We’ve known it all along, but now it’s official: we’re cool.

At least, Forbes thinks so.

The magazine rated the country’s 65 largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas and Metropolitan Divisions and came up with a list of the top 20 coolest cities in America. Among the expected winners like New York, NY (#10), San Francisco, CA (#9), and Washington D.C. (#2), was Baltimore at a solid #14.

Cities were rated in seven areas: Arts & Culture Index (entertainment value), Recreation Index (which factors in green space, college sports teams, and recreational opportunities), Diversity Index, Number of Local Eats, Median Age, Unemployment, and 2011 Net Migration.

Here are the stats for Charm City:

M.S.A.: Baltimore-Towson, MD
Arts & Culture Index: 96 (out of 100)
Recreation Index: 98 (out of 100)
Diversity Index: 57 (out of 100)
Number of Local Eats: 4,451
Median Age: 38
Unemployment: 7.1%
2011 Net Migration: 4,610 people

Check out the rest of this list here. You might be surprised at the #1 coolest city in America.

What do you think is the coolest thing about Baltimore?

Acts 1:1-9 (NIV)

In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. 4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

Acts 2:1-11 (NIV)

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken.7 Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!”

Acts 2:42-47 (NIV)

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Reflection:

What a way to begin a family! A new people, a new Presence, a new power, and a brand new proclamation, this is what identifies our family. It is our mark to the world of families that there is a family touched and transformed by God and open to the family-less to come and experience divine love, healing, and hope. The church is that first family, and in that it is the witness of what family really is to this world.

Responding to the Transmission:

As a new people in Christ not only can we relate to and love our ‘extended’ families in a new way, but we are also ‘family’ for the family-less generation. Let’s ask for the Spirit to empower us to be an even greater witness on our campuses, in our workplaces, to wherever God places us, of what family really is, that many lives will be touched by God and experience His divine love, healing and hope.

Blackboard has posted the following announcement regarding maintenance of their plagiarism detection utility: The SafeAssign service will be unavailable on Saturday, August 4th, 2012 from 12:01 AM US Eastern (GMT-4) to 9:00 AM US Eastern. SafeAssign is being taken offline for capacity expansion and proactive maintenance in preparation for the upcoming academic term. End-users will not be able to submit papers through SafeAssign during the planned downtime and will receive an error message if they attempt to do so. SafeAssign Originality Reports will not be available to Instructors or Students during the planned downtime, nor will instructors be able to access SafeAssign DirectSubmit. Please make end-users aware of these limitations. Use of SafeAssign can continue as normal after the planned downtime is complete.

If you have participated in the Dissertation House in the past, and if you still have work to complete, then you are invited to join us for the Dissertation House at the 2012 PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI).  “Alumni” of the DH know how to get down to business immediately. So if you need time and space to jump right into DH mode, use the regular application process, and use “DH @ 2012 SSI” in the subject line of your email. This invitation is open to any graduate student, from any school, who has participated in at least one FULL 3 or 4-day DH Session (e.g., any campus, at a PROMISE retreat, any year) or the 2011 SSI DH Marathon in Columbia.  This event will take place on Friday, August 17, 2012, from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, in Room Commons 329, on UMBC’s campus.

Guidelines and Requirements

•  Be an alumnus of a previous Dissertation House
• Be registered for the PROMISE Summer Success Institute, and  plan to fully participate in the other parts of the conference (outside of the DH)  all day Saturday, 8/18 at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve, http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/2012-summer-success-institute-august-17-18-2012-umbc-the-hotel-at-arundel-preserve/
  
• Follow the traditional application procedures and apply by Monday, August 13, 2012: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/, use “DH @ 2012 SSI” in the subject line of your email.
• Login to the DH 2012 Summer Challenge and join the conversation with #TeamGetItDone:  http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2012-challenge/
  
• Outline your goals for the 2012 online (using the challenge link above) by Wednesday, August 15.

Coach: Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale

This DH session includes breakfast refreshments, a buffet lunch, and an afternoon snack. 

Related articles

• Annual PROMISE Summer Success Institute: August 17-18, 2012 @ UMBC & The Hotel at Arundel Preserve (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• “Get it out of your head, and put it on paper!” (dissertationhouse.wordpress.com)
• Finish the dissertation, because you can’t put “Almost PhD” behind your name (renettatull.wordpress.com)

If you have participated in the Dissertation House in the past, and if you still have work to complete, then you are invited to join us for the Dissertation House at the 2012 PROMISE Summer Success Institute (SSI).  “Alumni” of the DH know how to get down to business immediately. So if you need time and space to jump right into DH mode, use the regular application process, and use “DH @ 2012 SSI” in the subject line of your email. This invitation is open to any graduate student, from any school, who has participated in at least one FULL 3 or 4-day DH Session (e.g., any campus, at a PROMISE retreat, any year) or the 2011 SSI DH Marathon in Columbia.  This event will take place on Friday, August 17, 2012, from 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, in Room Commons 329, on UMBC’s campus.

Guidelines and Requirements

•  Be an alumnus of a previous Dissertation House
• Be registered for the PROMISE Summer Success Institute, and  plan to fully participate in the other parts of the conference (outside of the DH)  all day Saturday, 8/18 at the Hotel at Arundel Preserve, http://promiseagep.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/2012-summer-success-institute-august-17-18-2012-umbc-the-hotel-at-arundel-preserve/
  
• Follow the traditional application procedures and apply by Monday, August 13, 2012: http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/apply/, use “DH @ 2012 SSI” in the subject line of your email.
• Login to the DH 2012 Summer Challenge and join the conversation with #TeamGetItDone:  http://dissertationhouse.wordpress.com/blog-online-challenge/summer-2012-challenge/
  
• Outline your goals for the 2012 online (using the challenge link above) by Wednesday, August 15.

Coach: Dr. Wendy Carter-Veale

This DH session includes breakfast refreshments, a buffet lunch, and an afternoon snack. 

Related articles

• Annual PROMISE Summer Success Institute: August 17-18, 2012 @ UMBC & The Hotel at Arundel Preserve (promiseagep.wordpress.com)
• “Get it out of your head, and put it on paper!” (dissertationhouse.wordpress.com)
• Finish the dissertation, because you can’t put “Almost PhD” behind your name (renettatull.wordpress.com)

Political science professor Thomas Schaller’s latest Salon column asks, “Will Asian voters swing the election?” Nearly 6% of the U.S. population is Asian American — an estimated 18 million people — but when it comes to elections this diverse group often gets lets attention than African Americans and Latinos. Some are now calling these overlooked voters a “sleeping political giant,” but without a firm sense of how their votes might affect the 2012 presidential race.

Schaller writes, “the Asian American vote remains fluid as a result of its ethnic, religious and national heterogeneity, and the often stark differences between immigrant and first-born generations of Asian Americans.” Large Asian American populations in Nevada and Virginia could have a notable impact on the election, given those swing states’ 19 combined electoral votes. What that impact is may depend on the resources each campaign invests there.

The results are in! The Dissertation House at College Park was a success. Dr. Carter-Veale and Dr. Alexis Williams recorded the full range of sentiments, reflections, and take-home messages on our Summer 2012 Challenge, and on the PhD Completion website.   Here is a subset of those highlights:

• Own the dissertation process
• Don’t try to avoid it
• Visualize yourself in your cap and gown
• Change your perception of productivity
• Trust yourself, own your process
• Set a date and create a schedule. Start the countdown!

The results are in! The Dissertation House at College Park was a success. Dr. Carter-Veale and Dr. Alexis Williams recorded the full range of sentiments, reflections, and take-home messages on our Summer 2012 Challenge, and on the PhD Completion website.   Here is a subset of those highlights:

• Own the dissertation process
• Don’t try to avoid it
• Visualize yourself in your cap and gown
• Change your perception of productivity
• Trust yourself, own your process
• Set a date and create a schedule. Start the countdown!

U.S. News & World Report’s “STEM Education” blog recently featured President Hrabowski’s thoughts on the future of science, technology, engineering and math in higher education, including ways to develop a more robust pipeline for students and workers in those fields.

President Hrabowski, who was recently inducted into the magazine’s STEM Hall of Fame, was interviewed along with four other inductees. He spoke to U.S. News about the necessity for greater cooperation across spectrums. “Let’s knock down the boundaries between public and private sectors,” he said.

Doing so, President Hrabowski said, would help businesses better communicate exactly what they need in the STEM workforce, and universities could adjust their programs to incorporate more real-world problems. He also emphasized the importance of helping students with an interest in the STEM fields to stick with those programs of study, as opposed to continuing the current trend of many students leaving those fields before graduating.

“Two thirds of those who begin with a major in those areas are not making it,” he said. “And we assume that’s OK.”