans to build on such initiatives as the Alex. Brown Center, the Kauffman Internship Program, the techcenter@UMBC – the University's business incubator – and others to leverage resources and increase its capacity to serve students, faculty, and corporate partners.

By infusing entrepreneurship throughout the curriculum and the overall college experience, UMBC students, from their first semester on, will have access to resources that encourage them to explore entrepreneurship activities and ultimately help them to succeed as entrepreneurs, bringing new ideas to the marketplace and building the region's economy.

UMBC student-athletes received their highest grades ever in the most recently released NCAA Official 2003 Division I Graduation-Rates Report. The entire report is available online.

A record 72 percent of UMBC's student-athletes who entered as freshmen in the 1996-97 academic year earned their degrees (within a six-year span), according to the study released on August 25. The national graduation rate for NCAA Division I scholarship athletes came in at 62 percent.

In addition, 91 percent of UMBC's student-athletes who exhausted their athletics'eligibility over a ten-year span had earned their degree by August of 2002. This study tracked all student-athletes that entered the University from 1987-88 through 1996-97.

These reports survey only student-athletes who receive athletics' aid from the university for any period of time during their entering year.

The report is another example of how UMBC student-athletes are faring in the classroom. Last semester, 50 percent of all Retriever student-athletes earned 3.0 grade-point averages or higher; 25 percent were at 3.5 or higher; and 29 student-athletes earned perfect 4.0 grade-point averages.

Nine Retriever teams earned 3.0 grade-point averages or higher, and the department GPA was 2.91. In the past five years, UMBC has produced 23 Academic All-Americans, including a school record 12 in the past two years.