Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality

Wednesday, March 17, 2021; 5:30 to 7 p.m. (ET)

Inequality in early experiences and education have impacts on long-term socioeconomic success. How can early childhood policies help? The Russell Sage Foundation and the School of Public Affairs at American University will host a discussion featuring co-authors Taryn Morrissey (American University), Ajay Chaudry (New York University), and Christina Weiland (University of Michigan), joined by Miriam Calderon (Oregon's Early Learning Division) and Melissa Boteach (National Women's Law Center), to talk about the second edition of their RSF book Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality. The book presents research on how inequality in early opportunity has life-long consequences and offers an evidence-based approach to expanding access to affordable, high-quality early care and education to all children.

The discussion will be moderated by Ruth Marcus, Washington Post columnist and 2019 Sine Institute Fellow.

U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), Chair of the House Committee on Labor & Education, will offer remarks before the discussion.

This event is co-hosted by the Russell Sage Foundation, the nation's oldest foundation dedicated exclusively to research in the social sciences, and by the School of Public Affairs (SPA) at American University, which has been a hub for policy-related research and teaching for 85 years.

Read more about the book and purchase a copy.

The annual Conference of the International Association for the Integrational Study of Language and Communication (IAISLC) will be held at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil, March 15-20, 2021.

Dr. David Balosa (LLC '20) will be presenting on Tuesday, March 16th at 8:30 am on the topic, “Foundations in Existential Sociolinguistics.” This will be a major presentation at the conference, which features an international roster of presenters from Brazil, the US, Africa and the UK.

The main objective of the conference is to contribute to the further development of the integrationist perspective through critical dialogue with other approaches to language and communication. A secondary objective is to explore the interdisciplinary applications and implications of integrationism for diverse regions of the world, with or without a history of colonialism. 

A third objective is to explore the extent to which integrationism can capture the multifaceted and contradictory linguistic experiences of people on the margins of society whose communicational practices have not so far been a focus for integrationistic thinking. In doing so, we wish to discuss how to best create a partnership with the Global South and with communities that were previously marginalized in the collaborative work of building and extending the relevance and reach of integrationism as a radically critical communicational philosophy.

The Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC) wants to know what we can do for you. Our goal is to be a source of inspiration for students, to connect you to the greater art and culture community, and to represent the media you care about in a way that is relevant to contemporary art and culture. Is there anything you wish you saw more of? Are there speakers or workshops you want to see? Do you just want a spot on campus to hangout and relax post pandemic? 

Please join our virtual focus group for a student listening and feedback session on Friday, March 26th from 12-1pm on Webex. To sign-up, visit http://bitly.ws/bUcG  

Participants will have the chance to win a $20 Amazon gift card!

This event is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all academic disciplines.

The CAHSS Dean's Office has announced an opportunity to nominate up to one early-career faculty member for the William T. Grant Scholars Program, which supports career development for promising early-career researchers. 

Please see the attached PDF for guidelines and further information. Prospective nominees must email a set of specified materials to Preminda Jacob, Associate Dean for Research and Community Engagement (pjacob2@umbc.edu) by 11:59pm on April 1, 2021.  A selection committee will then review all internal submissions, and the UMBC nominee will be notified within two weeks. 

The selected nominee will then submit a complete proposal to the William T. Grant Foundation by July 7, 2021, with mentor and reference letters due in advance, by June 16, 2021.