“My best teaching memories involve students writing or visiting after graduation, to talk about life, how their learning stuck, or changed their thinking in salubrious ways.”

– Dr. Robert Anderson

I began teaching in 1975 and have been at UMBC since 1987. I would describe my teaching style as collaborative, focusing on personal understanding, critical thinking, and real life application.  I strive to create a classroom environment that is engaging, scholarly, and real, encouraging critical thinking about everything.

Winter Session 2018

 
At just four weeks, winter session is a challenging format for student and professor, but can also be very rewarding.  Students in my classes probably return for other classes as much as they do because, in addition to disabusing themselves of popular misconceptions, they tend to grow in dialectical thinking and personal values clarification, which is very rewarding for everyone.

“Students should understand that Winter Session is one-third the time of a regular semester, yet we cover the same material – so demands are intense, requiring substantial diligence and commitment to attending every class.”

 
This winter I am teaching PSY 285 – Abnormal Psychology, which offers a unique collaborative learning experience with lots of personal and clinical examples, and clinical and real-world applications.  PSYC 285 fulfills the Social Sciences GEP.

Application OPEN. Deadline to apply is February 7, 2018

John 1:1-5,14 (NIV) – “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV) – “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

“The prologue to John [John 1:1-14] is not about a message that offers hope, but about The Message that is the only hope. It is not about an idea, but a person. The Word became flesh tells us that God is intent on communicating with us not about mere concepts; he is intent on communicating about himself.

“There is only one hope, and it is God in Christ. In this incarnation God has exhibited the glory and grace that is native to his selfhood; and through this incarnation, humankind can regain the glory and grace it once had when it was created. The natural eye cannot see the glory of God since it is dimmed by sin. Instead, it is necessary for God to work, to self-disclose, to send his Son, who alone has exposed God’s heart (1:18).

“When God takes this initiative, new possibilities are born. Divine power is released into the broken world and its broken lives so that new life is possible. The theological key that the world finds so foreign lies here: Transformation and hope cannot be the fruit of some human endeavor. Only God can take the initiative, and men and women must see, receive, and believe the work he desires to do. And when they do, they are reborn to become God’s children.” [Burge, Gary M.. John (The NIV Application Commentary) (p. 14, 17). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.]

Worship: “A Christmas Alleluia” by Christ Tomlin – Link: “A Christmas Alleluia”

Prayer: Our Father in heaven, help us to honor Your name. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. Reveal to me afresh your Son who came to save sinners like me. Renew in my heart the only hope for my life and may I express it fully today by magnifying Jesus in all that I say and do. Be glorified in my life. In Jesus name, Amen.

– TR

The Commons transformed into an art gallery last week, as Commonvision brought art to students with Art Week, a chance for the campus community to get creative.

Art Week in its current form began almost ten years ago, though Emma Hagen, Coordinator for Commonvision and Art Week, says it has existed in some form for as long as Commonvision has been at UMBC. Art Week is open to students from all departments, and features events like the Art Week Gallery, artist lecturers and a painting night inspired by Bob Ross.

Commonvision collaborates with the department of the Commons and with the office of Student Life for Art Week, but students and offices from all over campus are encouraged to get involved. Many of the events take place on Commons Mainstreet, so students can walk by and make a craft, design a cupcake and take a Polaroid in front of the woodland scene set up, while also perusing their classmates’ artwork in the Commons gallery.

Art Week began as a way for students across campus to express their creativity.

Hagen says, “We knew there was a need for art program in the Commons, and there were gallery spaces,” adding that “[Art Week] fed a need, especially in a school that is seen as STEM-heavy.”

Katie Chrzanowski, the Multimedia Coordinator for Commonvision, expounds upon some of the events this year. “The motion challenge allows [us] to see the hard work and talents, sometimes hidden, of students that we don’t always get to see on a day-to-day basis, and the artist lectures can give lots of great insight [that] students might not get in the classroom,” she explains.

Hagen thinks that Art Week is an important event for UMBC students. “Students want a creative outlet, even if art is just a hobby,” she says. Art Week seeks to provide such an outlet. It would seem the students agree: the gallery and zine received over 100 submissions from 50 or 60 students this year. The week’s collaboration with the Office of Health Promotions features the condom art competition which has 40 students working together on seven teams.

Students like Deborah Cagas, a junior studying global studies, came out to several of the events offered this week. Cagas really enjoyed what the event had to offer, particularly the cupcake decorating station. She found Art Week refreshing. “I like seeing, oh yeah, UMBC isn’t just STEM majors,” she said.

Fellow junior Katherine Magtanong, a health administration and policy program major, agrees, “It’s cool to see how diverse the school is.” She looks forward to attending more Art Week events in the future.

For more information on what Commonvision has in store, check out their website.

National Press Club Event: Rise to Dominance of Cybersecurity Challenges

Join UMBC and industry and government experts for a panel on how cybersecurity touches our everyday lives and how journalists can engage a wide range of readers in cybersecurity news. This panel will touch on topics ranging from online commerce to national conversations about security leaks. It will also explore how to best prepare the next generation of cybersecurity leaders to effectively tackle the challenges we are facing.

Thursday, 7 December 2017, 4:00-6:00pm
National Press Club, Washington, D.C.
Light refreshments will be served.

Registration by December 4 preferred.

Moderator: New York Times reporter Scott Shane

Featured panelists include:

• Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, UMBC President
• Nigel Faulkner, CIO, T. Rowe Price
• Anupam Joshi, Director, UMBC Center for Cybersecurity; Professor and Chair, Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
• Lauren Mazzoli ’15, M.S ’17, Systems Engineer, Future Technical Leaders Program, Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Tina Williams ’02, President, TCecure, LLC; Cybersecurity Academic Innovation Officer for University System of Maryland

Contact Candace Dodson-Reed at *protected email* with questions.

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