Four UMBC Tennis Players Named ITA Scholar-Athletes

Four UMBC tennis players were named Intercollegiate Tennis Association Scholar-Athletes for the 2010-11 academic year.

Recent graduate Emily Mannix, rising junior Julia Gregara-Cano and rising sophomore Kim Berghaus were the three UMBC women student-athletes named to the team, while recent graduate Shane Yap earned the honor on the men side.

In order to earn ITA Scholar-Athlete status, a player must meet the following criteria:

1. Be a varsity letter winner
2. Have a grade point average of at least 3.50 (on a 4.00 scale) for the current academic year
3. Have been enrolled at their present school for at least two semesters (including freshman thorough senior year)

Read the full press release here.

Updated Payment Request and UMBC Request for Payment Forms

The Payment Request form and the UMBC Request for Payment form (Travel/Miscellaneous Reimbursements) have been updated and are posted at the Financial Services website under the “Forms” section.

Please begin using the new forms immediately.

Business Services will no longer accept the old forms as of Friday, July 29. Outdated forms will be returned to the department to be resubmitted on the new forms.

Please contact Linda Miller at ext. 5-3288 with any questions.

Missing Journalist Matthew VanDyke ’02, Political Science, Spotted in Tripoli Prison

The mother of Baltimore journalist Matthew VanDyke ’02, political science, reports that he has been seen in a Tripoli prison, four months after disappearing in Libya. “The most important part of this information is that he is in good health,” Sharon VanDyke told the Baltimore Sun. “This is a real sense of relief.” She has been working with the US State Department and Red Cross, as well as other organizations, to locate her son and secure his release.

Matthew VanDyke speaks some Arabic and is an experienced MIddle East traveler. In addition to his UMBC degree, he has a degree in security studies from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. In a June AP article, UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller called VanDyke one of his smartest students, saying, “I just know he’s going to come out on the other end with quite a yarn.” Readers seeking more information about efforts to locate Matthew VanDyke can see coverage through MSNBC, FOX, WBAL-TV and WBAL radio.

Carlo DiClemente, Psychology, to Serve on Expert Panel

Carlo DiClemente, professor of psychology, will serve as an expert panelist for the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s (NIDA) Addiction Performance Project, which aims to break down the stigma associated with drug addiction and promote a healthy dialogue that fosters compassion, cooperation and understanding for patients living with this disease. The panel will take place on Saturday, August 6, at the American Psychological Association’s 119th Convention in Washington, DC.

The project is part of NIDA’s outreach to practicing health professionals. Actors Debra Winger and Arliss Howard will begin the performance with a dramatic reading of Act III of Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night.” The reading will be followed by an expert panel reaction featuring DiClemente and facilitated audience discussion.

For more information about the performance and the project, visit nida.nih.gov/nidamed/APP/index.html.

Meditation Boot Camp (10/6-12/1)

If you are tired of letting circumstances in your life rule you and are serious about embodying peace, this is the program for you. Over the course of this eight-week transformational program, you will learn the basics of mindfulness meditation, a powerful healing modality that focuses on being in the present moment. Meditation has proven effective for lowering blood pressure, improving immunity, improving creativity, improving productivity, improving sleep quality and decreasing chronic pain. Over the course of this program, you will learn deep breathing for regulation of the central nervous system, mindfulness meditation for releasing stress and anxiety, lovingkindness meditation for improving outlook and relationships; and practices to make life more peaceful and fulfilling.

The program sessions will be held on Thursdays, October 6-December 1, 4:45-6 p.m., and Tuesdays, October 11-November 29 from noon-12:30 p.m. All sessions will be held in the Women’s Center, The Commons 004, with the exception of the October 18 and November 15 session, which will be held in Admin 529.

Please note that this program has attendance requirements and other assignments that are designed to enrich participant learning. For more information about the program, contact Jill Weinknecht Wardell at ext. 5-1442 or jwardell@umbc.edu.

Register by Thursday, September 15, at umbc.edu/training.

Get a flyer with details at umbc.edu/hr/T&OD/schedule.htm.

Dining Services Cookout (7/29)

UMBC Dining Services will a cookout on Friday, July 29, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., on the outdoor patio on the side of the Administration building. The menu will include pulled pork BBQ, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, cole slaw and corn on the cob. Choose one entrée, side and fountain beverage for only $6.50.

Sunil Dasgupta, Political Science, Interview with the National Bureau of Asian Research

The National Bureau of Asian Research has posted an extensive new interview (PDF version) with Sunil Dasgupta, director of UMBC’s political science program at Shady Grove, and the Brookings Institution’s Stephen Cohen, co-authors of “Arming without Aiming: India’s Military Modernization.” Dasgupta and Cohen describe the nature of U.S.-India relations broadly and focus on the limited success of their military collaborations, highlighted by India’s recent rejection of offers from U.S. firms to compete for a combat aircraft worth over $10 billion.

Dasgupta and Cohen argue that Congress and U.S. policymakers must look at South Asia as an integrated region, where India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are connected in complex ways. “The U.S.-India relationship has been transformed,” they write, “but the U.S. government… is not organized to deal appropriately with a rising India. […] What the United States needs to do next is to identify, fund, and staff projects on one or two key technologies where actual cooperation can proceed at pace rather than engage in a wide array of mostly token and ineffective dialogues.”

University Health Services Closed August 23 for Training

With support of the Vice President of Student Affairs, University Health Services will be closed on Tuesday, August 23, for annual training requirements and certifications. If a person has a medical emergency, they should call campus police at ext. 5-5555 or 911. To reach our on-call physicians, please call campus police at ext. 5-5555. Immunization forms can be faxed to ext. 5-1125.

New Homecoming Website Launched

The Homecoming committee is pleased to share its brand-new website, umbc.edu/homecoming, which includes a calendar of events, photo slideshow, a volunteers tab for information about how to get involved, tools for promoting Homecoming to campus audiences, and much more.

UMBC’s Homecoming will be held October 12-15, 2011, at locations across campus. For more information about how to get involved, visit the new site or contact a member of the Homecoming committee at homecoming@umbc.edu.

Save the date now for RETRIEVER FEVER!

Pamela Meister ’08 Appointed as Harford County Council Administrator

Pamela Meister ’08, M.P.P., has been appointed as the next Harford County Council administrator. Meister most recently served as the associate executive director at the Baltimore Jewish Council after working as the director of government relations and public policy with the same organization. She also worked as the legislative director to state Sen. Paul G. Pinsky, a Prince George’s County Democrat, 2004-08. She has a psychology degree from George Washington University and a Master of Public Policy from UMBC. Learn more in Meister’s BelAir Patch feature.