Hello UMBC Undergraduates!

NOTE: If you already participated in one of the previous 4 week programs, you ARE eligible to join this (new, expanded) 10 week program!

The Department of Sociology, Anthropology, & Public Health (SAPH) has an ongoing program that may be of interest to you. The program is entitled "Youth Well-Being" and is funded by the prestigious Stevens Initiative, which is an international collaboration funded by the US Department of State, the Bezos Family Foundation, and the governments of Morocco and the UAE. The effort is named after the U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens who "devoted his life to building connections through open and respectful dialogue and person-to-person diplomacy... He served the majority of his Foreign Service career in the Middle East and North Africa, a region he grew to love, and eventually served as U.S. Ambassador to Libya." In other words, the goal of the Stevens Initiative is to build friendship, learning, and exchange between countries. The program is completely FREE and includes a mixture of asynchronous and synchronous (Wednesdays from 10:05–11:35am USA EDT on Sept. 2, Sept. 9, Sept. 16, Sept. 30, Oct. 14, and Oct. 28). See details, timeline, and sign up link below!

Youth Well-Being: Stevens Initiative Virtual Exchange Program 
Join undergraduate students from Khalifa University, UMBC, and Miami University (of Ohio) for an engaging 10-week virtual exchange (mixture of asynchronous and synchronous content, see schedule below) exploring youth well-being from a global perspective. Running September 2 – October 28, 2026, the program dives into American and UAE lifestyles, the dimensions of well-being, and the role of families, communities, and economies in shaping healthier futures. Through interactive modules, live discussions, and collaborative projects, students will connect across cultures, sharpen their critical thinking, and gain practical insights into improving well-being worldwide. Participants who complete the program will earn a certificate of completion and join the Stevens Initiative Alumni Network, expanding their global academic and professional connections. Apply by August 31, 2025 to be part of this unique international learning experience! 

ENROLL HERE BY AUGUST 31ST: https://forms.gle/VQYtyxv9pyjbdUm77

QUESTIONS? Contact Dr. Yamashita: yamataka@umbc.edu

Attention Staff & Faculty! Please pick-up your regalia for Convocation by Saturday, August 22 at 4:00pm. The Bookstore will be closed on Sunday, August 23.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email bookstore@umbc.edu.

The Dresher Center has formalized the process for requesting co-sponsorship funds. Through this, we seek to support a variety of departments and events across the academic year through co-sponsorships. Faculty and staff may request small discretionary grants (maximum $500) to support opportunities such as visiting speakers, workshops, and conferences held at UMBC.

Applications are accepted from August 1-April 30 of the current academic year.

Please note:

• At least two units or departments must commit to co-sponsorship (which can include financial, administrative, publicity, or other in-kind support) prior to application to the Dresher Center.
• Co-sponsorship funding supplements the support of the lead unit, which is expected to administer funding and the event. The Dresher Center can promote the event through our calendar and website but does not assume additional organizational responsibilities for co-sponsored events.
• The Dresher Center does not co-sponsor events that conflict with other events we are supporting.
• Events with remote speakers are eligible for up to $250.
• The Dresher Center for the Humanities must be acknowledged as a co-sponsor (logos can be provided upon request).
• If you are recording your event, the Dresher Center may be able to host the recording on our YouTube channel. The Dresher Center may have further questions regarding plans and will evaluate YouTube hosting requests on the basis of cost (including time and availability of Dresher Center staff) and on the merits of broadly distributing the event recording through a public platform such as YouTube.

Find the application form on our website!

WELCOME TO COLLEGE BOOTCAMP! Today kicks off the first day of our success playlist and we are jumping right into a cornerstone topic -- STEM study skills! 

College coursework is challenging across the board, but there are some essential skills that can help crack the code for science learning specifically.  In the videos below, you will learn about some easy, actionable, and science-backed study habits that you can implement into your schedule from day one. For example, planning for spaced out, high intensity study sessions can help you master STEM content while harnessing the benefits of diffused thinking and allowing for long-term memory and understanding. Some of the videos below will also reference how the study habits you build in college like active learning will be reflected and reused in your future careers such as in the medical school teaching mantra of "see one, do one, teach one." 

Most importantly, be mindful that your STEM coursework is supposed to be challenging and it is only through taking on the struggle that you will develop effective studying skills. Throughout the semester, reflect on your study successes and setbacks, consider the tips below, make adjustments as needed, and ask for help! 

Academic HIIT: High Intensity Interval Studying w/Emma Barnaby (CNMS Student Success Coach)

TED-ED Talk:3 Tips on How to Study Effectively

The Top Study Habits to Improve Learning w/Dr. Andrew Huberman (Professor of Neurobiology & Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine)

Join us again tomorrow for another playlist that will cover the importance of hollistic development, core competencies, and a  LIVE Q&A Session "White Coats Start Here" with Mx. Melissa Huselton (PMED/Health Professions Advisor) @ 2PM via Webex.

Stay with us everyday this week to strengthen your skills and power your future. It starts today! 

Scope of the supported project

Dr. Brad Peercy's most recent NSF grant continues his work on representing the movement of clustered cells through a challenging geometric landscape.  In conjunction with experimentalist Dr. Michelle Starz-Gaiano (UMBC Biological Sciences) and former graduate student Dr. Naghmeh Akhavan (U Michigan Mathematics) we use in vivo data and Phase Field modeling to represent the energies and forces in cellular interactions in response to chemical signals represented with reaction diffusion equations.  This hybrid PDE system will then be validated and used to predict migration pathology.

Motivation

During human development and wound healing, cells of the body must migrate to new locations in a coordinated way. Moving cells rely on chemicals in their environment to direct them to the correct places. Often, they are guided by positive cues called chemoattractants in a process termed ‘chemotaxis’. In in vitro systems, cells will move along a gradient of chemical cues, but in vivo it is difficult to predict how gradients form and how cells respond to variations, since the surrounding environment is heterogeneous and likely to alter both the chemical distribution and the response.

Training

This award and related subaward will train graduate students and early career researchers.  The grant will support broader interdisciplinary efforts through CIMBRE.

References

• N Akhavan, A George, M Starz-Gaiano, BE Peercy, Phase-field modeling of border cell cluster migration in Drosophila, PLOS Computational Biology 22 (4), e1014176.
• N Akhavan, A George, M Starz-Gaia,no, BE Peercy, Cell Migration Boundary Motion in Drosophila Egg Chambers: A Combined Phase Field and Chemoattractant Model, arXiv preprint arXiv:2604.01357.
• A George, N Akhavan, BE Peercy, M Starz-Gaiano, Chemotaxis of Drosophila border cells is modulated by tissue geometry through dispersion of chemoattractants, Iscience 28 (3)
• BE Peercy, M Starz-Gaiano, Clustered cell migration: Modeling the model system of Drosophila border cells, Seminars in cell & developmental biology 100, 167-176.

The countdown to the start of the semester is HEERRRE! It's time to gear up and lock in to make sure that you are as successful as possible. To help with this -- CNMS Advising will be releasing short video playlists everyday this week that are curated for CNMS-majors specfically!

To get things started, we will kick things off today with a focus on general STEM study skills. Whether you’re a new, incoming student or even a seasoned upperclassman, we’re sure you’ll be able to find a helpful info session somewhere in our lineup (see attached flier and schedule below).  

Monday 8/17 -- STEM Study Skills

Tuesday 8/18 -- Core Competencies

** Special Guest and LIVE Q&A Session "White Coats Start Here" with Mx. Melissa Huselton (PMED/Health Professions Advisor) @ 2PM via Webex **

Wednesday 8/19 -- BIOL/CHEM Course Support

Thursday 8/20 -- Research/Careers

Friday 8/21 -- Mental Readiness

** LIVE Q&A Session with Ms. Christine Powers (Assistant Director for Student Success and CNMS Advisor) @ 2PM via Webex **

Check your myUMBC email everyday and spend a few minutes reviewing some of the helpful tips/tricks that may make a big difference to your semester readiness and success! We will also host TWO, live and virtual Q & A sessions so feel free to join with any pressing or last minute questions and concerns that you have for CNMS and Health Professions advisors. 

You get to pick what videos are relevant to you so plan your academic bootcamp schedule accordingly! Let's get going!

The Georgetown Law Investigative Internship Program is now accepting applications for the Spring 2027 semester! 

Students interested in a deep, substantive experience in the field of criminal law are encouraged to apply.

Application Deadline: October 16, 2026

It is important to note, however, that decisions are made on a rolling basis. This means that some of the spots are often filled before the deadline date, so it is advisable to apply early.

Minimum Qualifications:

• The internship is open to students at accredited four-year colleges, college graduates, or graduate students. With respect to undergraduate students, juniors and seniors are preferred, but first-year students and sophomores are sometimes accepted.
• Participants from a variety of academic majors are generally accepted, and all majors are eligible.
• Previous exposure to or experience in the fields of law, criminal justice, or public service is helpful but is not required.
• Applicants should be able to demonstrate that they can devote a sufficient amount of time to this internship. (See time requirements for explanation.) 
• The program needs interns who can make their investigative responsibilities a significant priority.
• Interns must also be able to demonstrate strong communication skills in the application process.
• The ability to easily communicate with persons of differing backgrounds, values, and cultures, and to document work in written form that is appropriate for use in court, is crucial to investigative work.

To learn more about the internship program, visit this website.

We’re excited to see you all back on campus! Check out our Welcome Week dining hours and find the perfect spot to grab a bite and refuel. Don't forget to meet us at the Convocation Cookout on Sunday, August 23!

Visit https://dineoncampus.com/UMBC for more infromation!

Hello economists! We are happy to introduce ourselves as the leaders of UMBC's Women in Economics club. Please follow for updates and events as we continue to grow. Also follow us on Instagram at umbc_wie.

I recently had the opportunity to attend Undergraduate Academic Affair’s (UAA) Data Day. Similar to the Division of Student Affairs Assessment 365 programming, UAA’s Data Day features individual departments reflecting on their previous year and highlighting their areas of “glow” and “growth.”

This year’s program centered on departments sharing assessment of one or more of their learning outcomes. You can view all the presentations in their shared box folder. Some takeaways included:

• Abby Hart-Grzechowiak from Academic Transition Programs (ATP) highlighted how their department consistently meets their learning outcomes but they would like to grow in the area of reaching more students who may not be taking advantage of their courses and programs (such as UNIV, first-year seminar, or summer bridge). Two populations they would like to increase participation include first-generation students and academic recovery students.
• Carrie Sauter from Individualized Study described some of the things their department is learning through preparing for their Academic Program Review (APR). This is something that occurs every seven years here at UMBC as required by the University System of Maryland (USM). Similar to our division’s annual report process, academic departments must provide a summary of their program; the educational goals, learning outcomes, and program assessment plan; data; and other components.
• Kendyl Walker from the Honors College spoke about the activities of the Honors College and Learning Partnerships. The latter is their work to prepare, recruit, and retain community college students. On thing that impressed me is their use of quantitative and qualitative measurement methods.
• Ronita Walker represented the University Innovation Alliance (UIA). Since we are a part of the UIA, you can request free access to the University Innovation Lab which is an online community that advances innovative initiatives to improve outcomes. Some of the work facilitated by the UIA include the Students Transferring and Redefining Success (STARS program), the National Institute for Student Success (NISS), and the Listening Lab (Focus Group) Initiative partnership with the Career Center. Many colleagues from around our division played a part in these efforts!
• Delana Gregg and Cliff Saul from the Academic Success Center (ASC) used propensity score matching to understand first-year outcomes and beyond of the students that took advantage of an academic advocacy meeting versus those that did not. They found that students that attended at least one academic advocacy meeting were more likely to be retained at a higher level in the first-semester, first-year, and second-year.
• Corris Davis, Ting Huang, and Aritra Samanta represented the Office of Academic Opportunity Programs (AOP). This includes programs such as McNair Scholars, Upward Bound, Talent Search, and Student Support Services that reach students starting from grade 6 through their senior year in college. Similar to our division, AOP activities for students connect back to NACE competencies along with other best practices.
• Mariano Sto. Domingo represented the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. Meyerhoff helps to foster student science identity through the built-in research opportunities including the summer research experience, mentorship, graduate school preparation, and research conference support.
• April Householder from Undergraduate Research & Prestigious Scholarships described some of the metrics connected to their program that includes the Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD), the Undergraduate Research Awards (URA), the UMBC Review, presentation grants, research opportunities, and prestigious scholarships (e.g., Rhodes, Gates-Cambridge, Goldwater). One highlight included the increase of 454 students participating in URCAD in 2026 compared to 313 students in 2023 (with the return to an in-person URCAD).

Key themes that I noticed from many of the presentations are their emphasis on how their individual programs support student sense of belonging and connection to the UMBC community. Similar to some of the assessment work we conduct in Student Affairs, UAA is interested in the exploration of their data by subpopulations (e.g., first generation, commuter, transfer). There was a desire to learn more about our “unaffiliated” students. While what characterizes an “unaffiliated” student is still being developed, we can think of this population as those students that aren’t involved in a club/organization, an athletic team, an academic program (e.g., UNIV, McNair Scholars), a living-learning community, and/or has no connection to any department, office, or program. This is why it is important for us to be able to track who are utilizing our supports, resources, and attending our programs to better understand those students that are missing from these experiences. Finally, while there were examples of ways the Division of Student Affairs partners with UAA, there are still more opportunities in the ways we can support each other's work to enhance the student experience.

I hope you will take some to check out the presentations! Additionally, be on the lookout soon for our division’s Assessment 365 presentations that will be happening virtually on the second Thursday of each month from 2 – 3 p.m. This fall we have an exciting lineup with content from the Career Center, Student Engagement, Retriever Essentials, and more! Information is forthcoming.