Faculty and Staff can meet in-person with a Fidelity rep to discuss their retirement outlook and any questions they may have. 

What Fidelity can do for you:

If you're still sorting out housing or roommates and feeling unsure where to start, this might help.

Sphere-Hub is running a pilot where you can share what you're looking for, see compatible roommate matches, and browse UMBC-friendly housing listings all in one place. It's meant to make the process a little clearer for students who are actively looking or moving soon.

Check it out here:
https://www.sphere-hub.com 

A collaborative space where you can share your ideas and skills to make friends and bring your ideas to life! let's make a difference!!! 

January is Braille Literacy Month, and January 4th marks World Braille Day, honoring the birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille code. This month is all about raising awareness of the importance of braille literacy and recognizing how braille supports independence, education, and access for people with visual impairments and beyond.

When many people hear "braille," they think only of blindness, but braille benefits individuals with low vision, dual sensory loss, and multiple disabilities.

Here are 6 things you may not know about Braille:

• Louis Braille was just 15 years old when he invented Braille
• Braille is a tactile code, not a language—many languages can be read and written in Braille
• A braille cell is made up of 6 raised dots
• Braille includes letters, numbers, punctuation, music notation, and even formatting like bold and italics
• Braille takes up more space than print—Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is 72 volumes in braille
• There are two levels of braille: uncontracted (letter-by-letter) and contracted (a shorthand version)

Want to try it yourself? Here's a link to type and see your name in Braille.

As you go about campus this month, take a moment to notice braille on signs, elevators, and other materials. These small adaptations make a big difference in accessibility and independence. Let's celebrate Braille literacy, accessibility, and inclusive learning this month and all year long.

Christia Spears Brown, Ph.D., has been named dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) effective July 1, 2026. Brown joins UMBC from the University of Kentucky where she currently serves as a professor of developmental psychology and associate dean of student engagement and success in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Brown previously served as the director of the Center for Equality and Social Justice and associate chair in the department of psychology. Her administrative work has focused on building inclusive, student-centered systems that promote engagement, belonging, and academic success across diverse disciplines and communities. She earned her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and began her career as an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

An accomplished scholar, Brown has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on children’s and adolescents’ understanding of discrimination, stereotypes, and social identity and the implications of these processes for academic and developmental outcomes. She is the author of three books, including Discrimination in Childhood and Adolescence, and her research spans gender, race and ethnicity, immigration status, and economic inequality. Her work has been supported by federal and foundation funding and is widely cited across psychology and education.

A committed educator and public-facing scholar, Brown is known for translating developmental science to broader audiences. She regularly engages with educators, families, and organizations, is frequently featured in national media, and has served as an expert witness on cases involving discrimination in schools. She is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, president of Society for the Study of Human Development and secretary of Society for Research in Child Development, and has served in editorial leadership roles for several scholarly journals.