University System of Maryland (USM) Dissertation House at the PROMISE Summer Success Institute – August 14-15, 2014

The University of Maryland, College Park  and PROMISE Maryland’s AGEP are sponsoring a system-wide Dissertation House for graduate students in STEM programs.  The writing and research retreat will take place at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve.   Lodging for 2 nights and meals are provided for student participants.   Twelve students from the USM system schools will be chosen to participate in this research and writing retreat.  http://www.thehotelarundel.com/

 2014 PROMISE SSI Dissertation House Schedule:

• 8/14  6-9 pm  Introduction to DH, Dinner Meeting
• 8/14 9-11  pm Work Session
• 8/15  9-6  pm DH Sessions, Work Session, Breakfast and Lunch
• 8/15 6-8 pm Dinner Meeting
• 8/15 9-11 pm Work Session

Eligibility for the SSI Dissertation House:

STEM Graduate Program, URM according to the NSF Definition for AGEP, U.S. Citizen

Per NSF.gov: AGEP is committed to the national goal of increasing the numbers of underrepresented minorities (URMs), including those with disabilities, entering and completing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduate education and postdoctoral training to levels representative of the available pool. URMs include African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

This event is part of the PROMISE Summer Success Institute. Following the Dissertation House sessions on Thursday and Friday, all participants will be required to continue participation in the PROMISE SSI on Saturday, August 16 at The Hotel at Arundel Preserve: http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/promise_ssi_2014/

We salute our Associate Dean of the Graduate School, Dr. Robert Deluty on the publication of his 45th book: "Gifts in Disguise." 

This morning, Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale opened the Summer 2014 Dissertation House at UMBC with a story about her own dissertation process. She said that part of the motivation for her current passion as a “Dissertation Coach” is that the research content should be the challenge; the dissertation PROCESS should not be the challenge. The PROMISE Dissertation Houses help graduate students through the process. We do not write students’ dissertations, we do not edit students’ dissertations. We do provide coaching and advice, and we do eliminate the mystery behind the process of PhD completion. You still have to work with your advisor and your committee. You still have to work within the rules and regulations of your academic department. However, the Dissertation House can help you with interpreting some of those nuances that accompany the dissertation process.

We understand that everyone can’t join us in person, but we invite you to join us online:

http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2014-challenge/

This morning, Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale opened the Summer 2014 Dissertation House at UMBC with a story about her own dissertation process. She said that part of the motivation for her current passion as a “Dissertation Coach” is that the research content should be the challenge; the dissertation PROCESS should not be the challenge. The PROMISE Dissertation Houses help graduate students through the process. We do not write students’ dissertations, we do not edit students’ dissertations. We do provide coaching and advice, and we do eliminate the mystery behind the process of PhD completion. You still have to work with your advisor and your committee. You still have to work within the rules and regulations of your academic department. However, the Dissertation House can help you with interpreting some of those nuances that accompany the dissertation process.

We understand that everyone can’t join us in person, but we invite you to join us online:

https://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2014-challenge/

Are you planning to work on your dissertation this weekend? Take at least a brief break to enjoy the holiday before you get back to work. Our in-person Summer 2014 Dissertation Houses will be at UMBC, College Park, and at the PROMISE Summer Success Institute at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve. However, you can join us online! Go to the Summer 2014 Challenge page, and post your goals. We’ll see you there!

Are you planning to work on your dissertation this weekend? Take at least a brief break to enjoy the holiday before you get back to work. Our in-person Summer 2014 Dissertation Houses will be at UMBC, College Park, and at the PROMISE Summer Success Institute at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve. However, you can join us online! Go to the Summer 2014 Challenge page, and post your goals. We’ll see you there!

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I introduce and welcome both Holly Bielak and Mariann Hawken to DoIT's Instructional Technology & New Media (ITNM) group. Mariann and Holly join Tom Penniston as Instructional Technology Specialists in our office.

Holly (pictured at left) comes to us from Coppin State University where she served as an Instructional Technologist and Trainer and provided assistance and support to faculty, staff and students regarding the use of technology in the classroom and workplace. She also brings experience in the classroom as an adjunct instructor in Information Technology and Education as well as both Blackboard administration and training experience. Holly earned her Bachelor of Arts in American Studies here at UMBC, her Master of Education in Instructional Technology at the University of Maryland University College, and is currently pursuing her Doctor of Philosophy in Instructional Design for Online Learning at Capella University.

Mariann brings with her from Bowie State University over 14 years of experience working with both graduate and undergraduate faculty to effectively integrate technology into the curriculum and the classroom. She has supported traditional, hybrid, and fully online course design and development and has been selected as a Blackboard MVP by the company for her expertise, experience, and use of best practices with the learning management system. Mariann has also served as an adjunct instructor in English and Communications and has two master’s degrees from the University of Maryland University College: a Master of Education in Instructional Technology and a Master of Distance Education in Teaching & Training.

Please join me in welcoming both Holly and Mariann to the UMBC family.

Sincerely,

Sherri Braxton-Lieber

Director of Instructional Technology

UMBC Division of Information Technology (DoIT)

On Thursday, June 19th at 7am, DoIT will be performing an upgrade of the campus webmail environment for our dedicated Cyrus mail servers. The current webmail environment is out of date on both the hardware and software. There will be a brief outage to transition to the new server and no data will be lost during this upgrade.  Anyone logged into webmail prior to 7am will need to restart their browser and login again once the upgrade is completed.  Users of Cyrus webmail will notice a more refined interface with new colors as well as some icons that have shifted location.  

Anyone wishing to try out the new Cyrus webmail environment is encouraged to login at https://webmail-dev.core.umbc.edu. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Technology Support Center at x53838.

Note: This campus webmail upgrade will not impact users who have migrated their email to Google.