Human Resources has announced the Employees of the Quarter for April 1-June 30, 2008.

Colleen Lindbeck, assistant director/client services manager for the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, was named UMBC’s Exempt Employee of the Quarter. Lindbeck began her career at UMBC in May 2004 as a financial aid counselor and was promoted to her current position in July 2006.

Stephanie Johnson, director of financial aid and scholarships, said, “Colleen has been part of the Office of Financial Aid for only three years, but in that time she managed to find her niche and make her mark on the office. She began as an entry level counselor and was soon promoted to senior counselor. Just last year she was again promoted to client services manager and the unit is markedly improved under her leadership. Colleen is responsible for the management of the largest component of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships, our front office unit. She is directly responsible for the supervision of six staff members and the indirect supervision of the student work staff.”

“Colleen’s unit manages several programs, processes more than 3, 900 files and assists more than 13,000 students/families in person, on the phone and via e-mail each year. In addition, Colleen personally manages the entire Federal Work Study Program for UMBC and oversees the administration of Veteran’s Affairs and DC Tuition Assistance Programs. She is often the first person in the office and the last to leave. She has transitioned from peer to supervisor with ease and confidence and is an excellent role model for the staff of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships,” Johnson added.

Linndbeck received her award on April 11 at a surprise meeting attended by staff of the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships. As a special keepsake, the staff made a giant Employee of the Quarter $500 check to present to Colleen.

Diane Butler, information technology data control clerk lead for the Office of the Registrar, has been named UMBC's Nonexempt Employee of the Quarter. Butler began her career at UMBC in 1989 as a contractual office assistant. She was hired as an office clerk II in 2000 and was promoted to her current position in 2005.

David Hollander, former acting registrar, nominated Butler for the award. Hollander said, “Diane consistently manages an above-average workload with dedication, grace and professionalism. Her rock-solid reliability has been the bedrock of the records operations for over 10 years. She is dedicated and an invaluable resource for staff across campus for her detailed knowledge of student record processes and systems. She leads by example and frequently contributes to team efforts above and beyond expectations.”

Diane was presented her award at a surprise celebration in Academic Services on April 7.

Each Employee of the Quarter recipient receives a check for $500, a personalized parking space, one day of administrative leave, a certificate, his/her name on the Employee of the Quarter plaque and an invitation to the annual Service Award Ceremony for all recipients.

Human Resources extends a special thanks to everyone that nominated an employee for the award. Previous nominations received will be eligible for consideration for one year from the date received. The next Employee of the Quarter recipients will be selected in July.

Christopher Corbett, English, in Baltimore Style

Christopher Corbett, professor of the practice, English, discussed the critically acclaimed HBO series about Baltimore, "The Wire," in his regular column for the May/June issue of Baltimore Style.

www.baltimorestyle.com/index.php/style/backpage/

GAIM Faculty in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun reported on the job opportunities available to students who learn about and design video games, a component of UMBC’s GAIM curriculum. Marc Olano, professor of computer science, and Katie Hirsch, an instructor, were cited. The story, “Video Games from Scratch,” ran on April 20.

www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.games20apr20,0,4162161.story?page=1

President Hrabowski, Bill Thomas in the Baltimore Sun
President Freeman Hrabowski and Bill Thomas, a professor in the Erickson School, spoke with the Baltimore Sun about the active pace set by Robert Deutsch, 84, board chair of RWD Technologies Inc. and leader of the company’s research and product development efforts. The company is anchored at bwtech@umbc. The story, “A Youthful Approach,” ran on April 22.

www.baltimoresun.com/business/bal-bz.rwd22apr22001518,0,5680772.story?page=1&track=rss

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the Baltimore Sun
Associate Professor of Political Science Tom Schaller’s latest column for the Baltimore Sun discussed how Barack Obama can most capably manage Hillary Clinton’s departure from the Democratic presidential race. The column, “Ease Her Out the Door,” appeared on April 24.

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.schaller24apr24,0,5752534.column

Manil Suri, Mathematics, in the Baltimore City Paper
The Baltimore City Paper profiled The Age of Shiva, the well-regarded novel written by Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, and Suri’s work as a mathematician and novelist. The article, “The Writer’s Math,” appeared in the April 23 issue.

www.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=15613

Michael Summers, Chemistry and Biochemistry, HHMI, Receives Patent
Congratulations to Michael Summers, professor of chemistry and biochemistry and HHMI investigator, for his issued U.S. patent #7,361,459, entitled "Antiviral Inhibition of Capsid Proteins". This invention provides methods for evaluating the antiviral activity of test compounds. To view this patent in its entirety, go to www.uspto.gov, and click on Patents.

If you would like more information on patents, copyrights or start-up companies, visit the Office of Technology Development's Web site at www.umbc.edu/otd.

Theatre Faculty, Alumni Nominated for Helen Hayes Awards
UMBC Theatre is represented at the Helen Hayes awards this year. James Brown-Orleans ‘05 was nominated in the category of "Outstanding Lead Actor-Resident Play" for My Children! My Africa! at Studio Theatre. The production of Vigils at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company -- directed by Colette Searls assistant professor of theatre -- was nominated for four Helen Hayes Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress, Outstanding Supporting Actor, Outstanding Sound Design and the Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble.

Mandy Moore ‘07 and Eric Messner ‘01 were both in productions nominated for the Canadian Embassy Award for Outstanding Ensemble: Mandy was in Alone It Stands at The Keegan Theatre, and Eric was in Scenes from the Big Picture at Solas Nu.

For more information, visit www.helenhayes.org/sub/nr.cfm.

The Social Sciences Forum presents UMBC's first Liptiz Lecture on Monday, April 28, at 4 p.m. in the Albin O. Kuhn Library, 7th Floor. Carlo DiClemente, Lipitz professor of the arts, humanities and social sciences and professor of psychology, will discuss "Making a Difference? Evaluating the Complicated Process of Behavior Change." A question and answer period and reception will follow.

The Liptiz professorship is supported by an endowment created by Roger C. Lipitz and the Lipitz Family Foundation “to recognize and support innovative and distinguished teaching and research in the arts, humanities and social sciences at UMBC."

DiClemente is a world-renowned scholar of addictive behavior, with more than 100 publications in peer-reviewed journals and other scholarly outlets and with millions of dollars in funded research. His research is distinguished not only for its scholarly rigor and significance but also for its practical applications to the field of substance abuse and health behavior change. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and has been honored by numerous other organizations, including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Vanguard Foundation and the Maryland Psychological Association. In 2006, he won the Community Partner Award from Healthcare for the Homeless and the John P. McGovern Award from the American Society of Addiction Medicine. He has served as consultant and reviewer for a wide array of organizations and has been an invited lecturer to numerous professional and public organizations in the United States, Canada and Europe.

In addition to his scholarly eminence, he is an excellent teacher and mentor, served with distinction as chair of the Department of Psychology from 1995 to 2006, and has taken on an important variety of service activities for the department, the University and the profession. DiClemente also established the Psychology Community Collaborative project at UMBC, funded by the AIDS Administration. He is developing an instrument to assess the functioning of HIV-positive individuals.

The Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering presents its Distinguished Lecture on Thursday, April 24, at 4 p.m. in ITE, Room 231. Eric Roberts of Stanford University will discuss Rediscovering the Passion, Beauty, Joy and Awe: Making Computing Fun Again.

In 2002, Roberts was named one of the first eight Stanford University fellows in undergraduate education. He has been active in professional organizations dedicated to computer science education and received the 2003 SIGCSE Award for Outstanding Contribution to Computer Science Education. Roberts is a fellow of the ACM and the American Association for the Advancement of Science, past president of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and past president of Student Pugwash USA, which encourages students to use their training in science and technology to create a better world.

For more information, contact Marie desJardins at mariedj@cs.umbc.edu or ext. 5-3967.

Dennis Coates, Economics, in the Baltimore Sun
Attendance at the Washington Nationals’ brand new stadium has dipped substantially since the team’s home opener on March 30. Nationals season-ticket sales increased only by 3,000 in the year before the Nationals moved to the new facility. “My gut tells me that is a pitiful number of season tickets after opening a brand-new stadium,” Dennis Coates, professor of economics, told the Baltimore Sun. The story, “Fans Throw a Curve,” appeared on April 12.

www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-te.sp.natsfans12apr12,0,1426025.story

Manil Suri, Mathematics, in the Washington Post
The Age of Shiva, the well-regarded novel written by Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, is the No. 1 bestseller in India. The Washington Post noted the success of the book in its international roundup, “The World.” The item, “Local Writer’s Novel a Hit in India,” ran on April 15.

www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/14/AR2008041402742.html?referrer=emailarticle

UMBC in the Baltimore Sun
A Baltimore Sun editorial regarding a Johns Hopkins University initiative to diversify its faculty cited UMBC’s success in developing minority scientists. “The University of Maryland, Baltimore County has long offered scholarships to minorities pursuing the sciences and a nurturing environment that encourages success,” the editorial noted. The piece, “Broadening the Faculty Pool,” ran on April 14.

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.mosaic14apr14,0,4452211.story

Peter Wood ’06, Theatre, in Dramabiz magazine
Dramabiz magazine cited the special effects work of Peter Wood ’06, theatre, and his design of the environment for the gothic puppet-driven drama, Victor Frankenstein, performed at UMBC in 2006. The story, “SFX: Size Doesn’t Matter,” appeared in the April issue.

www.dramabiz.com/aprfeat1.htm

Men's Basketball Post-Season Notes: Retrievers Are Nation's Best in Assist-to-Turnover Ratio
The men’s basketball program was honored by the Maryland state legislature on Wednesday, March 26. Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Brown, Head Coach Randy Monroe and student-athletes Brian Hodges, Cavell Johnson, Darryl Proctor and Jay Greene visited the Maryland Senate chamber and received a standing ovation in the House of Delegates.

www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/mbball/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4060

Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture and Franc Nunoo-Qarcoo, Visual Arts, Receives AAM Awards
Two of publications produced by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture received awards in the 2008 American Association of Museums Publications Design Competition.
The 1980s: A Virtual Discussion won Second Prize in the Scholarly Journals category. Andrea Robbins and Max Becher: Portraits won Honorable Mention in the Exhibition Catalogs category. Both books were submitted in the category of institutions with budgets less than $750,000. Franc Nunoo Quarcoo, professor and chair, visual arts, is the credited designer for both publications.

Robert H. Deluty, Psychology, Publishes a New Book
Robert H. Deluty, associate professor of psychology, has published his 16th book of poetry, Hour/Minute/Second Helpings. In his review, Ronald M. Pies, professor of psychiatry at SUNY Upstate Medical University, writes: "Dr. Robert Deluty's miraculously compressed verse has always dealt with time and mortality. But this latest collection is especially concerned with time as existential paradox: as both a prison of lost opportunity and a cathedral of revealed possibility. . . . We can swim against the current of time, or be borne up by its force, as with the man 'at his wife's grave/ remembering with a smile/ their first fight.' Throughout these brief excursions into time, Deluty maintains his gentle but discerning humor, and his great love of this all-too-fleeting life."

Hour/Minute/Second Helpings, as well as all of Deluty's other books, may be purchased at the UMBC Bookstore.

Manil Suri, Mathematics, Speaks at City Lit This Weekend
Professor of Mathematics and acclaimed novelist Manil Suri will read from and discuss his new novel, The Age of Shiva, at the annual City Lit festival on Saturday, April 19 at 1 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt Library, 400 Cathedral Street in Baltimore City. Suri is joined by Baltimore authors Dan Fesperman and Laura Lippman, who also will read and discuss their work. For more information, visit www.citylitproject.org or www.prattlibrary.org.

Track and Field Earns Second Straight Performer of the Week as Fauntleroy Earns Women's Field Award
Track and field senior Ashley Fauntleroy was named the America East Women’s Field Performer of the Week for the week ending April 14, the conference announced Tuesday.
Fauntleroy, a six-time America East champion and two-time Outstanding Field Performer award-winner, recorded three top-three finishes with three career-best marks at last weekend’s University of Virginia Lou Onesty/Milton G. Abramson Invitational.

www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/track/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4059

Ryan Smith Named America East Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week; Retrievers Rise to No. 6 in National Rankings
For the second time in three weeks, junior attackman Ryan Smith has been named America East Conference men’s lacrosse Player of the Week. Smith recorded a UMBC season high eight points with a career best five goals and three assists in UMBC’s 14-10 win over Albany on Saturday night. The win was UMBC’s seventh in a row and has propelled the 8-3 Retrievers to a school-record No. 6 ranking in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association poll.

www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/mlacrosse/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4058

Voorman, Cette Named America East Tennis Performers of Week; Teams Continue Winning Ways With 5-2 Triumphs at FDU
UMBC has swept America East Tennis Performer of the Week honors for the week ending April 14. The Retrievers' Fredi Voorman (Tallinn, Estonia) and Pascaline Cette (Menton, France/St. Joseph) were tabbed the week's top players on the men's and women's side, respectively.

www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/tennis/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4062

This year's Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) will held on Wednesday, April 23, 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in the UC Ballroom, UC 310, UC 312, Fine Arts 221 and FA 317. The Graduate Research Conference (GRC) will be held Friday, April 25, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in the University Center.

URCAD -- which has been held annually since 1997 -- features oral presentations, poster sessions and artistic exhibits and performances, typically by students who have completed this research during the current academic year. This year, there will be more than 130 student presenters from more than 25 different departments across campus.

This campus celebration of achievement affirms UMBC's commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.

For complete event information and a schedule of presentations, visit
www.umbc.edu/undergrad_ed/research/urcad/2008eventinformation.html. For more information, contact Janet McGlynn at mcglynn@umbc.edu or ext. 5-5754.

UMBC’s 30th annual GRC is an opportunity for UMBC and University of Maryland, Baltimore graduate students to present results of their ongoing research in an interdisciplinary setting to peers, faculty members, the University of Maryland community at large and the public. The GRC creates a unique and dynamic setting that facilitates the efficient exchange of information and ideas across a wide variety of scientific disciplines.

Diane Auer Jones ‘88, assistant secretary for postsecondary education, U.S. Department of Education, will give the keynote address.

For more information, visit www.umbc.edu/gsa/grc/.

Terry Kimener Earns Second America East Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week Award This Season
For the second time this season, UMBC senior midfielder Terry Kimener has been named America East Conference men’s lacrosse Player of the Week.

www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/mlacrosse/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4034

Ali Levendusky Named America East Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week
Senior attack Ali Levendusky was named America East Women’s Lacrosse Player of the Week for the week ending April 6, the conference announced Monday. The award is the fourth of Levendusky’s career and her second this season.

www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/wlacrosse/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4036

Tom Beck, Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun profiled the efforts of Jennifer B. Bodine to preserve recognition for the volume of art left by her father, legendary Sun photographer A. Aubrey Bodine. “He was a newspaper photographer, but one who truly created art,” said Tom Beck, chief curator of the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery. The story, “In Dad’s Honor,” appeared on April 6.

www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-al.bodine06apr06,0,6254831.story

Tim Brennan, Public Policy and Economics, in the News
Tim Brennan, professor of public policy and economics, published two opinion pieces regarding electricity deregulation. “Smooth the Path to Electric Deregulation” appeared in the Financial Post on April 4. “Guideposts in the Electricity Debate” focused on the ongoing debate over deregulation in Maryland. That commentary ran in the Baltimore Examiner on April 3.

www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=418650

www.examiner.com/a-1317673%7ETim_Brennan__Guideposts_in_the_electricity_debate.html

Chess in the News
The Baltimore Sun and the Washington Times reported on the President’s Cup, the collegiate chess “Final Four” championship, with coverage before and during the April 5-6 competition. Links to coverage are below.

www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-te.to.chess05apr05,0,6522777.story

www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.chess07apr07,0,6441072.story

www.washingtontimes.com/article/20080408/SPORTS/356783709

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/editorial/bal-ed.chess08apr08,0,5956077.story

Linda Dusman, Music, and Wendy Salkind, Theatre, in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun reviewed a performance of Ida by the Rep Stage of Howard County. Wendy Salkind, an associate professor in the theatre department, performed the dramatized reading. Linda Dusman, chair of the music department, performed the “electronic enhancement” to the reading. The story, “Gertrude Stein’s Words Charm When Read Aloud,” appeared on April 4.

www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/howard/bal-ho.ida04apr04,0,1794888.story

Meyerhoff Scholarship Program, President Hrabowski in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun profiled the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program’s 20th anniversary celebration and research symposium. “In two decades, 200 scholars have gone on to complete at least a graduate degree in the sciences,” the paper noted. The article cited President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, for noting that diversity in the sciences is essential in an era of global competition. The story, “University Celebrates Minorities in the Sciences,” ran on April 7.

www.baltimoresun.com/news/education/bal-md.umbc07apr07,0,7056147.story

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the News
Associate Professor of Political Science Tom Schaller’s latest column for the Baltimore Sun noted that the 2008 Congressional election cycle holds the potential for fascinating political storylines. “There is ample evidence … that the parties are polarizing and becoming more distinct,” Schaller wrote. The column, “2008 is Looking Up for Congressional Democrats,” ran on April 9.

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.schaller09apr09,0,6866652.column

After 12 years of quietly operating as a minority within a minority, a coalition of fiscally conservative Democrats is enjoying new clout in Congress. “There are certainly a lot of them who are voting with the White House, certainly more than Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi would like,” Schaller told the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. The article, “Majority Shift Gives Blue Dogs Power,” appeared on April 6.

www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080406/NEWS/804060453/-1/newssitemap

FR: Lynn Watson, Chair
Department of Theatre

After more than 30 years of teaching, directing and service to the UMBC community, Xerxes Mehta, professor of theatre, has announced his intention to retire at the end of the current academic year.

While still a graduate student at the University of California, Berkeley, Mehta was hired by UMBC to head its theatre department, which he did from 1976 to 1980. Since that time, he, in the company of many distinguished colleagues, has worked to build the department into the rigorous training ground for young theatre professionals that it is today.

Mehta has taught acting, directing and dramatic literature, in both studio and non-studio classes, at lower and upper levels, across the curriculum. He has guest-taught Shakespeare for the English department and team-taught interdisciplinary courses for the Visual and Performing Arts Program. He has also directed 51 plays with student casts, often in close collaboration with faculty or staff from other disciplines, including music, visual arts, modern languages, history, and the Library’s Special Collections. Among these have been several regional premieres, three world premieres and the only two full-scale interdepartmental collaborations on operatic production in UMBC’s history—The Marriage of Figaro (1977) and The Threepenny Opera (2007).

As part of his wide-ranging service to the department and university, Mehta has chaired numerous Promotion and Tenure committees, functioned as an outside reviewer for the Department of Visual Arts and the Graduate School, represented the Department of Theatre multiple times on the Faculty Senate and served on several campus-wide task forces, self-studies, planning committees or steering committees.

Professionally, Mehta is particularly known for his work on Samuel Beckett. One of his first productions at UMBC was a group of the short plays, which subsequently went on to perform at the American College Theatre Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, where it won three awards. He has directed nine of Beckett’s plays to date, several more than once. In 1996, he took the Maryland Stage Company’s (MSC) staging of three of the short plays to the International Beckett Festival and Symposium in Strasbourg, France, and, in 2000, the MSC was again invited to Europe to perform at the largest event of its kind since Beckett’s death, Beckett in Berlin 2000. Several of these productions have been photographically reproduced in books and journals. Mehta's articles on Beckett’s theatre have appeared in the Journal of Beckett Studies, Samuel Beckett Today/Aujourd’hui, Theater, The Beckett Circle / Le Cercle de Beckett, and the anthology Directing Beckett (Michigan, 1994). He has also lectured and organized panels, performances and festivals at numerous national and international Beckett events. He was president of the international Samuel Beckett Society from 2000 to 2002.

In 1987, responding to the department’s need for a fully professional dimension—both as a teaching tool and as a creative outlet for the department’s professional faculty—Mehta founded the Maryland Stage Company (MSC), remaining its artistic director through its 15-year life. He directed 16 productions with the MSC, several of which received national, and even international, attention for their quality. Central departmental MSC collaborators were: Wendy Salkind, Sam McCready, Elena Zlotescu, Terry Cobb, Shelley Joyce and Gregg Schraven.

Mehta's work has been reviewed by the New York Times, the Village Voice, TheaterWeek, Show Business, Theatre Journal, Western European Stages, the Journal of Beckett Studies, The Beckett Circle, France-Amérique, Der Tagesspiegel (Berlin), Der Morgenpost (Berlin), and print and electronic media in the Baltimore/Washington area. Nine of his productions have been named “Best of the Year” and four have been anthologized.

Educated by Jesuits in Calcutta, India, he holds degrees from Cornell University (B.A.) and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (M.F.A.).

Please join us in honoring Xerxes on Friday, May 9, at 4 p.m. in the Skylight Room (The Commons). RSVP by April 25 to Marie Sproul, msproul@umbc.edu or ext. 5-2917.

Bronson, Cantwell, Carson to Compete in USA and Canada Olympic Trials
Two members of the UMBC men’s swimming and diving team will compete for their home country of Canada this week at the 2008 CN Swimming Trials and a third Retriever, a member of the women’s swimming and diving team, will compete at the USA Olympic Trials from June 29-July 6.
www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/swimming/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4013

Margie Burns, English, to Publish in Jane Austen Society Journal
Margie Burns, lecturer, English, is publishing her article "George and Georgiana: Symmetries and Antitheses in Pride and Prejudice" in Persuasions, the annual journal of the Jane Austen Society of North America. The forthcoming issue comes out April 2008. This is Burns' second Austen article in Persuasions.

Ryan Smith Named America East Conference Men's Lacrosse Player of the Week
Junior attackman Ryan Smith was named America East Conference men’s lacrosse player of the week for games ending March 29, 2008. Smith is UMBC’s fourth award-winner in the last five weeks.
www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/mlacrosse/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4014

Tennis Sweeps America East Performers of the Week Awards; Jackson, Mungo Honored
UMBC has swept this week's America East tennis honors as David Jackson and Ana Mungo have been named the Men's and Women's Tennis Performers of the Week, respectively. The awards for the week ending March 31 were announced on April 1.
www.umbcretrievers.com/sports/tennis/release.asp?RELEASE_ID=4016

bwtech@UMBC in the News
In its March issue, the trade journal Metal Architecture noted the metal walls central to the design of the USGS Maryland-Delaware-District of Columbia Water Science Center at bwtech@umbc.edu.

http://moderntrade.com/Default.aspx?PublicationID=3&ArticleID=181&Title=Meta

Chess in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun highlighted the 2008 President’s Cup, the ‘Final Four’ of collegiate chess, to be held at UMBC April 5-6. The “Live” section noted the event in the “Free Sheet” section.

www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/custom/live/bal-li.free03apr03,0,6922964.story

Jason Loviglio, Media and Communication Studies, in the Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun interviewed Jason Loviglio, director of the Media and Communication Studies program, regarding Americans’ economic pessimism. Loviglio discussed the shared sacrifice during World War II, a contrast to the lack of national unity today with the economic downturn and Iraq war in the background. The article, “Prolonged Economic Pessimism Has a Silver Lining,” appeared on March 30.

www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/bal-al.upside30mar30,0,3160852.story

Robert Provine, Psychology, in the News
In interviews with two newspapers, Robert Provine, professor of psychology, discussed his research on laughter. The Indianapolis Star cited his work in a story on April 1, “No Fooling.” The Jackson (MS) Clarion-Ledger interviewed Provine for another piece centered on April Fool’s Day. The article, “Want the Last Laugh,” also ran on April 1.

www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/LIVING01/804010310/1083/LIVING01

www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080401/FEAT05/804010324/1023

Tom Schaller, Political Science, in the News
Associate Professor of Political Science Tom Schaller told the Las Vegas Sun that presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will give the party strength in the West. “Of the Republicans, he was their best bet,” Schaller said. The article, “Winning West Not a Given for Arizona’s Senator,” ran on March 31.

www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/mar/30/winning-west-not-given-arizonas-senator/

Schaller told the Tampa Tribune that the electoral map is becoming more predictable with each presidential election. “We’re going to be fighting over the same eight to 10 states as in 2004,” he said. The article, “Will Obama Play in Florida,” ran on April 1.

www2.tbo.com/content/2008/apr/01/na-will-obama-play-in-florida/

In These Times profiled the racial dynamics employed by the Clinton campaign. “When the black population is really small, racial polarization is small enough that Obama can win, and when the black population is large, any polarization is drowned out by the overwhelming size of the Democratic black vote,” Schaller said. The story, “The Clinton Firewall,” appeared on March 31.

www.inthesetimes.com/article/3597/the_clinton_firewall/

Wednesday, April 9
University Center Ballroom
12-1 p.m.
(Light lunch served at 11:30 a.m.)

Each year, the UMBC community comes together to celebrate the accomplishments of our outstanding faculty and staff.

UMBC Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards

L.D. Timmie Topoleski
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
2008-2011 Presidential Teaching Professor

Thomas Mathew
Professor, Mathematics and Statistics
2008-2011 Presidential Research Professor

Danita Eichenlaub
Associate Director, GEST, JCET
2008-2009 Presidential Distinguished Staff Award,
Professional Staff

Ethel “Willi” Haskins-Cotton
Insurance Program Specialist
University Health Services
2008-2009 Presidential Distinguished Staff Award,
Non-Exempt Staff

University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty and Staff Awards

Christopher Corbett
Professor of the Practice, English
2007-2008 University System of Maryland Board of Regents’ Faculty Award for
Mentoring

Cindy Kubiet
Director of Sports Medicine, Athletics
2006-2007 University System of Maryland Board of Regents’ Staff Award for Outstanding Service to Students

2008-2009 UMBC President’s Commission for Women Achievement Award

Claudia Morrell
Executive Director, Center for Women and Information Technology