In a recent Baltimore Sun article on engaging underprivileged and minority students in science, Bill LaCourse, dean of the college of natural and mathematical sciences, voiced the importance of creating a strong community to support student learning and success.

Students who come to college unprepared often need remediation, said LaCourse. UMBC has decided to change the approach of throwing 800 students into an introductory science class to let everyone sink or swim, because too many were sinking. Today, the school works to ensure that students feel more supported and have a small community of fellow students to turn to for help.

From innovative student ideas to campus programs and campaigns, UMBC is going green—and getting noticed. The Princeton Review has recognized UMBC as a college raising the bar on sustainability in its 2013 Guide to 322 Green Colleges.

The annual guide profiles higher education institutions in the U.S. and Canada that demonstrate a strong commitment to sustainability in their academic offerings, campus infrastructure, activities and career preparation.

To determine which schools qualify, colleges and universities are rated based on institutional data such as the school’s energy consumption, green transportation programs, and the level of dedication for sustainability in and out of the classroom.

UMBC was noted for its successful student programs, including the Biodiesel Club’s sustainability project and a student-driven initiative to bring a farmer’s market and community garden to campus. The list also highlighted UMBC’s efforts to increase its renewable energy resources, the new LEED certified Performing Arts and Humanities Building, and its educational campaign for recycling.

The traveling exhibition For All the World to See: Visual Culture the Struggle for Civil Rights curated by Maurice Berger, CADVC, and organized by the CADVC has been selected as a critic’s pick for Artforum Magazine by Chelsea Haines. Haines describes the exhibition as one that, “provides a historical mirror for our current moment of global unrest, in which demands and claims over cultural ownership have spurred almost as much social momentum as the toppling of states.”

Read the review of the exhibition at Artforum’s website.