Just as the classes she’s teaching wrap up, Danielle L. Beatty Moody, assistant professor of psychology, will embark on a year-long learning experience of her own. She’ll join the 2017 – 2018 cohort of the Professional Mentoring Skills Enhancing Diversity program, or PROMISED.

“One of the central goals of the program is to strengthen and bolster support for the pipeline of individuals from underrepresented backgrounds in the biomedical sciences from graduate to faculty positions,” says Beatty Moody of the competitive, NIH-sponsored fellowship program funded by the National Research Mentoring Network. “That’s the ultimate goal.”

The fellowship includes an introductory three-day conference, independent online modules, weekly teleconferences with fellow PROMISED participants, and guidance from highly experienced mentors. All aspects of the program are intended to improve the fellows’ leadership and mentoring skills so they can effectively support aspiring researchers from a wide range of backgrounds.

Beatty Moody is looking forward to learning best practices for “mentoring and guiding individuals who desire to develop breadth and scope as researchers and professionals,” she says, which could include first-generation college students, immigrants, or people with disabilities, among others. She hopes to better support students in reaching their goals, based on their individual experiences, needs, and interests. “Mentoring is not a one-size-fits-all model,” she emphasizes.

By completing the program, fellows earn a certificate in leadership from the Institute for Clinical Research Education at the University of Pittsburgh, which is also the site of the initial conference. The leadership modules include topics such as better understanding the complexities of academia, setting the culture in a higher education context, and managing research teams.

Beatty Moody intends to share what she learns with UMBC colleagues, and hopes to support the commitment and growing interests around mentorship at UMBC. “I’m most excited about the culture that such opportunities have the capacity to develop,” she says.

As a psychologist, Beatty Moody’s research focuses on how health disparities—specifically, rates of cardiovascular disease—between people of color and other groups in the United States may be generated by social and cultural factors. Ultimately, she wants to take her work beyond the academic sphere. “Policy has always been a passion for me. It’s one thing to do the work and to demonstrate the significance of these linkages,” she says, but “it’s another to take that journal off the shelf and ask, ‘How do we implement something that will undo what these data are showing?’”

Beatty Moody is especially excited about the growing diversity of graduate students and faculty in the human services psychology program at UMBC, and the wide range of research topics they’re pursuing. “Programs like PROMISED enable us to shore up diversity in research questions and methodologies,” she says, “so that more junior scholars have a strong start in creating a foundation for a career that can ultimately support greater equity in our society.”

Image: Danielle L. Beatty Moody; photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Call for Papers

Mellon Emerging Scholars Conference

“Sustaining Diverse and Inclusive Communities”

Thanks to generous support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Queens College has undertaken a three-year project led by faculty and students to advance understanding and formulate plans of action that foster diversity and inclusion in urban communities and higher education.  As part of this, the College will host a two-day conference to showcase research by emerging scholars in the humanities and social sciences.

The two-day conference will be held on November 13-14, 2017, on the Queens College campus located in the heart of the world’s most diverse urban place.  Our students hail from 150 different countries and speak 70 different languages.  The conference will afford ample opportunities for interdisciplinary exchange and contribute to the professional development of the emerging scholars who participate as well as for students and faculty from across CUNY. A special reception for undergraduates, held on the first evening of the conference, will provide them a chance to meet and talk with conference presenters and attendees to learn more about shared fields of interest and careers in higher education.  Conference proceedings will be broadcast via the web and also captured for later podcasts, thus amplifying their impact.  Publication of selected papers as a book is also planned.  Finally, time will be set aside for interviews arranged in advance of the conference for open faculty positions at Queens College and other CUNY campuses to take advantage of this recruitment opportunity to enhance faculty diversity. 

Scholars, especially those in the early stage of their career, are invited to propose papers no more than 30 minutes in length. While limited travel and accommodation support will be provided, participants are encouraged to solicit funding support from their home institutions. 

Learn more about the conference by go to:

http://mellondiversity.qc.cuny.edu/

Learn more about Queens College by going to:  http://www.qc.cuny.edu/Pages/home.aspx

Please send a 250-word proposal and CV to:

Mellon Conference Program Committee

c/o Michael Wolfe, Dean of Social Sciences

Michael.Wolfe@qc.cuny.edu

Deadline:         August 15, 2017

UMBC will welcome two alumni—known today as global leaders in their fields—as commencement speakers at this spring’s undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies.

On Wednesday, May 24, Dr. Ralph D. Semmel, ‘92, computer science, will speak at the graduate commencement ceremony. Semmel is the director of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), which conducts research and development for the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, and the intelligence community. He oversees the scientific and technological contributions of APL staff on national and global levels.

“We are absolutely delighted to have Dr. Semmel back on campus to share his story with our graduates,” says Karl V. Steiner, vice president for research.

UMBC physics professors Jim Franson and Todd Pittman both launched their careers at APL, and UMBC and APL have continued to develop meaningful connections throughout the years. “A growing number of our former students now have exciting and impactful careers at APL,” Steiner notes. “The close proximity of our two institutions makes us perfect partners for future collaborations.”

Before his current role, Semmel founded APL’s Applied Information Sciences Department and Infocentric Operations Business Area and served in numerous other research and leadership roles at APL, Wang Laboratories, the MITRE Corporation and the U.S. Army. He has also served on a number of boards, panels, and committees at federal science and technology organizations.

Stephanie C. Hill ‘86, computer science and economics, will speak to the Class of 2017 at UMBC’s undergraduate commencement ceremony on Thursday, May 25. She is the vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s Cyber, Ships and Advanced Technologies (CSAT) line for Rotary and Missions Systems.

After graduating from UMBC, Hill became a software engineer at Lockheed Martin. Since then, she has held a wide range of senior leadership positions at the company in information systems, civil business, electronic systems, and sensors business.

“Stephanie Hill is such a great choice for undergraduate commencement speaker. As a female African American computer scientist who has had an incredibly successful career in technology leadership, she embodies UMBC’s commitments to diversity, civic engagement, social responsibility, and lifelong learning,” says Marie desJardins, associate dean in the College of Engineering and Information Technology and professor of computer science.

“She is also an outspoken proponent of STEM education and outreach, and is an inspiring role model for all of our students,” says desJardins.

Several organizations and publications have recognized Hill for her impressive career path and her work to advance STEM education. In 2014, she was included on EBONY Magazine’s Power 100 list, which recognized President Hrabowski in 2016. Locally, Hill was presented with the Greater Baltimore Committee’s President’s Award for supporting the development of minority-owned businesses.

Hill currently serves on the S&P Global Board of Directors and is the chair of the Greater Baltimore Committee. Driven by her passion for STEM education, she is also involved with Project Lead the Way, a national organization that provides STEM teacher training for K-12 educators.

UMBC will honor Hill with a doctorate of public service and Semmel with a doctorate of science.

The University of Maryland School of Medicine's annual Open House is scheduled for Wednesday, June 14^th, 2017.  

Students can register on this site http://www.medschool.umaryland.edu/admissions/open-house/ .

Nintendo looked to the prehistoric civilization of Jomon as inspiration for its newest game in The Legend of Zelda series: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Intricate flame-like patterns, one of Jomon’s signifying visual features, can be found all over the game on guardian robots, in dungeons, and on Link’s Sheikah Slate. Another relic from the Jomon era, Dogu (clay figurines), appears in the form of an oven named Cherry, who provides Link with armor and weapons for his journey.

This summer, students will visit Baltimore’s renowned museums and go on their own historic journey in ART 216: Studies in Visual Culture (Prehistory through the 1750s). This course aims to provide students with an understanding of how societies and their histories are shaped by art and visual culture. While experiencing the great collections of the Walters Art Museum and the Baltimore Museum of Art, students will explore several significant moments in the history of world art dating from prehistory to the mid-eighteenth century. Architecture, painting, sculpture, religion, and philosophy are potential topics that may be discussed.

ART 216 is a six-week course offered during summer session 1. Classes will be held at the Lion Brothers Building in Baltimore.