One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Dr. Hrabowski discusses his experiences in the Civil Rights movement on the Kojo Nnamdi Show
• Amy Hurst, information systems, studied assistive technologies in the maker community and created tools to help the public make useful objects.
• Maryland Unites: UMBC Community Service Leave
• Justin Vélez-Hagan, School of Public Policy, Weighs in on Puerto Rico’s Fiscal Crisis
• Erickson School and Sociology and Anthropology Featured in the Baltimore Sun for Work with St. Agnes Hospital
• UMBC’s student conduct referral rate is mentioned in an article about the University of Maryland, College Park’s on-campus drug violations.
• Greg Simmons, institutional advancement, discusses UMBC’s successful fundraising efforts, which are expected to double the university’s goal for the year.
• Clifford Murphy, American studies, is the new director of folk and traditional arts for the National Endowment for the Arts.
• Chris Corbett, English, recounts the actions of Baltimore police and political leaders in the months after Freddie Gray’s death.

Read more at UMBC Insights!

Looks like good things happen in pairs for Retrievers! Four members of our community have been recognized in the media for their hard work. Rachel Hirsch and Miguel Palmeiro were featured on The Daily Record’s list of successful professionals under 40, and alum Jim Bailey and current student Seamus Ertel have been featured in two Baltimore Sun articles recognizing their dedication to Baltimore’s historic Fort McHenry.

Rachel Hirsch ’03, political science, and Miguel Palmeiro ’06, biological sciences, are on The Daily Record’s 2015 VIP Successful Before 40 list. Hirsch is currently a senior attorney at Ifrah Law, and Palmeiro also works as an attorney in private practice.

To see the full list of winners, click here.

Jim Bailey ’03, history, M.A. ’08 history, and current student Seamus Ertel ’17, describe their work at Fort McHenry. Bailey works as the coordinator of volunteers and oversees between 400-600 volunteers each summer as they work together to provide re-enactments for those visiting the fort.

Ertel’s involvement with Fort McHenry started at a very early age, when his father began working as a volunteer and then an employee. Seamus has followed in his footsteps, and currently works as a park ranger and in the fife and drum corps.

Find out more about Bailey and Ertel.

Have a story of your own to share? Tell us about it in a class note.

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Maurice Berger, CADVC, Discusses “Revolution of the Eye” on WYPR
• Linda Dusman, Music, and Eric Smallwood, Visual Arts, Discuss Their Octava App with The Baltimore Sun
• Bill LaCourse, College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, Describes STEM Retention Efforts in eCampus News
• Jaan Kononov ’16, Men’s Tennis, Ranked No. 7 in Final ITA Atlantic Rankings
• Stanley Jackson Named Assistant Director of Office of Sponsored Programs

Read more at UMBC Insights!

In the weeks following the death of Freddie Gray and the protests in Baltimore, members of the UMBC community have sought to engage in thoughtful reflection, dialogue, and service around the complex social and economic challenges facing our Baltimore community—and communities across the nation. Here are a few recent contributions from some of our alumni.

Kaye Whitehead ’09 Ph.D., language, literacy, and culture, has been a key voice in conversations about Freddie Gray’s death, the Black Lives Matter movement, and police brutality. In an article on PROMISE, Dr. Whitehead discusses her experience at the front lines of the peaceful protests in Baltimore and provides primary accounts from the people living the “Baltimore Uprising” on a daily basis. She has also been working on a book entitled Letters to My Black Sons: Raising Boys in a Post-Racial America. She was interviewed by WYPR about Freddie Grey and how his death fits into police brutality.

Read more from PROMISE here. Listen to the full interview here.

Joshua Michael ’10, political science, helped prepare meals for students and clean up debris in the aftermath of the Baltimore riots. Michael teaches seventh grade math at Commodore John Rodgers Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City. Recently, he talked with the Baltimore Sun about the importance of supporting the city’s children.

To read the full article, click here.

Matthew Loftus ’07, chemistry, argues that community leaders need more influence in what positive policing looks like in their neighborhoods. Loftus wrote an article for the American Conservative where he explores the role of police in Baltimore. He compares the perspective of the Baltimore police force from a plethora of sources to trace the trajectory of their reputation today.

Read the full article here.

Here at UMBC, we take pride in what our alums accomplish after graduation. Take a moment to see which Retrievers have been on the move and making news!

UMBC’s vice provost for enrollment management and planning, Dr. Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, health science and policy, speaks out in support of the Advanced Placement Summer Academy, which might be eliminated due to budget restrictions. Mozie-Ross told the Baltimore Sun that “The AP academy attracts very highly motivated students, and certainly for us, gives us an opportunity to recruit well-prepared students.”

Read the full article here.

Ray Barbosa ’09, American studies, was recently named the new head coach of Bethlehem Catholic’s boys basketball team. Barbosa takes on the exciting position of head coach in a time when he will also get the opportunity to coach his younger brother, something that few others get to experience in their own careers. He is also eager to teach the players his outlook and the new system he wants to put into effect to have them at the top of their game next season.

To read more, click here.

Daniel Roberts ’10, music, and Luke Roberts ’12, mechanical engineering, recently released their self-titled debut album They’ll Have Dreams. The Roberts brothers’ approach is unique in that their goal for each show is to play the music completely live, despite the fact that there are only two of them on stage. To that end, they’ve harnessed the Ableton Live software  in order to play and record multiple instruments during a show.

Read more.

Have a story of your own to share? Tell us about it in a class note.

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Lt. Gov. Rutherford Visits Campus
• Lia Purpura, English, to Present Reading at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
• Erle Ellis, GES, Co-Authors Article on the Anthropocene in Science
• Robert Provine, Psychology, in the Baltimore Sun
• Anna Shields, MLLI, to Present Talk at the Library of Congress

Here at UMBC, we take pride in what our alums accomplish after graduation. Take a moment to see which Retrievers have been on the move and making news!

Melanie Okoro ’11 Ph.D., marine estuarine environmental science, currently works as the West Coast Region Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator with the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA). Dr. Okoro is working on how science and policy impact one another in relationship to governmental policies concerning species and their habitats.

To find out more about Dr. Okoro’s work, click here.

Spencer Holmes ’05, political science, is a co-founder of PlateDate, a company that offers personal chefs for in-house dates, group gatherings, and more. Recently, Holmes discussed the success of his company and how the idea was created in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. 

Read the full article here.

DeAnna Andrea Baker-Frost (M12) ’04, biological science, was recently appointed to the Medical University of South Carolina’s  Board of Visitors. Baker-Frost is a scholar of the Southern Regional Education Board, and she is also a member of the American Medical Association, the American Medical Student Association, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Click here to read more.

Have a story of your own to share? Tell us about it in a class note.

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community. 

• Julie Rosenthal, Asian Studies, in The Baltimore Sun
• MLLI Faculty and Students Featured in Russia Beyond the Headlines, Voice of America
• Dale Bittinger, Admissions, Describes “House of Grit” on Midday with Dan Rodricks
• UMBC Humanities Faculty Discuss Serial in The Guardian
• Jeffrey Davis, Political Science, in The New York Times

Read more at UMBC Insights!

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, on The Marc Steiner Show
• Thomas Schaller, Political Science, Op-Ed in The Baltimore Sun
• Eric Ford, Shriver Center, Advises Prospective College Students on Paths to Success in College Express
• Preminda Jacob, Visual Arts, Examines Visual Culture and Indian Politics in Scroll

Read more at UMBC Insights!

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Jim Bailey ‘03 and ‘08 M.A., History, Speaks at 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony
• Thomas Schaller, Political Science, on MSNBC
• UMBC Featured in The Baltimore Sun’s Special Section on Education
• Vice Provost Patrice McDermott Calls for Gender Equity in Peer Review
• Roy Meyers, Political Science, in the Herald-Mail
• Anne Sarah Rubin, History, in The Washington Post

Read more at UMBC Insights!