***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.

***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