Sunil Dasgupta, director of UMBC’s political science program at the Universities of Shady Grove, recently published an article in International Relations and Security Network (ISN) News on the establishment of world powers through norms and institutions instead of superior capabilities over others.

Using the example of Britain, Dasgupta noted that despite its decline, its membership in international institutions ensures the country staying power on the world stage: “Britain remains a veto-carrying, permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, one of a handful of nuclear weapons states, a rich country, and one of the closest allies of the United States. Despite Prime Minister Cameron’s focus on domestic politics, there is no expectation that the British government will concede any of these positions in the future. To the contrary, Security Council membership can be seen as ensuring that Britain remains a ‘world power’ no matter what other circumstances change. Indeed, has Britain really resigned as a world power?”

Dasgupta wrote that in modern times there is more than one way to become a world power than merely having advanced economies and militaries: “Since the end of World War II, however, international norms have reduced the importance of both 1) conventional economic and military capabilities and 2) a country’s position relative to others in this regard. While the intense rivalry between the United States and the former Soviet Union overshadowed serious discussion of norms and beliefs during the Cold War, it became clear thereafter, with the rise of Japan and Germany as economic heavyweights with limited military capacity, that there were other pathways to great power status.”

Read “What Makes a Great Power?” in ISN.

In the wake of the visit of 65 mayors to the Vatican to discuss climate change, School of Public Policy Professor John Rennie Short wrote an article for The Conversation reflecting on the central role of cities in climate change discussions.

“Cities house more than half the world’s population, consume 75% of its energy and emit 80% of all greenhouse gasses. But cities are not just sources of problems; they are innovative sites for policy solutions,” wrote Short, who is an expert on urban issues and environmental concerns.

In his article, he wrote that many cities are on the front lines of climate change impacts, which has spurred action to address environmental concerns and form urban networks to learn which policies are working.

“The brute facts of climate change vulnerability in cities are prompting a new and more pronounced urban environmental sensitivity. Cities are responding with both climate change mitigation and adaption. Mitigation focuses on reducing the concentrations of greenhouse gases by using alternative energy sources, encouraging greater energy efficiency and conservation, and through the promotion of carbon sinks by planting trees.

Separately, cities are adapting to the effects of climate change. Chicago has developed policies anticipating a hotter and wetter climate by repaving its roads with permeable materials, planting more trees and offering tax incentive to encourage green office roofs,” Short wrote.

Read “Why cities are a rare good news story in climate change” in The Conversation.

The Artistic Director of the West Chester University Poetry Conference will be responsible to direct the artistic activities of the 2016 Conference by securing commitments from members of the poetry community to provide readings, panels, and workshops. The Director will establish a program that can be implemented within the confines of the budget provided by the CAS Dean and the CAS Programs Manager. The Director will provide assistance to the university in the selection of the Iris N. Spencer Poetry Award winners and scholarship recipients for the conference.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan shifts focus to student outcomes in major speech at UMBC.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan outlined a new vision for American higher education in a major policy speech at UMBC on July 27, 2015. Emphasizing educational outcomes, Sec. Duncan said the primary focus should be on students graduating in a timely manner with a meaningful degree that will set them up for a lifetime of success.

Duncan delivered the speech before a standing-room-only crowd of students, faculty, staff, and higher education leaders from across the country in the Performing Arts and Humanities Building’s Proscenium Theatre. Choosing UMBC as the venue for his remarks, Duncan praised the University for its dedication to expanding college access, improving graduation rates, and preparing students for successful careers.

UMBC, the U.S. Department of Education said, “is a research university with an unusual commitment to innovative teaching and inclusive excellence. The university has redesigned courses from chemistry to English and supported thousands of undergraduate research experiences to promote active learning and increase success rates for students of all backgrounds.”

“UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars program has pioneered a comprehensive approach to recruiting and supporting minority students,” Sec. Duncan shared. “So far, over 900 students have graduated and 600 have gone on to earn advanced degrees. These scholars are five times as likely as similar students to have graduated from or still be enrolled in a STEM doctoral program.”

Following Sec. Duncan’s remarks, President Freeman Hrabowski joined Louisiana State University President F. King Alexander, LaGuardia Community College President Gail Mellow, President of the North Carolina Community College System and incoming president of Northern Virginia Community College Scott Ralls, Morgan State University President David Wilson, and State University of New York (SUNY) Chancellor Nancy Zimpher for a panel discussion on what institutions across the country are doing to improve student outcomes by boosting graduation rates and increasing accountability.

“The theme should be knocking down the boundaries across sectors,” Pres. Hrabowski explained. “The key…is to look at the culture of institutions to see what we are doing well and how to go about building upon what works and to be honest with ourselves about what does not work.”

“We are only investing in evidence-based strategies, and we are partnering extensively with K-12,” added Chancellor Nancy Zimpher, when describing how the SUNY system hopes to increase undergraduate degrees awarded annually from 93,000 to 150,000 in the next five years.

In his policy speech at UMBC, Sec. Duncan affirmed, “every hard-working student in this country must have a real opportunity to achieve a meaningful, affordable degree.” He argued, “America’s prosperity, our democracy, and our identity as a land of opportunity, depends on it.”

Describing the “heavy lifting and culture change” needed to deliver on the promise of opportunity, Sec. Duncan called for a three-part approach: managing college cost and debt, focusing on learning outcomes, and driving effective innovations like those he has seen at UMBC. Together, these changes constitute “the higher education challenge of our generation,” he said. “This is not just an economic imperative; it’s a moral necessity.”

Media coverage of Sec. Duncan’s speech at UMBC is listed below:

At UMBC, Duncan and college leaders discuss visions for higher education (Baltimore Sun)

Duncan wants more accountability in higher education. Easier said than done. (Washington Post)

Secretary of Education: Our higher ed system ‘isn’t delivering’ what students need (U.S. News)

Duncan tells Baltimore crowd that colleges need to focus on student success (The Daily Record)

The future of higher education in America (Education Department news)

Conversation about access can’t stop at affordability (Diverse)

The complexity of accountability (Inside Higher Ed)

Obama poised to give financial aid to federal, state prisoners (Politico)

Debt-free college plans ‘one part of fight’ to improve higher education: Arne Duncan (International Business Times)

Education secretary signals push to make colleges more accountable (Wall Street Journal)

States, U.S. must boost graduation rates, Duncan says in slamming college costs (L.A. Times)

U.S. higher education needs improvement, Education Secretary Arne Duncan says (Kansas City Star)

Officials defend efforts of Iowa colleges, universities (Iowa City Press-Citizen)

In his review, Ronald Pies writes: “Robert Deluty’s wonderful new collection of poems draws its title and inspiration from Shakespeare’s line, ‘The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.’ In Deluty’s poems, there is certainly the recognition of evil — e.g., ‘neo-Nazi teen/ planning to change his surname/ from Brown to White’ — but also the eternal force of good, as in, ‘in the mailbox/ finding her lost wallet/ with extra cash.’ Also evident in these poems is the enlivening spirit of gratitude; for example, we discover ‘in her wheelchair/ the blind, deaf elder counting/ her blessings.’ Finally, as always in Deluty’s work, we find among the interwoven themes of good and ill the golden thread of the author’s generosity and humor.”

Copies of “A Mingled Yarn,” as well as of Dr. Deluty’s other books, are on sale at the UMBC Bookstore.

"The biggest realization that came to me during Rebuilding Manhood was the fact that I am not alone! I cannot say that I've ever fit the definition of what society has always told me what a man should look, act, or talk like... so being with other men who recognized that this is a prevalent issue in not only their lives but other men as well was so comforting and eye opening."

- Bentley Corbett-Wilson, Rebuilding Manhood Spring 2014 Cohort

For more information, visit our Q&A page. 

Apply to Rebuilding Manhood this fall by submitting your application of interest by September 6th (deadline extended)
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Rebuilding Manhood takes place on Fridays from 2-3:15pm starting on September 11th and ending on December 4th. 

UMBC faculty and staff are encouraged to nominate students by filling out this nomination form by no later than Friday, August 28th.