The 2013 U.S. Chess Championship has been scheduled for May 2 to 13 at the Chess Club & Scholastic Center of St. Louis (CCSCSL), and UMBC graduate student, Sabina Foisor, has been invited to compete.

Sabina, an international student from Romania and a Women’s Grandmaster, will be competing in her fifth consecutive U.S. Women’s Championship. She recently competed with the U.S. Women’s Team in the World Team Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan and helped the UMBC Chess Team finish 3rd in the nation at the Final Four of Collegiate Chess the first weekend in April.

Good luck, Sabina!

FROM: Freeman Hrabowski, President
Philip Rous, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

We are delighted to announce the projects receiving inaugural grants from this fund. These projects build on our faculty’s strong track record of, and commitment to, reimagining what it means to teach and learn. We received a large number of outstanding applications and, unfortunately, could not fund all of the projects. Those selected for awards represent each of our colleges and a wide range of disciplines, and many of them take an interdisciplinary approach to their work.

Implementation and research grants

• The Math Gym – A teamled by Nagaraj Neerchal, professor and chair of mathematics and statistics, will develop The Math Gym, which will feature “conditioning coaches” and “personal trainers” who will help students keep their foundational math skills in good working order. Moreover, the gym will promote healthy math habits among all our students, drawing a clear analogy between the regular work outs and conditioning needed to maintain both athletic and mathematical skill.
• Active Computing Teaching and InnoVation Environment – A team led by Marie desJardins, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, will create ACTIVE, a dynamic “laptop laboratory.” The lab will support innovation in computing courses – with a particular focus on improving the retention and success of women, underrepresented minorities and transfer students. The laboratory will extend active-learning environments, such as CASTLE and the new English writing labs, to a new area of the university.

Seed grants

• The Wisdom Institute – A team led by Craig Saper, professor and director of UMBC’s language, literacy, and culture program, will create an institute to expand the role for emeritus professors at UMBC.
• Putting Students’ Language Skills to Work – A team led by Susanne Sutton, lecturer in modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, will develop new experiential and service-learning course requirements for undergraduates studying German, with a particular focus on connecting students to Baltimore’s German community.
• Service-Learning in Statics – A team led by Anne Spence, professor of the practice in mechanical engineering, will develop new service-learning requirements for undergraduates studying mechanical engineering, with a particular focus on identifying components that increase retention and student success.
• EHS – Bruce Walz, professor and chair of emergency health services, will lead a project to integrate individual cameras into EHS exercises, so that students can receive more personalized and immediate feedback on their performance.

Begun with major grants from the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Heinz Awards, the Innovation Fund has benefited from substantial support from alumni and friends, the local community and businesses, and State and national leaders. That support is a testament to the work we’ve already done and a vote of confidence for the national model we’re continuing to build. Projects supported by the Innovation Fund will complement the many other creative and enterprising initiatives already underway at UMBC – from the STEM Transfer Student Success Initiative to composition course redesign in English – and will build on our strong history of finding novel approaches to teaching and scholarship.

The competition for the next round of Innovation Fund grants is underway, with proposals due by Friday, February 8. For more information on how to apply, click here. We want to thank everyone who has submitted a proposal, and encourage those whose proposals could not be funded in the first round to apply again.

We are truly inspired by the creative ideas we hear each day and are delighted to be able to support more of them through this fund.

For the sixth time since 2000, UMBC associate head men’s soccer coach Anthony Adams has been recognized by College Soccer News as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation.

The web publication cited Adams among 15 assistant or associate head coaches at the NCAA Division I level. He earned his fifth accolade after the 2010 season, and in 2003, he was one of 27 college coaches in the nation (all sports) to be honored as an Assistant Coach of the Year by AFLAC.

Adams earned four letters for UMBC from 1992-95 and was a starter in the backfield in his final three seasons. The Dundalk, Md. native (Calvert Hall) started his UMBC tenure on the bench with head coach Pete Caringi, Jr. in the fall of 1997. The coaching tandem has led the Retrievers to three conference titles (1999, 2010, 2012) and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances and three additional regular season championships (1999, 2002, 2003) since 1999.

TO:  All Full-time, Tenure-Track Faculty

FROM: Philip Rous, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

I am delighted to announce a new joint UMBC-UMB Research and Innovation Partnership Seed Grant Program. This research initiative has been developed in close collaboration with our UMB colleagues with the goal of establishing, enhancing and promoting long-term research partnerships between faculty at UMBC and UMB.

The UMBC-UMB Research and Innovation Partnership Seed Grant Program provides research funding of up to $75,000 to be expended over a period of twelve months. All proposals submitted to this program must include at least one PI from UMBC and one from UMB. All areas of research will be considered for funding and all full-time tenure-track faculty members having primary academic appointments in any of UMBC’s and UMB’s colleges or schools are eligible to apply.

The request for proposals is below. To be considered for the seed grant opportunity, a proposal meeting the attached guidelines must be submitted no later than March 1, 2013.  Proposals should address the merits of the proposed research and identify and justify external funding sources that would be receptive of a full proposal that contains preliminary results obtained.

Additional information about the program and instructions for the application process are included in the attached announcement. Applications are due by March 1, 2013. Any questions from the UMBC faculty regarding the application guidelines should be addressed to Vice Provost Moreira via e-mail at moreira@umbc.edu.

RRP: UMBC-UMB Research and Innovation Partnership Seed Grant Program

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and Baltimore (UMB) campuses are pleased to announce a new joint Research and Innovation Partnership Seed Grant Program for 2013.  The intent of this new initiative is to promote the structured collaboration between UMBC and UMB and to advance the institutions’ joint goals in research and innovation. Proposals submitted to this program must include at least one PI from each institution.

Our new UMB-UMBC Research and Innovation Partnership Seed Grant Program will:

• Foster creative teams of investigators working across disciplinary boundaries and campuses;
• Support new research foci to pursue future health care improvements and/or technologies; and
• Stimulate submission of innovative research proposals to federal, public or private funding agencies.

All areas of research will be considered for funding. Projects that promote and further our collaborative interests will be given preference in this year’s review. For example, one area of interest is collaborations in visualization and imaging that use tools such as fMRI thus leveraging the joint UMB/UMBC fMRI facility.

To be considered for the seed grant opportunity, a proposal meeting the attached guidelines must be submitted no later than March 1, 2013.  Proposals should address the merits of the proposed research and identify and justify NIH, NSF or other funding programs that would be receptive of a full proposal that contains preliminary results obtained. Further details are in the attached Appendix.

It is anticipated that multiple awards will be made. The final number of awards will depend on the quantity and quality of proposals received, as well as their proposed budgets. The program will have significant financial support from many sources. The maximum per grant award is $75,000. Indirect costs are not to be included in the proposal budget.

Individual investigators may submit multiple proposals but can participate as a PI on only one awarded proposal. The top-ranked proposal after peer review will be the one eligible for funding. Investigators can serve as collaborators on an unlimited number of proposals.

If you have detailed questions regarding application guidelines, please contact Sue Hobbs, UMSOM, SHobbs@som.umaryland.edu  or Antonio Moreira, UMBC, moreira@umbc.edu. Proposals must be submitted to partnershipprogram.umbc.edu as a combined pdf file prior to 5:00 PM EST March 1, 2013.

The Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery is pleased to announce the addition of two electronic collections for the UMBC community. ARTstor Digital Library provides access to over one million images in the arts, architecture, humanities and sciences. These images are hi-resolution and may be downloaded and used for classroom and research purposes.

ScienceDirect’s Freedom Collection contains the full text of over 1,700 social science, science, medical, and technology journals published by Elsevier. See the Library’s website for more information about these resources. Thanks to the Office of the Provost for its continued support of the Library.

“The University of Maryland, Baltimore County chess team tied four other college teams for first place at the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship on Sunday — maintaining its record as one of two colleges with the most top finishes in the history of the international event,” wrote Kevin Rector in the Baltimore Sun.

The UMBC chess team tied for first place December 30, 2012 in the Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, advancing to the 2013 President’s Cup, known as the “Final Four” of chess.

The team headed into the 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship with a record nine titles to its name. The competition known informally as the Pan-Am, was held December 27 to 30 in Princeton, New Jersey. Since the tournament began in 1946, dozens of universities throughout the Americas have participated. The Retrievers won their first Pan-Am title in 1996, and then embarked on a five-year title streak from 1998 to 2002.

This year, the Retrievers tied for first place with 3 other Universities: University of Texas, Dallas; Webster University, which had 2 teams; and the University of Illinois.
“It was an exciting finish. This was the strongest Pan Am in the history of the event. Twenty – three grandmasters as well as 5 teams rated over 2500 competed,” says Alan Sherman, Director of the UMBC Chess Program.

The UMBC team, all on chess scholarships, is composed of students not only with exceptional chess skills but also with strong academic records, Sherman says. UMBC requires students to maintain a 3.0 GPA to maintain chess scholarships.
The Retrievers last won the Pan-Am title in 2009, and took second last year. This year’s team will compete in the 2012 President’s Cup, the “Final Four of College Chess,” to be held in April 6-7, 2013 in Herndon, Va.

David Clurman, Assistant Director of Residential Education, was awarded the James Hurd Distinguished Service Award by the Mid-Atlantic Association of College and University Housing Officers (MACUHO).

David’s active involvement in MACUHO began in 1998 and since that time he served 10 years on the executive board, including as president in 2009 and as the host co-chair of this year’s conference that was held in downtown Baltimore.

FROM: Greg Simmons, Vice President for Institutional Advancement & Keith Harmon, Director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program

Earnestine Baker announced Monday at a combined Meyerhoff Scholars Family Meeting that she will retire from UMBC this month. Ernie has been an extraordinary member of the UMBC community for almost 30 years, and it is fitting that the Meyerhoff Scholars be among the first to receive this news, as she has spent most of her career at UMBC working to support the growth and success of this program and its students.

Ernie joined UMBC in 1983 as the Coordinator of Minority Recruitment in the Office of Admissions.  Between 1987 and 1992 she served as Associate Director for Scholarships at the University. In 1992, she was appointed Director of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. For two decades, she has worked tirelessly alongside President Freeman Hrabowski and campus faculty and staff to build the program into a nationally recognized model for talented students interested in pursuing terminal degrees in the sciences, mathematics, engineering, and computer science.

Ernie, now Executive Director of the program, has a well-earned reputation as a firm but fair mentor, colleague, and leader. More than 1,000 Meyerhoff Scholars have been introduced to “Ms. Baker” at Meyerhoff scholarship “selection weekends” and Summer Bridge programs as a demanding, but dedicated and compassionate presence.  Her expectations – clearly and directly stated – were that each Meyerhoff Scholar prepare rigorously for the classroom and lab, act professionally in any situation, and serve compassionately on campus and in the community. Her deep relationships with Meyerhoff Scholars have extended far beyond graduation.  She has advised and mentored graduates in their pursuit of graduate degrees, and networked on behalf of our graduates to ensure that they have good and clear options available at vital career junctures.

In July 2009, Science, the leading journal of scientific research, news and commentary, recognized UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program as a national model demonstrating “what it takes” to help more minority students earn science degrees. Ernie has been a fundamental part of the program’s success.  Throughout the years, she has been a tireless advocate for students, applying her rich knowledge of the academic community with an innovative and pragmatic approach to problem solving. This approach has allowed her to build solid and lasting partnerships with research faculty, develop internships and summer research experiences, and forge institutional relationships for UMBC with the nation’s most prestigious colleges and universities. Her standards have been high and exacting; at the same time, she has generously demonstrated the magnanimity of spirit, humility, and compassion that is required to prepare future leaders for success.

Through her work with the Meyerhoff Program, Ernie also has served on numerous STEM advisory boards and represented the program at conferences and events throughout the nation and abroad, including participating in the 2012 College Completion Symposium with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. Her dedication and commitment was recognized by the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents, which honored Ernie as the USM Outstanding Staff Member for extraordinary public service to the university and the greater community in 2008.

Ernie has served the UMBC community with dignity, grace, and wisdom for almost 30 years. She will continue to serve on several commissions and boards, and will consult with UMBC and the Meyerhoff Scholars Program on several on-going initiatives. We intend to host a reception in January for Ernie to celebrate her numerous contributions to the UMBC community, and will share that information as details are solidified. Until that time, please join us in congratulating her for all that she has accomplished at UMBC.

Tom Mandato has been named Assistant Director of Athletics for Operations at UMBC, Director of Athletics Dr. Charles Brown announced in early December, 2012.

Mandato’s duties will include the maintenance of all athletic facilities, including the Retriever Activities Center and Arena, the UMBC Stadium Complex, the UMBC Aquatic Complex, the tennis courts, and practice and recreation fields. He will coordinate the scheduling of these facilities, supervise event operations, equipment room and athletic grounds staff, building security, and will serve as the department liaison to UMBC Facilities Management and the campus scheduling office.

The Philadelphia, Pa. native has spent the last eight years at Towson University, working in facility and event management. In June 2011, he was named Director of Facilities & Event Management for the Tigers’ 19-sport program. Mandato served as the event manager for football, men’s basketball, men’s lacrosse, track & field and gymnastics competitions. He was responsible for the entire athletic facilities budget, facility scheduling for all varsity sports, and played a major role in recent facility enhancement projects, including the new Tiger Arena.