Attention all UMBC student employees!  
What could be better than having an on-campus job?

Having an on-campus job and getting a notation on your transcript that tells employers you made the effort to enhance your professional development!
Make your campus experience count!

Enroll in PRAC 102 Building Skills for Career Success TODAY!  Don’t worry, it’s not a formal class! With the minimal commitment of attending a few workshops and career events you will be better prepared for the world of work and have the proof on your college transcript to show your employer.  Don’t let this opportunity pass you by!

Click HERE to enroll in this zero credit practicum for Spring 2017.  Also, obtain the Syllabus below (SEE DOCUMENT DOWNLOAD).  Open to all levels and majors.  Deadline to enroll:  March 6, 2017

Must be a UMBC student employee working at least eight hours per week on campus.

Supervisor confirmation of employment will be requested.

QUESTIONS, please contact Caroline Bodnar at the Career Center at  carolc@umbc.edu or (410) 455-2216.

This article, written by Max Cole, originally appeared here. 

As a form of public service, public historians can help create historical understanding with a variety of partners by sharing authority and inquiry in the communities that they serve. But what does studying the origins of public history reveal about the discipline?

Denise Meringolo, an associate professor of history and director of public history, recently published an article that studies roots of this question on the National Council on Public History website (NCPH). She contributed the article as part of the “Radical Roots: Civic Engagement, Public History, and a Tradition of Social Justice Activism,” a collaborative research project that “identifies new historical precedents for the values and practices that have come to define the field, particularly those now associated with civic engagement,” according to the NCPH website.

In her article, Meringolo argues how public history largely centers around collaborative scholarship, community-based education, and university-community partnership.

“By identifying experiments in community-based education less strictly tied to university and college departments of history, we can open up more nuanced critical perspectives on the intersections among teaching, learning, and community development,” she wrote.

Meringolo references The American Civilization Institute (ACIM) of Morristown, New Jersey as an early example of community-based education and teaching due to its engagement with local students and faculty in its community.

“Founders of the ACIM recognized that growing interest in historic preservation provided them with an opportunity to connect research and interpretation to political activism and advocacy,” she wrote.

Professor Meringolo is leading a project to archive materials from the Baltimore Uprising through a website that was launched in 2015. The aim is to gather and preserve a diverse range of perspectives and experiences from the events surrounding the Uprising, and there have been thousands of submissions from community members. Read more about her work on the history department website.

Image: Denise Meringolo. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

At the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History on February 3, President Freeman Hrabowski called on stories from his childhood and UMBC today to share a forward-looking message on improving diversity in STEM fields as part of the museum’s “An Evening With…” series.

Marching with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as a 12-year-old boy inspired Hrabowski to dream that “tomorrow could be different from today, and young people could be empowered to make that difference.” Pres. Hrabowski has spent his career in education turning that dream into action, focused in particular on creating a campus culture that supports students from all backgrounds.

Speaking candidly, Hrabowski shared his perspective that institutions need to “look in the mirror” and ask themselves tough questions to ensure they are continuously working to meet their ideals. In particular, he argued against “weed-out courses” and the mindset behind them, which results in high rates of students leaving STEM majors. Instead, he has found that “building community and getting away from a cutthroat approach” improve student success.

At UMBC, “community” means having a mutually supportive peer group and “nurturing environment.” That includes faculty and staff who are committed to “inclusive excellence” and are prepared to match students with new opportunities and the resources needed to achieve success, such as professors “who are willing to go beyond the classroom, to connect with students and to pull them into research,” Hrabowski said.

Emphasizing excellence, Hrabowski argued, does not suggest educators should expect students get everything right on the first try. “We have begun to rebel against even the word ‘smart,’” he argued. Instead, he prioritizes resilience and “grit,” while providing students with the resources and the learning environment they need to grow and achieve their goals.

As the event shifted to a discussion, attendees began sharing personal stories of supporting students on the path to success in STEM, and the challenges encountered along the way.

When a Prince George’s County middle school principal asked how to create a community focused on inclusive excellence at his school, Hrabowski emphasized, “Things don’t change completely overnight.” He advised, “It always helps to start with a small group of people who want to address the issue and then build from there.”

One parent of a UMBC student thanked Pres. Hrabowski for the approach UMBC has taken to student success, sharing, “My son is so excited about what he’s doing…Our home is like a science lab.”

A black researcher asked for advice on how to help new colleagues resist impostor syndrome and maintain their confidence outside of supportive communities like UMBC. Hrabowski responded that support from peers and more senior colleagues is essential, explaining, “There’s always a need for people who have experience to be there as a sounding board.” He suggested that researchers who have benefited from the support of colleagues and mentors in the past, and who have achieved success through resilience, “can elevate others by helping them continue to aspire to the next level.”

As the event came to a close, a 10-year-old girl asked Hrabowski why he thinks so few people are interested in science in the United States, and how she could become more engaged with science. “We have not understood the need to help our children and families understand first how exciting science can be and that anybody can do science and math,” he responded, “and we need more TV programs and activities where people see girls, boys, and people of all races doing science.”

He then shared with her opportunities at UMBC for kids to begin engaging with science, including a summer coding program for girls. Sharing his lifelong love of math, he asked her a word problem and requested an answer by email. “I don’t just want the answer,” he said. “I want you to tell me how you would explain it to somebody else.”

Their exchange recalled a powerful moment earlier in the program, when President Hrabowski summed up his core goal as an educator. “What we’re trying to do at UMBC,” he said, “is to teach young people of all races that they can change the world.”

Image: President Hrabowski with UMBC students and alumni at the National Museum of Natural History. Photo Sarah Hansen ’15.