Dr. Eric Zeemering, an assistant professor of public policy, has been named a 2013-14 Fulbright Scholar by Fulbright Canada. He will spend five months at the University of Ottawa investigating how urban sustainability is defined in Canadian cities, with special attention on how social policy and programs are integrated with economic and environmental initiatives.

Dr. Zeemering’s research and teaching interests focus on public management, intergovernmental relations and urban policy (see video below).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzVW-RaTDiY&w=560&h=315]

To learn more about Dr. Zeemering’s work, read his upcoming profile in UMBC Magazine, online and in print later this month.

Fulbright Canada is a binational, treaty-based organization created to encourage mutual understanding between Canada and the U.S. through academic and cultural exchange.

According to a recent PolicyMic ranking, UMBC is listed as a top ten school where students get the ‘best bang for their buck’ in terms of cost, graduation rates and starting salary, and debt at time of graduation.

Using recent data for average student debt upon graduation, starting salaries, tuition and room and board for four-year universities, six-year graduation rates, and percentage of students who qualify for Pell grants as rough indicators, the rankings identified the top dozen schools that are performing above average.

“If you could make one change to improve science education in the United States, what would it be?” asked the New York Times in a special feature published Monday, September 2. Nineteen people answered the question, and among them were President Freeman Hrabowski and Mike Summers, HHMI Investigator and professor of chemistry and biochemistry.

“We need to create opportunities to excite students about how math and science connect to real life,” said Hrabowski, adding that he would like to see more programs offering teachers the chance to apply their skills outside of the classroom. “A teacher who has worked summers in green construction engineering can show their students how they’ve used geometric concepts.”

Mike Summers said that he would like to see more students come into the lab to work on real-world problems. “When things like that happen, the kids begin self-identifying as scientists. They stop thinking that a science career can be theirs 10 years from now — an eternity to an adolescent. They think of themselves as scientists, now,” he said.

Also quoted in the piece were Najib Jammal and Deon Sanders, the principal and a student at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore. UMBC’s Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars program recently began a multi-year partnership with the school. Through the partnership, Sherman Scholars, along with Shriver Center Peaceworkers and Choice Program caseworkers, will work with school leadership to develop school- and family-centered strategies that address student and community needs.

Jammal said that he wanted students to be able to apply their STEM learning to projects that benefit their community, and Sanders summed it up by saying, “I need science and math education to be more about life.”

Dr. Patrice McDermott, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, has been named Senior Fellow at the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) where she will partner with the STEM project, Project Kaleidoscope, on research initiatives designed to increase the number of women and women of color in academic STEM disciplines.

UMBC Library Associate Director, Joyce Tenney, was elected President of the North American Serials Interest Group, Inc. (NASIG) for the 2013/2014 term. NASIG is the premier professional organization focused on serial publications.

Robert Deluty, associate dean of the graduate school, has published a new book of poetry, “Saluting from the Shore.”

In his review, Ronald Pies writes, “Once again, Robert Deluty presents us with a splendid collection of short poems, inspired by Cheryl Strayed’s observation that we will never know the lives we have not chosen – the ‘ghost ship that didn’t carry us…’ We wonder, for example, what other ship might have carried the dean who confides that ‘…feigning interest all day/ is wearing him out.’ We wonder how the life not chosen might have spared ‘the dying soldier/ recalling his grandfather/ saying Be a man.’ In a sense, these poems are a salute to paths not taken, lives not chosen, which—through Deluty’s illuminating explorations—are given voice and dignity.”

Copies of “Saluting from the Shore,” as well as of Deluty’s other books, are on sale at the UMBC Bookstore.

Christine Routzahn, director of professional practice, shares UMBC’s internship process and how it positively impacts the undergraduate experience on WYPR’s “Midday with Dan Rodricks,” which aired last week.

An increasing number of college students are trading traditional summer jobs for internships – and many of them are working for free. It is estimated that half of the more than a million undergraduate internships a year are unpaid. While internships have always been seen as effective stepping stones toward career development and job opportunities, recent lawsuits over unfair labor practices have raised concerns about companies using internships to replace employees with free labor.

“It’s our job to educate our students when accepting an offer. Internships are critical, but it’s important to understand that not all internships are equal,” said Routzahn. “When a student evaluates an offer and is sitting at the interview chair, it is important to ask certain questions and evaluate those answers.”

Listen to the full segment »

“In a time when social bridge building is greatly needed, we have lost much of our capacity for public friendliness,” writes Lisa Akchin, associate vice president for marketing and public relations, in a recent Baltimore Sun op-ed.  Akchin was responding to President Obama’s recollection of being greeted by the click of car door locks while crossing the street as a young black man.

“I know my own hand made that reflexive move for the door lock too many times before my mind considered the impact of my actions as a white woman on the feelings of a young black man,” she says.

Akchin writes about her own process of changing her perceptions, and calls on others in Baltimore to seek out opportunities to engage with people of diverse backgrounds. “For me, the first step out of this counterproductive cycle was a decision to stop seeing a statistic when I approached a black man on the street and begin seeing an individual coming from somewhere and going somewhere,” she says. “We are fortunate in Baltimore to have many attractive public spaces and events that serve as a modern-day town commons. These places and experiences offer rich opportunities to practice public friendliness.”

The piece, “On race, moving from fear to friendliness,” appeared in the Sun on July 24.

In a recent Baltimore Sun article on engaging underprivileged and minority students in science, Bill LaCourse, dean of the college of natural and mathematical sciences, voiced the importance of creating a strong community to support student learning and success.

Students who come to college unprepared often need remediation, said LaCourse. UMBC has decided to change the approach of throwing 800 students into an introductory science class to let everyone sink or swim, because too many were sinking. Today, the school works to ensure that students feel more supported and have a small community of fellow students to turn to for help.

From innovative student ideas to campus programs and campaigns, UMBC is going green—and getting noticed. The Princeton Review has recognized UMBC as a college raising the bar on sustainability in its 2013 Guide to 322 Green Colleges.

The annual guide profiles higher education institutions in the U.S. and Canada that demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation.

To determine which schools qualify, colleges and universities are rated based on institutional data such as the school’s energy consumption, green transportation programs, and the level of dedication for sustainability in and out of the classroom.

UMBC was noted for its successful student programs, including the Biodiesel Club’s sustainability project and a student-driven initiative to bring a farmer’s market and community garden to campus. The list also highlighted UMBC’s efforts to increase its renewable energy resources, the new LEED certified Performing Arts and Humanities Building, and its educational campaign for recycling.