Former UMBC baseball standout Zach Clark ’06, psychology, has been added to the Baltimore Orioles’ roster, the Baltimore Sun reported yesterday.

Clark, who pitched and was a designated hitter for the Retrievers, has spent seven years in the Orioles farm system, most recently with the Bowie Baysox.

Read the Baltimore Sun story here.

He was profiled in a recent UMBC Magazine story here.

Read more about Clark in two recent news releases from UMBC Athletics:

• Clark Throws One Inning, But Western Division Falls in Double-A All Star Game

• Clark Named to Double-A Eastern League All Star Game for Baysox

The U.S. State Department counts Arabic as flat out one of the most difficult languages to learn. For Loren Siebert ’93, computer science, however, the study of a language that started as a hobby has blossomed into a career that blends both tech and teaching skills.

The founder of LinguaStep, an online language learning service praised by students for being both speedy and effective, was featured in Salon last week as part of a story explaining how Siebert has partnered with the U.S. military to develop language programs for soldiers serving in Iraq.

On a lark, the story says, Siebert decided to take lessons in Arabic at the University of California, Berkeley. He found the language beautiful, but incredibly challenging. Finding little in the way of online resources for learning Arabic, he began to develop a software to fill the teaching gap. In 2006, he launched LinguaStep.

“Arabic is a language of memorization,” [Siebert] said. “You just have to drill the words into your head, which unfortunately takes a lot of time.” He thought, “How can I maximize the number of words I learn in the minimum amount of time?”

Read the full story here.

Meet Krista, a sophomore studying animation and interactive media. Someday she hopes to create video games that educate as much as they entertain. And, like so many of her friends in disciplines across the board at UMBC, she is an innovator-in-training.

Krista also supports her education by working part-time as a phonathon caller, so she speaks all the time with alumni about their time at UMBC. She enjoys the stories – and the idea that so many memories have come together to build the UMBC of today.

Watch Krista’s video to learn more about her work, and check out the links below to see her progress in her studies!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7thtRhLKx14]

– Flight Rotoscoping

– Sunflower Seeds

– Krista’s Portfolio

The UMBC women’s soccer team raised $1300 for breast cancer research during its recent “Fight in Pink” contest on Oct. 14 against Stony Brook. The money will go directly to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a foundation that has become the largest source of nonprofit funds dedicated to the fight against breast cancer in the world.

The Retrievers sold t-shirts prior to the event and held a silent auction throughout UMBC’s matchup with the Seawolves, in addition to accepting donations.

“I have to give credit to all the UMBC women’s soccer players who initiated the pink game,” head coach Leslie Wray said. “It was their idea to have a match that promoted breast cancer awareness and to help raise funds for Susan G. Komen by selling “Fight in Pink” t-shirts, that they designed.

“We would like to thanks the UMBC students, parents and fans who bought t-shirts to help women’s soccer raise money for this incredible cause,” Wray continued. “So many women are affected by breast cancer and for many of us it hits very close to home. I am glad the UMBC women’s soccer team could contribute to helping all the brave women who are fighting this disease.”

This story originally appeared on UMBC Retrievers.com.

Today’s Gazette reports on clergy in Prince George’s County who are encouraging parishioners to vote against the referendum to expand gambling in Maryland and in Prince George’s County in particular. But Laura Hussey, assistant professor of political science, remarks in the article that clergy who talk politics from the pulpit are less common than some might expect.

Hussey suggests that this is in part because the multifaceted nature of ballot questions, such as the gambling referendum, can make it difficult to take a clear religious stance. “It’s an issue that doesn’t lend itself to being easily decided by the average voter,” she says.

Update (10/27/2012): In a later Washington Examiner article, Hussey remarked on the meaning this election’s historic ballot measures have for voters in Maryland, an overwhelmingly Democratic state where presidential and senatorial races are usually a foregone conclusion. Hussey said, “Here citizens have an opportunity to weigh in, to cast a vote that means something.”

Exciting news about H1-B and STEM degree seeking students:

Geithner’s India Visit Sparks Hopes For More High-Tech Visas

October 22, 2012

U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner recently met in New Delhi with Indian Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, for the third meeting of the India-U.S. Economic and Financial Partnership. [See Joint Statement of Secretary Geithner and Indian Finance Minister Chidambaram at the 2012 U.S.-India Economic and Financial Partnership, 09.Oct.2012, U.S. Department of the Treasury.] U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Reserve Bank of India Governor Subbarao also participated in these discussions, meant to strengthen economic and financial ties between the United States and India.

According to InformationWeek, Secretary Geithner told his Indian counterpart that, "I think it's very likely that over time you will see a significant expansion of the role played by Indians and Indian companies in the American recovery," noting that "I think we're at the early stage, even acknowledging and recognizing the huge benefits to the American economy already of the scale of Indian investment and Indian talent in the United States." [See More Visas for Indian Tech Workers? by Paul McDougall, InformationWeek, 12.Oct.2012.] In India, all this talk of increasing economic integration - and especially of Indian talent - was seen as a signal that U.S. immigration authorities might make more visas available to Indian high-tech workers, InformationWeek reports.

For now, this is little more than wishful thinking, since the USCIS has not announced any intention to expand the H1B program. Moreover, as InformationWeek pointed out, such an expansion is unlikely to come in the heat of a presidential campaign, given the sensitivity of the outsourcing issue.

That said, even wishful thinking can lead to action if enough people want it, and it's not just Indians who want more H1B slots to be made available. American tech companies are pressing Congress to provide more H1B visas, so they can hire more STEM graduates from overseas. Congress, to its credit, is starting to pay attention; there is bipartisan support for some kind of STEM visa reform, but no agreement yet on how to do it. As sports fans say when their team falls short of a playoff berth: maybe next year.

Copyright © 2012, MURTHY LAW FIRM. All Rights Reserved

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzVW-RaTDiY&w=560&h=315]

In a new UMBClife video, Eric Zeemering, assistant professor of public policy, explores how local governments, constrained by tight budgets, find partners to deliver public services and achieve policy goals.

Zeemering’s work focuses on public management, intergovernmental relations and urban policy, including policy relating to the sustainability of cities. He was recently named recipient of both the Clarence Stone Young Scholar Award and the Norton Long Developing Scholar Award from the Urban section of the American Political Science Association, in recognition of his scholarship, teaching and public service.

Maryland voters will soon decide whether to allow undocumented immigrants who graduate from Maryland high schools and meet other requirements to pay in-county/in-state tuition at local community colleges and public universities. A recent study on the Dream Act’s economic impacts by UMBC professors T.H. Gindling (economics) and Marvin Mandell (public policy) has received significant media attention and today appeared on TIME magazine‘s online coverage of the referendum.

TIME notes that Gindling and Mandell’s study concludes, “the Dream Act would generate $66 million in economic activity for each incoming new class of undocumented students.” See the website of UMBC’s Maryland Institute for Policy Analysis and Research (MIPAR) for the original working paper: “Private and Government Fiscal Costs and Benefits of the Maryland Dream Act.”

An op-ed by George Derek Musgrove ’97, history, assistant professor of history, recently appeared on The Root DC blog on the Washington Post website.

In the piece, Musgrove and co-author Chris Myers Asch discuss why current discussions of gentrification in the Washington D.C. region can be so heated.

“Simply put, people do not want to be gone or forgotten,” they write.

“Displacement and struggles over who ‘owns’ the city have a long history in Washington. Ours is a city both Southern and transient, where the constant churn of newcomers has amplified the importance of place and rootedness.”

The authors conclude that “We must also help create the conditions in which a diverse population can flourish now and in the future.”

The story, “Not gone, not forgotten: Struggling over history in a gentrifying D.C.” appeared online on October 19.

This story originally appeared in UMBC Insights.

When alumnae of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Lambda Phi Chapter reunited during this month’s Homecoming weekend, it was more than just the predictable flurry of pink and green and catching up on each other’s lives.

That’s because the women added a philanthropic component to their event, raising nearly $700 to support UMBC’s Second Generation Scholarship Fund. Thirty-eight alumnae contributed to the fund, which was founded in 1986 to support students who have taken at least one Africana studies course and demonstrate a commitment to improving the lives of minorities through community service, extracurricular activities or other community involvement.

Event organizer Dr. Tamara L. Lewis ’92, psychology, presented a check to Gary M. Brooks ’79, history, a member of the scholarship board. Lewis is a member of the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors and President of the Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni.

“The Second Generation Scholarship Fund started from some alumni who wanted to give something back,” said Brooks, who explained the need for scholarship funding has increased sharply over the years.

“Back when I was in school in the ’70s, if you could write your name on the X, you’d get enough scholarship funds to go to school. It wasn’t a question of money,” he said. “As time went on, those behind us found out that it is a problem [finding the] money.”

Read more about the Second Generation Scholarship Fund here.