Jill Scheibler, a psychology doctoral student, was featured in a Baltimore Sun story about Baltimore’s Make Studio, which offers a place for developmentally challenged men and women to develop and market their artistic skills.

Scheibler is one of a trio of art therapists who founded Make Studio in 2010. The studio serves artists with disabilities such as autism, bipolar disorder and Down’s syndrome.

“Through the process of working at the studio and working with others, they’re developing translatable skills,” she said. “They learn about time management, how to be cooperative, how to present themselves, how to market themselves.”

The story, “Make Studio offers platform for artists with disabilities” appeared in the Baltimore Sun on February 23.

Kaye Whitehead ’09 Ph.D., language, literacy and culture, recently published an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun. In her piece, entitled “Black History is American History,” she argues that “we should no longer celebrate or recognize Black History Month; instead, we should teach black history alongside white history, Asian-American history, Latino history, women’s history and others” in order to create one narrative of American history.

Aformer middle school social studies teacher, and the 2006-07 Gilder Lehrman Maryland History Teacher of the Year, Whitehead did not recognize Black History Month in her classroom. She is now an assistant professor of communication at Loyola University Maryland.

Her op-ed appeared in the Sun on February 15.

Last week the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) held their annual event Bits & Bytes program for high school junior girls. The Bits & Bytes program is open to high school junior girls interested in finding out more about technology majors in college. The purpose of the event is to engage local high school girls in a college atmosphere as well as expose them to the possibility of an engineering or IT major.

“The event was definitely a success,” says Katie Glasser, Assistant Director of CWIT. “This is the largest group of girls we’ve ever had.”

Students come from high schools across Maryland and Virginia. “They get to know each other during the two-day program through team-building activities and the team design competitions,” says Glasser. Glasser says they also have the chance to meet with representatives from the different IT and engineering departments at UMBC, attend a college class, receive a tour of the UMBC campus and speak with a diverse group of UMBC students.

“It’s a lot of fun to see them experience college,” says CWIT scholar Michael Barrett. “This is a gateway for most of them.”

Northrop Grumman sponsored the event and Seanna Garrett from Northrop Grumman Corporation was the Keynote speaker at the Welcome Reception on Sunday evening. The Keynote is the kick-off to the Bits & Bytes event, and is designed to energize the high school girls and inspire them to be the next leaders in technology. In addition to the Keynote, a group of engineers from GE’s Middle River Aircraft Systems — Judah Baumer (UMBC Alumnus ’08), Holly Reilman, Margaret Schreffler, Rani Spivy and Rachel Preston — came on Sunday night to talk with the girls about potential engineering applications and they did an aviation engineering activity with paper airplanes.

The highlight of the two-day event was the engineering competition and the information technology competition. For the engineering competition the goal was to design an efficient vehicle that rolled down an inclined surface and crashed into a wall without disturbing the payload, an egg. For the information technology competition the student teams had to use the software, Alice, a 3-D programming environment. The objective? Create an animation based on a well-known children’s book using the Alice software. “The competition,” says one participant, “made me more confident about aspects of the Engineering field and my future potential.”

Each competition was judged by a team of three — composed of one UMBC faculty member, one UMBC student, and one industry professional. For the IT competition, the judges were Shreya Mohan (Information Systems Junior and CWIT Scholar), Amy Everhart (Information Systems), and Yolanda Clinton (Harris Corporation). There were two sets of judging teams for the engineering competition. One team included Amy Chou (Chemical Engineering Senior), Dr. Joshua Enszer (Chemical Engineering), and Gwen Cadieux (BAE Systems). The other team included Jessica Izumi (Chemical Engineering Sophomore), Dr. Tinoosh Mohsenin (Electrical Engineering), and Bridget Beamon (Johns Hopkins APL).

Some of the high school students say that as far as an engineering major goes they’re still on the fence. But, they say the Bits & Bytes program, allowed them to talk with UMBC students in the engineering and information technology programs at UMBC. This, they say introduced them to the different opportunities available — an experience which may one day soon give rise to the some of the nation’s next generation of engineers and information technology professionals.

It’s 9 a.m., and the library is quiet, as libraries usually are, when Dr. Robert Burchard, professor emeritus of biological sciences, sits down to discuss his experience at UMBC and the reason he’s giving back to the place that’s been a second home to him for more than 40 years.
In January of 1967, just a few short months after UMBC opened its doors, Dr. Burchard joined the faculty of the biological sciences department. He was young and fresh off a stint as a member of the Peace Corps in Nigeria. From one adventure to another, Dr. Burchard discovered himself among the pioneering few who would lay the foundation for UMBC’s future.
“I felt I was part of a new and vibrant community,” says Dr. Burchard of those early years. “There was a sense that we were all a part of a pioneering educational experience.” It’s clear in talking to Burchard that he himself still brims with excitement at learning, and his enthusiasm extends well beyond the bounds of his own discipline. In fact, it’s led him to be an avid supporter of the arts at UMBC and the Albin O. Kuhn Library.
“I’m part of a university community,” says Dr. Burchard. “We’re here not only to further our own academic interests, but to broaden our horizons. There’s pleasure in learning something new. I would like to think that all our faculty are renaissance scholars.”
But Dr. Burchard is far more than a mere audience member or library card holder. He’s also giving back to these programs through his financial support. Each year, his gifts to the UMBC Annual Fund help support the arts and he’s also established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust that will aid in expanding the library’s collections. The trust, a planned gift, was an excellent way for Dr. Burchard to increase the level and impact of his support while also establishing a source of income for himself. The trust, which will take effect upon his passing, is a lasting legacy that will impact students and the university community for years to come.
“I grew up in an environment where you give when you can,” says Dr. Burchard. “I wanted to give back to an institution that has supported me.”
What will your legacy be? Learn more about Planned Giving.

It’s 9 a.m., and the library is quiet, as libraries usually are, when Dr. Robert Burchard, professor emeritus of biological sciences, sits down to discuss his experience at UMBC and the reason he’s giving back to the place that’s been a second home to him for more than 40 years.

In January of 1967, just a few short months after UMBC opened its doors, Dr. Burchard joined the faculty of the biological sciences department. He was young and fresh off a stint as a member of the Peace Corps in Nigeria. From one adventure to another, Dr. Burchard discovered himself among the pioneering few who would lay the foundation for UMBC’s future.

“I felt I was part of a new and vibrant community,” says Dr. Burchard of those early years. “There was a sense that we were all a part of a pioneering educational experience.” It’s clear in talking to Burchard that he himself still brims with excitement at learning, and his enthusiasm extends well beyond the bounds of his own discipline. In fact, it’s led him to be an avid supporter of the arts at UMBC and the Albin O. Kuhn Library.

“I’m part of a university community,” says Dr. Burchard. “We’re here not only to further our own academic interests, but to broaden our horizons. There’s pleasure in learning something new. I would like to think that all our faculty are renaissance scholars.”

But Dr. Burchard is far more than a mere audience member or library card holder. He’s also giving back to these programs through his financial support. Each year, his gifts to the UMBC Annual Fund help support the arts and he’s also established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust that will aid in expanding the library’s collections. The trust, a planned gift, was an excellent way for Dr. Burchard to increase the level and impact of his support while also establishing a source of income for himself. The trust, which will take effect upon his passing, is a lasting legacy that will impact students and the university community for years to come.

“I grew up in an environment where you give when you can,” says Dr. Burchard. “I wanted to give back to an institution that has supported me.”

What will your legacy be? Learn more about Planned Giving.

Associate Professor of English Piotr Gwiazda will read from his new book, Messages: Poems & Interview, at the Walters Art Museum on March 10.

Also reading will be Campbell McGrath, the author of ten books of poetry, including Spring Comes to Chicago, Florida Poems, Seven Notebooks, and most recently In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys (Ecco Press, 2012).

The reading will take place at the The Walters Art Museum, 600 N Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201, at 2 p.m. on March 10.  It is free to the public.

Associate Professor of English Piotr Gwiazda has recently released a new book entitled Messages: Poems & Interview.

Much of the book was written during Gwiazda’s residency at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut in the fall of 2008. Some poems first appeared in Linebreak, Mudlark, Past Simple, Revolutionesque, Vallum, and other journals. In the interview, Gwiazda talks about literary influence, the concept of empire, “the right to illusion,” contemporary US poets, Brecht, poetry and politics, poetry and pedagogy and exophonic writing.

The book is published by Pond Road Press, which publishes poetry books and chapbooks that include author interviews.

In his latest Baltimore Sun column, UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller explores the causes of decreased class mobility in the U.S.

Having just returned from a trip to Finland, Norway and Sweden, Schaller writes that in Scandinavia “a person’s income is far less dependent upon his or her parents’ income than it is here in the United States. In contrast to the U.S., Scandinavian countries are less class-anchored and more egalitarian and feature higher rates of political participation — all features that we aspire to have here in America but which have vanished in recent decades.”

Schaller connects this finding to conservative policy decisions, such as “shift[ing] the tax burden from wealth (inheritance and capital gains) to work (payroll, income taxes).” For details, read his full commentary in the Baltimore Sun.

Judah Ronch, Dean of UMBC’s Erickson School, offers a pointed letter in today’s New York Times, responding to a report that some retirement communities are segregating their dining facilities based on residents’ required levels of care, sometimes splitting up married couple during meals.

In “It’s About More Than Food,” Ronch writes that although “different regulatory considerations might play into the dining decisions at differing levels of care in a continuing care retirement community…[w]hat’s important is the fact that dining is deeply tied to pleasure, identity and sense of community, and therefore the service being provided is not simply to deliver food. To make a point of segregating people because of their physical or mental condition is to threaten their sense of dignity and identity as a valued member of a community.”

Kristin Waters has set a 2012 challenge of raising $1,834.00 for First Descents, an organization that offers young adult cancer fighters and survivors a free outdoor adventure experience to empower them to defy their cancer and reclaim their lives. Kristin has set out to run 7 marathons in the state of Maryland in 2012; the total distance of 183.4 miles, with hopes of raising $10/mile. Kristin’s first marathon of the year was the 51st Annual George Washington Birthday Marathon on February 19 in which Kristin finished in 4:26:42. Her next marathon will be on March 3. More information on Kristin’s challenge and First Descents can be found here: http://teamfd.firstdescents.org/2011/fd/MDMarathoner/kristin/.

For more information, contact Kristin at kwaters@umbc.edu or ext. 5-8121.