“Presuming he avoids over-reaching on assault weapons or immigration reform — or unless the president makes a major push on climate change, as he hinted in his inaugural address Monday — Mr. Obama’s second-term success or failure will be largely defined by how he handles these fiscal battles with Capitol Hill Republicans,” writes political science professor Thomas Schaller in his latest Baltimore Sun column.

And what can we expect those fiscal battles look like? Schaller suggests, “no matter how ugly the squabbling gets on Capitol Hill during the next two years, there’s almost no incentive for Republicans…to work with Mr. Obama during his second term.” But aside from “fiscal fighting interrupted by the occasional international episode,” Schaller anticipates the U.S. will see a “no drama Obama” in the next four years and a fairly uneventful second term.

On Wednesday, January 23, Claudia Galindo, assistant professor of language, literacy, and culture, spoke with NPR education correspondent Claudio Sanchez for an “All Things Considered” segment about a study showing that Latino children make up For academic shortcomings with strong social skills.

“We found that Latino kids bring to school strong emotional skills and strong social skills, which means they know how to share with their peers. They know how to follow instructions. They know how to listen. And one other thing that we found is that these kids are being raised in very supportive and warm family environments,” Galindo said.

The full segment can be heard here.

On December 7, Robert Provine, professor of psychology, discussed laughter and why tragedy sometimes makes us laugh on NPR’s “Science Friday.”  He was joined on the show by comedian Tig Notaro, who incorporated her breast cancer diagnosis into her stand-up routine.

“We humans, in many ways, are beasts of the herd.  We are not the rational, voluntary beings we fashion ourselves as,” Provine said.

“The essential ingredient for laughter is another person,” Provine said. “In Tig’s audience, you had a group of people, and they’re laughing when they hear other people laugh.  So laughter is contagious. Also, it was a comedy club, so they came with the expectation that they are going to get comedy, and so ‘I’ve got cancer’ ends up being comedy.

The full conversation can be heard here.

On Tuesday, January 22, Kimberly Moffitt, assistant professor of American studies, was a guest on the “Marc Steiner Show.”  The topic of the discussion was the Presidential Inauguration and Obama’s rhetoric at the start of his second term.  Moffitt was joined by E.R. Shipp, Journalist in Residence and Associate Professor of Journalism at Morgan State University, and Tyrone Keys, political analyst.

“I think that it’s more than appropriate to talk about the speech as celebratory, as ceremonial, and the focus is not about specific politics. Although there are areas of the speech where he is clearly making political statements, I think he was simply saying, as Americans, as all of us, as citizens, there is a place that we need to strive towards, and now is the time for that to happen,” Moffitt said.

The full conversation can be heard here.

On Tuesday, January 22, Jodi Kelber-Kaye, associate director of the honors college and former faculty member in gender and women’s studies, was a guest on the “Marc Steiner Show.”  Kelber-Kaye discussed the 40th Anniversary of the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion throughout the United States.  She was joined by Meshelle, founder of Goaldiggers The Sankofa Project; Ruth Rosen, Professor Emerita of History at the University of California at Davis; Andrea Plaid, Associate Editor and Sexual Correspondent at Racialicious; and Maggie Little, Director of Georgetown’s Kennedy Institute of Ethics.

The guests discussed the fact that an entire generation of women have grown up while abortions have been legal.

“College students have grown up knowing that that was an option and not really knowing, until we talk about the history, what it was like to be a woman faced with a decision where she may die, she may not be able to have children in the future. That’s a crushing decision to have to make,” Kelber-Kaye said.

The full conversation can be heard here.

Rick Foster ’73, M.S., mathematics, will retire from his position as chief actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicade Services next month, having spent nearly two decades influencing our nation’s healthcare at the top level.

The New York Times wrote about Foster’s career and retirement, saying he is known for “his fierce independence,” and that he has been “an influential voice on Medicare, Medicaid and the new health care law.”

Read the New York Times story here.

Healthcare-focused MedPage Today profiled Foster here.

Foster, who was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 1997, has been voted one of the 100 most influential people in U.S. healthcare by readers of Modern Healthcare magazine from 2007 to 2011. Prior to his work with CMS, he served as Deputy Chief Actuary for the Social Security Administration for 13 years.

An interview with Maurice Berger, Chief Curator and Research Professor of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, by Tom Hall of WYPR is scheduled to air this Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on Maryland Morning. In the interview, Berger discusses the exhibition currently on display in the CADVC, For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights (curated by Berger).

To listen, tune in to WYPR on Monday, January 21 at 9:45 a.m.

UPDATE: A podcast of the interview will be available online after the program airs through Maryland Morning’s archive. The interview, “Viewing the Civil Rights Movement through a New Lens,” is available online now, through Maryland Morning‘s website.

For All the World to See is on display until March 10.

Charm City Cakes, owned by UMBC alumnus Jeffrey “Duff” Goldman ’97, history, will bake the official cake for President Obama’s Monday inauguration, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Read the story here.
According to the story, the bakery will create a six-tier cake, with each layer representing a branch of the United States military. Tier flavors will include red velvet, lemon poppy seed, pineapple coconut, and pumpkin chocolate chip.
Goldman, former star of the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 2009.
Read a UMBC Magazine article about Duff’s rise to fame.

Charm City Cakes, owned by UMBC alumnus Jeffrey “Duff” Goldman ’97, history, will bake the official cake for President Obama’s Monday inauguration, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Read the story here.

According to the story, the bakery will create a six-tier cake, with each layer representing a branch of the United States military. Tier flavors will include red velvet, lemon poppy seed, pineapple coconut, and pumpkin chocolate chip.

Goldman, former star of the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 2009.

Read a UMBC Magazine article about Duff’s rise to fame.

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today, we’re talking with Rhea Marasigan ’03, information systems management (with a dance minor) about what it’s like to juggle careers in graphic design and dance.

Name: Rhea Marasigan (A.K.A. “Ria DeCastro” on stage)
Job:  Graphic Designer, Dancer
Employers:  Spectrum Brands HHI and RheeDesigns (Marasigan’s side-business)
Based in: Los Angeles, California

Q:  You recently were featured on a dance webcast called DancePlug (click here to view)…what has been the highlight of your dance career thus far?

A:  The highlights of my dance career thus far since moving to Los Angeles, California are:

1. Having the opportunity to dance alongside professional dancers and work with NappyTabs (Napolean and Tabitha D’umo of SYTYCD) on the set of 5 episodes of the Fox Show “MOBBED;”
2. Being a background dancer extra on both Mandy Rain and Angelique Sabrina‘s music videos, and;
3. Being able to back-up dance for Jazzlyn Marae for one of her performances. I would have never thought I’d EVER get an opportunity to do anything like this from just moving here from Baltimore three years ago but I know NOW that “Anything is possible.”

Q:  What is your favorite aspect of dance?

A:  When I went to UMBC back in 2000-2003, I took ballet, modern & jazz to learn the basic techniques to shape me into a better dancer. I am a better hip hop dancer because of it. I started late in the game at the age of 20 to pursue dance to where I’ve been on many MD dance teams (Fusion Dance Team, Dance Express, Charm City Cabaret) and now I’m starting to do that here in LA. I’m currently on Electric Crew where we are getting ready to perform in Disneyland in February and a Core dancer for a flashmob company called Dance Mob Nation.

My favorite aspect of dance is just being on a dance team that loves to dance, and have fun with no drama. The dance community here in LA is just that. There are a lot of dancers trying to make it here and there is an outlet for those dancers to come together and just dance. It can get competitive in the professional dance industry but if that’s NOT your cup of tea, you can still find other awesome outlets in the LA dance community to perform, compete, etc.

Q: Where do you hope to be in five years, dance-wise?

A:  In five years, I hope to still be dancing and performing or at least still taking dance classes. I have to say that I am now content with where my dance career has been. My focus is now on my design career.

Q: Tell us about your career in design. Does it ever intersect with your dance career?

A:  I’ve been a graphic designer for 13 years now (a freelance graphic designer — at RheeDesigns — on the side for 8 of those years) and I am continuing to learn and expand my skill sets. I am now looking into the film industry to start as a graphic designer to get my foot in the door but I’d love to delve into film editing and/or being an FX artist. I finished taking a film editing class this past fall and am now awaiting next fall 2013 to take After Effects.

I am dedicated to my work as a graphic designer so whenever there is a possible dance opportunity, I make sure it doesn’t affect that aspect of my life. I’ve been fortunate to be able to juggle both careers simultaneously and seamlessly. My full-time job supports my dance career so whenever I have a gig, I can always make arrangements so that both sides have a happy medium. But, of course, I can’t say “yes” to everything so I DO pick and choose the gigs that I want.

All in all, I am loving life right now doing 2 of my favorite passions and living in California where there is always an opportunity to get into.

Q:  How did your UMBC experience help shape who you are today?

A:  I loved my experience of the three years I was at UMBC. UMBC keeps up with the trends, technology and truly cares about their students and their goals. Even though I got a B.A. in information systems with a modern dance minor, UMBC still shaped me into what I am today. I learned that it takes hard work and dedication to get what you want in life and that resonated in me.

I remember in 2002 winning a UMBC dance competition against some boy break dancers and that in itself made me believe that dance was something I wanted to do in life. I loved that UMBC has specific events & clubs on campus that its students can take part in. It allows for students to get out and try new things, meet people and have fun doing it.

Learn more about Rhea’s design here, and her dance here.