Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College, Celebrates New Book

On Thursday, March 3, Ellen Handler Spitz, Honors College professor of visual arts, was honored at a reception to celebrate her recent book, “Illuminating Childhood: Portraits in Fiction, Film, and Drama.” In the book, Spitz explores the experience of eight thematically linked works in film and literature from the second half of the twentieth century, touching on issues central to parent-child relations.

Colleagues, students and friends joined Spitz in the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery for a reading, refreshments and mingling. Spitz has previously studied children’s literature in the books “Inside Picture Books” and “The Brightening Glance: Imagination and Childhood” and writes a column on children’s literature for the New Republic.

Christopher Corbett, English, at Two Book Festivals

Christopher Corbett, professor of the practice of English, will read from his books The Poker Bride and Orphans Preferred: The Twisted Truth and Lasting Legend of the Pony Express at two book festivals this spring.

On Wednesday, March 18, Corbett will be featured at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Richmond, Virginia. He will be part of a panel called “American Tales: Brides, Bad Money, and the Badlands,” which will take place at the University of Virginia at 2 p.m.

On Saturday, April 2, Corbett will be part of a discussion at the Maine Festival of the Book in Portland, Maine, entitled “From Far East to Old West – True Tales of the American Frontier.” It will take place in the Abromson Center at the University of Southern Maine at 3 p.m.

Baseball and Softball Teams Receive “Honorable Mention” Grant

UMBC’s baseball and softball teams received an “Honorable Mention” grant for participation with the League of Dreams.

Robert Deluty, Graduate School, Publishes His 30th Book

Robert Deluty, associate dean of the graduate school, has published a new book of poetry, “Making Riddles Out of Answers.” In his review, Dr. Ronald Pies writes, “A singular characteristic of Robert Deluty’s wonderful new poems is that they leave the reader wanting more—more about ‘the old plumber/ wishing his business/ ended in and Sons’; more about the man on his ‘first date . . ./ choosing not to tell her/ he’s on parole.’ Did the old plumber ever marry? Did he sire only daughters? Did his sons want nothing to do with his business? And what crime led to the dating man’s being on parole? Petty theft? Assault? But Deluty, like the iconoclastic writer Karl Kraus, understands what intelligent readers seek on the deepest level: more answers, yes – but also more riddles.”

Copies of “Making Riddles Out of Answers,” as well as of Deluty’s other books, are on sale at the UMBC Bookstore.

Anna Shields, Honors College, Tapped for New Roles

Anna Shields, director of the Honors College and associate professor of Chinese, has been elected the President of the T’ang Studies Society. She has served as an elected executive board member and co-organized the T’ang Studies Society’s 25th anniversary conference in 2009. Shields is the first woman to serve as president.

Shields has also been named the East Asia section editor for the Journal of the American Oriental Society.

She will be officially installed into both roles at the annual conference of the American Oriental Society this week in Chicago.

Benyam Kinde ’10, Biological Sciences, Named Gilliam Fellow

Benyam Kinde ’10, biological sciences, is one of 10 students in 2011 to be named a Gilliam Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Kinde, UMBC’s 2010 valedictorian, is in the Harvard-MIT combined MD-PhD Program.

Lauren Kozlosky ’11, Dance, Crowned Miss Frederick

Lauren Kozlosky ’11, dance, a Linehan Scholar, was crowned Miss Frederick. She also won the program’s Community Service Essay Contest.

The article, “Miss Frederick, Miss Frederick Teen Crowned,” appeared February 27 on WTOP.com.

Women’s Basketball Claims First-Ever America East Regular-Season Title

The UMBC women’s basketball team defeated Albany by a score of 62-55 on February 23 at the RAC Arena to claim its first-ever America East regular-season title. The win is the sixth straight for the Retrievers, who will be the top seed in the America East Championship in West Hartford, Connecticut, and will face the winner of the first-round game between Stony Brook and Maine on Friday, March 4.

Read the complete release here.

Dave Brown ’13 and Matt Gregoire ’14 Receive America East Conference Honors

Dave Brown ’13 and Matt Gregoire ’14 received America East Conference Men’s Lacrosse Player and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively. The honors were handed out Monday afternoon.

Brown, a sophomore midfielder, had a career day tallying four goals and three assists in the Retrievers’ 16-10 win over Presbyterian Saturday. He had just one assist in 11 games all last season.

Gregoire tallied three points in his collegiate debut. The redshirt freshman attack scored twice and added an assist in the Retrievers’ win at Presbyterian. His third quarter score was the game-winner.

UMBC opens the home schedule on Saturday, February 23, when they host Rutgers.

Women’s Basketball Wins 62-52 Over Boston University

The UMBC women’s basketball team defeated America East rival Boston University by a score of 62-52 February 17 at the RAC Arena to overtake the Terriers for first place in the conference standings. The win was the fourth straight for the Retrievers, who match the school Division I record for wins in a season.

Read the full release here.