In the last week of December, UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller published a year-in-review in the Baltimore Sun, highlighting Maryland’s legalization of same-sex marriage, the rise of Gov. Martin O’Malley on the national stage, decreasing rates of violent crime and property crime in Maryland, and improvements in Maryland students’ performance on national education tests. He then recognized the achievements of UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski, who in 2012 received the Heinz Award for Human Condition and was appointed by President Obama to the new Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Schaller also appeared in a New York Times blog post …