As a community, farmers in the United States often face challenges that are out of their control, such as drought, livestock disease, and global pandemics like COVID-19. For Black farmers, says Loren Henderson, associate professor of public policy, these obstacles are compounded by land theft, inadequate succession planning, systemic racism, and discriminatory U.S. Department of Agriculture policies and practices. As a result, Black farmers today are facing extinction. Henderson was featured on The Academic Minute to talk about her research.

Henderson, who will be the first African American director of UMBC’s School of Public Policy this fall, is the author of Race, Ethnicity, and the COVID-19 Pandemic(University of Cincinnati Press, 2023). She began researching how Black farmers were faring amid these hurdles during COVID-19. Henderson conducted 50 in-depth virtual interviews with Black farmers in the U.S. The project addressed Black farmers’ expertise and experiences in establishing and maintaining farms under the onslaught of systemic racism and COVID-19. 

“Additionally, I asked the farmers about their use of governmental and private financial resources and their understanding of social policies that impact their ability to establish or maintain their farms,” Henderson shares with Lynn Pasquerella, president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities and host of The Academic Minute, a daily show featuring faculty from colleges and universities worldwide speaking about their cutting-edge research.

UMBC Academic Minute episodes

Henderson joins other UMBC scholars in sharing the latest research in media and communication studies; modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication; language, literacy, and culture; philosophy; gender, women’s, and sexuality studies; and history. This series is republished on NPR podcasts and Inside Higher Ed.

Learn more about Loren Henderson’s research

• Minority Landowner Magazine podcast (2023)
• “Black Mothers in Racially Segregated Neighborhoods Embodying Structural Violence: PTSD and Depressive Symptoms on the South Side of Chicago,” Journal of Ethnic and Health Disparities (2023) 
• “Black mothers trapped in unsafe neighborhoods signal the stressful health toll of gun violence in the U.S.,” The Conversation (2023)  
• Diversity in Organizations: A Critical Examination (New York: Routledge, 2015)

Get to know UMBC’s School of Public Policy.

Advising Town Hall #2: Wednesday, August 7th at 12:00

Link: https://umbc.webex.com/umbc/j.php?MTID=m46b227970b5be87b3061fcf5a35ae2ae
(Password is Ekqt6SBrz22, but should not be required)

Couldn’t make it to the first Town Hall? Do you have last minute questions or concerns you would like addressed prior to the start of the Fall semester? Advisors are here to help!

USM Fall Into Success Virtual Professional Development Conference

Navigating & Leading Change Programs

NIH’s Adoption of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support by May 25, 2025

Notice Number: NOT-OD-24-163

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-24-163.html

Purpose:

This Guide Notice informs the extramural community of NIH’s adoption of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support to be used with all applications and Research Performance Progress Report(s) (RPPRs) by May 25, 2025.

Background

The Common Forms represent a collaborative effort between federal research agencies to ensure standard disclosure requirements as outlined in the National Security Presidential Memorandum - 33. The approved Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support (OMB Number 3145-0279 managed by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)), can be accessed at NSF’s website at NSTC Research Security Subcommittee NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Disclosure Requirements & Standardization.

NIH Common Forms Implementation

NIH will implement the Common Forms without change to any collection fields. However, in accordance with NIH’s Peer Review Regulations at 42 Code of Federal Regulations Part 52h, NIH currently plans to continue collecting three required agency specific data elements (i.e., Personal Statement, Contributions to Science, and Honors) to assess qualifications. These data elements will be collected separately from the Common Forms on a new NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement.

Please refer to the full notice linked above for further details on NIH's Common Forms Implementation timeline.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.