One Week Until Class begins! Yikes!

Fall 2015 Internship Postings

Internships

The Walters Art Museum is pleased to offer opportunities for qualified undergraduate and graduate candidates to intern in various museum divisions throughout the year. Based on a system of supervised learning, the internships enable interns to understand how a museum operates and how to relate this experience to academic and professional goals. Credit can be arranged with your college/university.

All candidates will submit a cover letter, resume and all supplemental materials to internships@thewalters.org by September 4th, 2015. Some internship positions require additional materials (see below). Please indicate your first and second choice of internship in your cover letter.

The Walters Art Museum is an equal opportunity, equal access employer committed to achieving a diverse workforce. Employment at the Walters is contingent on a favorable investigative background check. The museum is a drug and smoke free work workplace. The Walters Art Museum is an at will employer.

Fall 2015 Internships

Development Intern 

The development internship will introduce students to the importance of the development department and fundraising to an arts institution. Interns will assist staff members with tasks crucial to daily fundraising efforts including: donor research data maintenance and renewal mailings. Interns will learn about planned giving, major gifts, individual and corporate giving, grants, membership, and database administration; and how these divisions come together for a comprehensive fundraising plan.

Duties:

 Assist in preparation for the Museum’s Annual Gala and various donor stewardship events

 Perform monthly renewals for members and annual giving donors

 Research and direct mailing

 Organize donor profiles using Raiser’s Edge database system

 Other tasks as assigned Experience/Skills:

 Strong written communication skills

 Detail oriented and strong organizational skills

 Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) at the intermediate level

 Flexible, able to work in a fast paced environment

 Strong sense of teamwork

 Interest in nonprofits and fundraising: donor stewardship, major gifts, membership, grant writing, and annual giving

 Knowledge of Blackbaud’s Raisers Edge a plus

Preferred Major or Areas of Study:

 Art History/ Arts Administration

 English

 Business Management

 Computer Science

In addition to the standard application materials, please provide your transcript, two letters of reference, and a writing sample. Application deadline is September 4th, 2015.

Institutional Giving (Grants) Intern

The Institutional Giving Internship is in the Walters Museum Advancement Division which integrates development (fundraising) and marketing & communications. This opportunity will provide learning experiences about the critical role of fundraising for an arts museum. While projects and duties will focus on those from institutional sources including government, foundation, and corporate entities, the intern will also learn about planned giving, major gifts, individual giving, membership, and database administration; and how these divisions come together for a comprehensive fundraising plan.

Duties:

 Learn about the grant process by participating in meetings, reviewing draft proposals or reports (i.e. government, corporate, foundation)

 Conduct online research

 Assist with producing materials for presentations for a variety of funding sources

 Learn the intricacies of the Raiser’s Edge database system, a fundamental tool of many nonprofit organizations

 Other duties as assigned

Experience/Skills:

 Organized and detail oriented

 Ability to follow instructions and work independently

 Interest in grant writing or fundraising preferred, but not necessary

 Knowledge of Blackbaud’s Raisers Edge a plus

 Strong sense of teamwork

 Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) at the intermediate level

 Excellent writing and communication skills

In addition to the standard application materials, please provide a writing sample.

Application deadline is September 4th, 2015.

Manuscript Digitization Intern

This internship will support the Walters Art Museum Curatorial and Information Technology departments by helping to digitize our collection of French manuscripts. Intern will also assist with increasing the project’s social media presence.

Duties:

 Aid in the digitization of the museum’s extensive collection of French Manuscripts, including writing catalog entries for digitized manuscripts, updating biographical information, and assisting digitizers

 Perform general rare book duties, including preparing books for display and updating curatorial files

 Assist with imaging French medieval manuscripts including, properly handling delicate books from the Walter’s manuscript collection, operating a custom-made book cradle, using image-processing software to capture high resolution images, and performing initial quality control checks on each image captured

 Contribute to the project’s social media presence on Flickr and Twitter by uploading and tagging digitized manuscripts and composing daily tweets

 Other duties may be assigned based on skill and level of interest

Experience/Skills:

 Must be detail oriented; strong written communication skills and an understanding of the book as an object

 Experience handling fragile archival materials and historic documents is desirable; working with medieval manuscripts and printed rare books is a delicate task

 Foreign language reading knowledge a plus

 Photography skills, metadata knowledge a plus

Preferred Major or Areas of Study:

 Art History

 Medieval Studies

 Book Arts/ Codicology

 Historical Bibliography

 Museum Studies

 History

In addition to the standard application materials, please provide your transcript and two letters of reference. Application deadline is September 4th, 2015. 

Public Relations Intern 

The Walters public relations internship will introduce students to the business of public relations and offer them an opportunity to be involved in daily public relations activities. This intern will assist with public and media relations outreach for Pearls on a String: Artists, Patrons, and Poets at the Great Islamic Courts. Interns will gain experience in media relations, internal communications, and community relations.

 Duties:

 Assist manager with creating press lists and drafting media advisories  Pitch letters and releases for news worthy content  Research and analyze target audiences and competitive trend tracking for industry related opportunities

 Other public relations duties as assigned

Experience/Skills:

 Excellent writing and editing skills

 Proficient computer skills (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)

 Strong business communication skills

 Familiarity with public speaking

Preferred Major or Areas of Study:

 Public Relations

 Communications

 Journalism

 Mass Media Arts

 English

 In addition to the standard application materials, please provide two letters of reference and two writing samples. Application deadline is September 4th, 2015.

Curatorial Intern in East Asian Art

This intern will perform research and assist with projects related to the Walters’ renowned collection of art from the Eastern Asia. The intern will contribute the Museum’s scholarly resources for the study of East Asian art through research on Walters’ objects. The products of this research will find their place within the permanent installation, curatorial research files, and online.

Duties:

 Conduct research related to East Asian Collections

 Update descriptions, and other specified data fields related to works of art in the collection using the TMS database

 Identify potential objects for display based on existing themes in the arts of Asia and create information packages

Experiences/Skills:

 Library and web research skills required

 Educational or professional background in Art History preferred

 Some East Asian language exposure/ experience preferred

Preferred Major or Areas of Study:

 Chinese/Japanese/Korean Art History

 Study of Asian languages

 Humanities Studies 

In addition to the standard application materials, please provide your transcript and a letter of reference. Application deadline is September 4th, 2015.

Family Programs Intern 

The Family Programs Intern will work as part of the Family & Community Programs Department to assist the Head of Family & Community Programs and Sr. Education Coordinators on upcoming programming and interpretation for families. The Family Programs Intern will assist with the planning and implementation of upcoming Sensory Morning programs, accessible museum programming designed for visitor with Sensory Processing Disorders. 

Duties:

 Assist with developing activities for upcoming Sensory Morning programs

 Identify and contact organizations to participate in Sensory Morning programs

 Select and organize materials for Sensory Morning programs

 Promote access programming for diverse audiences

Experiences/Skills:

 Excellent organizational and time management skills

 Strong sense of teamwork with the ability to work independently

 Intermediate fine arts experience preferred, demonstrating an understanding of various art materials and techniques

 Knowledge of visitor needs with Sensory Processing Disorders, including Autism

Preferred Major or Areas of Study:

 Fine Arts

 History

 Liberal Arts

 Special Education

In addition to the standard application materials, please provide two letters of reference.

Application deadline is September 4th, 2015.

Family Programs Intern

The Family Programs Intern will work as part of the Family & Community Programs Department to assist the Head of Family & Community Programs and Sr. Education Coordinators on upcoming programming and interpretation for families. The Family Programs Intern will assist with the planning and implementation of upcoming Drop-In and Art Cart Activities.

Duties:

 Assist with the planning of weekly Drop-In Art Activities by researching the collection, developing art activities, writing lesson plans, preparing materials, and creating exemplars of projects

 Assist with maintaining Art Cart activities by organizing and replenishing materials, as well as recommending new activities

 Assist with the implementation of Drop-In and Art Cart activities

 Perform studio and office duties

Experience/Skills:

 Excellent written and communication skills, including the ability to great lesson plans and write for a multi-generational audience

 Strong organizational and time management skills

 Fine arts studio experience preferred, demonstrating an understanding of various art materials and techniques

 Hands-on art education experience in formal or informal education environments preferred

 Museum experience desired

 Strong sense of teamwork with the ability to work independently

Preferred Major or Areas of Study:

 Fine Arts

 Art History

 Museum Education

 Art Education

In addition to the standard application materials, please provide two letters of reference and a writing sample. Application deadline is September 4th, 2015.

Mehdi Benna, a Center for Space Science and Technology planetary scientist, is the lead author of a paper confirming the presence of neon in the Moon’s exosphere. The paper was published in Geophysical Research Letters and has received widespread international media attention.

In the paper, Benna describes observations from NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer, known as LADEE. Though many have suspected that the Moon’s exosphere contained neon, Benna’s paper is the first to confirm its presence. “The presence of neon in the exosphere of the moon has been a subject of speculation since the Apollo missions, but no credible detections were made,” Benna said. “We were very pleased to not only finally confirm its presence, but to show that it is relatively abundant.”

Benna spoke to Discovery News about the importance of the finding, saying, “It’s critical to learn about the lunar exosphere before sustained human exploration substantially alters it.”

Additional Media Coverage:
NASA’s LADEE spacecraft finds neon in lunar atmosphere (Astronomy Now)
NASA spacecraft finds glowing neon gas on moon (Zee News)
Nasa Ladee Probe Finds Neon in the Moon’s Atmosphere (NDTV Gadgets)
Radical! Neon Found on the Moon (Space.com)
The moon has a NEON atmosphere: Ladee spacecraft confirms presence of the gas for the first time (Daily Mail)
NASA spacecraft finds glowing neon gas on moon (Bharat Press)

One of the greatest things UMBC students and alums can do is make contributions to the local community. Alums Delali Dzirasa ‘04, engineering and information systems, and Erin Travis ‘06, visual and performing Arts, do exactly that by stepping outside the campus perimeters and starting their own businesses in Catonsville. See how their businesses help service the community.

Delali Dzirasa ‘04, engineering and information systems, is the owner and creator of Fearless Solutions, a company that specializes in application development. Fearless Solutions revolutionizes the contracting opportunities for local businesses that would otherwise be unable to act on such opportunities. Dzirasa’s latest creation, HUBFinder, is an application geared at making it easier for small businesses and job seekers to access federal programs.

To read the full article, click here.

Erin Travis ‘06, visual and performing arts, founded Trails and Tails Pet Care, a a Baltimore County-based company. Travis, who wasn’t completely happy with her job in a photo studio, decided to make a change three years ago when she began her small pet care business. Trails and Tails Pet Care allowed her to do the two things she enjoys the most: spend time outdoors as well as take care of animals. The business provides dog walking, hiking, compatibility training, and pet sitting to clients.

Click here to read more.

Take a look at all the events lined up for Critical Social Justice: Baltimore 365!

October 19th | Monday

Baltimore 101: Why Baltimore Matters – 12PM to 1PM in Commons 329 – Who are we talking about when we talk about Baltimore? Led by Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye.

Dialogue with Delegate Washington: LGBTQ Youth Homelessness – 7PM to 8:30PM in Commons 329 – Maryland State Delegate Mary Washington will speak about LGBTQ youth homelessness in Baltimore, including a brief overview of the history of LGBTQ rights in Maryland, where things stand now, and how you can get involved. Directly following this conversation there will be a small reception. Event sponsored by: Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity. 

October 20th | Tuesday

Baltimore in Action: Always Rising Keynote Event – Doors open at 6:30PM, keynote begins at 7PM in the UC Ballroom – Teach-in panel moderated by radio host Marc Steiner featuring Baltimore social justice activists: Rev. Dr. Heber Brown, III, faith-based activist and community organizer; Dr. Marisela B. Gomez, public health advocate and author; Tawanda Jones, activist and sister of Tyrone West; Jacqueline Robarge, founder of Power Inside; Kwame Rose, social activist and hip-hop artist. Meet-and-greet reception with the speakers will follow the keynote.

October 22nd | Thursday

Vines, Rhymes, & Headlines: Telling the Story of Baltimore – 12PM to 1PM on Commons Main Street – Discussion with Karen Houppert, author and editor-in-chief of Baltimore City Paper. Moderated by Professor Deborah Rudacille (English). 12PM to 2PM – Multimedia exhibit exploring Baltimore as captured through the mainstream media – and the tweets, photos, music, and new media pushing back. Event sponsored by: the Women’s Center. 

From Belief to Action: An Interfaith Dialogue – 5PM to 6:30PM on Commons Main Street – Moderated roundtable discussion with religious and spiritual leaders engaged in social justice activism in Baltimore followed by a facilitated audience conversation. Panelists will highlight the many ways that their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices inform and propel their work towards justice and equality. Event sponsored by: Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity. 

October 23rd | Friday

How to Talk to Kids about “-Isms” – 10AM to 11AM in the Women’s Center – Roundtable discussion about the challenges and best practices for introducing children to social justice. Invited panelists include: Lisa Gray, Dr. Jodi Kelber-Kaye, and Dr. Marcela Sarmiento Mellinger. Event sponsored by: the Women’s Center. 

Walking Tour of a Baltimore Neighborhood – 12:30PM to 3PM, meet at Commons & Park bus stop – Join Dr. Kate Drabinski from GWST for a 90-minute walking tour that will take us from the UMBC shuttle stop at MLK and Pratt, into Pigtown, and back across MLK for a tour of the Westside. Free tickets available at the CIC desk from September 28th through October 21st.

If your department or organization is planning a program this fall semester that reflects the spirit of Critical Social Justice: Baltimore 365, let us know at womens.center@umbc.edu!

More details and events will be announced leading up to CSJ: Baltimore 365, so like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and use the hashtag #CSJ365 to keep up-to-date with the latest news!

* All events are free and open to the public.

** Contact womens.center@umbc.edu if you need special accommodations. 

The Critical Social Justice initiative is coordinated by the Women’s Center with Student Life’s Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity.