In the News

Lisa Akchin, OIA, in the Catonsville Times
UMBC received 1,415 responses from the campus community to an online survey regarding which kinds of businesses should be developed in Arbutus and Catonsville, the Catonsville Times reported. The newspaper summarized a presentation of the results to the Arbutus Business and Professional Association delivered by Lisa Akchin, assistant to the president and associate vice president for marketing and public relations. The story, “Survey of UMBC Community an Education for Group,” appeared Wednesday, April 1.
http://www.explorebaltimorecounty.com/business/97854/survey-umbc-community-education-group/

Geography and Environmental Systems, CUERE in the The Urbanite
In its “Green Issue,” The Urbanite described programs in the Department of
Geography and Environmental Systems and the UMBC Center for Urban Environmental Research and Education. The story, “Green City,” appeared in the April issue.
http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/sub.cfm?issueID=71&sectionID=4&articleID=1206
Bill Thomas, Erickson School, on National Public Radio
Bill Thomas, aging studies professor in the Erickson School, was a guest on “Talk of the Nation,” the national public affairs talk program on National Public Radio. He discussed the challenges surrounding elder care and solutions he has proposed to address them. The broadcast aired Wednesday, April 2.
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5
Zeynep Tufekci, Sociology, in the Baltimore Sun
A Baltimore Sun technology columnist wrote that the social networking site “Twitter” is “one of those technologies that mystifies people even as they become addicted to it.” Zeynep Tufekci, an assistant professor in the sociology department, told the columnist, “Frankly, I think a lot of Twittering is somewhat faddish, whereas I never thought Facebook was.” The column, “When Did Twitter Take Over the Universe?” ran Tuesday, March 31.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/bal-to.ratner31mar31,0,2369641.column
UMBC Research Park, ACTiVATE in the Baltimore Sun
Reporting on a new rehabilitative exercise device for stroke victims, the
Baltimore Sun noted that the ACTiVATE program at bwtech@umbc has marketed the product. The inventors “were matched with an entrepreneur who participated in a four-year-old program at (UMBC) that has been funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Called ACTiVATE, it trains women in business and hooks them up with technology invented at Maryland universities.” The story cited David Fink, director of entrepreneurial services at the research park, and ACTiVATE graduate Kris Appel.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/bal-to.hs.stroke30mar30,0,2370958.story
UMBC Sherman STEM Scholars, National Science Foundation Partnership in The
Urbanite
The Urbanite reported on a grant-funded initiative with the National Science Foundation and the Baltimore County Public Schools System to train science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) teachers in high-needs schools. The piece also noted that the Sherman Teacher Education Scholars Program offers substantial financial and academic support to those interested in teaching in STEM fields. The story, “Higher Learning: Not too Cool for School,” appeared in the April issue.
http://www.urbanitebaltimore.com/sub.cfm?issueID=71&sectionID=4&articleID=1189
UMBC in the Chronicle of Higher Education
A program to increase the number of minority scientists has proved highly successful, according to a new report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The Chronicle of Higher Education reported on the development in its daily news blog. The program, called the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), facilitates the recruitment, retention and advancement of traditionally underrepresented racial groups in the higher echelons of academic study. UMBC, with two other institutions in PROMISE (the AGEP based in Maryland), has contributed to the national growth cited in the report. The story, “Project to Support Minority Students in Science is Working, Report Says,” ran Wednesday, April 1.
http://chronicle.com/news/article/?id=6238