Shriver Center Helps Students Reach Out to Local Communities

For years, the Shriver Center has connected UMBC students with the community. Its service-learning programs help students develop self-confidence, leadership skills and a better understanding of their community through applied learning. It is a good opportunity to volunteer and earn credits if the service is in conjunction with a class and there are many sites to choose from and students can select a site based on their unique interests and what they want to achieve. The programs allow students gain experience in leadership and help different organizations and establishments in the community connect and maintain a relationship with UMBC.

The College Gardens Youth Program is run out of the Y of Central Maryland and has worked with the UMBC Shriver Center for about five years. Service-learning students participate in an after-school program with elementary and middle school children for three-to-five hours each week, totaling about 30 hours over the course of the semester. Students tutor and help build teamwork skills through fun creative and physical activity. The site, supported by the MACHT Foundation, is in the heart of the community and service-learning interns often work on location year-round.

One of the longest standing relationships UMBC has with the community is with the Y. At the Y MS-Swim Program, students interact with adult MS patients and assist them with aquatic therapy and motion exercises. The Shriver Center has been a partner in the program for nearly 15 years. After the activities are over, volunteers build relationships with the people they help during an hour of socializing.

At Arbutus Middle School volunteers interact with students and provide in-class tutoring during the school year. Athletes from UMBC also mentor students during activities. The Best Buddies of Maryland organization visited the middle school this past April to participate in a school-wide program to change the perception of the word “retarded” or the “R” word. They worked with students to discuss the word and make pledges to change the way the word is used and perceived. This fall the service-learning program will begin an after-school tutoring program.

For several years The Shriver Center has been working with the Westside Homeless Shelter. The shelter is located on the grounds of Spring Grove Hospital in Catonsville and provides assistance to men 18 years and older. Participants in the program help the residents develop and practice employment skills such as using email, creating a resume and developing interview techniques. Students also participate in an annual fundraiser to raise money for the shelter, which was recently renovated. They also work with the residents to plant and care for a new garden on the grounds.

Service-learning programs are year round and continue to grow. For more details, go to http://shrivercenter.umbc.edu/service.html.

Boy Scout Leads Students, Faculty and Staff in Courtyard Cleanup

On Tuesday, August 23, students, faculty, staff and volunteers, led by Boy Scout Alex Henderson from Troop 360, cleared weeds, removed debris and cleaned the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building’s courtyard as part of an Eagle Scout project.

Henderson got the idea for the project when his mother, Jane Henderson, business services specialist in the building, remarked about the overgrown courtyard, he said.

He originally thought the project would take two days, but the assembled crew completed most of the initial clean-up work within a matter of hours.

The Elkridge-based Boy Scout troop had visited the courtyard previously in an attempt to rid the space of its rapidly-growing weeds, as tall as four feet in places. “We came out here a couple days before to spray some weed killer,” Henderson said. “It didn’t work very well, but we’re here digging them out, so that works.”

He explained his long-term goals for the space. Once the invasive weeds were cleared, volunteers would build flower boxes, fill them with soil and plant butterfly bushes to transform the courtyard into a rejuvenated, green spot for visitors to enjoy year-round.

Incoming Students Speak at the Fall Opening Meeting

Two new students gave speeches at this year’s Fall Opening Meeting.

Caitlyn Leiter-Mason ’14 is an incoming freshman in the Sonheim Public Affairs Program and the Honors College. She spoke about her reasons for choosing UMBC, including the warm reception from faculty and staff during campus visits and the personal attention she received throughout the application process. “I thought about all of my college interviews and realized that the interview for the Sondheim Public Affairs Program was the one during which I felt most myself, the one I had genuinely enjoyed,” she said.

When he earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry at San Diego State University, Genaro Hernandez, Jr. ’15 was the first person in his family to graduate from a university. From there he earned his Master of Science in Biomedical Informatics from the Stanford University School of Medicine. This fall at UMBC, he enters the Computational Biology Ph.D. program in the Department of Biological Sciences. “When I look at our school, it’s a school that’s very supportive as opposed to being overly-competitive,” he said. “Everyone is very friendly and professional.”

Watch Caitlyn Leiter-Mason’s speech:

Watch Genaro Hernandez, Jr.’s speech:

Watch the entire Fall Opening Meeting:

New myUMBC Helps Connect Community

If you have been on myUMBC at all these past few weeks, you may have noticed a notification about changes being made to the site.  The new version, which just launched August 14, offers a more community-based online environment, and makes navigating easier and more efficient for students, faculty and staff.

“We’re making it feel how you would expect a real website to feel,” said B. Collier Jones, UMBC’s campus portal architect, who, along with several students, spent the last two years developing the new site.  “It will be easier to communicate and connect with each other.”

One of the new additions to myUMBC will be a “groups” option that will allow different groups on campus maintain a personalized site, communicate with other groups, connect to pages within UMBC and even outside sites they might maintain such as Youtube and Flickr.

Groups can manage news feeds, calendars, blogs, message boards, media and polls.  It also allows users to easily post important events and stories that pertain to “spotlights,” a highly successful feed on myUMBC, which has grown significantly since it was introduced.  Events and stories can be easily viewed and added to the news feed, and also can be “pawed” by users.  The more “pawpular” an event or news item is, the higher on the feed it goes.

“It’s great because we don’t determine what becomes popular, the community does,” said Jones.  “Departments, student groups and organizations are so spread out right now, using different sources.  We want to have a site where they can all be on one site and connect with one another so everyone is aware of everyone else.”

The “topics” menu is also changing to make it easier to find information, locations and phone numbers for services on campus.

Jones encourages feedback on the new site.

“Everything that we have done, we’ve done for people who requested a change.  “We need feedback and communication with the campus.”

The new myUMBC site launched on August 14.

For details go to:  http://www.umbc.edu/blogs/oit-news/archives/2010/08/new_version_of.html#trackbacks

-Conor Aylsworth ‘09

UMBC Begins a New Tradition with “Ten Days of Awesomeness”

UMBC Hillel will host High Holiday celebrations on campus for the first time this September.

“It’s the right time.  UMBC has come such a long way,” said Rabbi Jason Klein, director of UMBC Hillel. “It’s important to deliver on students’ needs where they are: on campus.”

Klein adds that the events are meant to connect with the entire university.

“It will help take campus life to a new level for everyone, not just the Jewish community,” said Klein.

During Hillel’s “Ten Days of Awesomeness,” members of the UMBC community and their guests can participate in activities that include holiday services on campus, meals, spiritual prep programs and music programs.  There will also be a Pentagon Memorial and DC monument night tour and a visit to UMBC’s telescope.

“Holiday celebrations are natural to do at home,” Klein said.  “As we become a more residential campus, UMBC becomes a reflection of home for students.”

The events will begin in the Interfaith Center with Shabbat services and dinner September 3 at 6 p.m., followed by spiritual preparation for the High Holidays at 8:30 p.m.

Members of the UMBC community and guests that wish to sign up for meals at the events must register by August 26.  Anyone who would like to volunteer to help set up, clean up, greet guests, read Torah, or have another role in any of the services should email hillel@umbc.edu for details.

For more details and information, go to: www.umbchillel.org/ten-days-of-awesomeness/

-Conor Aylsworth ‘09

Visiting Professor Catherine Asaro Intertwines Physics and Fiction

Catherine Asaro, a highly respected doctor of chemical physics and published author of science fiction, is a visiting professor in the physics department at UMBC this summer.

Her combined love of both “real world” science and that of science fiction stems largely from her parents. Asaro’s father, a scientist, and mother, an English major who loved to write, exposed her to both fields. However, it was not only science and a passion for writing that directed her studies. Starting at the age of five, Asaro studied ballet and passed five grades of the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus and continued to dance in college. She founded the Mainly Jazz Dancers and the Harvard University Ballet. She is also classically trained in piano.

“Ballet has shaped my entire life,” she said. “Being a dancer and choreographer helped me develop spatial perception, which is invaluable to a scientist.”

It was in college that Asaro discovered her love for science and math. While attending UCLA she read a chapter in quantum theory and states, “I struggled at first and at times thought I had no clue. Then one day it clicked and I was hooked.”

“There is a beauty in seeing a math problem come together just as there is in performing a ballet. The discipline it takes to do ballet well is similar to that needed to do math.”

She eventually became a full-time professor of physics, however, she left the classroom to focus full-time as a writer. She has continued to consult and teach part-time. Asaro’s background in physics plays an integral role in her writing. She incorporates space adventure, science and romance into her novels. The basis for some of the science in her fiction is based on research and scientific papers she has authored.

Asaro is the winner of numerous awards for her novels, most notably the Nebula Award, for her novel “The Quantum Rose,” which is awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.

Asaro holds a Ph.D. in chemical physics and a master’s in physics both from Harvard and a bachelor’s degree in physics with highest honors from UCLA.

Asaro currently resides in Columbia, Maryland, with her husband, John, an astrophysicist at NASA. They have one daughter who is a ballet dancer and studies math at Cambridge University in England.

Probability and Statistics Day Proves to be Success

Probability and Statistics Day was well attended at UMBC on Friday, April 23, and Saturday, April 24. Eighty statisticians from academia, government and private industries gathered on Friday, beginning with a welcome from Nagaraj Neerchal, the chair of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics. The day also featured workshops on risk analysis and applications.

Saturday’s events included participation by more than 100 statisticians and featured talks by Provost Elliot Hirshman, Vice President of Institutional Advancement Greg Simmons and Philip Rous, dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. In addition, keynote speeches were given by Raymond Caroll from Texas A&M University and Nancy Geller of NHLBI/NHI. The lectures were informative and illuminating, leading to serious discussion.

Oral presentations by graduate students were given on Saturday about their ongoing research in the field.

This year’s event also included a special alumni recognition session.  Out of 53 statistics Ph.D.s earned so far, 22 returned to UMBC and attended this year’s event. Several students were awarded a commemorative plaque for their tremendous successes.

“We had a wonderful Probability and Statistics Day,” said Neerchal. “Our alumni in attendance were very impressed with the progress UMBC has been making.”

This event was supported by National Security Agency.

One Snowy Week

From a heart in the snow to a stick man and even a homemade luge – the UMBC community captured some incredible scenes of the area snow storm. The following videos and photos were submitted by UMBC staff, faculty, students and alumni and capture the campus and other Maryland neighborhoods.

From Greg Mumma, accounting associate, Business Services:

From Janice O’Neil, Dean’s Office:

From Jim Spammer:

From Osama Elfaki ‘01:

From Stephanie Anderson, Office of the Registrar:

From Tammy Ross, Financial Services:

From Darci Graves ‘14:

From Michelle Flinchbaugh, Albin O. Kuhn Library:

From Callison Sims ‘13:

From Deb Fuller-Pittman, Facilities Management:

From Matthew Wood ‘12:

 

From Randy Philipp, Division of Information Technology:

From Dorothy Anderson, Office of Institutional Advancement:

        

Thanks to everyone who participated!

What did you do during the snow week?

What did you during the snow week? Do you have pictures or videos of your snowy neighborhood? Send them to announcements AT umbc DOT edu and they will be featured in Insights Weekly!

Check out this time lapse of the snow at UMBC, featured on YouTube.

These photos came from the UMBC Fan page on Facebook.

 

These photos came from the College.Be site.

 

These photos came from staff members.

From David Hoffman, assistant director of student life and civic agency, in the Office of Student Life:

From Jamie Harrison, tech support in the Office of Information Technology:

From B. Rose Huber, assistant director of public relations in the Office of Institutional Advancement:

Be sure to send your photos and videos!

Maryland Charity Campaign Celebrates Success

Special thanks was given to everyone involved in the Maryland Charity Campaign on Wednesday, January 19, at a luncheon in the University Center.

Among the guests were members of the cabinet, campaign coordinators and other staff involved. Representatives from the Maryland Charity Campaign spoke along with President Freeman Hrabowski and Provost Elliot Hirshman.

Lisa Akchin, assistant to the president, began the presentation by thanking lead coordinator Dorothy Anderson for her tireless effort with the campaign. “Dorothy has been described as persistent with a light touch. She is an extraordinary role model,” Akchin said.

Both Provost Hirshman and President Hrabowski spoke about the honor that UMBC has received by achieving its goal of 1,000 donors.

"UMBC has a strong tradition of maintaining core values," said Hirshman. "And with the Maryland Charity Campaign, that is evident."

President Hrabowski spoke about the commitment UMBC has to helping those less fortunate.

"You’ve heard me say this before, but I’ll say it again. It’s a quote I’ve used often. ‘I’d rather be blind than have sight and not be able to see.’ UMBC is able to see the work that needs done. UMBC is able to see the hungry children in the streets of Baltimore who need our support. UMBC sees what’s happening locally and extends generosity willingly. I’m proud to be part of a campus that sees."

Everyone in the group was asked to stand for their efforts. Below are those who were in attendance:

Coordinators

Abell, Nancy

Anderson, Mary

Aylsworth, Terry

Bailey, Connie

Barnes, Karen

Bickel, Bev

Brown, Tiffany

Brown, Arthur

Burgee, Janet

Caplan, Dottie

Cooper, Dot

Dabeck, Lorine

DeSantis, Andrea

DeWyer, Joel

Douglass, Vera

Dupree, Deloris

Durkos, Linda

Fahey, Kelly

Fritz, John

Goldberg, Ben

Granger, Pat

Hall, Tanika

Hall, Alicia

Hamlin, Etoy

Harmon, Carol

Haynes, Cathy

Hoff, Raymond

Ison, Carla

Jangha, Sunji

Jones, SaTrina

Jordan-Shegog, Tammy

Kennedy, Lynn

Kimery, Michele

LaCourse, Bill

Lavezza, Susan

Lazarus, Stephanie

Lewis, Donique

Lilly, Mary

Lorick, Andrea

Lupinek, Teresa

McGonigle, Patty

McGurrin, Tony

Milani, Jim

Mollen, Pam

Monroe, Claire

Myers, Charles

Nelson, Avon

Owen, Patty

Phillips, Monesha

Pierson, Connie

Regier, Joe

Rice, Casina

Rose, Karen

Routzahn, Christine

Rynes, Amy

Sauter, Carrie

Scott, Marsha

Shahegh, Nafi

Shields, Anna

Sinha, Bimal

Smith, Albert

Smithson, Chuck

Soares Nottingham, Wanda

Soellner, Ray

Stevens, Phyllis

Stoute, Dawn

Sutherland, Paula

Swierczewski, Dawn

Tabler, Sandy

Thompson, Brian

Tinker, Leslie

Tkacik, Chris

Vaughn, Asia

Velli, Marsha

Walsh, Carol

Warshaw, Gay

Welsh, Mary

Wickham, Sylvia

Williams, Jr., Gary

Wilson, Patty

Wolf, Art

Cabinet

Abell, Nancy

Akchin, Lisa

Anderson, Dorothy

Armstrong, Monique

Auvil, Stephen

Aylsworth, Terry

Caplan, Dottie

DeSantis, Andrea

Freyman, Jay

Fritz, John

Milani, Jim

Sauter, Carrie

Schaefer, Lynne

Scholl-Fiedler, Anne

Soellner, Ray

Swierczewski, Dawn

Thomas, Valerie

Thompson, Brian

Tinker, Leslie

Walsh, Carol

Worchesky, Terry

Special Thanks

Arnwine, Laura

Davis, Pam

Huber, Rose

Jackson, Barb

Mason, Rick

Michaels, Debbie

Wieworka, Dan