Appointment of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs

From Provost Elliot Hirshman

I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Professor Patrice McDermott will assume the position of Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs. Vice Provost McDermott will have responsibility for working collaboratively with members of the UMBC community to facilitate the recruitment, development and retention of faculty members and to increase the diversity of our faculty. Among other critical responsibilities, she will monitor implementation of UMBC’s assessment plan and coordinate our Middle State’s Commission on Higher Education Periodic Review Report.

Vice Provost McDermott is exceptionally well-prepared to undertake this role. She received her B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park. Since joining UMBC as a faculty member in 1993, Vice Provost McDermott has served as Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Coordinator of UMBC’s Faculty Diversity Recruitment Initiative, Special Assistant to the Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Chair of the Department of American Studies and lead co-PI on UMBC’s ADVANCE grant from the National Science Foundation, among other roles. In addition to her accomplishments in administration, Vice Provost McDermott is a noted scholar whose work focuses on gender, race and the politics of cultural authority. She is the author of “Politics and Scholarship: Feminist Academic Journals and the Production of Knowledge,” published by the University of Illinois press and numerous scholarly articles and book chapters.

Join me in congratulating Vice Provost McDermott on her appointment.

I also wish to thank John Jeffries, who chaired the search committee for the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, and all of the members of the search committee for their exceptional service.

I look forward to working with Vice Provost McDermott as we support the continuing growth and development of our faculty.

Hilltop Releases Key Health Care Briefs

The Hilltop Institute at UMBC has released two significant publications this week on health care topics. Hilltop’s Hospital Community Benefit Program posted its first issue brief in a series funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The brief provides a history of federal hospital community benefit policy; outlines new requirements described in the Affordable Care Act (ACA); and identifies new challenges and opportunities for state and federal decision-makers as they develop responses to the new requirements.

Hilltop also released an issue brief on overcoming interagency data-sharing barriers that researchers and state officials encountered as they implemented and evaluated the Maryland Kids First Act outreach initiative. The brief provides an overview of strategies used to identify uninsured children who are eligible for public insurance programs, and addresses other related topics.

Appointment of the Dean of the Erickson School

From Provost Elliot Hirshman

I am writing to inform you that effective immediately, Professor Judah Ronch will be assuming the position of Dean of the Erickson School of Aging. Dean Ronch will serve as the school’s chief academic and administrative officer with responsibility for all aspects of the school’s academic program, including instruction, student advising, research and numerous service activities.

Dean Ronch is exceptionally well-prepared to undertake this role. He received his B.A. in psychology from Hunter College and his Ph.D. in psychology from Yeshiva University. Prior to joining UMBC, he served as Dean of Freshman at Vassar College, Executive Director of the Brookdale Center on Aging at Hunter College and Vice President of Resident Life at Erickson Retirement Communities. At UMBC, he has served as Professor of Practice, Director of the Undergraduate Program and Interim Dean in the Erickson School. In addition to his accomplishments in administration, Dean Ronch is a nationally known expert in the areas of culture change, aging, dementia and long-term care, as well as a consultant to numerous government agencies and corporations.

Please join me in congratulating Dean Ronch on his appointment.

I also wish to thank Warren DeVries, who chaired the search committee for the Dean of the Erickson School, and all of the members of the search committee for their exceptional service. I look forward to working with Dean Ronch and all of the faculty, staff and students of the Erickson School as we support the continuing growth and development of the school’s academic programs.

UMBC and Maryland Traditions

Earlier this year, UMBC and the Maryland Traditions, the folklife program of the Maryland State Arts Council (MSAC), announced an exploratory foundational partnership. The goal of the partnership, which will extend for the 2010-2011 academic year, is to explore the possibilities of a long-term partnership between MSAC and UMBC in which both agencies would share responsibilities for the support and direction of the Maryland Traditions program.

Below is a conversation between Elaine Eff, the co-director of Maryland Traditions, and Nicole King, assistant professor of American studies, on why the partnership is a good fit and the benefits that the partnership can offer to students.

UMBC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee Works With Soles4Souls Charity

The UMBC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee held its second-annual shoe sale in the Retriever Activities Center on Tuesday, November 16. The event was open to all students and faculty on campus and was paired up with Soles4Souls charity, a Nashville-based charity that collects shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies and the closets of people like you.

The organization distributes these shoes to people in need, regardless of race, religion, class or any other criteria. Since 2005, Soles4Souls has given away nearly 12 million pairs of new and gently worn shoes, which averages out to one pair every seven seconds. The shoes have been distributed to people in over 125 countries, including Kenya, Thailand, Nepal and the United States.

Last year, UMBC athletes donated 30 pairs of shoes to the Soles4Souls charity during the shoe sale; however, this year student-athletes and coaches contributed over 150 pairs of new and lightly worn used shoes. Soles4Souls provided the university with three boxes to collect donations. Extra-large boxes were needed halfway through the day to accommodate the donated shoes that exceeded the three boxes.

Student-athletes delivered the boxed shoes to a local warehouse, where they will be packaged and shipped to various countries around the world. The shoe sale is the largest fundraiser for SAAC and has turned into a great community outreach program through the Soles4Souls charity.

New UMBC Giving Site Launched

The Office of Institutional Advancement has launched a new giving site (www.umbc.edu/giving) that invites visitors not only to make a financial contribution in support of the University, but to learn more about the institutional needs that are filled by their gifts and to share their own personal reasons for giving with the community.

As the year ends, we hope you will visit the site, make a gift to the Faculty/Staff Campaign if you haven’t already, and share your own experiences. While you’re there, take a moment to fill out the short survey on the home page; your thoughts will help us improve the way we talk about philanthropy on campus.

2010 Maryland Charity Campaign at UMBC Ends on a High Note

From Lynne C. Schaefer, Vice President for Administration and Finance and John Jeffries, Dean, College of Arts Humanities and Social Sciences

Congratulations and thank you, UMBC!

As your co-chairs for the 2010 Maryland Charity Campaign at UMBC, we are delighted to announce that the campaign has come to a very successful conclusion. As of November 30, 1195 members of the UMBC community have contributed more than $165,000 to ease suffering and meet basic needs for those less fortunate in our region and across the world. This includes a record $507 raised by the NESS and PSS sponsored bake sale on November 22. (Thank you, bakers and buyers!)

In a year that has been personally challenging for so many of us, this tremendous outpouring of generosity says so much about the compassionate and caring spirit of our community. Your contributions will make a huge difference in the lives of many who need our help.

Maryland Charity Campaign coordinators will be honored at the UMBC holiday party on Wednesday, December 15, at 3 p.m. in the UC Ballroom, and everyone who donated to the Campaign has been entered into a drawing for several prizes to be presented by President Hrabowski at the party.

We hope to see you at the holiday party, and again our heartfelt thanks for your caring generosity to those in need.

Congratulations to Stephanie Johnson, director of financial aid and scholarships, the winner of the Kindle drawing!

President Hrabowski to Speak on Panel about Baltimore’s Future (12/5)

President Freeman Hrabowski will be part of a panel discussion about the future of Baltimore, which will be held at the Bolton Street Synagogue, Sunday, December 5, at 4 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

The discussion will be moderated by Dan Rodricks, host of WYPR’s “Midday With Dan Rodricks,” and will cover the panelists’ vision for Baltimore, its municipal personality, what Baltimore life offers, and how it might become a healthier, busier and even bigger city. In addition to Hrabowski, panelists include Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake; Lester Spence, assistant professor of political science and Africana studies at Johns Hopkins; Madison Smartt Bell, author and professor of English at Goucher College; Joe Erhmann, president of Coach for America and former Baltimore Colts player; and Janet Marie Smith, vice president for planning and development for the Baltimore Orioles.

This conversation is part of Bolton Street Synagogue ‘s “Uncommon Voices” series, and Midday ‘s “Future of Baltimore” series. The conversation will air on “Midday With Dan Rodricks” on December 9.

For more information, including how to RSVP, visit www.boltonstreet.org/.

UMBC Emergency Health Services Program Ranked Top 5 “Best Buy”

UMBC’s M.S. in Emergency Health Services (EHS) has been ranked a top 5 “Best Buy” among distance master’s degrees in healthcare fields by GetEducated.com. Offering the nation’s first EHS master’s, the UMBC program was created to prepare EHS professionals for leadership roles in the field. Students range from healthcare providers, researchers and educators to policymakers and administrators. They can select from tracks in administration, planning and policy; education, in cooperation with UMBC’s Instructional Systems Development program; and preventative medicine and epidemiology. An Emergency Management graduate certificate is available as well. Learn more on our news blog.

Ethics Bowl Team Places Third in Mid-Atlantic Regional Competition

Congratulations to the UMBC ethics bowl team, which placed third in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ethics Bowl competition on Saturday, November 20. This was the first year that the Ethics Bowl team has competed in a regional tournament.

Out of 12 teams, UMBC’s ethics bowl team came in behind Clemson and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and just ahead of the University of Maryland, College Park. The ethics bowl tournament, which is similar to a debate, requires students to work through the ethical considerations in a series of dilemmas. Rather than being judged on whether their position is convincing, the teams are judged on their abilities to clearly think through the implications of the possible decisions.

UMBC’s third place finish earned the team a spot at the national competition, which will take place on March 3, 2011 in Cincinnati, OH, as a part of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics’ 2011 20th anniversary annual meeting.

The ethics bowl team members are Michael Iafolla ’11, English and philosophy; Nana Owusu-Boaitey ’11, biological sciences and philosophy; Kayla Smith ’11, biological sciences and philosophy; and Danielle Albrecht ’12, political science and philosophy.

To see a video of the ethics bowl team in action, visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olbS3y4Nfu0.