UMBC recently published an Arts & Culture interview with Keegan Cook Finberg, covering her thoughts on poetry and society, poetry courses at UMBC, and her newest book Poetry in General: How a Literary Form Became Public (Columbia University Press, 2025). 

Reflecting on her own teaching, Finberg says:

"I want students to be okay with not understanding everything that they’re reading while exploring the aspects that they do understand—to explore why this author might want it to be difficult in the beginning, why there might be something important in that feeling of discomfort that they’re experiencing with the text. Can they notice moments of beauty in the text, even if they don’t yet understand what they mean? A lot of our conversations start with that sort of work. 

And once students realize that that is the goal—that they don’t need to be able to decode, they don’t have to be the person who knows it all in the room, there isn’t one right answer—it really unlocks a very different sort of space. I often watch that sort of journey with students. They realize that there’s something inherently important about this difficulty, important even to their understanding of themselves, their heritage, the way that language works in their households, even in their larger worlds."

Read more here!

Join the Black Graduate Student Organization (BGSO) for the 6th Annual Honors and Awards Ebony Sneaker Ball, a vibrant celebration inspired by the iconic fashion, music, and culture of the 1990s and 2000s. This year's event brings together students, faculty, and community members for an evening of recognition, connection, and fun.

The night will feature keynote speaker Dr. Christa Porter, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School at UMBC, alongside host Serena Studivant, Assistant Director of Commuter Student Success. Guests can enjoy a full experience, including a live DJ, dinner, and a professional photoshoot station.

Whether you come dressed in retro streetwear or classic throwback style, the Ebony Sneaker Ball is your chance to celebrate excellence, honor achievements, and relive the energy of two unforgettable decades. Join us on Saturday, April 11th, 2026, from 5:00–8:00 PM at the Skylight Room for a night you won't want to miss.

Join us in conversation with author of A Room in Bombay: A Memoir, Manil Suri, and English/MCS Alumnus, Aditya Desai. The event will be held on Thursday, April 16th, starting at 4:30PM in the Library Gallery!

Food will be provided.

About the Author: Manil Suri is the author of the forthcoming memoir, A Room in Bombay, three internationally acclaimed novels, The Death of Vishnu, The Age of Shiva and The City of Devi, and a book on popular mathematics, The Big Bang of Numbers.

He has served as a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and is a distinguished university professor of mathematics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He is a passionate promoter of both mathematics and the humanities, and has motivated audiences worldwide to embrace both, rather than just one or the other.

Aditya Desai, who will be in discussion with Manil Suri during the event, is a writer, editor, teacher, and activist living in Baltimore, Maryland. He also works with several arts & racial justice organizations in Baltimore including the CityLit Project, Baltimore Youth Arts, and the Asian Pasifika Arts Collective.

More about the book: Indian American author Manil Suri grew up in a large crumbling apartment in Bombay (now Mumbai) which his parents, who were Hindu, shared with three Muslim families. Their single room, at times a refuge from the religious and territorial tensions pervading the apartment, was also a prison that held them captive―his parents stuck in an unhappy marriage, the author unable to explore the dawning realization he might be gay. At age 20, Suri managed to break free and come to the US, where he finally found the freedom to embrace his sexuality and find a life partner. But the room, which still held his parents hostage, kept wrenching him back to Bombay.

By now real estate prices had risen so much that neighbors had begun conspiring to take over the room, causing Suri’s parents to dig in even more. Eventually it was only his mother, Prem, left, who had staked all her happiness on her son but was unable to escape the room’s hold on her. When a rash of mysterious incidents seemed to beset the room, Suri realized how little time he had left to convince Prem that a happier life might await beyond the four walls that both enthralled and imprisoned her.

This remarkable, gripping memoir explores how an abode can shape destiny, while delving into the difficult question of how much to prioritize our parents’ happiness over our own. Inspired by over 2,700 letters the author wrote home over three decades, it is ultimately a testament to the abiding, unbreakable bond tying a son to his mother.

This event has been organized by Asian Studies with support from the Global Asias Initiative.

This event is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

See the original post here.

I found a cheetah print pencil pouch under a chair located near the coffee station at True Grits. It's full of pens, sharpies, highlighters, and sticky notes. 

If this is yours, please contact me before the end of the school year through this post.

Ebony Ball 2026 is quickly approaching! As BGSO gets ready for this weekend, we can use some helping hands! If you would like to volunteer this Saturday, please fill out the following Google form, and we will get back to you. Come have a blast this weekend!

https://forms.gle/N2ACjRZ7iNXUuEnw7

Date/Time: April 13th, 2026, @6:30pm

Location: Commons Skylight Room

Join the Career Center and COEIT Advising for a Career Center workshop focused on helping COEIT students, particularly upper class students, prepare for the job and internship search process.  Students will learn about UMBC resources and strategies for highlighting technical and durable skills. 

Wednesday, April 8th
Noon 
Link Here!

Buy your tickets before they sell out! 

Date and Time: Friday, April 17th, 2026, at 9 pm

Location: 1219 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, D.C

Ticket Link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/persian-formal-dc-friday-april-17th-2026-tickets-1986438783876?aff=oddtdtcreator&keep_tld=true&utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZnRzaARCQGxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA8xMjQwMjQ1NzQyODc0MTQAAacx7FOuYXo9b7YEjUiTtS6YN0fVg6eb0fWshLVFLhR23ykX79xbKM6rC1nCiQ_aem_y0aqnkjq7owY4jA4ILq54Q

The University System of Maryland's (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (traditional) and the Elkins Professsorship for Academic Transformation are open to UMBC faculty at the rank of Associate Professor and Professor for Academic Year 2026-2027.

Review the attached program information and the USM Wilson H. Elkins Professorship information page, which includes links to both opportunities, at https://www.usmd.edu/usm/academicaffairs/elkins.html.

Elkins Professors will exhibit, at a minimum, all the following qualifications:

• A solid record of achievement in a recognized academic or professional discipline
• Evidence of significant achievement outside traditional disciplines but linked in scholarly and professional ways to the work of the USM
• Demonstrated ability and continuing desire to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students in a range of learning situations
• Demonstrated ability and intent to participate in programs and activities outside the USM

Both opportunities require an institutional nomination from a Dean or Provost supporting the faculty member’s candidacy, necessitating an Internal Competition at the College level (detailed information with timeline is attached).

Qualified CAHSS faculty may prepare and submit a pre-proposal, following the attached Internal Competition instructions, to the CAHSS Dean's Office (via Box link) by April 20, 2026. Following a review of the pre-proposals, the advancers (one per professorship) will be notified to prepare complete proposals by April 24, 2026. The College-level nominated proposals will be submitted to the Provost's Office by May 10, 2026 for review and final selection, and then forwarded to the Office of the President. The UMBC nominated proposals must be routed for approval by the Office of Sponsored Programs (in Kuali) prior to submission to USM. The deadline for nomination submissions is May 22, 2026.  

Questions: Contact CARAT - Marc Ruppel, Director (mruppel@umbc.edu) or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director (rbruba1@umbc.edu).

Over this past weekend, April 4-5, 2026, one of UMBC’s services experienced a disruption, resulting in slower loading times. This affected some users' ability to log in to platforms such as Blackboard, Google Services, and myUMBC. This also caused a backlog of emails for some accounts. The issue has been resolved as of April 6, 2026. No action is needed by users at this time. 

Need Assistance?

If you have any questions or experience further issues, please contact the TSC at UMBC’s Help Service.