In four parts, this series presented by NCPH and the American Conservation experience (ACE) will ask experts to help public historians and public humanitarians tackle questions like: what do we mean when we talk about gen AI? How do we recognize it, and what AI tools have potential use cases for the public humanities? How can we ethically engage with generative AI tools as public historians, museum practitioners, writers, archivists, and educators?

January 15, 2026 — 2:00 p.m. ET

Media Training for Academics

Don Solomon, Vice President for Communications and Marketing, National Humanities Center

Many academics struggle with the desire to share their expertise with mainstream audiences, worrying about how they and their work will be represented. In this session you'll learn how to work with traditional media, including how to engage reporters and get them interested in your work, how to handle press inquiries, and how to make sure your version of the story gets written.

Don Solomon has over 30 years experience sharing stories about products, people, and organizations of all kinds, and since 2006 he has led communications and marketing at the National Humanities Center. Prior to joining the Center, Don was co-founder and principal of Distill Consulting, and has worked with a wide range of clients that includes Michelin, Hanes, IBM, Rhone Poulenc, CooperTools, and the March of Dimes, among others.

The Dresher Center for the Humanities will once again host a writing group during the 2025 Winter Session. This would be a writing accountability group format where we come together and write.

The format is flexible, but the group would ideally work twice a week for 90 minutes in a hybrid format. The Dresher Center conference room (PAHB 216) could be available for those interested in writing together on campus. Additionally, lunch will be offered after one of the writing sessions.

This writing groups open to faculty, graduate students, and staff working on humanities-related projects.

Sign up here

CAHSS Faculty Members are invited to submit a proposal to be nominated for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program competition, sponsored by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Details are below.

• The purpose of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program is to support high-caliber scholarship in the social sciences and humanities. The 2026 program expects to provide fellowships of $200,000 to 30 exceptional scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals. The funding is for a period of either one or two years, with the anticipated result being a book or major study.

• The 2026 call for applications is on the theme of political polarization in the United States. The Corporation anticipates that the work of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program will explore the many ways political polarization in the United States manifests itself in society and suggest ways that it may be mitigated. Studies of polarization in other countries will be welcomed providing they offer lessons that can be applied to the United States. Projects based in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences are welcomed.

• UMBC may nominate two scholars for the competition: one tenured and one senior untenured (i.e. teaching professors and professors of the practice). Candidates must have a Ph.D. or hold a terminal degree in their field. Untenured candidates will need to become PI Eligible through the exception process, which requires a letter from the Dean or ADR explaining that the faculty has undertaken significant research during their appointment at UMBC.

• Andrew Carnegie Fellowships are open only to citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

• Previous UMBC nominees who applied for the theme of political polarization are not eligible to apply again.

Please keep in mind that Carnegie seeks projects that will be written to communicate with a broad audience. You may find it useful to browse the projects that were awarded last year and read through a study of their focus and potential impact since the theme (political polarization in the U.S.) is unchanged.

The Carnegie jury will evaluate nominations by the following criteria:

• Originality and promise of the idea
• Quality of the proposal
• Promise to offer means to reduce harmful polarization or to enhance social cohesion
• Record of the nominee
• Plans to communicate findings to a broad audience

If you are interested in being considered for the internal competition, please EMAIL the following application materials to:

Carnegi.bs0ulrhjc4r5p385@u.box.com by 5 pm EDT on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

We urge you to contact CARAT Associate Director Rachel Brubaker (rbruba1@umbc.edu) or CARAT Director Marc Ruppel (mruppel@umbc.edu) as soon as possible to discuss your proposal.

Your application materials must include:

1)  A 3-5 page, double-spaced prospectus describing the project, including a projected work plan and approximate time frame. Fellowships will be for either 12 or 24 months and must begin on the first of the month between July and September of 2026, and no later than September 1, 2026.

Note: The Carnegie program allows flexibility in how you manage your time commitment. You may opt for a regular fellowship leave or decide to teach part-time during the semester while working full-time on your project during the summer. 

2) Curriculum vitae

3) Estimate of budgetary requirement for a one- or two-year project. Funds may support:

• Salary and fringe benefits
• Project-related travel (research, conferences)
• Research assistants (hourly or stipend)
• Other project needs (i.e., data collection, surveys, transcription, project supplies and a consultant or contractual service)

The Dean's Office will convene a panel to review the applications and select one or two scholars to recommend to the President as UMBC's nominee(s) by October 22nd. The nominee(s) will work with CARAT to complete the application process and to forward all materials to the President's Office by October 30th. A letter of nomination from President Sheares Ashby is required for the application. Applications must be submitted to the Carnegie Corporation of New York by November 07, 2025 (5:00 P.M. EST).

For additional questions, please contact Associate Dean Alan Yeakley (ayeakley@umbc.edu), Marc Ruppel, Director of CARAT (mruppel@umbc.edu), or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director of CARAT (rbruba1@umbc.edu).