FROM: Christopher Murphy, Professor and Chair, Department of Psychology

Aron Siegman, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, passed away in late January. After earning his Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1957, Aron served on the faculty at Bar-Ilan University in Ramat-Gan Israel and then as a Research Associate and Research Professor of Medical Psychology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.  Aron joined the faculty of UMBC in 1969, before Psychology was an official department.  From 1970 to 1978 he served as discipline coordinator and then Department Chair. Aron was instrumental in launching graduate programs in the Department, and in recruiting many outstanding colleagues to UMBC.  Aron retired in 2001 with his wife Sarah to their home in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

An ordained rabbi and Talmudic scholar, Aron was a highly productive contributor to Psychology. His research interests spanned broad areas of personality, clinical, and health psychology. Among his many early- and mid-career contributions include studies on perceptual defense, cultural aspects of personality, religion and psychodynamics, therapeutic interactions, verbal fluency, and paralinguistic features of communication, During the later years of his research career, Aron made important and sustained contributions to our understanding of the complex influences of anger, antagonism, and hostility on cardiovascular reactivity and coronary heart disease, as exemplified in the books “Anger, Hostility, and the Heart” (co-edited with Timothy Smith) and “In Search of Coronary Prone Behavior: Beyond Type A” (co-edited with Theodore Dembroski).

Colleagues and former students fondly remember lively discussions about history, politics, philosophy, religions, and literature; Aron’s remarkable ability to translate complex psychological concepts into testable scientific hypotheses; his tenacious dedication and advocacy of colleagues, students, the department, and the discipline; and his love and devotion to his wife Sarah, their three sons David, Jonathan, and Eli, and their many grandchildren.

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Maryland State Delegate Heather Mizeur is considered a long shot to win the Democratic nomination for governor. But in a story that aired on WYPR Wednesday, February 12, Mizeur said she’s confident given her strong army of volunteers despite running against two candidates with more name recognition and money.

Public Policy Professor and Chair Donald Norris was interviewed for the story and commented on Mizeur’s prospects in the race. He said there is no chance she can win because her campaign doesn’t have the finances or statewide recognition to overcome Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown and Attorney General Douglas Gansler.

“It is impossible in that situation,” Norris said, “going  up against two well known, well-funded candidates for her to win unless both candidates are in a head on collision with each other and they both die.”

You can listen to the full story on WYPR here.

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Education Professor of Practice Joan Shin has received the 2013 Ben Warren International House Trust Prize for her book Teaching Young Learners English (National Geographic Learning/Cengage Learning, 2013). Shin coauthored the book with JoAnn Crandall, Professor Emerita and former Director of the Language, Literacy and Culture Ph.D. program.

The prestigious award is given annually to the author or authors of the most outstanding work in the field of language teacher education. The Ben Warren International House Trust was created as a memorial to the work and life of Ben Warren, who was a leader in developing the world’s leading language teaching organization.

Shin’s book was published last year. It teaches English as a foreign language to young children and presents practical suggestions and best practices for teachers to engage young learners.

The award was announced in Barcelona, Spain on Saturday, February 8. You can read more about the announcement here. You can also find more information on Shin’s book series with National Geographic Learning here.