The Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, Dresher Center for the Humanities, and UMBC Department of English invite you to celebrate National Library Week and UMBC BookFest, April 19-25, 2026

Monday, April 20

12:00 - 1:00 PM: Banned Books Read-In | Library Rotunda

Exercise your freedom to read! Learn more about book challenges and bans in the United States, spend some time reading books that have been banned or challenged, and find out which 10 books were most frequently banned or challenged in 2025.

4:00 - 7:00 PM: Our Stories Matter: Books, Arts, and Community | Library 7th Floor

Make a mosaic that celebrates individual and community stories, embracing and amplifying all voices. This program is part of a series that will continue through 2026.

Tuesday, April 21

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM: BookMarkIt | Library Plaza

Celebrate all things books with letterpress printing, zinemaking and swaps, a book drive, giveaways, and more!

3:00 - 5:00 PM: Find the Library at Transfer-Palooza! | UC Ballroom

Hey, transfer students! We will be at Transfer-Palooza with information about library services, plus stickers and swag!

5:00 - 6:30 PM: One Maryland, One Book: An Evening with Lawrence Burney, Author of No Sense in Wishing | UC 302

The author of the 2026 One Maryland One Book selection will join Assistant Professor of English Chris L. Terry to reflect on his essay collection, growing up in Baltimore, and his deep relationship to music. Refreshments will be served.

Wednesday, April 22

4:00 - 5:00 PM: A New Model: The Barack Obama Presidential Library with Dr. Kenvi Phillips, Barack Obama Presidential Library Director | Library 7th Floor

With approximately 95% of its records created digitally, the Obama Presidential Library is the first digital repository among the 16 presidential libraries stewarded by the National Archives and Records Administration. The library is constantly developing new pathways to process and make records available to the public. This talk will explore how the library is bridging the gap between traditional brick-and-mortar library needs and expectations and digital possibilities. Refreshments will be served.

4:00 - 6:00 PM: BCPL Mobile Services Visit | Library Plaza

Learn about the various mobile services offered by the Baltimore County Public Library - available for free to all UMBC community members!

Thursday, April 23

12:00 - 1:00 PM: Lunch and Learn: Library Advocacy Workshop | Library Room 259 

Join the Maryland Library Association to learn how everyone can be an advocate for library access and services. Lunch will be provided.

4:30 - 6:00 PM: Freedom to Read: A Panel on Libraries and Democracy | Library Gallery

Book challenges and censorship efforts are on the rise across our state and nation. What can we do to protect the right to read and ensure access to library services? Join this timely conversation with Maryland librarians, the Maryland State Library Agency, and Citizens for Maryland Libraries. Refreshments will be served.

Friday, April 24

11:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Decorate a Library Tote Bag | Library Atrium

You need something to carry all those books! Stop by the library atrium to decorate your own totebag. All supplies will be provided.

All Week

Monday-Friday 12-4: Drop-in button-making | Alan and Wendy Wilson Innovation Lab

Use old book pages and covers to create one-of-a-kind buttons!

All library open hours: Drop-in blackout poetry | Library 1st Floor

Upcycle an old book page into a new piece of literature.

The Pride Center and WGEC are hosting a book club on Monday, April 27th from 1-2:30pm in the Women's, Gender, & Equity Center (Commons 004) to discuss Mean by Myriam Gurba. Through gritty, confident humor, this true crime style, coming of age memoir explores Myriam's experiences of sexual violence in a small town as a queer, mixed-race Chicana. Hard copies are available in the WGEC and Pride Centers, and an e-version is available through the AOK Library. Come by the WGEC to discuss the book and grab a treat while you're here. RSVP required for book loan.

The WGEC is open to all individuals regardless of their sex, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.
 
UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all students, staff, faculty, and visitors. If you have difficulties accessing any of the materials on our site or any of our events or discussions, please contact us so that we can provide an alternative format and/or remedy any accessibility challenges. For questions or for accessibility requests, contact us at womenscenter@umbc.edu.

The Women's, Gender, & Equity Center will be closed tomorrow, Friday, 4/10, and next Friday, 4/17. 

Staff will be available virtually throughout this time. If you have any questions or concerns, please email womenscenter@umbc.edu.

The WGEC is open to all individuals regardless of their sex, gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.
 
UMBC is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive environment for all students, staff, faculty, and visitors. If you have difficulties accessing any of the materials on our site or any of our events or discussions, please contact us so that we can provide an alternative format and/or remedy any accessibility challenges. For questions or for accessibility requests, contact us at womenscenter@umbc.edu.

***reposted from CARAT***

The University System of Maryland's (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (traditional) and the Elkins Professsorship for Academic Transformation are open to UMBC faculty at the rank of Associate Professor and Professor for Academic Year 2026-2027.

Review the attached program information and the USM Wilson H. Elkins Professorship information page, which includes links to both opportunities, at https://www.usmd.edu/usm/academicaffairs/elkins.html.

Elkins Professors will exhibit, at a minimum, all the following qualifications:

• A solid record of achievement in a recognized academic or professional discipline
• Evidence of significant achievement outside traditional disciplines but linked in scholarly and professional ways to the work of the USM
• Demonstrated ability and continuing desire to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students in a range of learning situations
• Demonstrated ability and intent to participate in programs and activities outside the USM

Both opportunities require an institutional nomination from a Dean or Provost supporting the faculty member’s candidacy, necessitating an Internal Competition at the College level (detailed information with timeline is attached).

Qualified CAHSS faculty may prepare and submit a pre-proposal, following the attached Internal Competition instructions, to the CAHSS Dean's Office (via Box link) by April 20, 2026. Following a review of the pre-proposals, the advancers (one per professorship) will be notified to prepare complete proposals by April 24, 2026. The College-level nominated proposals will be submitted to the Provost's Office by May 10, 2026 for review and final selection, and then forwarded to the Office of the President. The UMBC nominated proposals must be routed for approval by the Office of Sponsored Programs (in Kuali) prior to submission to USM. The deadline for nomination submissions is May 22, 2026.  

Questions: Contact CARAT - Marc Ruppel, Director (mruppel@umbc.edu) or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director (rbruba1@umbc.edu)

The University System of Maryland's (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (traditional) and the Elkins Professsorship for Academic Transformation are open to UMBC faculty at the rank of Associate Professor and Professor for Academic Year 2026-2027.

Review the attached program information and the USM Wilson H. Elkins Professorship information page, which includes links to both opportunities, at https://www.usmd.edu/usm/academicaffairs/elkins.html.

Elkins Professors will exhibit, at a minimum, all the following qualifications:

• A solid record of achievement in a recognized academic or professional discipline
• Evidence of significant achievement outside traditional disciplines but linked in scholarly and professional ways to the work of the USM
• Demonstrated ability and continuing desire to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students in a range of learning situations
• Demonstrated ability and intent to participate in programs and activities outside the USM

Both opportunities require an institutional nomination from a Dean or Provost supporting the faculty member’s candidacy, necessitating an Internal Competition at the College level (detailed information with timeline is attached).

Qualified CAHSS faculty may prepare and submit a pre-proposal, following the attached Internal Competition instructions, to the CAHSS Dean's Office (via Box link) by April 20, 2026. Following a review of the pre-proposals, the advancers (one per professorship) will be notified to prepare complete proposals by April 24, 2026. The College-level nominated proposals will be submitted to the Provost's Office by May 10, 2026 for review and final selection, and then forwarded to the Office of the President. The UMBC nominated proposals must be routed for approval by the Office of Sponsored Programs (in Kuali) prior to submission to USM. The deadline for nomination submissions is May 22, 2026.  

Questions: Contact CARAT - Marc Ruppel, Director (mruppel@umbc.edu) or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director (rbruba1@umbc.edu).

The Orser Center for Public Humanities is excited to announce the 2026 BFS 3.0 UMBC Fellows: Click here to learn more abut the 2026 Fellows

The Baltimore Field School 3.0, Collaborative Teaching in Public Humanities is a one-day intensive workshop aimed at creating collaborative teaching tools rooted in public humanities approaches that strive to make the university’s outreach infrastructure more equitable and inclusive. By the end of the day, participants will have contributed to a toolkit that may include syllabus templates, assignment examples, assessment tools, and rubrics that will be localized in a shared online repository.

As part of UMBC’s Public Humanities program, the Baltimore Field School is an ongoing approach to community engaged research that moves from extractive approaches to research and instead is aimed at building sustainable and ethical projects while helping make the university’s outreach infrastructure more equitable.

In January 2026, UMBC and Maryland Humanities entered into a memorandum of agreement to formalize a partnership. This partnership will continue UMBC’s role as the institutional host for Maryland History Day and serve as a foundation for expanded collaboration between the two organizations. These collaborations will include events highlighting One Maryland, One Book; a regional humanities network conference for the Greater Baltimore Region; and America 250 events for Baltimore County. We are planning to create internships for both undergraduate and graduate students in the humanities.

Please stay tuned for upcoming events!

Faculty navigate political conversations in their classrooms whether they plan to or not. When we understand politics broadly as the processes through which we figure out how to live together, rather than strictly as voting gameplay, these moments are not just unavoidable but pedagogically important. Faculty already bring experience to managing complex classroom dynamics, and this workshop builds on that foundation by offering a dialogic perspective designed specifically for conversations across political difference. Participants will explore what it looks like to hold commitments to both free expression and inclusive community in practice, examine the particular dynamics that make political dialogue feel high-stakes, and co-develop guiding questions they can adapt to shape their own classroom strategy when these moments arise. This workshop will be facilitated by Ricky Blissett (Center for Democracy and Civic Life).

To RSVP and get the link for this event, visit the original post on the Faculty Development Center's myUMBC, and they will send you a Google calendar invitation with a WebEx link one hour before the session. If you register less than an hour before the session, you will receive the WebEx link when you register. Please email fdc@umbc.edu if you have any questions. If you have registered and find that you can no longer attend, please kindly release your spot so that others may attend.

(Counts toward the ALIT Certificate)
(Counts toward the INNOVATE Certificate)

***REPOST***

Participants must register in advance in order to receive a link to join the webinar.  Please also  show that you'll be attending in the original myUMBC post.

Sage Publishing invites you to join us for a custom, 60-minute, virtual instruction session for UMBC. This session will provide a detailed look at the Sage Research Methods and Sage Campus platforms. 

• For graduate students, these tools can support the research process from start to finish, helping you refine research questions, better understand methods, and strengthen your academic writing and project design. 
• For faculty, Sage Research Methods and Sage Campus can serve as useful teaching supports, offering content that can reinforce research skills, methods instruction, and other core concepts students may need help developing inside or outside the classroom.

Sage Research Methods is an extensive collection of case studies, datasets, and video that helps you teach qualitative and quantitative research methods, design and conduct research projects, understand new methods, and write up the findings. 

Sage Campus supports the teaching and learning of skills and research methods, and the range of content is applicable to undergraduates, graduate students, and professionals. The courses and modules are self-paced and consist of video, interactives, and formative assessments. The user-friendly platform makes it easy for faculty to assign content to students.

The Institute for Advanced Study is seeking a 2026-28 Civic Science Fellow for The Public’s Science initiative, a collaborative effort with a leading research center to foster a new social contract for American research policy. This initiative seeks to reimagine scientific research as a genuinely public endeavor—one oriented toward inclusive participation and serving not only national interests but also the diverse communities that sustain and are affected by the scientific enterprise. Learn more and apply here.

The Science Philanthropy Alliance is seeking a 2026–28 Civic Science Fellow to co-create civic science tools, knowledge, and best practices that can inform and inspire philanthropic funding for scientific discovery, beginning in July 2026. The Fellow will work closely with the Science Philanthropy Alliance staff and its philanthropic member organizations to advance scientific discovery through visionary philanthropy. Learn more and apply here.

The 2026–28 Civic Science Fellows cohort will launch in September 2026. As 2026–28 host partners open applications for Fellows, they will be posted here and in the monthly newsletter (sign up). Envisioned as a Civic Science Lab, Fellows and partners carry out pioneering work to co-create pilots, partnerships, knowledge, models, and new ways of working that can help seed collaborations between science and society. All Fellows will engage as a cohort in a learning program and community, developed in collaboration with the network and an interdisciplinary committee of advisors.