AVIcode in the Baltimore Business Journal
AVIcode, a techcenter@UMBC company, was mentioned in the Baltimore Business Journal for hiring Mark Davis as it new vice president of sales. Davis formerly worked as an executive for Houston-based BMC Software, a software company “with offices worldwide and fiscal 2005 revenues of more than $1.46 billion.” The article, “Former BMC Software Exec to Try sales at AVIcode,” can be seen at http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/09/26/daily25.html?jst=b_ln_hl

Tom Beck, Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, in the Baltimore Sun
Tom Beck, chief curator of the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, is quoted in “Myth Maker,” a Baltimore Sun article on September 18. Beck said although A. Aubrey Bodine, a photojournalist, used “aesthetic touches” to create imagery that may not have been a truthful representation of a particular Maryland scene, his work was adored by many.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/arts/bal-as.bodine18sep18,1,5362642.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Lynnda Dahlquist, Psychology, on NPR
Lynnda Dahlquist, associate professor of psychology, was interviewed by NPR reporter Allison Aubrey about researchers’ use of video games to assuage the pain young patients experience when going through treatments at health clinics. “Using Video Games to Manage Pain” aired on Morning Edition on September 27.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4865321

Vin Grabill, Visual Art, in the Baltimore Sun
Vin Grabill, associate professor of visual arts, was in the Education Supplement of the Baltimore Sun on September 18. In the article, “Filmmaking Programs Teach Finer Points of Film,” Grabill discussed the department’s history of establishing a unique approach to teaching visual arts to UMBC students -- using technology to make art. Grabill said students are also encouraged to use interdisciplinary methods when creating artwork.
http://www.print2webcorp.com/news/baltimore/education/20050916/p06.asp

Laurens MacLure Jr., RWD Technologies, Inc., in the Baltimore Business Journal
Laurens “Mac” MacLure Jr., CEO of RWD Technologies, Inc., was in the September 23-29 edition of the Baltimore Business Journal, which announced his recent appointment as chair of the board of directors for Hannah More School, a non-public special education program.

9/23/05

AVIcode, Inc. and Invoke Systems in the Baltimore Business Journal
AVIcode, Inc. located in the techcenter@UMBC, and Invoke Systems (moving to bwtech@UMBC this fall) were in the Baltimore Business Journal in “Mining Microsoft” published September 9. Both companies have developed a business relationship with Microsoft and, consequently, have built rapport with other companies.
http://baltimore.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2005/09/12/story3.html

Marty Brandwin, AVIcode, Inc. in the Baltimore Sun
Marty Brandwin, vice president of marketing for AVIcode, Inc., a techcenter@UMBC company, described the anxiety and excitement he experiences on Sunday nights while preparing for the upcoming work week. The Baltimore Sun article, “Sunday Night Blues,” follows three individuals and records their tasks and feelings about returning to work after the weekend. The article was published on September 21.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/careers/bal-wk.sundayblues21sep21,1,5271962.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

UMBC in the Washington Times
UMBC has been selected by the Maryland State Board of Elections as one of two schools contracted to study the reliability of the state’s Diebold electronic voting machines as reported in the Washington Times’ “State 'Receptive' to Idea of Paper Trail for Voting Machines” on September 21. University of Maryland, College Park will also conduct a survey. Both surveys are expected to be complete by late December.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20050920-102929-4056r.htm

UMBC was mentioned in the Star Press (Ind.) on September 13 in “BSU Enrollment Down 315.” Former UMBC Assistant Provost for Enrollment, Tom Taylor, discussed Ball State University’s retention and recruitment efforts. Taylor is the vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications for Ball State.
http://www.thestarpress.com/articles/8/046572-4988-004.html

UMBC was also mentioned in the Catonsville Times on September 19 for enrolling 20 students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The information in the article, “Hard Lesson Learned Before School Starts,” was obtained on the University’s Web site.
http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfmpnpID=351&NewsID=661532&CategoryID=8381&show=localnews&om=1

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the Capital News Service
Tom Schaller, assistant professor of political science, anticipates that African-American votes for the U.S. Senate race could splinter if Del. Anthony G. Brown, D-Prince George’s County, enters the race, a development that would hurt Kweisi Mfume’s candidacy. Schaller provided this commentary in “Big Senate Field Could Mean Splintered Vote” to the Capital News Service on September 16.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/nat/sep05/354323.asp

The Baltimore City Paper named Tom Schaller the “2005 Best Intellectual Quote Machine” on September 21 for his frequent contributions to media reports on local and national politics. Schaller not only appears in local newspapers but has gained national and global attention. He has had many of his op-ed pieces published in national newspapers.
http://www.citypaper.com/bob/story.asp?id=10649

9/15/05

Scott Bass, dean of the Graduate School, in the Baltimore Sun
Scott Bass, dean of the Graduate School and vice president for research, co-wrote an opinion commentary, “The Isolated Other America,” on what the preparation and response to Hurricane Katrina reveal about conditions for the poor in America. The piece appeared in the Baltimore Sun on September 12.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.poor12sep12,1,4301469.story

Center for Art and Visual Culture (CAVC) in the New York Times“Blur of the OtherWorldly: Contemporary Art, Technology and the Paranormal,” an exhibition showcasing the works of artists who use modern communication technology to explore the supernatural world, will be presented at CAVC from October 20-December 17. The listing was in the New York Times’ “From Pieter Claesz to Pixar” on September 11.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/arts/design/11john.html

Dennis Coates, Economics, in the Baltimore Sun
Dennis Coates, professor of economics, debunks the myth that sporting events hosted by city governments increase local revenue. On September 15 in “Big-game Revenue Doesn't Add Up to Equality,” a Baltimore Sun article, Coates said hosting these events actually shrinks the local economies.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/bal-sp.steele15sep15,1,2132783.column

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Tom Schaller, assistant professor of political science, described the response U.S. Sen. Russ Finegold received after proposing a January 2008 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. “Is Feingold's War Stance a Battle Plan for 2008?” was published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on September 8.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/nat/sep05/354323.asp

9/9/05

Christopher Corbett, English, in the Baltimore Style
Christopher Corbett, journalism lecturer, was a contributing writer to the September/October 2005 issue of Baltimore Style. In “The (non-)sporting Life,” Corbett express his lack of interest in college football.
http://www.baltimorestyle.com/so05issue/backpage-so05.html

Brian Greenan, ‘04, Provides A Report on WYPR
Brian Greenan, ’04 MA in intercultural communications, reported on the local organizations and residents helping drought victims in Niger. The story, “Residents and Organizations in Baltimore Send Aid to Starving in Niger,” aired on August 23 and can be heard on WYPR’s Web site at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wypr/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=810167.

UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski Appears on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski provided commentary on a recent report that shows high school students are unprepared academically for college. Hrabowski appeared on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on August 30. A transcript of the show can be viewed at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education/july-dec05/sat_8-30.html.

Thomas Schaller, Political Science, in the Washington Post
UMBC political scientist and assistant professor of political science Tom Schaller analyzed the antiwar stance of Maryland Democratic senatorial candidate Kweisi Mfume in the Washington Post on August 26.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/article/2005/08/25/AR2005082501735.html

Schaller appeared in the LA Times’ “GOP Can’t Afford to Write Off California” on Aug. 31. He stated that the qualities some states look for in presidential candidates could be unappealing to California voters.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-calpol31aug31,1,1991370.story?ctrack=1&cset=true

Schaller was also quoted in “Newcomers Packing Maryland Senate Race” on September 1. The Washington Post story profiled the four new democrats set to vie for the senatorial seat.

Jack Suess, Information Technology, in the Christian Science Monitor
Jack Suess, vice president of information technology, was quoted in “Wireless Raises Security Concern,” a Christian Science Monitor article on September 1 that profiles how university campuses have successfully protected sensitive data on students.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0901/p12s02-legn.html

This story also appeared in the Sacramento Bee, USA Today and the News & Observer.

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the Capital News Service
Tom Schaller, assistant professor of political science, anticipates that African-American votes for the U.S. Senate could splinter if Del. Anthony G. Brown, D-Prince George’s County, enters the race, hurting the prospects of Kweisi Mfume’s candidacy. Schaller provided this commentary in “Big Senate Field Could Mean Splintered Vote,” by the Capital News Service, on September 16.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/nat/sep05/354323.asp

UMBC Alumni and Faculty Served on Panel at the 24th Annual Conference of the Council for Opportunity in Education
UMBC was well-represented on a panel at the 24th Annual Conference of the Council for Opportunity in Education held in Washington, D.C., on September 18-21, 2005.

Panelists for the session entitled “Retrospectives of McNair Alumni: What Facilitated their Success?” included Brian C. Thompson, Business Services administrator of the UMBC Graduate School; David J. Fagan, part-time instructor for UMBC’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics; Syreeta L. Tilghman, postdoctoral fellow at Tulane University; and Kamili M. Jackson, materials engineer at Swales Aerospace supporting a Materials Engineering Branch of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Thompson and Jackson are alumni who participated in UMBC’s McNair Scholars Program as undergraduates. Jackson also participated in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. Fagan and Tilghman participated in the McNair Scholars Program at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville as undergraduates, and Tilghman participated in PROMISE: Maryland’s AGEP Program, led by UMBC, while completing her doctoral program at UMB.

The Panel was convened and facilitated by Ms. Cynthia M. Hill, Associate Provost at UMBC.

9/23/05

Kate Laskowski, Biology, Wins First Place at 9th European Workshop on Insect Parasitoid
Kate Laskowski ’06, biology major with a minor in chemistry, won the first place award at the 9th European Workshop on Insect Parasitoids. She was honored above the remaining presenters, who are all graduate or post-doctoral students. Laskowski presented, "The Role of Parasitoid Wasps as Agents of Selection on Natural Populations of Drosophila.” The conference was held September 5-9 at Cardiff University in Cardiff, Wales.

Rella Kaplowitz, Psychology, Joins Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life Board of Directors
Rella Kaplowitz, ’06, is one of five students nationwide who joined Hillel’s Board of Directors, which governs the largest Jewish campus organization in the world. Kaplowitz, a psychology major, is the co-chair of the Student Initiative Committee. There are more than 80 representatives on the Board of Directors, which is comprised of representatives from the Council of Jewish Federations and federation leadership, B'nai B'rith International, college students, Hillel professionals, faculty, and delegates at-large. Five students are chosen annually to join the board.
http://www.hillel.org/hillel/newhille.nsf/0/F5A598362F48721C852570820049EF6E?OpenDocument

9/15/05

Fow-Sen Choa, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, Issued Patent for “Low Crosstalk Optical Gain Medium and Method for Forming Same”
Fow-Sen Choa, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, was issued a patent for “Low Crosstalk Optical Gain Medium and Method for Forming Same.” The patent, US 6,944,197, issued on September 13, 2005, can be viewed in its entirety on the US Patent and Trademark Office's web site at http://www.uspto.gov. If you would like more information about patents, copyrights, trademarks, or start-up companies, please visit the Office of Technology Development, located at 5523 Research Park Drive Ste. 310, or call us on ext. 5-1414.

Piotr Gwiazda, English, to read his book of Poems at the Baltimore Book Festival
Piotr Gwiazda, assistant professor of English, will read from his book of poems, “Gagarin Street,” at the Baltimore Book Festival at historic Mount Vernon Place, 600 block, North Charles Street, Baltimore. The reading takes at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at the Creativity Cafe Stage. A reception follows at The Engineers Club, the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion in Mount Vernon. For more information on the festival, go to: http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com.

Anthony Johnson, CASPR, Named Science Spectrum Trailblazer
Anthony Johnson, director of CASPR, has been named a Science Spectrum Trailblazer. This award is given to top minorities in science. Johnson, along with Dr. Hrabowski, UMBC president, were to receive the honor at a recognition luncheon during the Minorities in Research Science conference being held September 15-17, 2005 at the Baltimore Convention center. The list of awardees can be found at:
http://www.ccgmedia.com/admin/press_release/1122929417/PR%20-%20Science%20Spectrum%20Trailblazers.pdf

Johnson was also scheduled to serve as a panel member for the Plenary Sessionentitled, "Minorities in the Mix: If Not Now, When?" A description ofthe session and panelists can be found at: http://ccgmag.com/emerald/seminar_display.php?id=18

9/9/05

Patrick Arnold, History, Will Speak to the New Hampshire Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution
Patrick Arnold, graduate student of history, will speak to the New Hampshire Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution in Manchester, N.H., where he will be installed as a member. Arnold will provide remarks, including his family history and his thoughts on civic participation and this particular time in our nation’s history. For more information on the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) or the New Hampshire Chapter, visit http://www.sar.org or http://www.nhssar.org

Marcia Frank Peri, Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, Receives NHPRC Electronic Records Research Fellowship
Marcia Frank Peri, archivist for the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, has been named a 2005-2006 National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) Fellow. The fellowship will support Peri’s research on “Determining Current Practices for College and University Electronic Records Management Programs.” Lisl Zach, assistant professor in the School of Information and Library Science at Louisiana State University, is also working with Peri. All recipients will discuss their research plans for the coming year at the second annual NHPRC Electronic Records Fellowship Symposium at Duke University on Nov. 18.

The UMBC Athletics’ Hall of Fame Committee is seeking nominations for its Class of 2006. To be eligible, a student-athlete at UMBC must have earned a degree from the university, and not competed after January 1, 2002. Of course, any nominated student-athlete should have demonstrated excellence on and off of the field, court, pool, etc. during their tenure at UMBC. Coaches and administrators may also be nominated.

Please submit any nominations to Steve Levy at slevy@umbc.edu before October 11, 2005. Include as much information about the nominee or use the form on the Hall of Fame link at www.umbcretrievers.com.

The UMBC Athletics Hall of Fame Dinner will be held on Saturday, February 11, 2006. The event will follow the men’s basketball game vs. defending league champion Vermont at 4 pm.

By Charles Rose

It's a post-9-11 scenario that most homeland security experts agree is not a matter of if but when: a "dirty bomb" attack in the United States.

Technically known as radiation dispersal devices or RDDs, dirty bombs combine conventional explosives with radioactive material, most likely cesium or cobalt stolen or scavenged from medical or industrial use. Often confused by the public with nuclear weapons, a dirty bomb's primary impact is psychological, since while they could render an entire city block uninhabitable for quite some time, overall damage would be limited beyond that area.

Like many scientists since 9/11, Brian E. Reed, William and Lillian Hackerman Chair of Engineering and Chair of UMBC's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), has studied how his field can contribute to homeland security. Reed has recently studied a serious side effect of dirty bombs: the toxic trickledown effect on the environment and water supply in the aftermath of an attack.

"If an RDD attack happened in our region, first responders would use water to extinguish fires and control dust at a detonation site, and the contaminants could ultimately end up in the Chesapeake Bay watershed," said Reed. "The public health and environmental impact would vary depending on the type and potency of the attack, but the mass psychological impact would be significant, requiring a focused and immediate response."

Reed realized that many available advanced technologies for cleaning up and limiting damage by dirty bombs were too complex and expensive to be practical in an emergency. He found that adsorbents - materials that cause the molecules of liquids, gases, and dissolved substances to adhere to the surfaces of solids - offered a more robust response and easier disposal of contaminants.

Under a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant, Reed and his graduate students are testing adsorbent materials in CEE laboratories located at UMBC's Technology Research Center (TRC).

CEE is part of a growing cluster of collaborative environmental research entities headquartered at UMBC, including the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education (CUERE) (led by CEE colleague Claire Welty) and the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES).

A native of Buffalo, NY, Reed came to UMBC in 2002 from the University of Missouri-Columbia to help build on the success of department founder the late Dr. Severino "Bino" Koh and Reed's CEE colleague Jack Gwo, a challenge that has him energized.

"It's a great chance to build a new department that is not constrained by how civil and environmental engineering departments have operated in the past," Reed said. "Our goal is to produce a different type of environmental engineer - one who is able to work closely with scientists and policy professionals in solving the complex environmental problems facing the nation. Working closely with CUERE, BES and departments such as geography and environmental systems gives our students a much broader outlook on how environmental problems are addressed."

The Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents "Histories Are Mirrors: The Path of Conflict Through Afghanistan and Iraq," featuring the photography of Tyler Hicks. The exhibition includes 88 works by the award winning photojournalist, who has been documenting Afghanistan and Iraq since 9/11 and whose images capture the raging path of conflict of that region. "Histories Are Mirrors" is a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by Umbrage Editions, which has published a book of the same title.

Hicks was born in São Paulo, Brazil, in 1969 and graduated with a degree in journalism from Boston University in 1992. After working for a number of years as a news photographer, he traveled to Kosovo in 1999 and Kenya in 2000–2001 on contract for the New York Times.

He traveled to Afghanistan after 9/11 to document the war against the Taliban for the Times and Getty Images. The recipient of the 2001 International Center for Photography Infinity Award for Photojournalism for his coverage in Afghanistan, he has also received awards for World Press and Pictures of the Year.

As a Times staff photographer since 2002, Hicks has traveled to Iraq on several occasions to document the ongoing conflict.

The Gallery is open Monday through Friday, 12 noon to 4:30 pm, on Thursday until 8 pm, and Saturday 1 to5 pm. Admission is free. For more information, call 410-455-2270.

On September 31 and October 1 at 8 p.m., the UMBC Department of Dance presents Naturally Modern: Bodily Expeditions and Other Traveling Secrets, an evening of solo, duo and trio modern dance works performed by Sandra Lacy with Mary Williford-Shade, James Hansen and Jennifer Keller. The program, which will be presented in the UMBC Dance Lab (Fine Arts Building 317) will include:

• The Baltimore premiere of Ophelia’s Reclamation choreographed by James Hansen and performed by Hansen, Lacy and Williford-Shade, featuring complex partnering sequences and organic movement phrases, creating a sense of organic ease and harmony within relationships.

• A new work by Ray Eliot Schwartz, performed by Lacy and Williford-Shade.

• Henrietta and Alexandra, choreographed by José Bustamante.

• Lo and Behold by Michael Foley, performed by Williford-Shade.

• Underview by Lisa Race, performed by Lacy.

General admission tickets are $12; students and seniors are $6. For more information, visit www.missiontix.com or call 410-752-8950.

By Jack Prostko, Director, UMBC Faculty Development Center

(Please feel free to add comments and/or information on your own experiences creating syllabi at the end of this article.)

By now, many of UMBC’s teaching faculty have seen Provost Arthur Johnson’s recent memo asking that we examine our syllabi to make certain that they are clear and complete. A large part of the rationale for clear syllabi lies in the need for our courses to reflect our teaching and learning goals—departmental and institutional—so that we can demonstrate to accrediting bodies our systematic assessment of students.

But as the Provost makes clear, this isn’t the only reason to create good syllabi. A good syllabus--one that is well constructed and then referred to repeatedly throughout the semester--can be an essential teaching tool. We have gone beyond the days when a syllabus was merely a calendar or a list of texts or chapters to read, problems to do, or assignments to hand in. To help students get a coherent and comprehensive education, it’s necessary that we explain to them the rationale for our courses and what they should expect to get out of them.

You may have had the common experience of hosting visitors who are unfamiliar with the area, and who, after asking directions to local attractions, inevitably end up getting confused and lost. Of course you know the area intimately, and a variety of landmarks orient you as you unconsciously make you way through your daily routine. Indeed, you know the area so well, you hardly think about what you’re doing as you drive or walk to your destination.

Your UMBC course is unfamiliar territory to students. Indeed, your entire discipline may be unfamiliar territory. What you take for granted as signposts, connections, obvious landmarks, and “the big picture” may not exist for students, who experience the information and concepts in your discipline as one large jungle, or a meandering maze of details without point or purpose. A syllabus is an excellent tool for providing a necessary overview, which, like a good map, can be referred to again and again.

A syllabus, of course, can only be as good as the design of the class itself. For many faculty, explicitly articulating our learning goals for students is the most difficult aspect of course design. But without this articulation, the direction of our course can become extremely confusing to students, and our grading can become haphazard or even unfair, since assessing what students have learned must be carefully tied to the learning goals we have announced to them. Dee Fink, author of Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses, has several useful resources on the Web that can help walk you through the process of outlining learning goals (see resources below).

One of the key points Fink makes about goals is that we need to move beyond the “understand and remember” kind to ones that are longer lasting: “What would I like the impact of this course to be on students, 2-3 years after the course is over? What would distinguish students who have taken this course from students who have not?” As Fink explains: “When students and teachers think about what students can learn that is truly significant, their answers usually include, but do not focus on, ‘understand and remember’ kinds of learning. More often they emphasize such things as critical thinking, learning how to creatively use knowledge from the course, learning to solve real-world problems, changing the way students think about themselves and others, realizing the importance of life-long learning, etc.” (Self-Directed Guide, p. 8).

A good first step to improving a syllabus is to share it with colleagues for feedback. Students who have previously taken the course might also be able to identify what was useful or confusing in your syllabus. And the Faculty Development Center has resources on course and syllabus design that might provide you with new ideas for clarifying your learning goals. If you haven’t seen the Provost’s memo that I mentioned above, it includes the following list of items that good syllabi contain--a list you might use to re-examine the syllabi you are currently using.

1. Basic course information (course title, meeting location and time)

2. Instructor information (office, office hours, phone, e-mail, Web site)

3. Course description and rationale (what is the course about and why does it exist; how does it fit in with the rest of the university’s or department’s curriculum?)

4. Course goals/objectives (what will the students learn from this course? List specific learning outcomes the course is intended to produce. “By the end of this course, students will be able to ...”)

5. Format and procedures (how will the course be structured and how will classes be taught? will there be discussion? an opportunity to ask questions?)

6. Course requirements (readings, homework, participation, tests, papers, projects)

7. Grading procedures (what will be graded? how will the grading percentages be distributed among assignments?)

8. Academic integrity information (please quote the UMBC academic integrity statement or the SGA statement on academic integrity and add information particular to the course)

9. Course schedule (dates of class meetings, topics covered, readings/problems/assignments due, test or presentation dates)

10. Suggestions for achieving course goals and meeting academic expectations (what have students done in the past to help them perform well? what academic resources exist to help students?)

Resources:

Barbara Gross Davis. Tools for Teaching (Chapter 1: Preparing or Revising a Course; Chapter 2: The Course Syllabus)

IDEA Papers (Kansas)(Especially No. 27, “Writing a Syllabus” and No. 42, “Integrated Course Design”)

Dee Fink, What is Integrated Course Design? (33-page Self-Directed Guide to Designing Significant Courses)

Fink, L. Dee. (2003). Creating Significant Learning Experiences: An Integrated Approach to Designing College Courses. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass).

Grunert, Judith. (1997). The Course Syllabus: A Learning-Centered Approach. (Bolton, MA: Anker).

On Thursday, September 29, the Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education and the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences will present a special symposium on "Public Policy and Environmental Disasters: Regional and National Implications of Hurricane Katrina and the Devastation of New Orleans."

The event will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. in the University Center Ballroom.

Program Schedule:

Introduction
Dr. Claire Welty, Director, Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
and
Dr. John Jeffries, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Moderator
Dr. Andrew J. Miller, Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Systems

Speakers

Dr. Jeffrey B. Halverson, Research Associate Professor, Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology and Department of Geography and Environmental Systems
"The Science of Deadly Hurricanes, Their Societal Impacts, and Prognosis for the Next Decade"

Dr. Donald F. Boesch, President, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
“Post-Katrina Thinking: Integrating Community, Economic and Ecosystem Restoration on the Northern Gulf Coast”

Dr. Richard A. Bissell, Associate Professor, Emergency Health Services
“Health and Hurricanes: Implications for Katrina Victims”

Dr. Donald F. Norris, Professor of Public Policy and Director, Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research
"A Statistical Portrait of the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans and Environs"

Questions and Discussion

By Elizabeth Mosely

UMBC faculty and students continue to be well-represented in prestigious academic award competitions. A faculty member and a 2004 graduate were recently named Fulbright Scholars, and four undergraduates were awarded scholarships by the Goldwater Foundation.

The Fulbright Scholars program, among the top international education exchange prgrams, will send Lisa Moren, associate professor of visual arts, to lecture at one of the oldest film schools in Prague, the Film and TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts. Her classes will prepare film students to produce computer-generated videos based on their memories of the former Soviet culture. Moren’s new media work has also received several awards from the Maryland State Arts Council.

Tavon Cooke ’04, modern languages and linguistics, will pursue a master’s degree in social work at the European University in St. Petersburg, Russia. He will examine the welfare of Russian orphans, a point of special personal interest for Cooke, who grew up in foster care. After completing his master’s, Cooke plans to return to the United States to pursue a Ph.D.

Three UMBC students received 2005 Goldwater Scholarships, and an additional student was selected as an honorable mention. Goldwater Scholars must have an exceptional academic record and a commitment to pursuing research careers in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering.

Michael Aaron, a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Frederick, plans to earn a Ph.D. in biomechanics and teach at a research university. Andrew Kohlway, a junior bioinformatics major with a minor in mathematics from Westminster, wants to pursue a Ph.D. in computational chemistry and conduct research in drug design and receptor modeling. Stephanie Núñez, a sophomore biochemistry major from Bowie, expects to earn a combined D.D.S./Ph.D. in molecular or developmental biology, conduct research, and teach at a university. Kate Laskowski (honorable mention), a junior biology major from Easton, plans to pursue a Ph.D. in evolutionary ecology and wants to become a research professor.

By Eleanor Lewis

On July 1, the campus launched a reorganization of the College of Arts and Sciences, creating an Office of Undergraduate Education and two new colleges, the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. These changes are rooted in the University's strategic planning process and strengthen the University's capacity to provide a distinctive undergraduate experience and support faculty development and research.

Deans John W. Jeffries and Geoffrey P. Summers expect the newly reorganized colleges to expand scholarship, research and creative achievement experiences for both students and faculty. “The smaller colleges allow for more focused development of student programs and curricula and will make it easier to concentrate on additional resources for faculty as well,” said Summers, Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences.

Jeffries, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, added, “Collaboration is at the heart of UMBC, and we will continue to develop interdisciplinary research and programs for faculty and students.”

Diane Lee, Dean and Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education, said that the Office of Undergraduate Education’s mission is to provide an honors experience to every undergraduate by collaborating with departments and programs across campus. “We take the ‘Honors University in Maryland’ tagline very seriously,” said Lee. The office works closely with student affairs, enrollment management and financial aid, and directs the University’s academic integrity, first year experiences and undergraduate research initiatives, among others.

In addition, the Office of Undergraduate Education now provides a central location for student academic affairs issues—formerly handled in the college offices. This will assure consistency in how policies and rules are enforced, monitored and communicated across campus. This office will evaluate only the most difficult cases, ones that cannot be satisfactorily resolved by the course faculty, academic advisors, or department chairs. Academic standards issues that cannot be resolved at the department level should be referred to Teresa Viancour, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Associate Professor of Biological Sciences.

The Office of Undergraduate Education also takes a proactive approach to student academic achievement—through programs like Campus Connect for new students, as well as First Year Seminars and faculty mentor initiatives—in order to foster student engagement and understanding of academic requirements.

With the start of the new academic year, the Learning Resources Center (LRC) became a part of the Office of Undergraduate Education. Theresa Davis, Director, and the staff of the LRC provide critical tutoring and other academic support to students. Their key role in student achievement fits well with the student success, retention, and graduation goals of the University and the Strategic Framework for 2016, UMBC’s strategic plan.

A conversation with Jeffries, Lee and Summers about their priorities for the coming year will be featured on the UMBC homepage in September.

The following listings provide the latest location and contact information for the Office of Undergraduate Education and the two new colleges; watch Insights and the UMBC homepage for future updates.

Information on the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Information on the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences

Information on the Office of Undergraduate Education

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Physics Building, Third Floor
410-455-2385, (fax) 410-455-1095

John W. Jeffries, Dean
Physics Building, room 332
410-455-2386, jeffries@umbc.edu

The Dean’s Office directory is available online.

Other Important Updates:

*Janie Stevenson, formerly assistant dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, has joined the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences as assistant dean. Her office is in the Physics Building, room 217, and she can be reached at 410-455-3228 or jstevens@umbc.edu.

*Rick Welch, formerly dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, will be teaching and conducting research in biology and history as well as working with the interdisciplinary program, Human Context of Science and Technology. His new office is in room 721 of the Administration building, and he can be reached at 410-455-2044 or welch@umbc.edu.

College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences
Physics Building, Second Floor
410-455-2513, (fax) 410-455-1072

Geoffrey P. Summers, Dean
Physics Building, room 218
410-455-2513, gsummers@umbc.edu

Dean’s Office Directory

Janie Stevenson, Assistant Dean of Financial Management
Physics Building, room 217
410-455-3228, jstevens@umbc.edu

Kathy Lee Sutphin, Assistant Dean for Instructional Projects
Biological Sciences, room 447
410-455-2271, sutphin@umbc.edu

Cathy Allison, Executive Administrative Assistant
Physics Building, room 219
410-455-2513, allison@umbc.edu

Dorothy Caplan, Executive Administrative Assistant
Physics Building, room 219
410-455-1707, dcaplan@umbc.edu

Other Important Updates

*The College is temporarily using the physics department’s phone extension. Summers expects the College will move to the University Center at the end of the fall semester.

Office of Undergraduate Education
Administration Building, Tenth Floor
410-455-2859, (fax) 410-455-1210

Diane Lee, Dean and Vice Provost
Administration, room 1012A
410-455-2859, dlee@umbc.edu

Dean’s Office Directory

Teresa Viancour, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Biological Sciences, room 457 (She will move to Academic IV, B Wing, room 444 in the next few weeks.)
410-455-2267, viancour@umbc.edu

Jill Randles, Assistant Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education
Administration, room 907
410-455-3715, jrandles@umbc.edu

Theresa P. Davis, Director, Learning Resources Center
Academic IV, Room 460
410-455-2442, tpdavis@umbc.edu

Janet McGlynn, Director of Communication and Outreach
University Center, room 207
410-455-5754, mcglynn@umbc.edu

Andrea DeSantis, Executive Administrative Assistant
Administration, room 1014
410-455-6805, desantis@umbc.edu

Barbara Smith, Administrative Assistant
Administration, room 908
410-455-2300, bsmith@umbc.edu

By Mike Lurie

Lynne Schaefer, a veteran university administrator with expertise in financial and facilities management, is the new vice president for administration and finance at UMBC.

Schaefer, who has 26 years of budget management and higher education administration experience in the state of Michigan, assumed her position on July 1. She succeeds Mark Behm, who has retired after 32 years of service to UMBC.

Schaefer comes to UMBC from Oakland University (Rochester, Mich.), where she was vice president for finance and administration. In that role, she had lead responsibilities for financial and facilities management, human resources and business services. Under her guidance, Oakland University strengthened its financial management, redesigned its budget development process and re-engineered its procurement process. Schaefer was also responsible for more than $100 million in capital improvements construction and development, and implementation of a new market-based compensation structure for 400 professional staff.

“We especially want to welcome Lynne Schaefer, who joined us after a national search," said Freeman Hrabowski, president of UMBC. "She has substantial experience, having served as administrative vice president at two other universities, president of the Michigan Education Trust, and earlier as a budget analyst in that state. We are very fortunate to have recruited her here."

Schaefer served Wayne State University as vice president of administrative services, a position she assumed after serving the school as director of the budget office. Schaefer also held positions at various state agencies, including the Michigan Department of Treasury, the Michigan Department of Management and Budget and the Governor’s Council on Jobs and Economic Development.

Schaefer received a B.A. in political science from Michigan State and an MBA from Wayne State. A recipient of numerous awards, Schaefer was selected twice as one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Detroit and was named the 1981 Michigan Budget Person of the Year. She is active on several boards, including the Women’s Economic Club Advisory Board, the Michigan Women in Finance Board, Cranbrook Institute of Science Board and the Auburn Hills Chamber of Commerce.