The Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center is looking for an undergraduate intern to support their Preserving Freedom’s Shore: The Frederick Douglass and Chesapeake Heritage Collections Project.

Position Description

Project Overview:

Twin Oaks, the summer cottage built for Frederick Douglass, is home to the Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center (FDMCC). This three bedroom home that faces east with a spectacular view of the Chesapeake Bay was designed by Frederick Douglass. For him, one of the most important features was a second-floor balcony. He wanted that view, he said, "so that as a free man I could look across the Bay to the Eastern Shore where I was born a slave."

In February 1996, Twin Oaks was deeded to the town of Highland Beach at a ceremony held at the state capitol building in Annapolis. It was officially named the Frederick Douglass Museum and
Cultural Center. The museum today has an extensive collection of artifacts, documents, photographs, furniture, and more related to the life of Frederick Douglass,

Mary Church Terrell, Paul Robeson, Robert Weaver, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B Dubois, Dr. Charles R. Drew, poets Paul Lawrence Dunbar and Langston Hughes, and the history of the communities of Highland Beach and Venice Beach. The museum will be undergoing extensive structural renovations through an African American Heritage Preservation Program (AAHPP) grant. The FDMCC operates without paid staff. All operations, including collections stewardship, programming, and visitor engagement, are supported by volunteer board members and docents. Many items have not yet been fully catalogued or digitized, limiting access and increasing vulnerability during renovation.

Position Summary:
The Undergraduate Intern will play a central role in the preservation, cataloging, anddigitization of  the collections of the FDMCC as part of the Preserving Freedom’s Shore project. Working collaboratively with museum leadership, volunteers, graduate interns, and professionals from the Maryland State Archives, the intern will assist with collections surveys, archival cataloging, condition assessment, digital documentation, and the safe preparation and relocation of materials during a major renovation project.

This position provides hands-on experience in public history, archives, museum collections management, digital humanities, and cultural heritage preservation. The intern will contribute to the development of sustainable archival workflows and public facing digital access initiatives that preserve and expand access to the histories of Frederick Douglass, Highland Beach, Venice Beach, and African American life along Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay. The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, collaborative, and interested in archival practice, museum studies, African American history, public humanities, digital preservation, or related fields.

Full position responsibilities, time frame, and application instructions are in the attachment. Deadline to submit your application is June 15th, 2026.

For the past 30 days, this feed has been a living gallery of the Jewish American experience. We’ve looked at so many stories of vibrant, brilliant, and unyielding Jewish joy.

But as May comes to a close, we have to look honestly at the landscape around us. According to recent national data from the ADL and Hillel International, while we have seen a push for greater institutional accountability on college campuses, harassment, vandalism, and physical assaults remain at staggering, historically high levels compared to just a few years ago.

Our campus is feeling that tension. It can feel exhausting to walk through spaces where your identity is hyper-scrutinized, debated, or targeted.

But Jewish heritage is not a story of victimhood. It is a story of vibrant resilience.

True solidarity means celebrating our culture while actively protecting our community. To our peers, faculty, and neighbors on campus who have asked how to support us during this tense time: allyship is an active, daily choice.

3 Ways to Be an Ally Right Now

1) Do Not Force Jewish Individuals to Be Political Monoliths: Build Nuance.

Recognize the vast diversity within the Jewish community. Jewish students and faculty hold an incredibly wide range of perspectives, beliefs, and relationships to global events. Avoid demanding that your Jewish peers answer for, explain, or defend complex geopolitical issues just to justify their presence on campus.

2) Call Out Everyday Hate Speech: Interrupt the Bias.

Don't wait for a major crisis to speak up. When you hear a casual stereotype, a harmful conspiracy theory masked as a "joke," or see exclusionary language in student groups, interrupt it. True allyship means carrying some of the weight so that Jewish students aren't always forced to be the only ones defending their own humanity.

3) Show Up for Our Joy, Not Just Our Trauma: Celebrate Inclusion.

Don't only text your Jewish friends when a hate crime makes the news. Countering hate requires building genuine, proactive cultural bridges. Show up to cultural events, learn about Jewish history outside of the Holocaust, support Jewish creators, and celebrate the rich traditions that make this community thrive.

Tikkun Olam (Healing the World): A core tenet of Jewish tradition teaches that we are not obligated to complete the work of perfecting the world, but neither are we free to abandon it.

Thank you for spending this month learning, listening, and celebrating with us. Jewish American heritage didn’t start on May 1st, and it doesn't end today. Let's work together to make our campus a place where Jewish students don't just survive, but openly and joyfully thrive.

Hello!

I have a room for rent 15 minutes from UMBC. Looking for a quiet and responsible roommate in a shared town house.

Amenities:

• parking space
• washer/dryer
• shared kitchen and living room
• internet
• furnished

Rent

• $650/month
• $650 deposit
• include utilities

Available June 29th

If you are interested please email lu12@umbc.edu for more information.

For the 2026-2027 academic year, the BGSO is actively seeking new leadership through its Executive Board nominations. Interested students can explore various e-board roles designed to drive the organization's mission forward and advocate for the graduate student body. 

*May 31st is the last day to fill out the form*

Nomination Link

Recently IRADs has reached out to build out an institutional schedule for routine surveys of our students and the rest of our UMBC community. Attached is the latest version of the rotation schedule that was presented in our Middle States Self-Study.

I recently reached out to DoSA SALT and ELT members to do the following steps between now and June 4th. This message is intended to inform all DoSA staff to reach out to your SALT/ELT leadership if you are someone from DoSA that coordinates surveys for students, faculty, staff, and/or families.

Step 1: Review the attached document as some of your departments are listed as administering survey instruments. If information is no longer accurate please communicate this to Mary Ellen Wade at mewade@umbc.edu 

Step 2: SALT and ELT are being asked to communicate with staff regarding their survey-related assessment plans. After consulting they are being asked to send me the following information:

• Survey Instrument Name (ex. NSSE)
• Who from your staff (at the present time) is the point of contact
• Department
• Year(s) the survey will be administered (ex. 2026-2027, 2029-2030)
  • Follow up if known- semester or month(s)
• Who is the audience: indicate all that apply. Options:
  • Admitted students
  • Undergraduate students
  • Residential students
  • Commuter students
  • First year students
  • Sophomore students
  • Junior students
  • Senior students
  • Graduate students
  • Faculty
  • Staff
  • Alumni
  • Families

At this time, staffs should share any known survey and I will work with IRADs to see if it should be included on this master calendar.

I recognize that you may not be thinking all the way out through 2029-2030. However, in the meantime, be sure to send me any plans you are currently aware of. When IRADs has updated this calendar, I will share this back out to you through this myUMBC page. 

Thanks in advance for your information!

*Thank you for looking!  A couple of folks have reached out and we are in the processes of securing one.*

Hello! We have a colleague who has asked for a standing desk riser. Thought I'd ask around before purchasing one. Please contact Gina Hoagland at ghoaglan@umbc.edu.

Does anyone have an extra wireless (or wired) keyboard? Cathy catmyers@umbc.edu.  Thanks!  

From 05/25 – 06/07: The High Temp Hot Water System will be shutdown for annual repairs and maintenance. This outage is performed annually at this time of year. It is a shutdown of our campus main heating system referred to as the High Temp Hot Water (HTHW) system. The heat for this system is generated at the Central Plant and circulated throughout most of the academic buildings on campus. This outage is needed so that annual maintenance and repair can be performed on this system. Doing this work now is critical to ensuring it is working during the winter months when it is most needed.

This heating system is also part of the cooling system. To remove the humidity that spikes this time of year, the air circulating in a building is cooled down to about 55 degrees. This causes moisture to condense out of the air. Then the heating system heats the dryer air back up to comfortable temperatures. Because the heating system is turned off, the air may feel cooler than usual. The air conditioning needs to remain on to remove the humidity. If the AC is turned off, buildings would “sweat” on the inside and cause many other concerns.

This is the best time of year to do this. This outage cannot be performed in the winter because it is our main heating system. This outage cannot be performed later in the summer because the humidity is just too high and would cause more issues. The period right after commencement is the best time to perform this work due to the weather conditions and the low population on campus.

Please be aware that FM may not be able to address work orders for hot/cold situations during this period. If you believe there is an issue with the heating/cooling, please go ahead and submit the work order and FM will check it out, however, some of those conditions may be as close to "normal" as it can be until the outage is over and the heating system is back on. FM suggests that folks dress in layers to adjust to too warm or chilly conditions inside the building.

As always, thank you for your support and cooperation.

Are you thinking about graduate school?

Take advantage of Free Graduate Application Week running from May 27 to June 3. Use code Retriever2026 to get your application fee waived. Additionally, the application deadline has been extended from July 1 to August 1! 

Apply at umbc.edu/freeapp.

The CBEE graduate program has a unique, vibrant research environment that encompasses interdisciplinary approaches to major questions in chemical, biological, and environmental engineering. Our work runs the gamut, from computational analyses to experimental in vitro and in vivo systems, clinical studies, and field work. Interested? We encourage you to visit our website and apply!

More information about our graduate programs can be found below: 

MS in Biochemical Engineering
PhD in Biochemical Engineering

MS in Environmental Engineering
PhD in Environmental Engineering

Please see the arena's website for a full list of graduation ceremonies.  We can expect heavy traffic for an hour before and immediately after each event.  Parking Services says that anyone with a valid UMBC parking permit will be allowed to park in any legal space across campus on graduation days.