Walk In Advising Hours June 23- June 27
Got a question? Need registration clearance? Stop on by! 

Monday, June 23rd
No Walk in Advising Due to Orientation 

Tuesday, June 24th
10:00 -11:30 am

Wednesday, June 25th
No Walk in Advising Due to Orientation 

Thursday, June 26th
No Walk in Advising Due to Orientation 

Friday, June 27th
10:00 -11:30 am

Advisors are also available by appointment.

Congratulations to these UMBC alums whose accomplishments have reached the media. Take a moment to read what they’ve been up to!

Greg Cantori, ’84, geography, has recently turned heads on the road, in the office, and in his local police station.

After purchasing a velomobile (an enclosed bike that resembles a pedal-powered submarine), Cantori has forgotten about his car for his ride to work. Every morning, he makes the one-hour ride to work, with the occasional stop to speak with a curious police officer to explain why the velomobile is legal and how it works. “It’s so aerodynamic,” he says to The Baltimore Sun. “You can ride longer distances with the same amount of energy.” While the parking at work may not be ideal for such a newfangled mode of transportation, his office has been creative with the new addition, using its sound system and decorating it for Christmas. Find out more here, or watch a video.

Kim Berghaus, ’14, physics, earned her second career America East All-Academic Team award on May 23, 2014, after maintaining a 3.84 grade-point average in her major, physics, and her two minors, economics and mathematics.

During three of her seven semesters here at UMBC, Berghaus held a 4.0 GPA and received the athletic department’s Matt Skalsky Female Outstanding Scholar-Athlete award, which goes to the highest-performing scholar-athlete. You can read more about her accomplishments and plans for the future here.

Michael Tully,’97, cinematic arts, released his movie Ping Pong Summer on May 31 at the Carroll County Arts Center.

Starring Susan Sarandon, Lea Thompson, Amy Sedaris, and John Hannah, the movie was staged in Ocean City and follows an annual family vacation, which is interrupted by a ping pong challenge with the local bullies. “We really tried to make it feel like a lost film from 1985,” says Tully in his interview with the Carroll County Times. The film is to be released in 20 theaters across the country starting Friday, June 6, including AMC Owings Mills, the AFI theater in Silver Spring, and the Charles Theater in Baltimore. To find out more about Tully’s new film, read the article here.

Ayobami “Ayo” Olufadeji, ’11, biological science, was born and raised in Nigeria. Now, a student at the Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, Olufadeji is looking back to his hometown.

In a heartfelt essay, Olufadeji writes of the political history of Nigeria and the current unrest, while speaking in terms of hope for his country. “Effective positive change in Nigeria has always been my goal,” he says in his essay for 32 Hours, a news network for Dartmouth. “Medicine happens to be my means.” Read his full essay here.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49cU4EExLAI&w=560&h=315]

On April 23, 2014, UMBC students, faculty and staff recited Shakespeare sonnets in more than 30 languages. The event was held to celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday and UMBC’s diverse voices. It took place at the end of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD), and it was sponsored by the Dresher Center for the Humanities, the Office of Undergraduate Education and the English and Theatre Departments. The above video is a sample of some of the readings.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkNiQ8z5Z0Y&w=560&h=315]

Erickson School Dean Judah Ronch and Professor Bill Thomas were recently featured in a video series examining elder care in Provider Magazine. In the video, they discuss the UMBC Aging curriculum, its impact on students, and what it means to the future of aging services.

Ronch and Thomas highlight the program’s integration and study of public policy, business management and human aging as a way to provide undergraduate and graduate students with the knowledge and experience necessary to be leaders and entrepreneurs in the field.

You can watch the complete interview in the video above. For more on the video series in Provider Magazine, click here.

In a Baltimore Sun article analyzing the Maryland District 12 race for state delegate, Political Science Assistant Professor Laura Hussey provided insight on the early campaigning in the race. Ten Democrats and three Republicans are competing for three open seats.

“Candidates got a huge jump on this race,” said Hussey. “I think there was just a huge rush to get in on it once we knew that there would be three open seats in the race.” She added what’s happening in District 12 is similar to what is taking place across the country: “Campaigns are lasting longer and starting earlier. Everyone is trying to get a jump. We’ve been talking about the 2016 [presidential] election for a good, long time now, and we’re not even halfway there,” Hussey said.

Hussey was also interviewed for an article in The Herald-Mail in which she commented on NRA ratings and how they can impact local elections, such as the Maryland state delegate race in Subdistrict 1C. She said the NRA ratings could be a major factor, especially since there isn’t much information about the candidates available to voters.

“This is also a primary. So there is not a R (Republican) candidate running against a D (Democratic) candidate. So, the candidates might be close to one another in terms of their positions,” Hussey said.

You can read, “Observations of District 12 race by UMBC professor,” in The Baltimore Sun here. To read, “NRA ratings play role in GOP primary race in Washington County,” in The Herald-Mail, click here.

An article published June 19 in the Baltimore Jewish Times analyzed several Maryland General Assembly and Congressional races ahead of primary day on June 24. Donald Norris, professor and chair of UMBC’s public policy department, was interviewed for the article and said incumbents will likely have an advantage come primary day.

“All the incumbents will win,” predicted Norris, “because the state has been so effectively gerrymandered, and none of them has any [viable] opposition in the primary.”

Norris added it is more difficult to predict who will win the primary in the Maryland attorney general race because “turnout is going to be abysmally low,” adding that a turnout as small as 20 percent wouldn’t surprise him.

To read the full article in the Baltimore Jewish Times titled, “Get out the vote,” click here.

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Ann Christine Frankowski, Center for Aging Studies, in The New York Times
• Thomas Schaller, Political Science, Op-ed in The Baltimore Sun
• Manil Suri in The Washington Post on “How Not to Be Wrong”
• President Hrabowski on EvoLLLution

View all the other great news on Insights Weekly.