Studying the Aesthetic Lives of Children

 

In addition to teaching at UMBC, for the last few years Honors College Professor of Visual Arts Ellen Handler Spitz has traveled the U.S. and abroad to discuss her research on the relationship between children’s books and the inner lives of children. Spitz was both honored and elated to receive one of only six Clark Fellowships at the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts last summer. The coveted fellowship for art historians from all over the world enables them to write scholarly works in the peaceful and collegial setting of the Berkshire Hills. Spitz used her time to finish her newest book on the aesthetic and imaginative lives of children for projected publication by Pantheon, a subsidiary of Random House, in January of 2006.

In her last book, Inside Picture Books (Yale University Press, 1999), which has been translated into Italian, Japanese and Korean, Spitz examined how picture books shape our childhood and adult lives and explored the profound impact of the experience of reading to children. She revealed how classic picture books transmit psychological wisdom, convey moral lessons, shape tastes and implant subtle prejudices. The London Times’ Quentin Blake said, “What is engaging about Spitz’s book is its mixture of perception, warmth and commitment … This is a valuable contribution to a subject which asks for serious consideration: what children’s books are, and what they do, and what important and curious introductions to life are taking place as we turn the pages together.”

Spitz previously held fellowships at the Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in Santa Monica; the Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University (formerly the Bunting Institute); the Center for Advanced Study, Stanford University; and the Center for Children and Childhood Studies, Rutgers University. She has taught and/or lectured in England, France, Israel, India, the Netherlands, Austria, Spain, Russia, Canada, GREECE, and the People’s Republic of China. In addition to many articles and reviews, she is the author of Art and Psyche (Yale, 1985), Image and Insight ( Columbia, 1991), Museums of the Mind (Yale, 1994) and SHE co-edited Freud and Forbidden Knowledge (N.Y.U., 1994) and Bertolucci’s Last Emperor (Wayne State, 1998).

At UMBC, Spitz teaches interdisciplinary honors seminars in philosophy, psychology, literature, the performing arts and visual culture. “I am thrilled to teach in UMBC’s Honors College, a program that sets high standards for our students and helps them to go anywhere they want to go. I am very interested in contributing to excellence in public education; my desire is to engage students in critical and imaginative thinking and to inspire them to engage in new ideas while deepening their understanding of disciplinary traditions. It is wonderful to be able to do this at a university with dedicated colleagues and a dynamic president who is interested in fostering a strong humanities program.”

 

 

High Marks for Leadership

 

Educators Bradford Engel ’89 and Jacques Smith ’70 are dedicated to building innovative learning communities and creating opportunities for students and teachers to develop leadership skills. They are two examples of the mission of the UMBC education department: to research teaching and learning, and to develop caring, thoughtful, knowledgeable and skilled teachers who are responsive to children, families and the community.

“My vision for a high school leadership class was to provide the tools necessary so that students could become leaders at home, in the community and at school,” said Engel, who was recently named the 2005 Maryland Teacher of the Year—the State’s highest honor for teachers—by the Maryland State Department of Education. (Two other UMBC alumni— Sharon Grimes ’90 and Kevin Mulroe ’98—were finalists for the award.)

A social studies teacher and department chair at Kent Island High School on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Engel founded the Mentor Advisory Program (MAP), in which small student groups receive leadership training from teachers and community leaders. “I believe in offering students encouragement and helping them experience success everyday, while promoting a desire to face new challenges,” said Engel.

In the three years since MAP was founded at Kent Island High, standardized test results have improved, attendance rates have increased and the number of disciplinary referrals has dropped by nearly 30 percent. The program is also becoming a model for other Maryland high schools.

Like Engel, Jacques Smith, a principal at Meade Middle School in Anne Arundel County, believes that teachers should reach beyond curriculum and method to help children realize their full potential. Meade Middle is part of UMBC’s Professional Development School program (PDS), which creates learning communities that provide training for teachers and administrators as well as achievement programs for students. “UMBC interns learn a lot in our classrooms, but we learn, too,” said Smith. “They bring their new ideas and enthusiasm from the University and put it into action.”

Principals are critical to the positive atmosphere of their schools,” said Barbara Bourne, UMBC’s PDS coordinator for Anne Arundel County Public Schools. “Having been appointed principal before Meade Middle opened, Jacques played an important role in its design and development. Visitors can’t help but notice evidence of his management: a bright, clean and orderly school.” Meade Middle was recently named a Maryland State ” Exemplary School” for Positive Behavior Intervention Strategies.

A valued member of the community, Smith has received several grants to support community relations, including one that funds a community liaison. It’s hoped that creating a trusted presence in the neighborhoods surrounding Meade Middle will help Smith and his teachers build essential relationships with parents.

Smith also looks for ways to provide professional development for teachers. He recently took several teachers to National Middle School Association Conference in Minneapolis, and they returned with renewed enthusiasm for teaching and new strategies to share with their colleagues. “Jacques is a strong and compassionate leader who respects and values his staff in ways that help them become leaders as well,” said Bourne.

Learn more about teacher training at UMBC.

 

(11/15/04)

Illuminating the Channels of Communication

 

UMBC’s newest research center, the Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR), is a hotbed for innovative photonics research. Robinson Kuis, an applied physics Ph.D. candidate, conducts laser technology research in CASPR, which is funded by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. In fact, UMBC is ranked 16th nationwide for NASA funding.

Kuis is studying under the mentorship of Anthony Johnson, director of CASPR, and a professor of physics and computer science/electrical engineering at UMBC.  Johnson is a leading expert in the area of photonics.  Prior to UMBC, he was chairperson and distinguished professor of the physics department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He also worked in AT&T Bell Laboratory’s photonic circuits research department as a distinguished member of their technical staff for 14 years, and was the 2002 president of the 16,000-member Optical Society of America.

Under Johnson’s mentorship, Kuis—who first worked with the photonics expert as an undergraduate at NJIT—is working to shed new light on optical communications, quite literally. In Johnson’s lab, he is in the process of building a laser for the purpose of studying “nonlinear optics” as it relates to telecommunications.

Far below the ocean surface, currents of information are constantly flowing at the speed of light.  “If you send an e-mail or make a phone call to Europe today, it’s most likely to be optically controlled,” explains Kuis.  Lasers are at the heart of this high-speed telecommunications technology.  Through fiber optics, lasers relay information in the form of optical pulses or signals that are sent through optical fiber cables. 

Kuis’ entry into the world of photonics research began at NJIT with a challenge from Johnson. As a sophomore, Kuis approached Johnson after a stimulating lecture he gave on photonics. “I went to him and said, ‘Can I do research with you?’  He took me into the lab, put a laser in front of me and said, ‘Alright, make it lase. Here’s the manual.’ ” Kuis took up the challenge, and within two hours he had succeeded.

That was enough to impress Johnson, who has provided Kuis with immense support ever since. He encouraged him to apply to the Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies Cooperative Research Fellowship Program (CRFP) program, of which he himself is a product, and recommended him to his contact at Lucent Technologies where he worked. 

Of Kuis, Johnson says, “He’s an invaluable member of my research team.” 

For more details about these and other research projects at UMBC, watch the home page for the debut of a new online home for UMBC research. If you know of UMBC research projects with a positive impact on people’s daily lives, please e-mail information to researchnews@umbc.edu.

(11/8/04) 

Ensuring Better Healthcare

 

 

Founded in 1994 as a partnership with Maryland Medicaid, the Center for Health Program Development and Management (CHPDM) at UMBC provides non-partisan healthcare analysis to county, state and federal agencies, as well as to private foundations. “Our ultimate mission is to ensure better care for patients,” says Charles Milligan, CHPDM’s executive director. “This [center’s work] is an ongoing expression of a personal message; namely that the faculty and staff here are truly dedicated to the well-being of the community within which we live and work.”

CHPDM cites among its biggest achievements:

• Contributing to the design and implementation of HealthChoice, Maryland’s statewide mandatory managed care program which oversees the contracting of Medicaid providers
• Developing healthcare policies to create streamline access to community-based services for seniors
• Evaluating the quality of HMO’s and the transformation to a managed care system from a previously fragmented fee-for-service system

In addition, the Center has worked to secure children’s health insurance for the working poor, maintained a relationship with the AIDS Administration, collaborated with the Maryland Department of Aging in assessing the needs of the elderly and created a STD awareness program for women in Carroll County.

CHPDM’s unique relationship with UMBC “gives support to the public health and social service system through an independent non-partisan research organization,” explains Milligan. The Center also maintains an academic partnership with students and faculty interested in healthcare policy issues. “We enjoy being citizens of UMBC and working with the students,” says Milligan.

For the next 10 years, Milligan foresees CHPDM’s continued dedication to long-term care that will adapt to the needs of the aging population, as well as the diversification of the kind of work the Center deals in, especially mental health.

(11/1/04)

 

Examining Media Bias

 

The subject of bias in our media is one that gets many people’s hearts racing right around election time. And that is just what Director of Interdisciplinary Studies Patricia La Noue had in mind when choosing this year’s topic for the annual Mosaic Roundtable Forum. “What we hope students will come away with after this forum is the ability to look at media with a more critical eye,” says La Noue.

In addition to encouraging campuswide discussion of contemporary issues, the Mosaic Roundtable Forum is a showcase for UMBC’s nationally-known faculty experts. (Terry Eastland, publisher of the Weekly Standard, will also be participating as a guest panelist.) As in previous years, this year’s panel represents a variety of disciplines and will examine the issue of media bias from several important perspectives:

Christopher Corbett, a former reporter and news editor with The Associated Press, has been a journalist for over 30 years. His latest book, Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express (Random House/Broadway Books, 2003) is in its seventh printing and was published in paperback this fall. In 1990, Corbett was the James Thurber Journalist-in-Residence at the Thurber House in Columbus, Ohio, where he also taught in the Ohio State University’s journalism school. Since 1994, he has written The Back Page for Baltimore’s Style magazine, which received the City and Regional Magazine Award for best column in 1998 and 1999. At UMBC, Corbett serves as faculty advisor to The Retriever Weekly and teaches journalism courses in the English department.

Susan Dwyer (moderator) is a specialist in moral psychology and ethics and public policy, and has published on reconciliation, moral development, feminist theory, free speech and cyberpornography. She is editor (with the late Joel Feinberg) of The Problem of Abortion and The Program of Pornography. Dwyer is associate professor of philosophy and director of the master’s program in applied and professional ethics at UMBC and is an adjunct member of the philosophy department at the University of Maryland College Park.

Jason Loviglio is co-editor (with Michele Hilmes) of Radio Reader: Essays in the Cultural History of Radio (Routledge, 2002) and is author of the forthcoming The Intimate Public: Network Radio and Mass Mediated Democracy ( University of Minnesota Press). In 2003, he was awarded the J. Franklin Jameson Fellowship by the Library of Congress and the American Historical Association to conduct research in the NBC archives at the Library of Congress. Loviglio is a founding member of the North American Radio Studies Network, a member of the international Radio Studies Network and a member of the International Advisory Board of Radio Journal. At UMBC, he is assistant professor of American studies and teaches courses in media, popular culture and multiculturalism.

Thomas Schaller has published commentaries and op-ed features in the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Boston Globe, the Baltimore Sun, Salon.com and the American Prospect online, and is frequently interviewed on public television and radio. He is co-founder and executive editor of Gadflyer.com, a progressive Internet magazine. Schaller has published academic articles in American Review of Politics, Constitutional Political Economy, Presidential Studies Quarterly, Public Choice and Publius: The Journal of Federalism. He is co-author of a forthcoming book on black state legislators (State University of New York Press). At UMBC, Schaller is associate professor of political science.

UMBC’s 2004 Interdisciplinary Studies Mosaic Roundtable, “Bias in the American Media,” will be held Wednesday, October 27, from 1 to 3 p.m. on the 7th floor of the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery. Members of the UMBC community and the general public are welcome. Read more about the event in Insights Online.

(10/25/04)

A Foundation for Professional Success

 

The UMBC Alumni Association’s newly elected president, Anita Maddox Jackson, health science and policy ’80, has a stellar reputation in Baltimore as a highly respected professional and caring human being. Currently director of supplier diversity for Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), she credits UMBC as “the foundation for my professional success. UMBC helped me forge a satisfying career and, at the same time, broaden my view of the world.”

Jackson ’s substantial experience both in the corporate world and in connecting institutions across the public and private sectors includes a 21-year tenure with BGE in human resources, marketing and sales and corporate communications. In her current position, Jackson directs a program which provides purchasing opportunities for minority- and women-owned business enterprises.

Nationally, Jackson is a committee vice chair of the Edison Electric Institute. She sits on the regional board of the MD/DC Minority Supplier Development Council and the local boards of BB&T Bank and Alliance, Inc. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the Rho Xi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Jackson received her Master of Administrative Science from Johns Hopkins University.

Jackson ’s role as president of UMBC’s Alumni Association is fitting, given her commitment to become more involved with the University. “When I returned to campus recently, I couldn’t believe how much had changed,” she explains. “UMBC has always encouraged academic excellence and personal growth—I can attest to the power of both—but these days the University is in a whole new league. I am happy to have this opportunity to serve the Alumni Association, because I recognize the importance of giving back.”

Like many UMBC alumni, Jackson will return to her alma mater this week for UMBC’s Homecoming/Family Day Celebration. The event, held October 20 through 24, is open to all members of the UMBC community. A complete schedule of events is available online.

(10/18/04)

Tools & Training for Homeland Security

As the 2004 presidential election grows nearer, homeland security remains a top priority for the U.S. government and American citizens. It’s also a top priority for UMBC faculty, staff and student researchers who are partnering with state and federal agencies on a variety of research endeavors, new technologies and training aimed at improving homeland security and emergency response.

New Tools for Terror Fight:
Two UMBC faculty researchers are working to improve high-technology methods for detecting terrorists and their tools of destruction. Through an anti-bioterror grant from the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST), UMBC Statistics professor Andrew Rukhin is working to improve facial identification software that could help identify terror suspects at border crossings, transportation hubs, and other sensitive locations.

Meanwhile, Bradley Arnold, professor of Chemistry at UMBC, is working with George Murray of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), on an invention that may give a high-tech break to bomb-sniffing dogs in homeland security K-9 units. The duo is developing a hand-held, fiber-optic device that changes color based on the presence of explosives.

Mapping the Unthinkable:
Faculty, staff and student mapmakers in UMBC’s Geography and Environmental Sciences department recently made news in The Baltimore Sun for their work with the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Homeland Security to design new symbols for the post-9-11 map of the U.S.

Training First Responders:
UMBC’s Emergency Health Services (EHS) department is making a national impact by providing online training for first-responders through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). To date, UMBC EHS has used the Internet to train more than 16,000 physicians, nurses, paramedics, and logistical staff in emergency preparedness and disaster-response and created over 130 online courses through the NDMS program. UMBC EHS is also training hospital and health department staff at the local level, thanks to a two-year contract with the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

For more details about these and other research projects at UMBC, look on the home page later this month for the debut of a new online home for UMBC research. If you know of other UMBC research projects with a positive impact on people’s daily lives, please email information to researchnews@umbc.edu.

Recognizing Outstanding Faculty & Staff

On Wednesday, September 29, UMBC will recognize the exceptional performance, leadership and service of four members of the University’s faculty and staff at the Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony. UMBC’s Presidential Award recipients have careers distinguished by a dedication to the fulfillment of the campus’ goals and mission, by professional accomplishments and by campus service.

All members of the UMBC community are encouraged to attend the ceremony at 1 p.m. at the University Center Ballroom. President Hrabowski will also present his annual State of the University Address.

This year’s Presidential Award recipients are:

James Grubb
Professor, History
Presidential Research Professor 2004-2007

James Grubb is a master historian whose work is distinguished not only by its quality but by its range, importance and influence. Since arriving at UMBC in 1983, he has established an impressive research record while serving terms as president of the faculty senate and, in his own department, as graduate program director and department chair. A pre-eminent scholar of Renaissance Italy, Grubb has been recognized for pioneering contributions to his field. His first book, Firstborn of Venice, on Vincenza under Venetian rule, is considered fundamental to the study of regional states, examining and critiquing the dominant models of center-periphery relations. Grubb’s second book, Provincial Families of the Renaissance: Private and Public Life in the Veneto, won the 1997 Marraro Prize—considered the leading award in the field—for the best book in Italian history by an American author.

Cynthia Hody
Associate Professor and Chair, Political Science
Presidential Teaching Professor 2004-2007

A six-time recipient of the political science department’s teaching award, Cynthia Hody is a study in effective, compassionate and student-centered teaching. She has been recognized as Honors College Teacher of the Year, and is the recipient of the UMBC Alumni Association’s award for Student Teaching and Mentoring. A scholar of international affairs, Hody has mentored dozens of political science students since she arrived at UMBC in 1984 and consistently receives some of the highest scores on student evaluation for her teaching. Since Hody became chair of the political science department in 1998, the number of UMBC students choosing to major in the field has nearly doubled.

Jack Suess
Chief Information Officer
Office of Information Technology
Presidential Distinguished Staff Award
Professional Staff

Since he arrived at UMBC as a freshman in 1976, Jack Suess has uniquely experienced the University as undergraduate student, student employee, non-exempt staff, exempt staff, graduate student, part-time faculty, principal investigator and campus administrator. Suess received his B.A. in mathematics in 1981 and his M.S. in Information Systems in 1995. He began work as a student in 1979 and after graduation began his professional career at UMBC. During Suess’ tenure, UMBC has evolved from being dependent on UMCP for IT services to being recognized as one of the technology leaders in the country. Suess has also been at the helm of several successful initiatives to make necessary updates to UMBC’s technological resources, including the Y2K transition, the Assured Access program, the PeopleSoft Implementation and the Computer Replacement Initiative.

Terry Aylsworth
Executive Administrative Assistant
College of Arts and Sciences
Presidential Distinguished Staff Award
Non-Exempt Staff

Described as “committed,” “collegial” and “enthusiastic,” Terry Aylsworth, executive administrative assistant for the Dean’s Office of the College of Arts and Sciences, is known for her respect for everyone she works with, for her ability to invest every undertaking with a belief in its significance and for her dedication to UMBC’s goals and the value of higher education. A former program coordinator for the Center for the Humanities and the Shakespeare Association of America, Aylsworth previously served as vice president of the former Classified Staff Senate and helped to create the new Non-Exempt Excluded Staff Senate (NEESS). She is a member of UMBC’s Employee of the Quarter Committee and was recently elected chair of the University Steering Committee.

At the Presidential Faculty & Staff Awards Ceremony, UMBC will also recognize three members of the University community who were awarded a 2004 USM Board of Regents Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Regents to honor exemplary faculty and staff achievement.

Thomas Cronin
Professor, Biological Sciences
Director, Marine, Estuarine and Environmental Sciences (MEES) Graduate Program
Regents’ Faculty Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarship/Creative Activity

Nancy Miller
Associate Professor, Public Policy
Regents’ Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring

Kathy Lee Sutphin
Coordinator of Special Projects, Biological Sciences
Regents’ Exempt Staff Award for Exceptional Contribution to the Institution

(9/24/04)

A Smart Choice for Women

At UMBC, it is cool to be smart. And it is especially cool for girls to be smart.

UMBC’s array of programs that empower women to be both successful students and successful professionals has now been recognized nationally by CosmoGIRL! magazine’s new guide to the 50 best colleges for girls. Featured in the magazine’s October 2004 issue, the guide also includes such institutions as Amherst College; Brown University; Duke University; Stanford University; University of California, Berkeley; and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

In compiling the list for its readership of young women ages 12 through 17, editors at CosmoGIRL! consulted admissions officers and guidance counselors across the country to determine the kind of environment that gives girls the best chance of success in school and after graduation. The result was a list of six key factors–small class size, prominent female faculty members, strong women’s sports programs, a career center that facilitates internship opportunities, opportunities to hold leadership positions in clubs and activities and an active alumni network.

“Not only is this first college guide designed specifically for girls, but what really makes it unique is that we’ve identified specific factors that give girls an edge,” said CosmoGIRL!’s Editor-in-Chief, Susan Schulz. “This is no arbitrary list.”

In addition to performing well on CosmoGIRL!’s key criteria, UMBC impressed the magazine’s editors with innovative programs that empower women and help them achieve their potential. For example, UMBC’s Center for Women and Information Technology (CWIT) is dedicated to achieving women’s full participation in all aspects of information technology (IT), while the Imaging Research Center (IRC), specializing in high-end computer animation and visualization, offers both undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to work on professional projects with clients such as the Baltimore Museum of Art, PBS and the Discovery Channel. UMBC is one of only 16 schools in the country chosen by the National Science Foundation to sponsor an ADVANCE program designed to support the recruitment and advancement of women faculty in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Other UMBC programs that help women prepare for success after graduation include Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL), which engages the campus in a learning community that promotes academic excellence, leadership development, career exploration and civic engagement on women’s issues, and the UMBC Alumni Association’s popular “Backpack to Briefcase” program, which offers students the opportunity to network with the University’s successful alumni.

(9/15/04)

Training Today’s Workforce

UMBC is a leader in developing programs that help to create a more skilled and technologically literate workforce in the Baltimore-Washington area. The latest example is the debut this fall of new graduate programs in systems engineering, e-government and the non-profit sector.

The University’s Division of Professional Education and Training (DPET) is responding to the staffing needs of regional high-tech industries by offering two graduate programs in Systems Engineering (SE). According to officials with Northrop Grumman Corporation’s (NYSE: NOC) Electronic Systems Sector–a sponsor of the new programs–the shortage of qualified systems engineers is urgent and will grow over the next few years. Systems engineers typically work on large-scale projects in high-tech industries including aerospace, information technology, defense, transportation, space exploration, manufacturing and telecommunications.

The two new programs differ from traditional systems engineering training by offering curricula that is focused more on the technical, hands-on side of the field instead of management. “There will be a heavy emphasis on problem solving, practical application, mentoring by experienced systems engineers and a teamwork approach,” says Ted Foster, assistant dean of the college of engineering at UMBC and director of the new SE program.

E-government is another field in need of professional development resources for its workers. A recent study by the CIO Council found that just 15 percent of more than 19,000 federal IT workers have extensive knowledge in e-government. UMBC’s Departments of Public Policy and Information Systems are responding with a new graduate certificate program in electronic government (e-gov), the first in the Baltimore/Washington area focused on skills needed to increase and improve online transactions and services offered by federal, state and local government to individuals and businesses.

Three of the nation’s top e-gov experts are teaching in the program: Pattee Fletcher, whose extensive federal information technology (IT) experience includes work for the General Accounting Office and the U.S. Treasury and Freddie Mac; Stephen Holden, whose federal government IT experience includes helping to develop the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) e-file system; and Donald F. Norris, a nationally known analyst, author and consultant on state and local government IT management. Norris and Fletcher are co-editors in chief of The International Journal of Electronic Government Research.

To provide important skills that will help workers in health, aging, social services and other fields better support community needs, UMBC and the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations have created a flexible, 12-credit graduate certificate program in the nonprofit sector. Students may begin the program at any time during the year and earn a post-baccalaureate certificate in as little as 18 months. Courses, offered at UMBC and at the Maryland Nonprofits’ Baltimore Office, include the role of nonprofit institutions in American society, research and evaluation methods, nonprofit sectors such as health and aging, and internal structures and external relations of nonprofit organizations.

(8/31/04)