On July 6, the National Science Foundation (NSF) published an article in its “Discoveries” section featuring Amy Hurst’s assistive technology research. Hurst, an assistant professor of information systems, has published research with collaborators that found little use of assistive technologies in the maker community. “No one else was reflectively studying what’s happening in the Maker space,” Hurst said in the NSF article.

In her research, Hurst found that assistive technologies have a low adoption rate and almost one-third of them go unused because they don’t meet people’s needs. She also found that maker tools offered unmatched opportunities for individuals with special needs. The article stated that after several years of research, Hurst and her team have created several tools to allow people of all skill levels to make objects that are useful to them, such as the Easy-Make Oven, GripFab, and VizTouch. “We’re empowering people to incorporate making into their daily lives to solve their own accessibility challenges,” said Hurst.

“Working with a diverse population including individuals with intellectual disabilities, power wheelchair users, individuals with visual impairments, and physical therapists, [Hurst] is demonstrating what can happen when technology intersects with opportunity,” the article stated.

Hurst’s research was recently featured in UMBC Magazine.

Clifford Murphy, an adjunct lecturer of American studies, has been selected by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to be its new director of folk and traditional arts. Murphy, an adjunct lecturer of American studies, will manage NEA grantmaking in folk and traditional arts, oversee the NEA National Heritage Fellowship program, and represent the agency in the field as part of the new role.

Murphy is currently director of Maryland Traditions, the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC) and last year helped bring MSAC’s 40 years of folklife archives into UMBC’s library system, making the collection available to the public.

“Working as a state folklorist in Maryland has brought me into close collaboration with remarkable artists, communities, and innovative organizations” said Murphy in a press release announcing the new position. “I’m incredibly excited about joining the NEA and being of service to folk and traditional artists, advocates, and programs nationwide.”

“Clifford has an impressive range of experience in the folk and traditional arts,” said NEA Chairman Jane Chu. “The NEA will surely benefit from his skills as an administrator, a university professor, a field folklorist, and his time as a touring musician.”

Murphy was featured in UMBC Magazine earlier this year for his research on country and western music in his home region of New England. The New Hampshire native and ethnomusicologist recently published his findings in a new book: Yankee Twang: Country and Western Music in New England (University of Illinois, 2014).

President Hrabowski visited WAMU’s The Kojo Nnamdi Show on July 7, 2015 to discuss how his upbringing during the Civil Rights movement inspired his passion for making higher education more inclusive.

During the interview, Dr. Hrabowski touched on the themes in his latest book, Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement. As a child, the importance of well-rounded education was impressed upon him and he spoke about prioritizing multiple disciplines.

“We have to stop making this major distinction between STEM…and reading and the humanities and the arts,” he said. “These are false distinctions.”

Pres. Hrabowski highlighted the power of education to enable talented students from all backgrounds to contribute to solving the world’s most complex problems, which require creative, collaborative solutions.

“Recent reports from the National Academy of Sciences say that two-thirds of Americans of all races who begin with a major in science or engineering will leave within the first year or two.” He explained how at UMBC “we have rethought how we teach” to make courses more engaging and learning communities more supportive. This has boosted student success in STEM as well as across the arts, humanities, and social sciences.

“We have people of all backgrounds from all over the world becoming scientists and solving the problems of humankind, while others are thinking about social science issues from health disparities…to issues of economic inequality,” Pres. Hrabowski explained. “Those problems are bigger now than ever… Those are the things we are thinking about and focusing on at UMBC.”

The interview also covered the Baltimore protests and Common Core standards, as well as the need to teach students about the necessity of struggling with issues and subjects, rather than expecting instant gratification. Additionally, several alumni called in to the show to thank Dr. Hrabowski for his work and share their UMBC experiences.

Listen to Dr. Hrabowski on the Kojo Nnamdi Show.

When the American Democracy Project met in New Orleans last month, founder George Mehaffy described some early civic engagement efforts as “marginal, episodic, and celebratory.” David Hoffman, assistant director of student life for civic agency, responded to Mehaffy’s comments by suggesting language to describe positive attributes of civic learning and democratic engagement efforts.

“We need equally clear and concise language to describe the positive attributes of profoundly valuable and impactful civic learning and democratic engagement efforts,” Hoffman wrote on the American Democracy Project’s website. He proposed four attributes that should describe civic engagement efforts, including integral, relational, organic, and generative.

“Our civic learning and democratic engagement efforts are strongest when they embody all four of these attributes,” Hoffman said. “To the extent that one or more of them is missing, we risk teaching and learning lessons we do not intend about the intractability of our problems, the rigidity of our roles and relationships, and the limits of human agency and democracy itself.”

Read “Describing Transformative Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Practices” on American Democracy Project.

Program Management Specialist (Job 034)

Gender and Women’s Studies 

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) seeks an individual to provide administrative support to the Gender and Women’s Studies Department, its diverse faculty, students, and courses.  Gender and Women’s Studies is an interdisciplinary academic department that offers an undergraduate major, two undergraduate minors, and both an undergraduate and graduate certificate. It also is a participating member of the Language, Literacy and Culture PhD Program. Specific duties include: greeting visitors; answering phones and email; preparing correspondence and materials for department meetings, annual reports, and recruitment maintaining financial, curricular, student, personnel records, and Department web resources; processing payroll; scheduling courses, updating course catalogs, assisting the Chair and other faculty with course scheduling, recruitment, advising, enrollment activities, lectures, meetings and special events; and performing other duties as assigned.    

Requires:a Bachelor’s Degree (preferably in women’s studies or a related social justice field) and at least two years experience in administrative staff work.  Must have knowledge of Microsoft Office, PeopleSoft and Adobe applications, excellent customer service, organizational, written, communication, interpersonal and cultural competency skills, including the ability to work both independently and collaboratively.  Note: Additional related experience and formal education in which one has gained the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for full performance of the work of the job class may be substituted for the education or experience requirement on a year-for-year basis with 30 college credits being equivalent to one year of experience.  Starting salary is $36,178.  Position is full-time and includes a full university benefits package. 

Applications are available for download on our website at: http://hr.umbc.edu/employment/employment-application/ or by calling 410-455-2337 (a resume and cover letter may be attached in addition to the application form). Interested and qualified candidates must submit a UMBC application (indicate position title and Job #034 on the application) no later than July 24, 2015 to:  UMBC Department of Human Resources, 532 Administration Bldg., 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, Maryland   21250.

UMBC is an EOE/AA