***REPOST***

NOTE: Applications and proposals for these USM opportunities must be routed for approval by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) in the Kuali System prior to submission to USM. Applicants must be PI Eligible active* at the time of routing. Plan 4-5 business days for routing.

Contact CARAT (carat@umbc.edu) for PI Eligibility, proposal, and routing assistance.

Faculty who may apply for PI Eligiblity active status include Faculty with Duties Primarily in Instruction, Research & Service (Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors). Teaching Professors, whose appointments are primarily in Instruction, may request an exception from the Vice President for Research while applying for PI Eligibility status, and must provide additional materials. Temporary and Adjunct Faculty may not be considered PI Eligible. 

*PI Eligible active status entails successful completion (with issued certificates) of PIRATE training; CITI Research Security Training - combined; and a PI Eligibility form, with attached certificates of completion, appointment letter, and C.V. for those requesting PI eligibility through the exception process. See UMBC Policy # IV-2.00.03 for more information.
 
Proposals should adhere to best practices in digital accessibility, such as the use of heading structure and meaningful alternative text for images. The USM Digital Accessibility Checklist is a helpful guide: https://www.usmd.edu/digital-accessibility/USM-Digital-Accessibility-Checklist.pdf  Also, consult the UMBC Accessible Documents & Presentations webpage: https://accessibility.umbc.edu/digital-accessibility/accessible-documents-presentations/ 

1. Call for Applications: Faculty Senior Fellows Program (USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation). Application deadline: April 13, 2026 
Routing must begin April 7, 2026. PI Eligible faculty at UMBC may apply for this opportunity.

The USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation is pleased to announce a call for applications for Faculty Senior Fellows for the 2026-27 academic year. These leadership roles will advance the Kirwan Center's mission to support innovation in teaching, learning, and scholarship across the University System of Maryland. Each senior fellow will receive a $3,500 stipend (50% in August 2026 and 50% in May 2027) for their work across AY 2026-2027.

The three senior fellow positions are:

• Senior fellow in generative AI pedagogy
• Senior fellow for the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL)
• Senior fellow for assessment and evaluation

USM faculty of any rank whose primary role on their campus are faculty are eligible to apply. Applicants may apply for multiple positions but can only be selected for one senior fellow role. Each position requires approximately 1-2 hours of work per week throughout the academic year term.

More details can be found in the Call for Applications for Faculty Senior Fellows: https://usmd.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/KCAI/IQCF89wk09FzRbLlBftPmC3YAeg7tfUTGm5u3tfGyi-4Uis?rtime=96_DSVWP3kg

2. Call for Proposals: 2026-27 Elkins Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Fellows Program. Proposal deadline: May 8, 2026
Routing must begin April 30, 2026. PI Eligible faculty at UMBC may apply for this opportunity.

Up to ten Elkins SoTL Fellowships of $1,000 each will be awarded for 2026-2027 (May 22, 2026 – June 30, 2027). The Elkins SoTL Fellowships are open to USM faculty of any rank or appointment interested in undertaking a research project focused on the scholarship of teaching and learning.

A faculty member should serve as principal investigator (PI) on the project; a staff person may serve as co-PI provided the project originates with the faculty member. At present, graduate students are not being considered for this fellowship.

Information Session: Join Kirwan Center staff on Monday, April 13, 2026, from 1 - 2 p.m., for a virtual Information session to learn more about the fellowship requirements and expectations. We will also answer questions about the program at that time. Registering will ensure you receive a link to the session recording, even if you can't attend live.

NOTE: Applicants must provide a budget and letter of support from a Chair, Dean, or Provost, as well as other proposal materials.

Register here: https://usmd-edu.zoom.us/meeting/register/W062YeyISZ6LSQyu7dl6Kg#/registration

Save the date for UMBC BookFest '26! Celebrate all things books--making them, reading them, preserving them, donating them, advocating for them--across campus during National Library Week on April 21 & 23. Events will include BookMarkIt on the Library Plaza, featuring letterpress printing, zinemaking and swaps, a book drive, giveaways, and more!

• April 21 from 11am to 1pm: BookMarkIt on the Library Plaza - an outdoor market dedicated to bookishness
• April 21 from 5 to 6:30pm: One Maryland, One Book - In collaboration with Maryland Humanities' One Maryland, One Book program, we'll welcome Lawrence Burney, author of the 2026 OMOB selection No Sense in Wishing.
• April 23 from 5 to 6:30pm: Freedom to Read: Libraries and Our Democracy - In partnership with the Maryland State Library Agency, we’ll learn from the Maryland state librarian, Morgan Miller, how to protect the freedom to read. 

Congratulations to the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) for being awarded a BreakingGround grant! Their project – the COEIT Undergraduate Student Voice & Experience Survey – will contribute to UMBC's continued commitment to fostering collective thriving and civic agency.

COEIT has launched a comprehensive undergraduate student climate survey, assessing student experiences around belonging, inclusion, and support across the college. The BreakingGround Award will support COEIT to deepen student capacity to make meaningful contributions to culture change within the college. Students will learn facilitation skills that support peer-led conversations around inclusion and belonging in the college through co-facilitator training that equips student leaders with foundational skills in inclusive dialogue and peer-centered facilitation. Trained student co-facilitators will assist in leading focus groups that gather richer, more nuanced student perspectives on challenges and improvements within COEIT. Student organizations will also host events for students to complete the survey and participate in reflections, offering engineering and computing students an opportunity to engage with civic agency as a practical, lived experience. Student-identified priorities will be shared with COEIT leadership and used to inform planning for the next phase of a multi-stage climate assessment extending to graduate students, faculty, and staff.

Jeanne van Briesen, Dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology, said, "This award will enable authentic engagement of students with COEIT's efforts to understand and improve the climate of belonging for all." Similarly, Jess Myers, Associate Director of the Center for Women in Technology, has this to say about the project:

This project represents an important moment for COEIT - marking the first COEIT - specific undergraduate climate survey in nearly ten years and centering student voices through collective engagement and reflection. It reflects a shared commitment to listening, learning, and building community together, and invites students to play an active role in shaping the climate and future of their college.

Congratulations to the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) and the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Pluralism (CRSP) for being awarded a BreakingGround grant! Their project – Centering Wonder: Science, Spirituality, Religion, and Collaborative Empowerment in the UMBC Community – will contribute to UMBC's continued commitment to fostering collective thriving and civic agency.

CRSP and CNMS are launching an event series that explores the intersections of science and faith in the UMBC community. The pilot event on March 25, 2026 will feature a public lecture by Dr. Patricia Fosarelli – a pediatrician, theologian, author, and faculty member at both the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute – along with pre-lecture small-group discussions and a post-lecture Q&A. The series aims to empower community members, particularly students in STEM, pre-health, philosophy, and religious studies, to integrate their whole selves into their academic and professional lives. This seed funding will support the pilot event and a follow-up event in the fall, with the goal of establishing a sustainable model for ongoing programming that fosters civic agency, interfaith understanding, and holistic professional development.

Matthew Hoffman, Director of the Center for Religion, Spirituality, and Pluralism, said:

Centering Wonder is a great example of the integrated, collaborative work we support in the Center for Religion, Spirituality, & Pluralism at UMBC. We know that many members of our campus community connect to religion and spirituality as important forms of meaning-making and community connection, as well as for career and academic exploration. Through this program, we hope to celebrate the overlap of wonder that exists when we connect our identities with academic endeavors. At its best, this project highlights UMBC's value of inclusive excellence as a distinctive and transformative approach to higher education.

William R. LaCourse, Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, said:

In the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, faculty, staff, and students seek truth and fundamental knowledge as a means to understand the world around us for the betterment of all. Individuals bring a complex constellation of identities related to science, religion, and spirituality with them to all of their work. Becoming aware of what drives ourselves and others is a critical step toward finding personal harmony and building the foundation for a stronger UMBC culture grounded in tolerance. I hope this series will help those seeking truth to find it in themselves and others.

The BreakingGround initiative provides grants of up to $2,500 to UMBC faculty, staff, and students who want to launch or strengthen educational and community-building projects. These projects should, as a part of their work, foster civic agency: the ability to initiate and make meaningful contributions to social change. For more information, visit this website: https://civiclife.umbc.edu/breakingground/