Labor We Love

UMBC is a major research university, but one of its successes is that it still retains the personal touch of a much smaller institution. 

One reason that UMBC has managed to be so welcoming is the university’s dedicated faculty and staff – many of whom go the extra mile to ensure students success, create environments for exceptional teaching and research, or keep the campus looking attractive and inviting.

That UMBC’s faculty and staff enjoy their work is also part of this reputation. The Chronicle of Higher Education confirms that in its 2012 survey of “Great Colleges to Work For.” UMBC was again named to the “Honor Roll” in the Chronicle’s annual survey because its own faculty and staff ranked it highly in seven of the 12 areas canvassed by the newspaper.

 “We are a ‘Great College’ because of the people here,” says President Freeman Hrabowski. “This honor yet again affirms what we all know: UMBC is a place that supports people, values collaboration, and fosters trust, respect, and enthusiasm for educating our students.”

UMBC’s faculty and staff said the university was particularly strong when it came to:

• Collaborative governance
• Professional and career development
• Work/life balance
• Confidence in senior leadership
• Supervisor/department chair relationship
• Respect and appreciation
• Tenure clarity and process

“The upper administration understands that working with the faculty is an effective way to move the university forward,” says Tim Topoleski, a professor of mechanical engineering and former president of the Faculty Senate. “Because the faculty are directly involved with UMBC’s primary mission, listening to their ideas – everything from increasing campus efficiency to innovative ways to deliver the curriculum – is hugely beneficial to the university.”

Staff, too, are encouraged to play a major role in moving UMBC forward. Carrie Sauter, an assistant director in the interdisciplinary studies program and president of the Professional staff Senate, says she’s thrilled to help shape the university she graduated from.

“I feel so lucky to be able to return to the campus that provided so much to me as a student, and to serve in a role that helps students to achieve their goals,” Sauter says.

Terry Aylsworth, executive administrative assistant in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and president of the Non-exempt, Excluded Staff Senate, draws energy from her co-workers and especially the students.
“I have always felt that it was a privilege to work at UMBC, and after 16 years, I still feel the same,” she says. “I have had wonderful, brilliant bosses and smart and generous co-workers.  I still get a thrill walking across campus and feeling the energy radiating from the students.”

To read the full survey results, visit The Chronicle.

(8/6/12)

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) held its 2012 Agency Honor Awards on August 2nd to honor individuals who “have distinguished themselves by making outstanding contributions to the Agency’s mission.” Among those honored was Raymond Hoff, physics, who received the Distinguished Public Service Medal (DPSM) at an awards ceremony held at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The DPSM serves as NASA’s “highest form of recognition that is awarded to any non-Government individual or to an individual who was not a Government employee during the period in which the service was performed, whose distinguished service, ability, or vision has personally contributed to NASA’s advancement of United States’ interests,” according to the agency’s website. Hoff received his medal for Hoff is receiving the medal “for distinguished service and leadership in Earth observations and their application for societal benefit.”

Footage of the entire ceremony can be watched on NASA’s YouTube channel here, with Hoff’s award coming at approximately 30:15.

Alex Onischuk ’07, modern languages and linguistics, was named the director of Texas Tech University’s chess program on July 30th, according to an article in The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The Ukraine-born grandmaster was captain of UMBC’s chess team during a period in which the team won four consecutive national championships, from 2002 to 2006. Texas Tech’s team are also champions, winning the President’s Cup for the second consecutive year this year.

Onischuk, currently ranked third in the country among chess players, released a statement saying, “I am thrilled to be selected as head coach of the defending national collegiate championship chess team at Texas Tech, and I hope to use my national and international chess experience to help the Texas Tech chess team successfully defend its championship.”

This post originally appeared in UMBC Insights.

Alex Onischuk ’07, modern languages and linguistics, was named the director of Texas Tech University’s chess program on July 30, according to an article in The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The Ukraine-born grandmaster was captain of UMBC’s chess team, during a period in which the team won four consecutive national championships from 2002 to 2006. Texas Tech’s team are also champions, winning the President’s Cup for the second consecutive year this year.

Onischuk, currently ranked third in the country among chess players, released a statement saying, ““I am thrilled to be selected as head coach of the defending national collegiate championship chess team at Texas Tech, and I hope to use my national and international chess experience to help the Texas Tech chess team successfully defend its championship.”

NASA and UMBC issued a joint press release August 2nd announcing the first measurement-based estimate of the amount and composition of tiny airborne particles that arrive in the air over North America each year. Co-authored by Lorraine Remer, senior research scientist and Tianle Yuan, research associate in the climate and radiation laboratory of UMBC’s Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), along with NASA and University of Maryland, College park scientists the study determined that it was dust and not pollution which constituted the main ingredient in small airborne particles which arrive in the air over North America every year.

The results published in Science Magazine showed that 64 million tons of dust and other particles with the potential to effect climate and human health survive their trans-ocean journeys to North America, a figure which parallels the estimated 69 million tons of aerosols produced domestically from natural processes, transportation and industrial sources.

Speaking on how this imported dust particles account for a third of the reduction in solar radiation over North America, Remer said that “[g]lobally this can mask some of the warming we expect from greenhouse gases.”

Furthermore, Remer noted that climate change resulting from greenhouse gases could greatly increase dust’s influence in the future, saying, “[d]esertification and reclamation, [and] the land use modifications that change the exposure of dusty soils to wind erosion, are going to have a big impact on particle distribution and climate around the planet.”

Alumnus Jeremy Yap ’08, biological sciences, was recently honored as one of four national winners of a 2012-2013 American Chemical Society (ACS) Medicinal Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship.

Yap is currently attending the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, where his work “focuses on the design and synthesis of small-molecule inhibitors (drugs) of oncogenic protein–protein interactions,” according to University of Maryland news. The story also notes that the fellowship will allow Yap to pursue his research by providing a full, year-long stipend.

“This is as an excellent example of how important collaboration is in any professional setting,” said Yap upon being named to the fellowship. “The ACS Medicinal Chemistry Fellowship is the result of the joint efforts of my mentor, Dr. [Steven] Fletcher, highly efficient University staff, and a dedicated faculty both on and off campus. All their efforts and support have allowed me the chance to apply for such a generous opportunity. Success in any field is never entirely the result of just one person’s effort, but through extensive collaboration and teamwork.

“Through this fellowship, there are many opportunities that will undoubtedly be available to me in the future. This is a very unexpected award, and I am very grateful for whatever doors it may open in my future career.”

Alumnus Jeremy “Jerry” Yap ’08, biological sciences, was recently honored as one of four national winners of a 2012-2013 American Chemical Society (ACS) Medicinal Chemistry Predoctoral Fellowship.

Yap is currently attending the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, where his work “focuses on the design and synthesis of small-molecule inhibitors (drugs) of oncogenic protein–protein interactions,” according to University of Maryland here. The story also notes that the fellowship will allow Yap to pursue his research by providing a full, year-long stipend.

“This is as an excellent example of how important collaboration is in any professional setting,” said Yap upon being named to the fellowship. “The ACS Medicinal Chemistry Fellowship is the result of the joint efforts of my mentor, Dr. [Steven] Fletcher, highly efficient University staff, and a dedicated faculty both on and off campus. All their efforts and support have allowed me the chance to apply for such a generous opportunity. Success in any field is never entirely the result of just one person’s effort, but through extensive collaboration and teamwork.

“Through this fellowship, there are many opportunities that will undoubtedly be available to me in the future. This is a very unexpected award, and I am very grateful for whatever doors it may open in my future career.”

The Homecoming Communications Committee is looking for alumni, faculty and staff to answer this question for a fun (and hopefully FUNNY) video to help promote campus interest in Retriever Fever: UMBC Homecoming 2012, October 10-13, 2012.

Maybe you love school spirit (Go Dawgs!). Maybe you’re a huge Ira Glass fan (He’s our special guest!!). Perhaps it’s the all-you-can-eat crabs (Mmmmm…crabs.). Be creative…we want a little bit of everything, and we’d love to represent as many campus groups as possible.

Swing by our video taping and let us know why YOU are pumped for Homecoming! Time commitment = 5-10 minutes, tops.

• WHEN: Thursday, August 9, anytime between 4-6 p.m.
• WHERE: The Commons, Lobby next to the Yum Shoppe
• WHY: Because you’re awesome. And so is Homecoming.
• RSVP: Please let us know if you can make it. Email Jenny O’Grady at jogrady@umbc.edu.

Check out the Homecoming line-up here: http://alumni.umbc.edu/homecoming

Julie Rosenthal of the Asian Studies Program was interviewed by Washington Jewish Week about her work fighting hunger in the community.

In neighboring Howard County, Julie Rosenthal, founder of the program Food on the 15th, is working with county parents and student volunteers to fight senior hunger while operating without any overhead. To date, Julie’s teams have delivered nearly 14,000 free bags of nonperishable regular and diabetic groceries and toiletries to low-income seniors right around the 15th of the month, when social security checks often run out.

“What people don’t realize is senior citizens don’t have transportation to food banks,” says Rosenthal. “These seniors look like you and me, but they’re hungry.”

Political science professor Thomas Schaller’s latest Salon column asks, “Will Asian voters swing the election?” Nearly 6% of the U.S. population is Asian American — an estimated 18 million people — but when it comes to elections this diverse group often gets lets attention than African Americans and Latinos. Some are now calling these overlooked voters a “sleeping political giant,” but without a firm sense of how their votes might affect the 2012 presidential race.

Schaller writes, “the Asian American vote remains fluid as a result of its ethnic, religious and national heterogeneity, and the often stark differences between immigrant and first-born generations of Asian Americans.” Large Asian American populations in Nevada and Virginia could have a notable impact on the election, given those swing states’ 19 combined electoral votes. What that impact is may depend on the resources each campaign invests there.