I would like to bring special attention to the fact that PR-13 and PR-14 paperwork is due by the same deadline, of COB Thursday, November 19, 2020.

Dear Political Science Students.

One of our UMBC alums at Manis Canning & Associates is seeking an intern for the legislative session.  Stipend of $2,000, roughly 20 hours per week. 

This is a GREAT opportunity to get experience working with lobbyists during the MD General Assembly Session. 

TO APPLY, submit your resume and cover letter right away on UMBCworks, position 9319651.  If your resume is not approved in UMBCworks, simply upload it and let Christine Routzahn know to approve (routzahn@umbc.edu). 

Internship Opportunity early-January 2021 to mid-April 2021 During the Maryland General Assembly Session
Manis Canning & Associates
12 Francis St., Annapolis, MD 21401

Firm Overview
Manis Canning & Associates (MCA) is seeking a mature undergraduate student to serve as an intern to assist the firm’s lobbyists during the 2021 Maryland General Assembly Session. MCA is a bipartisan firm providing creative and proactive government affairs, public relations, business strategies and programs to a diverse group of clients. Its principals have more than 100 years of experience working with legislators, regulators and the executive branches of government at the local, state and federal levels. MCA has expertise in a broad range of policy areas such as sports entertainment, taxes, professional licensing, gaming, transportation, insurance, business regulation, information technology, environmental regulation, pharmaceuticals and healthcare. For information on the firm’s principals and clients visit MCA’s website, https://www.maniscanning.com/ .

Intern Qualifications
Applicant must be self-motivated; possess a level of maturity and interest necessary to complete assignments with little supervision; and possess good writing, communication, and computer skills.
- Knowledge of state issues and structure is a plus for this position. MCA’s office and the General Assembly buildings are located in downtown Annapolis.  Walking from MCA’s office to the General Assembly and government buildings will be required.
Schedule
- The internship begins in early-January just prior to the beginning of the General Assembly session through mid-April. The General Assembly session starts on January 13, 2021 and ends on Monday, April 12, 2021.
- A training day will be scheduled prior to the first day of the session.
- The intern will work at least 20 hours a week preferably on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as these are the days when committee hearings are held. Other schedules may be considered.

Responsibilities
•    Assist MCA lobbyists and staff with preparation and delivery of testimony and materials
•    Assist with signing up MCA lobbyists and other specified individuals to testify at bill hearings
•    Perform bill research as necessary, which may include retrieving relevant information from bill files in Senate and House Committees or the Legislative Services Library
•    Assist lobbyists with tracking legislation, by producing reports and tracking bill hearing dates, budget hearing dates, and other important meeting dates on calendars
•    Attend public bill hearings and budget hearings as needed taking notes of key relevant points mentioned during the hearings and sharing information with MCA lobbyists
•    Possibly assisting with posting General Assembly updates and news to the Manis Canning Newsletter
•    Other necessary duties as assigned

Compensation
A stipend comparable to that of the General Assembly internship program will be offered.

Hey Political Science Students,

The UMBC Center for Democracy and Civic Life will be holding a virtual election event called Election Night Extravaganza.  

Election Night Extravaganza is a UMBC tradition that brings members of our community together to watch and discuss election results in real time. Coming together at the end of an election has never been more important. This has been a divisive election season that has coincided with a pandemic, circumstances that can easily pull us apart. We are a community, and will continue to be a community after the election. 

Connect on Discord and WebEx with UMBC students, staff, faculty, and alumni to share space, offer reactions and insights, and learn more about Election 2020. RSVP required to receive an invitation to the various virtual spaces. Please use this link to RSVP. 

To celebrate in style, we are also offering a limited number of Cast Your Whole Vote-themed packages that include a t-shirt, stickers, a button, and a tote bag. To request your package, follow this link. 

The election packages have been made possible through contributions from the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, the Center for Social Science Scholarship, the Department of Political Science, the Graduate Student Association, the Resident Student Association, the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program, and the Student Government Association.

Election Extravaganza 2020 is coordinated by the Center for Democracy and Civic Life in partnership with the Student Government Association (SGA) and the Graduate Student Association (GSA), with support from student representatives from College Democrats, College Republicans, the Department of Political Science, the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) Scholars Program, the Grand Challenges Scholars Program, the Honors College, the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, Moot Court, the Resident Student Association (RSA), the Shriver Center, the Sondheim Scholars Program, the Student Events Board (seb), and Women Involved in Learning & Leadership (WILL+).

For questions, please email civiclife@umbc.edu. 

1. Take a screenshot of the Bingo board
2. Cross off the items you have completed
3. Repost your edited Bingo board to Instagram and tag @umbcfinancialsmarts

Share and challenge your friends by tagging them in your posts!

Bingo winners will be announced on our Instagram page on Monday, November 2nd at 11am!

This THURSDAY at 3pm the University of Chicago Booth School is specifically hosting an information session to share research staff positions.  The Booth School of Business research staff program is an unparalleled opportunity for researchers with undergraduate or graduate experience to support award-winning faculty research.  Open to all fields.  Be sure to attend this great session.

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		Christine Routzahn Director Career Center University of Maryland, Baltimore County 410-455-3907 (direct) 410-455-2216 (reception) Remote & Ready: Fall 2020 Operations
careers.umbc.edu

UMBC’s Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities is now in its third year of strengthening and expanding early childhood education in Maryland. The center was founded with the support of a $6 million grant from the George and Betsy Sherman Family Foundation in 2017. It has developed a series of research-based initiatives to address the needs of children from birth to eight years old in Maryland, and the workforce dedicated to educating them.

The initial grant founding the center helped establish the Maryland Early Childhood Leadership Program (MECLP), a faculty research fellowship, and an innovative literacy program. All three elements create a body of work that is transforming early childhood education—on campus, in Baltimore City, and across the state.

Strong partnerships with researchers, schools, and families are the foundation of this work. “We never say, ‘This is what we are going to do.’ We engage our partners in conversation about what they need,” shares Mavis Sanders, professor of education and director of the Sherman Center. 

“We try not to be reactive or directive, but responsive,” she says. “It is about listening. We can’t do our work without our partnerships.”

Investing in early childhood research

The Sherman Center’s faculty research fellowships support faculty and their doctoral students. The funding helps them undertake research that expands knowledge about policies and practices related to early childhood education. The program encourages collaborations within and across departments, fields, and institutions. Awards range from $50,000 to $100,000. 

Kindel Nash andlanguage, literacy, and culture (LLC) doctoral student Josh Michael ‘10, political science and education, were the inaugural research fellows in 2017-2018. Nash is an associate professor of education and Michael is the assistant director of UMBC’s Sherman STEM Teachers Scholars Program. Their multi-year study, in collaboration with Maree G. Farring Elementary/Middle School, examines the effects of using the Read Two Impress intervention with struggling third-grade readers. 

Nash explains this intervention in “Parents can help kids catch up in reading with a 10-minute daily routine” for The Conversation. Their research found that having bilingual books with culturally authentic content led to increased engagement among Latinx children and their families. Nash’s new book, Toward Culturally Sustaining Teaching, further explores this topic.

Evaluating the literacy fellows program

Two additional faculty received the award in 2018 – 2019. Susan Sonnenschein, professor of psychology, and Claudia Galindo, associate professor of education policy, University of Maryland, and former associate professor of LLC at UMBC. The team is working with Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle School and Curtis Bay Elementary/Middle School. They are studying the outcomes of the Sherman Center’s Literacy Fellows program, a collaboration with UMBC’s Shriver Center. 

The program provides teachers additional classroom support from UMBC student volunteers from all majors. Sherman Center Literacy fellows volunteered for nearly 300 hours in 2018 – 2019 and more than 500 hours in 2019 – 2020.

“Dr. Sonneschein and I have been working collaboratively for ten years. We take an interdisciplinary approach to examine family and school mechanisms. This helps to improve the educational experiences and outcomes of Black and Brown students,” explains Galindo. “We have witnessed the potential and impact of the Literacy Fellows program on students and teachers in Baltimore City.” 

Latest research awards focus on Judy Centers

Research awards for 2020 – 2021 were given to two research teams. The first team includes Patricia A. Young, associate professor of education, and Deborah Kabura Kariuki, clinical instructor of computer science education. Young and Kariuki are working on a year-long study, “Infusing a Culture-based Computational Thinking Curriculum in Urban Preschools.” They will partner with the Judith P. Hoyer Center Early Learning Hub at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School. Judy Centers help prepare children from age birth through kindergarten for school readiness.

Patricia Young. Photo courtesy of Young.

“It is imperative that disenfranchised students and communities have opportunities to explore computational thinking, to be active participants in this technological revolution,” shares Young. “Our research provides an introduction into the practices of computational thinking for preschoolers and the pedagogy for preschool teachers.” 

The team will create an e-learning module and computational thinking instructional materials to help children at the Judy Center learn these concepts.

The second team includes Jane Lincove, associate professor of public policy; Lieny Jeon, assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins School of Education; and Sarah Bollard, citywide coordinator for Judy Centers. They are working on a three-year study, “Judy Centers in Baltimore: Improving Data-Informed Decisions.” 

Diverse books anchor literacy 

The cornerstone of the Sherman Center is its focus on improving literacy experiences and outcomes for young learners in Baltimore City. “Literacy is a gateway to knowledge across all curriculum areas,” says Sanders. The Sherman Center has implemented four literacy interventions: the Diverse Books Project; Teacher Summer Institute; Literacy Fellows; and Families, Libraries, and Early Literacy Project. 

The Center implements these literacy programs through close partnerships with five Baltimore City Public Schools and 50 early childhood educators. Together, they reach about 1,250 children. They also work with approximately 30 families annually who have children ages birth to three, through the Judy Centers at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School and Curtis Bay Elementary/Middle School. 

The Diverse Books Project is a growing library of books housed at the Sherman Center. It reflects the lives and cultures of children and families of color. The books are used by UMBC teaching interns, graduate students, volunteers, and faculty, and by early childhood educators. They use the books to introduce and reinforce literacy across all subjects. 

Teaching with diverse books

During the Sherman Center’s Teacher Summer Institute teachers partner schools learn to use these books as tools to support literacy. They also explore how research-based strategies like translanguaging can support more inclusive, high-achieving classrooms.

In 2019, 49 educators across the state requested 250 diverse books after working with the Sherman Center. The Institute went virtual this summer. It provided 50 early childhood educators from partner schools with nearly $15,000 worth of supplies for their students and to set up virtual classrooms. 

Working directly with families

In addition to working with teachers, the Sherman Center also works directly with families. They are invited to attend quarterly Families, Libraries, and Early Literacy Project events at Lakeland and Curtis Bay Elementary/Middle Schools. The events provide families a safe space in their neighborhoods to meet other families. They also learn strategies to promote their children’s kindergarten readiness, and create materials to support learning at home. 

In addition to these activities, a librarian from the Enoch Pratt Free Library leads a story time session for the families at the events. Families also have a chance to select and take home diverse books for their children. In 2019, UMBC distributed 178 multicultural books to families at Curtis Bay and Lakeland Judy Centers.

Creating a new system

As the world copes with COVID-19, the Sherman Center’s literacy, professional development, and research programs will continue to adapt. The center will support the literacy needs of children throughout Maryland in the current virtual environment.

“We are not preparing teachers, administrators, public servants, and students to adapt strategies to work within the status quo of early childhood,” notes Sanders. Instead, the Sherman Center is preparing education professionals to be innovators. She says, “We will create a new early childhood education system that reflects and serves the diversity of today and tomorrow.”

Banner image: Sanders (in the middle, in red) surrounded by Sherman Center, Judy Center, and Enoch Pratt Free Library staff at the Families, Libraries, and Early Literacy Project event at Lakeland in February 2019. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC unless otherwise noted.

Nearly 100 industry experts and entrepreneurs gathered virtually for Cybertini 2020, hosted by bwtech@UMBC, UMBC’s research and technology park, on October 15. The annual event offers a unique opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn from industry professionals and experts in academia, and this year focused on cybersecurity related to elections. This is the second of three Cybertini events scheduled for this year.

UMBC’s Rick Forno, assistant director of the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity, joined Ron Gula, president of Gula Tech Adventures, and Sarah Lenti, executive director of the Lincoln Project, for the panel discussion. In the context of a highly contentious 2020 U.S. election season, panelists shared their perspectives on the particular cybersecurity challenges the U.S. electoral system faces today. 

Gula grounded the conversation with a key point: that elections are now considered to be part of critical infrastructure, but that challenges to its security are unique. Megan Wahler, director of entrepreneurial services at bwtech@UMBC, moderated the event. 

Continuous attention to security

Forno and Gula both argued that it’s important to continuously look at the security of information sharing broadly, rather than focusing on security when an election comes around. 

Rick Forno. Photo by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.

“I think you don’t look at it in the context of securing an election,” said Forno. “I think you need to look at it as securing an information ecosystem over time, not just every two or four years.” This means there will always be a need for expertise and innovations related to securing information, he noted. 

Gula similarly emphasized that it is important for leaders to take cyber hygiene and data security seriously in order to protect companies, governments, and elections from vulnerabilities in the long term. “If we can educate [people running for office] before they get into office, then they’re going to make better cyber policy decisions for all of us,” he said. 

Electronic voting and misinformation

The speakers also discussed how to ensure the security of future electronic voting platforms, a particularly hot-button issue in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Gula explained that it’s possible to develop a secure electronic voting system, but that this security might be dependent on maintaining a paper trail. Forno cautioned that the U.S. electoral system also poses particular challenges, given that each state and territory has its own process for running elections. 

Ron Gula. Photo courtesy of Gula.

Returning to the present election, Forno discussed how securing information shared on social media also plays a role in elections, even if people are still voting through traditional means. He suggested that social media companies must play a major role in identifying and preventing the spread of misinformation. By blocking inaccurate information from being posted or shared online, these companies can thwart efforts to bad actors to influence elections. UMBC faculty, students, and alumni are currently working on artificial intelligence and cybersecurity technologies to address these issues.

Sarah Lenti. Photo courtesy of Lenti.

Further discussing vulnerabilities of the current election, Lenti described her organization’s work to track voter suppression efforts, to hold leaders accountable to maintaining a secure and accessible electoral process. The Lincoln Project recently announced a partnership with See Say 2020, which allows people to report acts of voter suppression and election interference in real time. 

“The Lincoln Project’s role is to basically shine a light on these activities with the hopes of it leading to some remedy and creating a deterrent,” Lenti said.

Forno reflected that looking at the broad ways in which cybersecurity plays a role in current and future elections shows how “cyber touches every aspect of society.”

Banner image: The entrance to bwtech@UMBC. Photo by Marlayna Demond ‘11 for UMBC.