As the pandemic surged across the country last spring, university arts venues closed their doors, but that didn’t stop UMBC artists from creating. Without the traditional opportunities for collaboration that can be so important in dance, music, theatre, and the visual arts, they turned to new approaches and to individual projects with determination and passion.

Time for research and writing

For Brianna Harper, B.A. ’20, visual arts, the pandemic represented an opportunity to focus on her research and writing. “Actually, I’m lucky. What I do is I hole up, I research, and I write,” she says. “During COVID I was able to focus on the materials, synthesizing information without any distractions.”

Harper’s research focuses on the enigmatic paintings of the Swedish artist Hilma af Klint (1862–1944), whose artwork she discovered by chance on a 2019 visit to the Guggenheim Museum in New York. Her capstone project, presented at both URCAD and the Exit Art exhibition in spring 2020, explored the spiritual influences on af Klint’s paintings by using contemporary astrological processes to interpret the art.

“The premise of the paper is that Hilma af Klint created this huge breadth of work, Paintings for the Temple, and yet she didn’t really understand what it meant. She felt she was almost painting the words of ethereal beings, or painting their ideas, sort of like a prophet of theosophy in a way,” says Harper. 

“Because her work has astrological symbolism, with which I’m familiar, I was able to synthesize the astrological practices of that time, the early 20th century, and then use that to track her work patterns to see what astrological themes appeared in skies at certain points in her life,” Harper explains. “So it was using 19th-century theosophical astrology as a lens to deepen our understanding of Hilma af Klint’s Painting for the Temple.”

“Noting the deep influence of astrology on af Klint’s artistic practice and spiritual life, Brianna melded iconology, a well-established mode of analyzing artworks, with her own specialized knowledge of astrology,” notes Preminda Jacob, associate dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and professor of visual arts, who was Harper’s advisor. “The outcome of Brianna’s research was a uniquely exciting interpretation of visual artworks.”

Bonding together

Celine “CJ” Jones-Cameron, B.A. ’20, theatre, will graduate this week having developed a broad range of skills across the discipline. “I really enjoy acting, I really enjoy doing tech, and I really enjoy carpentry and building sets,” she says. “I like the idea that I now have opportunities to do so much because my background is so well-rounded.”

She notes that theatre productions can be complex, involving not only actors, but also set designers, carpenters, costume designers, sound and light designers, directors, vocal coaches and more. During performances, each of those professionals has to coordinate with split-second accuracy. It’s the unifying experience of the performance that most fascinates her.

UMBC’s theatre department usually stages two productions each semester. But their regular kind of collaborative work just wasn’t feasible once students had to pivot to online and socially-distanced learning.

Still, Jones-Cameron noticed an outpouring of empathy from her fellow theatre students, and feels that their inability to stage productions actually brought them closer together. “It’s been nice to see us talk to each other more,” she said. Thanks to the “closeness” of students in the department, she says, “I think we adjusted pretty well.”

“CJ always finds a way to take challenges and difficult situations and merge them with humor. She is a leader and a constant source of energy,” says Adam Mendelson, senior lecturer in the theatre department and one of CJ’s teachers. “The most impressive thing about CJ is her undaunted ability to keep pushing her own boundaries and definitions of what she is capable of even in the face of unprecedented national challenges.”

Jones-Cameron plans to begin auditioning and working in Los Angeles or New York, possibly with a focus on children’s theatre, which has long been one of her passions.

Finding his voice

Pramuk Mohanlal-Vargas B.A. ’20, music and global studies, has lived in his native Paraguay, in India, and in the United States, so an emphasis in global studies came naturally. “I love traveling and learning about different cultures and people,” he shares. And his interest in music similarly came about at a young age — “I grew up singing and playing piano,” he says, “and then I took interest in acoustic guitar.”

Mohanlal-Vargas’s musical path has led him to emerge as a singer-songwriter (going by his first name, Pramuk). During the pandemic he managed to complete and release his first album, an EP titled Ordinary Soul, on November 27. 

His teacher, Sammy Huh, an affiliate artist in the music department and director of UMBC’s Opera Workshop, describes him as “possessing a beautiful Mozartean tenor instrument and dynamic guitar skills.”

At UMBC, Mohanlal-Vargas has participated in the Camerata Chamber Choir, the Opera Workshop and other ensembles. He credits these opportunities as having helped him gain exposure to a diversity of genres and historical periods. 

“UMBC has helped me grow, learning a lot about Renaissance music, classical, romantic — different time periods — different composers and their lives, and even a lot of the theoretical side of things,” he says. “I never would have thought that opera is what I would be studying in college. Singing in Italian, in German, in French — it’s a beautiful thing.”

The past several months have provided Mohanlal-Vargas time for introspection and reflection. “It’s kind of a strange feeling — all virtual, not performing in front of a live audience. That’s what’s made it challenging,” he says. “But it’s also helped me become more grounded, be more still in the moment.”

Banner image: Girls on a Dirt Pile (2019) by Susan McCully, directed by Eve Muson, a production for which Celine Jones-Cameron was a theatrical electrician. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Eleven recent UMBC alumni are recipients of 2020 – 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards, including seven from UMBC’s Class of 2020. Each year over 11,000 students apply and just over 2,000 are selected from hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States. The award secures funding for U.S. students to pursue international graduate study, research, internships, or teaching.

While COVID-19 has presented a range of challenges and uncertainties for Fulbright recipients, UMBC is proud to celebrate their hard work and achievements. 

“This year’s recipients have demonstrated great flexibility and maturity as they navigate the changes that our current global situation requires,” explains Brian Souders, M.A.‘19, TESOL and Ph.D. ’09, language, literacy and culture. He serves as associate director of global engagement opportunities in UMBC’s office of International Education Services. 

Souders, who is also UMBC’s Fulbright program advisor and scholar liaison, says that these hurdles have also not deterred UMBC faculty, students, and alumni from applying for the 2021 – 2022 Fulbright award.

Souders with Fulbright class of 2019 – 2021.

UMBC’s 2020 – 2021 Fulbright U.S. Student Program award recipients

Middle East

• Kiplyn Jones, M.P.P. ’20, public policy, Jordan, English Teaching 

East Asia

Osia on campus.
Photo courtesy of Osia.

• Hannah Jang ’20, global studies, Korea, English Teaching Assistant
• Phillip McKnight, M.A. ’19, instructional systems design, Laos, English Teaching Assistant
• Samina Musa ’20, chemical engineering, Malaysia, English Teaching Assistant
• Uchenna Osia ’19, computer science, Malaysia, English Teaching Assistant

Europe and Eurasia

• Brandon Ables, M.F.A., ’20, intermedia and digital arts, Romania, English Teaching Assistant
• Alida Hartwell ’20, bioinformatics/computational biology, Latvia, English Teaching Assistant
• Matthew Linz ’20, modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, Kazakhstan, English Teaching Assistant
•  Idania Ramos ’20, psychology, Spain, English Teaching Assistant
• Jocelyn Wilkins ’20, mechanical engineering, University of Porto, Portugal, Master’s Program

Kashett in Costa Rica, where he previously studied abroad. Photo courtesy of Kashett.

Western Hemisphere

• Daniel Kashkett ’19, global studies, Mexico, Bilateral Internship Program

Top Fulbright producer

The Fulbright U.S. Student program is highly competitive, and recipients are chosen based on academic or professional achievement and demonstrated leadership potential. UMBC’s ten 2020 – 2021 recipients include students from a broad range of majors. And they’ve been selected for a diverse range of experiences, as English teaching assistants, interns, and graduate students in Europe, East Asia, Western Hemisphere, and the Middle East. 

This success comes after UMBC was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for receiving fourteen Fulbright U.S. Student awards in 2019 – 2020. Only a small portion of institutions participating in the Fulbright program are designated as top producers each year, an honor granted by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

Both the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program are designed to help build networks to support cross-cultural understanding. They connect people from the United States with people from around the world to dispel stereotypes and help each other reach common goals.

Faculty Fulbright for research in Southeast Asia

Beyond the student program, faculty are eligible to apply for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program to further research on critical world problems in all disciplines. This year, UMBC’s John Rennie Short, professor of public policy, has received a Fulbright award to conduct research in Southeast Asia on the geopolitics of the South China Sea.

Rennie Short with local university students and staff in Nanchang, China.
Photo courtesy of Rennie Short.

The award will support Rennie Short’s research in Malaysia and the Philippines and allow him to visit Cambodia, Indonesia, and Vietnam. He will interview scholars and foreign policy analysts while at the Asian Center at the University of the Philippines Diliman and the Centre for ASEAN Regionalism at the University of Malaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rennie Short also plans to give public lectures and seminars about U.S. public policy and other topics while in Southeast Asia.

Kuala Lampur, one of the places Rennie Short will visit for research.
Photo courtesy of Rennie Short.

This research will inform Rennie Short’s second book on East Asian maritime issues. “The book will widen our understanding of the complex and troubled geopolitics of the South China Sea,” he explains. “It will provide an Association of Southeast Asian Nations perspective to counter the dominant Chinese and U.S. narratives.” 

Rennie Short’s first book on East Asian geopolitical issues, Korea: A Cartographic History (2012, University of Chicago Press), tackled the East Sea versus Sea of Japan naming dispute between South Korea and Japan. He has also written “Troubled Waters: Conflict in the South China Sea Explained,” republished in U.S. News & World Report.

Other recent UMBC faculty recipients of Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards include Charissa Cheah, professor of psychology; Guenet Abraham, associate professor visual arts; Chuck Eggleton, professor and chair of mechanical engineering; and Marc Zupan, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

Abraham in Ethiopia as a Fulbright Scholar in 2018. Photo courtesy of Abraham.

Banner image: International hanging from the ceiling of UMBC’s Commons. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 unless otherwise noted.

Gloria Chuku, chair andprofessor of Africana studies, has been named UMBC’s Lipitz Professor of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) for 2020 – 21. This distinguished professorship, funded by Roger C. Lipitz and the Lipitz Family Foundation, recognizes and supports innovative teaching and research. During her professorship, Chuku will carry out research for her new book project, Becoming Igbo in Nigeria and the Diaspora: A History of Ethnic Identity Formation and Negotiation. 

“I am humbled and grateful for my colleagues’ recognition of my contributions to the Africana studies department, CAHSS, and UMBC; to my profession; and to the fields of Igbo and Nigerian histories, African studies, and gender studies,” shares Chuku. “I feel validated.”

In the span of thirty years, Chuku’s internationally-renowned scholarship and teaching has explored the topics of ethno-nationalism, gender, economics, decolonization, conflict, and African-centered epistemological traditions of the Igbo people, the third largest ethnic group in Nigeria. 

Scholarship on Igbo culture

Chuku will spend time studying the Commonwealth and African manuscripts at Oxford University’s Bodleian Libraries in the coming year. She will also do archival research at The National Archives in London. Chuku will then return to the United States to review the unpublished papers on the Igbo people at the Melville J. Herskovits Library of African Studies at Northwestern University. 

This research will inform the writing of Chuku’s second book, about the processes of Igbo ethnic identity formation, negotiation, and integration across time. This includes Igbo identity within Nigeria and the global diaspora.

Chuku’s first book, Igbo Women and Economic Transformation in Southeastern Nigeria, 1900 – 1960 (Routledge, 2005), remains the most comprehensive study on Igbo women, covering all Igbo subculture zones. As a result of her work she was the first woman to receive the prestigious Ali Mazrui Award for Scholarship and Research Excellence in 2017.This international award recognizes a pre-eminent scholar of African studies for their research and scholarly achievement. 

Chuku’s 2017 Ali Mazrui Award. Photo courtesy of Chuku.

Enriching UMBC

In addition to her research, Chuku has been a vibrant part of the UMBC community. As affiliate professor in gender, women’s, and sexuality studies and language, literacy, and culture, she has served on their undergraduate and doctoral program advisory committees, respectively. She has also served on the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Activities. 

In 2018 Chuku organized an international conference at UMBC on the history and legacy of women’s roles in the Nigeria-Biafra War. The conference brought renowned scholars and activists from Nigeria, South Africa, Germany, England, Canada, and the United States to UMBC.

UMBC students have also benefited from the intellectual and cultural opportunities Chuku has cultivated at the University. Chuku revived UMBC’s participation in the Model African Union and created the annual Taste of Africa, a celebration of Black History Month and African cultural heritage through unique cuisine and culinary traditions.

Model African Union (2020) in front of the Embassy of Liberia. Photo courtesy of Chuku.

More broadly within the University System of Maryland (USM), Chuku also serves on the executive council of the USM Women’s Forum.

USM Women’s Forum 2019 retreat. Photo courtesy of Natasha Rodriguez.

Liptz Lecture

Similar to previous Lipitz Professorship recipients, Chuku will share her work with the campus community through the Lipitz Lecture. The lecture is the culminating event of the professorship, part of the Humanities Forum lecture series hosted by the Dresher Center for the Humanities. 

Chuku follows Jessica Berman, professor of English and director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities, the 2019 – 2020 Lipitz Professor, and Dan Bailey, a professor of visual arts who focuses on animation and interactive media, the 2018 – 2019 recipient.

“Dr. Chuku is recognized worldwide as a leader in her field,” shares CAHSS Dean Scott Casper. “Her service to UMBC and the national and international research community is wide-ranging and deep. I am delighted that she is this year’s recipient of the Lipitz Professorship.”

Banner image: Chuku at UMBC. Photo courtesy of Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Three UMBC-affiliated artists have each received 2020-2021 fellowship awards from the Saul Zaentz Innovation Fund (SZIF) in Film and Media at Johns Hopkins University. SZIF cash awards are granted to nurture unique project ideas that have the potential for socio-political impact and that advance the art and craft of audiovisual media. 

In addition to receiving financial support for project development or production, selected fellows participate in ongoing mentorship and workshops with industry professionals.

Losing Winter

Lynn Cazabon is a professor in visual arts and CIRCA-IMET 2019-2020 artist-in-residence, and was recently named as the next director of UMBC’s Center for Innovation, Research, and Creativity in the Arts (CIRCA). She has received funding to develop Losing Winter.

Cazabon will work with Lee Boot, associate research professor and director of UMBC’s Imaging Research Center (IRC), to develop the Losing Winter mobile app. It centers on shared memories and emotions about the season of winter. The app will collect memories connected to the season of winter in the form of videos from participants all around the world. Cazabon will then incorporate them into an augmented reality audio-visual experience. 

Under the Bay

Lisa Moren, professor of visual arts and graduate program director of the intermedia and digital art MFA program, received an award to create Under the Bay. This augmented reality project will include collaborators Tsvetan Bachvaroff, a professor of biology at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, and Marc Olano, associate professor of computer science at UMBC and director of the game development track.

Under the Bay will invite users to interact with the waters of the Chesapeake Bay, beneath the surface, delivering a story through augmented reality.

Moren was previously part of the first cohort of SZIF Fellows, receiving support to develop the app NONUMENT 01::The McKeldin Fountain.

Legacies

Angela N. Carroll ’06, visual arts, an adjunct professor at Stevenson University, received funding to develop a pilot episode for Legacies. She envisions this project as a 10-episode docuseries that chronicles a radical generation of artists active between 1960 and 1990. Each profiled artist will be someone known for substantial bodies of work that have critiqued, resisted, and engaged tumultuous and revelatory eras of political and social upheaval in the United States. 

Describing herself as an artist-archivist, research has been an integral part of Carroll’s art practice, traced to her time at UMBC and as a McNair Scholar.

Cazabon, Moren, and Carroll’s projects are among 19 funded for the 2020-2021 fellowship year. They were selected from among 27 artists chosen in January as 2020-2021 fellows in the SZIF mentorship program, which also includes Emma Ayala ’18, visual arts.

Johns Hopkins founded the fund in March 2016 through a $1 million grant from the Saul Zaentz Charitable Foundation. Zaentz was an Oscar-winning producer who died in 2014. The incubator supports Baltimore artists by helping them to connect with each other to develop and realize their ideas in Baltimore.

Banner image: Lynn Cazabon with her installation version of Losing Winter at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC) in Bucharest, Romania. Photo by Josef Polleross.

Four UMBC student groups vied for the top prize in the finals of this year’s Cangialosi Business Innovation Competition (CBIC), held entirely online for the first time on April 30. Their projects ranged across industries, from fashion to artificial intelligence. 

A pair of judges from the Baltimore Angels selected the finalists from among nearly 20 ideas submitted earlier in the semester. In advance of the event, each team prerecorded a seven-minute-long pitch video. They then participated in a live online Q&A with the judges. 

The first prize winner was a familiar team, which first drew attention after winning the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship’s Idea Competition in the fall. After that early recognition for their project concept, they grew it into a prototype that once again captured the judges’ imaginations.

Helping kids communicate

The $3,000 first prize went to Octotalk, presented by Emma Neubert ‘21 biochemistry, and Scott Hart ‘22, visual arts. Neubert and Hart developed an interactive tool in the form of a plush octopus that children who are nonverbal can use to communicate their needs, thoughts, and feelings. Neubert hopes Octotalk will help children interact with people in a simple, comforting, and effective way. 

Holding a prototype in her pitch video, Neubert explained Octotalk’s eight buttons, one on each tentacle. There are buttons for “yes,” “no,” and “I don’t know” responses. The other five buttons can be programmed through an app. The system is built in the Arduino platform. It is easily customizable, which allows teachers to change the options as a child’s needs and abilities change and grow, Neubert says.

The Octotalk team thinks this fills an important gap in the market because there is no similar communication device that is soft, friendly, and affordable. Most assistive communication devices for children are expensive electronics, like tablets, Neubert explains.

Next, Hart and Neubert hope to work with child development experts to optimize Octotalk. “We hope to have psychologists and counselors working with us to bring the greatest possible interactive experiences to the children using them, before moving them to homes and other caregiving situations,” explains Hart.

Connecting communities with healthy food

Second-place winners Laura Holland ‘22, computer science,and Niky Sicilia ‘21, business technology administration, joined forces after presenting individual projects at UMBC’s Idea Competition in fall 2019. Together, they developed Greater Plate, an app that helps people find healthier and more affordable meal alternatives to fast food in their local areas.

Niky Sicilia and Laura Holland. Photo courtesy of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship.

Greater Plate helps address food insecurity in Baltimore City, where many low-income people do not have a grocery store within a quarter mile of their home, and don’t have transportation to access a store, says Holland. Connecting people with nourishing food options is essential to improving community health, she explains. 

Through Greater Plate, local businesses will offer reduced price meals to app users, who can then select meals that fall within a set price range. Users will also be able to pre-order meals and purchase meal plans, which could offer additional cost savings. “For all of the meal plans, the cost per meal will be roughly equivalent to the cost of an average fast food meal,” explains Holland. “The meals will be as convenient as fast food, but they will be better quality.” 

“With Greater Plate, we also want to lead the way in connecting people in Baltimore City with better ways to support and engage in local business,” Holland says.

To ensure vendors have a steady stream of income, they’ll have the option to sell market-rate priced meals in addition to reduced-price meal options. This will also help meet the needs of a range of users, whether they are driven primarily by convenience, supporting local businesses, eating healthy, or accessing affordable meals. They hope to work with other local groups already working on local dining and food access issues.

Affordable modest fashion

Third-place winner Noha Darwish ‘20, psychology, pitched Madina Girl, a modest fashion company. The concept is inspired by her experience as a Muslim woman who has trouble finding clothing that is stylish, comfortable, modest, and affordable. 

“Growing up, I always expressed myself through fashion but I always felt limited because there weren’t options for me on the market,” says Darwish. “I felt invisible in the eye of mainstream fashion, so I started to create clothes for myself, and people loved my designs, which was how Madina Girl was born.” 

Darwish calls the challenge of finding clothes that meet her needs “the compensating game.” For every clothing item bought, she will often have to purchase another item to pair it with, to reach the level of modesty she’s seeking. “Madina Girl was created so that modestly-dressing women do not have to choose between modesty and style,” explains Darwish

In her pitch for Madina Girl, Darwish noted that the modest fashion market is expected to reach $300 billion in 2022. Many of the companies already in this space, she suggests, don’t necessarily meet the needs of Muslim women in the United States. “At Madina Girl, we pride ourselves on our American designs, that are created for the American girl by the American girl.”

“It brings me so much fulfillment to know that my team and I are creating something that people really need and that brings them joy,” she says. 

Identifying pain points in research

Akshay Peshave, M.S. ‘14, Ph.D. ‘20, computer science, earned fourth place for Karotene, a platform that connects researchers with information and data they need to do their work. The project is inspired by his Ph.D. research, which focuses on how machines can be taught to gather knowledge like people. Peshave explained that researchers often face challenges when searching for information to support their work. “Every time I have an idea in my head of what I am looking for, I need to translate it into a language that the search engine understands,” Peshave says. Then, once those results appear, he has to manually filter the results based on his needs.

To alleviate some of this time and frustration, Peshave developed Karotene.  This tool combines artificial intelligence with natural language queries to streamline the process of searching for information, and it can connect with any textual search engine Pershave will use the CBIC funding to help support cloud costs for a pilot of Karotene.

“It was very important that we continue to offer this competition this year even though it could not be held in person,” says Vivian Armor ‘73, American Studies, director of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. “These student entrepreneurs are serious about their business ideas and the competition provided both seed funding to help them launch and also valuable feedback from experienced judges. Going forward, the Alex. Brown Center will continue to provide ongoing support to assist them in making their dreams a reality.”

Banner image: Noha Darwish with the Madina Girl logo. Photo courtesy of Darwish.

Preminda Jacob, visual arts, has been named the new associate dean of research and community engagement for UMBC’s College of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences (CAHSS). She will join the current team of associate deans in providing support for the College’s many departments, programs, and research centers. Together they will continue to implement CAHSS’ strategic goals and objectives, focusing on projects around recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and further developing community engagement work. 

Scott Casper, dean of CAHSS, is excited about the level of expertise Jacob brings to the team. “Preminda Jacob brings a wealth of experience as a scholar, teacher, and UMBC citizen, and leader to the Dean’s Office,” says Casper. “I am delighted that she has joined our leadership team and look forward to her continued contributions to the College and the University in this new role.”

Engaging faculty

Jacob will begin by joining the team of associate deans in working to further foster the current research community within CAHSS and build broader awareness of CAHSS research. One way Jacob hopes to share faculty research is by collaborating with campus partners on updating the university’s current faculty research database capabilities. This digital tool will help academics, researchers, educators, and students from around the world more easily access information about UMBC researchers and their areas of study.

“I see part of community engagement as an accessibility issue,” explains Jacob. “UMBC faculty conduct top-level research. A searchable database elevates our commitment to provide research-based answers to the world’s most pressing questions by placing the research within everyone’s reach.”

Jacob will also help faculty better connect with each other across departments, including for research that involves community partnerships. She looks forward to working with faculty who have research expertise on community engagement by exploring topics through existing brown bag lunch series and working groups in the five CAHSS research centers as well as across UMBC’s colleges. 

Engaging the community

Prior to joining the Dean’s Office, Jacob served as chair of visual arts from 2015 to 2018. As a professor of visual arts specializing in art history and visual culture, she worked to connect her passions for research and community engagement.

Jacob recalls a four-year partnership between the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum in Catonsville and her Space, Place, and Public Art class as a particularly significant collaboration. Jacob partnered students with the museum’s staff to create public art pieces from start to finish in one semester. “Students were excited to work directly with a local organization and leaders within the organizations were equally excited to serve as guides and mentors in the process,” she says. 

Over the years, Jacob’s students have created object and wall labels, interactive and interpretive recordings, and works of art for the museum. They produced a video featuring interviews with local leaders and archaeologists talking about the archaeological dig conducted by the Maryland Historical Trust in the 1980s on Benjamin Banneker’s property.

Victor Pineda ‘15, visual arts, who went on to serve as a museum intern after participating in Jacob’s class, helped record an actor’s interpretation of the voice of Benjamin Banneker. The recording became part of an interactive device in the Banneker Gallery. Today, visitors can listen to Benjamin Banneker discuss his letter to Thomas Jefferson. 

“Through the museum’s partnership with the visual arts department at UMBC,” says Willa Banks, the museum’s former director of education and curatorial affairs, “Dr. Jacob’s public art class provided a phenomenal service that not only benefited UMBC faculty and students but also the museum and the general public as well.”

Jacob plans to work with faculty already engaged with community partners in the Baltimore region to amplify relationships like this one. She is also dedicated to opening pathways for new community engagement opportunities, in the greater Baltimore region and beyond. 

Banner Image: Preminda at MFA celebration. All images by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC with the exception of the images of student work at the Benjamin Banneker Historical Park and Museum which were courtesy of Willa Banks.

On June 6–8, UMBC hosted the inaugural Maryland Arts Summit, co-organized the Maryland Citizens for the Arts, the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), AEMS: Arts Education in Maryland Schools, and the Fine Arts Office of the Maryland State Department of Education.

During the three-day event, five hundred artists, educators, advocates, and arts administrators from across the state convened in UMBC’s Performing Arts and Humanities Building, Fine Arts Building, and University Center for presentations, workshops, an artists’ bazaar, award programs, networking sessions, and performances.

“The Arts Summit represented the incredible diversity and creativity that exists in Maryland,” said Nicholas Cohen, the executive director of Maryland Citizens for the Arts. “We are especially thankful to UMBC for opening its doors to us and sharing in our excitement as hosts for this inaugural event.”

First Lady of Maryland Yumi Hogan spoke of the value of the arts across the state.

Scott Casper, dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, welcomed summit attendees, many of whom were first-time visitors to UMBC. “We were thrilled to welcome our statewide colleagues and partners in the arts and arts education,” he said. “UMBC and Maryland’s arts organizations share the belief that the arts belong to everyone, and every person has the potential for creative inspiration.”

Attendees gathered for a breakout discussion in the Black Box Theatre.

The arts at UMBC were highlighted throughout the summit. Timothy Nohe, director of the Center for Innovation, Research and Creativity in the Arts, and Joe Rexing, director of design and construction and university architect, led a hard hat tour of the new Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, where public artwork by Volkan Alkanoglu will be installed in August. The group also visited Thomas Sayre’s Forum (2014) adjacent to the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. The installation of both artworks was funded through the Maryland Public Art Initiative, administered by Liesel Fenner, public art program director at MSAC, who co-presented the tour.

Brian Kauffman, associate professor of music, co-hosted a session on “Achieving a High Quality Inclusive and Equitable Arts Education for Youth.” Mary Dell’Erba ’14, dance, now senior project manager for the Arts Education Partnership, presented on “Policy Opportunities for Arts Education.”

Dancers Donna Hardy and Charles Wilson with Dr. Phill’s Big Band represented the Arch Social Club, winner of a 2019 Maryland Traditions Heritage Award in the category of Place.

The Maryland Arts Summit also featured two long-standing award programs of the Maryland State Arts Council: the Maryland Traditions Heritage Awards and the Individual Artist Awards. Maryland Traditions—the oldest continually running state folklife program in the nation—identifies, documents, supports, and presents Maryland’s living cultural traditions. Additionally, the archives of the folklife program are housed in UMBC’s Special Collections. Folklife honorees for 2019 included Jay Armsworthy (St. Mary’s County), The Arch Social Club (Baltimore City), and Cultura Plenera (Howard County).

Recipients of the 2019 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award.

Several UMBC faculty and alumni received Individual Artist Awards. They included Lisa Moren, professor of visual arts; Corrie Francis Parks, assistant professor of visual arts; Kevin Blackistone ’00, visual arts; Tom Boram M.F.A. ’16, IMDA; A. Moon ’99, visual arts; and Seth Sawyers ’99, history.

Organizers are already discussing plans for the 2020 summit, which will again take place at UMBC. “We can’t wait for next year!” said Ken Skrzesz, executive director of the Maryland State Arts Council. “The Maryland Arts Summit was an unprecedented coming together of Maryland creatives. It was a demonstration of the knowledge and generosity of the rich arts sector of our state.”

Alysia Lee, coordinator of fine arts for the Maryland State Department of Education, greeted the audience at a plenary session.

Featured image: A two-day artist bazaar attracted a crowd in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building. All photography courtesy of Edwin Remsberg.

UMBC has named Jessica Berman, professor of English and director of the Dresher Center for the Humanities, the 2019 – 2020 Lipitz Professor. This prestigious endowed professorship is awarded to one UMBC faculty member each year in recognition of innovative and distinguished teaching and/or research in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS). Berman has been selected for both her original research in global radio and her impactful work leading the Dresher Center. 

Global radio research 

The Lipitz professorship will support Berman’s travel to research different cultural approaches to producing radio. It will also provide time for her to write about the complex collection of voices, languages, literatures, and music that are interconnected through radio programming. 

“I will now have the opportunity to research and outline my book’s third chapter as well as shape my existing archival resources,” explains Berman. “I hope to delve deeper into research about global radio environments and the power of media to create complex transnational and often interlinguistic relationships in Latin America, which will inform later research in West Africa.”

Jason Loviglio, founding chair and associate professor of media and communication studies, primarily researches media history and radio studies. As part of the selection committee, Loviglio saw Berman’s research as pathbreaking work in understanding this transnational movement. 

“Berman’s new book will be an important contribution to the growing academic literature on a previously ignored medium,” shares Loviglio, “pushing radio studies and modernist studies in important new directions.” 

The value of sharing research

 For faculty in CAHSS, the Lipitz professorship doesn’t only mean an opportunity to focus extra time on research. It is also an opportunity for scholars to share their work with the campus community. The Lipitz Lecture is the culminating event of the professorship. Each spring the selected faculty member shares their work with faculty, staff, and students as part of the Humanities Forum lecture series hosted by the Dresher Center for the Humanities.

Dan Bailey, a professor of visual arts who focuses on animation and interactive media, was the 2018 – 2019 recipient. In the spring of 2019, he presented his work about human scale, perception, and natural landscapes. 

Bailey continues to work on projects involving long-duration photography of landscapes and reconstruction of Baltimore’s geographic past. “Research requires time,” he reflects. Through the Lipitz professorship, he says, “I was able to focus on my research and collaborate with professors in history and visual arts, and work with UMBC’s Imaging Research Center and student interns.” 

Berman will share her work with the campus community in the spring of 2020 Humanities Forum.

Banner image: Berman at the Dresher Center for the Humanities faculty book celebration. All images by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC. Lipitz lecture video by UMBC New Media Studio.

If there’s one thing UMBC knows, it’s that odds aren’t everything. Months ago, UMBC softball was predicted to finish last in the America East preseason poll. Apparently nobody told them that.

For the first time ever, UMBC softball has been crowned the America East champions after sweeping the tournament. While others spent Saturday sleeping in and running errands, the Retrievers were cementing their place in the record books, cruising past Stony Brook with a 4-0 victory.

It's time to celebrate @UMBCsoftball!#AESB | #AEChamps pic.twitter.com/eyfpuJqWru

— America East Game Day (@AEGameDay) May 11, 2019

This historic title win guaranteed UMBC an automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA softball tournament, the team’s first since 2002. Last night’s Selection Sunday announcement revealed that the Retrievers will be taking on No. 1 overall seed Oklahoma in the Norman Regional of the NCAA Tournament.

Freshman Courtney Coppersmith, chemistry, has been knocking it out of the park since she got to campus. She’s the first player in America East history to be named Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in the same season.

Saturday marked Coppersmith’s third shutout of the championship and earned her Most Outstanding Player honors. She is joined on the All-Championship team by teammates Julia Keffler ‘21, biology; Sierra Pierce ‘21, visual arts; and Kaly Winslow ‘21, sociology.

As evidenced by her remarkable work both in the classroom and on the field, Kennedy Lamb ‘20, English, was awarded the America East’s Elite 18 award. This award is recognizes the student-athlete with the highest GPA in each America East championship game.

It’s been a tremendous year for UMBC athletics, clinching four America East titles overall— men’s lacrosse, men’s and women’s swimming/diving, and softball. The 2018-2019 season ties for the most number of championships in UMBC’s 16-year America East history.

Looking at what they’ve accomplished this season, Coppersmith says, “It is definitely an indescribable feeling with so many different emotions, but the success we have had has all been together. As long as we stay together, no matter what happens, whether we win or lose in the NCAA tournament, we will always have each other and can be beyond proud of everything that we have done for the program in just one season.”

The Retrievers take on Oklahoma on Friday, May 17 at 9:30 p.m. EST on ESPN 2. UMBC will play again on Saturday, May 18, facing either Notre Dame or Wisconsin, depending on the outcome of Friday’s games.

Banner image: UMBC softball celebrates following the team’s America East victory. All photos courtesy of UMBC athletics marketing unless otherwise noted.

UMBC students are diligently making final touches to their presentations in preparation for the 23rd annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) on Wednesday, April 24. Students’ research projects are as diverse as UMBC students themselves. This year, URCAD has highlighted research that explores diversity and inequalities through three thematic series, focusing on research about Baltimore, LGBTQ+ topics, and international topics.

These presentations affirm a core goal of URCAD. As Katharine H. Cole, vice provost and dean of undergraduate academic affairs, has shared, “UMBC encourages students of all disciplines to engage in mentored projects and through creative thought and focused inquiry, to discover in themselves their passion.”

STEM identities in Baltimore

Shadia Musa ‘19, American studies, focused her research one exploring how sixth-grade students of color at James McHenry Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City come to identify with STEM fields. Through her work as a Sherman STEM Teachers Scholar, Musa explored the impact of restructuring learning environments to increase students’ involvement in STEM disciplines.

At James McHenry, where many families don’t have confidence with science and math topics due to historic inequalities in education, teachers, parents, and community organizers collaborate with each other to create more and earlier points of entry into STEM education for students, using an inquiry-based approach.

“I worked with students to identify issues important to them, like having a grocery store nearby. We then created a 3D model of the store out of cardboard,” explains Musa, who plans to continue teaching in Baltimore City. “Through this interactive process, students learned and strengthened their grouping, measurement, computation, and spatial skills as well as cooperative learning skills, and involved their families in the process.”

Musa will present Combating Academic Inequity: A Community-based Approach to Cultivating a Love for STEM within Students of Color at 2:15 p.m. in UC 310.

Intersections of LGBTQ and Jewish identities

Cliel Shdaimah ‘19, gender, women’s, and sexuality studies, researched intersecting identities in her own queer and Jewish communities through interviews with five LGBTQ rabbis in the United States and in Israel. “In the last five years I realized that I was queer and wanted to find a way into my Judaism that was natural but that also celebrated that part of myself,” explains Shdaimah.

The interviews revealed three insights into how the rabbis were managing their identities. First, they described their visibility as queer people and as Jewish family members in Jewish religious spaces. They also dealt with addressing their LGBTQ identities with social justice work. Third, the rabbis had to find ways to incorporate their values as both Jewish and LGBTQ people when interpreting Jewish religious texts and teachings.

“Through this and other research projects at UMBC I had the joy of reading feminist and queer ways of thinking and the Torah,” says Shdaimah. “I have been able to bring all of my identities to my personal life but also to my academic life through different research projects that helped me understand what my possibilities are for the future.”

Shdaimah will present Keshet L’Am: Perspectives of LGBTQ+ Rabbis on Intersecting Identities, 1-2:30 p.m. in the UC Ballroom.

Sharing complex feelings through animation

Julia Blurton-Jones ‘21, visual arts, took a very personal perspective in creating a short animation based on her experience growing up as a gay woman in Catholic private schools. Her film shares the experience of being asked to read a passage from a textbook that implied same-sex marriage should not be allowed. Through animation, she explores this dilemma of having to betray yourself and conveys the fear the protagonist is experiencing.

In her experience with members outside of the LGBTQ community, Blurton-Jones feels coming out is seen as a black and white situation—you are either in or out. But that’s a  misconception, she says.

“There is a greyness to coming out,” shares Blurton Jones. “People in the closet have to actively hide and lie a lot and pretend to disagree with homosexuality. People out of the closet have to decide to continuously come out in different environments.”

This project proved tremendously gratifying for Blurton-Jones. “I am passionate about animation,” she says. “It is a medium where I can mess with reality to portray complex feelings.”

Blurton-Jones will present “Traitor: An Animated Short” at 2:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Recital Hall.

Separation of voice from body

As a sound professional, Daniel Goldstein ‘18, media and communications studies, is used to mixing different voices to convey ideas, events, and information. For his independent research project, he was interested in researching the effect on different communities of the separation of the voice from the body that occurs in voicing animations, doing voice-over narrations, and creating voices for new digital platforms.

“I wanted to think critically, holistically, and analytically about what it means to cast a specific person as a narrator or a character for animation, and how over time they have created norms about gender and race based on stereotypes,” says Goldstein.

One major example is The Simpsons, where the South Asian character of Abu is portrayed by a white male voice referencing stereotypes of English spoken with a South Asian accent. “This has many negative social and political ramifications,” says Goldstein. “Abu’s voice has been used to create voice norms for an entire community that is not adequately represented on the show.”

Goldstein also shares that he found positive examples of inclusion for a broader range of voices. He describes that theatre voice coaching has helped some members of the trans community match their voice with their identity. Also, looking at growing digital platforms, he notes, “Modern consumer technology like Alexa, Siri, and podcasts, allows traditionally non-normative voices to be successful and fulfill roles that are historically very gendered.”

Goldstein will present Will You Listen?: A Critical Analysis of Gendered and Racialized Disembodied Voices in Contemporary Media Culture at 1:15 p.m., UC 204.

Evolution of Korean art, 2013-1017

Sparked by her sister’s interest in Korean culture, Sarah Natterman ‘20, modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication and Asian studies, began learning the Korean language in high school. At UMBC, she began studying Korean art, culture, and social issues in greater depth. Natterman says, “I combined both my academic and personal interests in visual and performing arts to research how the South Korean regime of Park Geun-hye in between 2013 and 2017 affected Korean contemporary art.”

Her research explored the effects of Park Geun-hye censoring 10,000 artists and how censorship restricted and grew art in Korea. As a result of the regime, Korean art developed two movements. One was reminiscent of a past cultural movement, with prominent Korean cultural themes. The other included more abstract themes for a global market. Both influenced the evolution of contemporary South Korean art and culture in the world today.

“I want people to see South Korea as a whole. Politics are important but they can often mask South Korea’s vibrant literature, culture, and theatre,” shares Natterman. She will further her study of South Korean culture next year through UMBC’s academic exchange program with Seoul National University.

Natterman will present Modern Dualism in Korean Contemporary Art at 9:45 a.m. in UC 310

Options in social work delivery

As a student of social work, Rebeccah Mann ‘19, is familiar with the U.S. social work model, which depends largely on federal, state, and local funding to provide services. She was in search of a different perspective on social work delivery models. Through the University Studies Abroad Consortium, Mann enrolled in a social work program at the University of Ghana.

She found that in Ghana there isn’t a vast network of federal, state, or local funding. Social workers in Ghana pursue a more creative and collective approach to fundraising to support the delivery of social work services.

“Through local sales of goods, international sponsors, and a barter system, organizations could be paid for the services they provided and communities could continue to access those needed services,” says Mann. “The innovation has inspired me to see possibilities instead of obstacles as I become a professional social worker.”

Mann will present A Comparison Between Social Service Delivery Systems in Ghana and the United States, 10-11:30 a.m. in the UC Ballroom.

URCAD guests are encouraged to learn more about the broad range of presentations on Baltimore, LGBTQ+, and international research topics. A full listing of all student presenters and their topics and presentation times is available through the URCAD website.

Banner image: URCAD 2018 by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.