Rick Foster ’73, M.S., mathematics, will retire from his position as chief actuary at the Center for Medicare and Medicade Services next month, having spent nearly two decades influencing our nation’s healthcare at the top level.

The New York Times wrote about Foster’s career and retirement, saying he is known for “his fierce independence,” and that he has been “an influential voice on Medicare, Medicaid and the new health care law.”

Read the New York Times story here.

Healthcare-focused MedPage Today profiled Foster here.

Foster, who was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 1997, has been voted one of the 100 most influential people in U.S. healthcare by readers of Modern Healthcare magazine from 2007 to 2011. Prior to his work with CMS, he served as Deputy Chief Actuary for the Social Security Administration for 13 years.

An interview with Maurice Berger, Chief Curator and Research Professor of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, by Tom Hall of WYPR is scheduled to air this Monday, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, on Maryland Morning. In the interview, Berger discusses the exhibition currently on display in the CADVC, For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights (curated by Berger).

To listen, tune in to WYPR on Monday, January 21 at 9:45 a.m.

UPDATE: A podcast of the interview will be available online after the program airs through Maryland Morning’s archive. The interview, “Viewing the Civil Rights Movement through a New Lens,” is available online now, through Maryland Morning‘s website.

For All the World to See is on display until March 10.

Charm City Cakes, owned by UMBC alumnus Jeffrey “Duff” Goldman ’97, history, will bake the official cake for President Obama’s Monday inauguration, the Baltimore Sun reports.
Read the story here.
According to the story, the bakery will create a six-tier cake, with each layer representing a branch of the United States military. Tier flavors will include red velvet, lemon poppy seed, pineapple coconut, and pumpkin chocolate chip.
Goldman, former star of the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 2009.
Read a UMBC Magazine article about Duff’s rise to fame.

Charm City Cakes, owned by UMBC alumnus Jeffrey “Duff” Goldman ’97, history, will bake the official cake for President Obama’s Monday inauguration, the Baltimore Sun reports.

Read the story here.

According to the story, the bakery will create a six-tier cake, with each layer representing a branch of the United States military. Tier flavors will include red velvet, lemon poppy seed, pineapple coconut, and pumpkin chocolate chip.

Goldman, former star of the Food Network’s “Ace of Cakes,” was named an Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by UMBC in 2009.

Read a UMBC Magazine article about Duff’s rise to fame.

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today, we’re talking with Rhea Marasigan ’03, information systems management (with a dance minor) about what it’s like to juggle careers in graphic design and dance.

Name: Rhea Marasigan (A.K.A. “Ria DeCastro” on stage)
Job:  Graphic Designer, Dancer
Employers:  Spectrum Brands HHI and RheeDesigns (Marasigan’s side-business)
Based in: Los Angeles, California

Q:  You recently were featured on a dance webcast called DancePlug (click here to view)…what has been the highlight of your dance career thus far?

A:  The highlights of my dance career thus far since moving to Los Angeles, California are:

1. Having the opportunity to dance alongside professional dancers and work with NappyTabs (Napolean and Tabitha D’umo of SYTYCD) on the set of 5 episodes of the Fox Show “MOBBED;”
2. Being a background dancer extra on both Mandy Rain and Angelique Sabrina‘s music videos, and;
3. Being able to back-up dance for Jazzlyn Marae for one of her performances. I would have never thought I’d EVER get an opportunity to do anything like this from just moving here from Baltimore three years ago but I know NOW that “Anything is possible.”

Q:  What is your favorite aspect of dance?

A:  When I went to UMBC back in 2000-2003, I took ballet, modern & jazz to learn the basic techniques to shape me into a better dancer. I am a better hip hop dancer because of it. I started late in the game at the age of 20 to pursue dance to where I’ve been on many MD dance teams (Fusion Dance Team, Dance Express, Charm City Cabaret) and now I’m starting to do that here in LA. I’m currently on Electric Crew where we are getting ready to perform in Disneyland in February and a Core dancer for a flashmob company called Dance Mob Nation.

My favorite aspect of dance is just being on a dance team that loves to dance, and have fun with no drama. The dance community here in LA is just that. There are a lot of dancers trying to make it here and there is an outlet for those dancers to come together and just dance. It can get competitive in the professional dance industry but if that’s NOT your cup of tea, you can still find other awesome outlets in the LA dance community to perform, compete, etc.

Q: Where do you hope to be in five years, dance-wise?

A:  In five years, I hope to still be dancing and performing or at least still taking dance classes. I have to say that I am now content with where my dance career has been. My focus is now on my design career.

Q: Tell us about your career in design. Does it ever intersect with your dance career?

A:  I’ve been a graphic designer for 13 years now (a freelance graphic designer — at RheeDesigns — on the side for 8 of those years) and I am continuing to learn and expand my skill sets. I am now looking into the film industry to start as a graphic designer to get my foot in the door but I’d love to delve into film editing and/or being an FX artist. I finished taking a film editing class this past fall and am now awaiting next fall 2013 to take After Effects.

I am dedicated to my work as a graphic designer so whenever there is a possible dance opportunity, I make sure it doesn’t affect that aspect of my life. I’ve been fortunate to be able to juggle both careers simultaneously and seamlessly. My full-time job supports my dance career so whenever I have a gig, I can always make arrangements so that both sides have a happy medium. But, of course, I can’t say “yes” to everything so I DO pick and choose the gigs that I want.

All in all, I am loving life right now doing 2 of my favorite passions and living in California where there is always an opportunity to get into.

Q:  How did your UMBC experience help shape who you are today?

A:  I loved my experience of the three years I was at UMBC. UMBC keeps up with the trends, technology and truly cares about their students and their goals. Even though I got a B.A. in information systems with a modern dance minor, UMBC still shaped me into what I am today. I learned that it takes hard work and dedication to get what you want in life and that resonated in me.

I remember in 2002 winning a UMBC dance competition against some boy break dancers and that in itself made me believe that dance was something I wanted to do in life. I loved that UMBC has specific events & clubs on campus that its students can take part in. It allows for students to get out and try new things, meet people and have fun doing it.

Learn more about Rhea’s design here, and her dance here.

Annual campaign finance reports released this week indicate three fundraising leaders among potential Democratic candidates for Maryland governor: Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (taking in $1.25 million), Attorney General Douglas Gansler ($1.24 million) and Howard County Exec. Ken Ulman ($1.14 million). A fourth potential candidate, Montgomery County Del. Heather Mazeur, collected $248,671 in 2012, leaving her with $380,000 in cash on hand.

Donald F. Norris, professor and chairman of UMBC’s Department of Public Policy, told the Baltimore Sun that Ulman’s fundraising figures were particularly surprising, saying, “You would think the other candidates would be ahead of him, but he’s been out there on the hustings.” Regarding relative newcomer Mazeur, Norris notes that the little-known delegate would face long odds in a gubernatorial race but, “This is very early and is very fluid. A lot of things can happen.”

Leading potential candidates from the Republican party include Harford County Exec. David Craig and Frederick County Commission Pres. Blaine Young.

For the sixth time since 2000, UMBC associate head men’s soccer coach Anthony Adams has been recognized by College Soccer News as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation.

The web publication cited Adams among 15 assistant or associate head coaches at the NCAA Division I level. He earned his fifth accolade after the 2010 season, and in 2003, he was one of 27 college coaches in the nation (all sports) to be honored as an Assistant Coach of the Year by AFLAC.

Adams earned four letters for UMBC from 1992-95 and was a starter in the backfield in his final three seasons. The Dundalk, Md. native (Calvert Hall) started his UMBC tenure on the bench with head coach Pete Caringi, Jr. in the fall of 1997. The coaching tandem has led the Retrievers to three conference titles (1999, 2010, 2012) and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearances and three additional regular season championships (1999, 2002, 2003) since 1999.

The American Association of Immunologists (AAI) awarded Dr. Suzanne Ostrand-Rosenberg, Department of Biological Sciences Professor, the 2013 Excellence in Mentoring Award “[i]n recognition of exemplary career contributions to a future generation of scientists.”

View the official announcement and see other award recipients at the American Association of Immunologists website.

For All the World to See: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights, the exhibition currently on display in the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture was mentioned earlier today in Baltimore Arts, the blog of the Baltimore Office of Promotion and Arts.

Visit the blog: baltimorearts.org

Every year the website Edge.org poses an annual question to dozens of scholars, scientists, writers, artists and thinkers.  Among them is Robert Provine, professor of psychology.

NPR’s 13.7 blog wrote about this year’s question, “What should we be worried about?” in a January 14 post.

Themes that the blog detected in the answers included “the impact of technology on individual minds and human relationships,” “the growing disconnect between science and the rest of human knowledge and culture,” and “worry itself.”

Provine gave a positive spin on the question, urging people to “stop worrying about worry.” “Too much worry strands us in an agitated state of despair, anxiety and paranoia; too little leaves us without motivation and direction,” he wrote.

Based on Provine’s advice, readers are urged to “go ahead and read all 150-plus responses to this year’s challenge. But in the interest of worrying just the right amount, you might not want to do so in a single sitting.”