The David Mikow Art Gallery — which opened this fall in the Catonsville home of UMBC political science professor Carolyn Forestiere — will feature an array of “Images in Print,” all created by UMBC alumni and students. The show is co-curated by visual art professors Calvin Custen and Irene Chan, and opens this Friday, December 7, 5-7 p.m.

The work of the following alumni will be shown (all visual arts majors, unless noted): Sandy Chiang ’11, Elizabeth Guidara ’11, polisci, Erin Johnson ’12, Boram Lee ’12, Ka Lai Lou ’11, Brittney Nichols ’12, Sohee Oh ’11, Pat Sedlander ’12, Jenna Ullrich ’10, Laura (Meg) Viar ’11, psychology, Kayla Vlahos ’11, Jessica Voss ’12. A selection of work by the following students will also be displayed: Samantha Warren, Karina Alcazar, Heather Brown, Alexandra Buyalos, Judy Caracofe, Wyatt Jaster, Sharon Kusiak and Jingfei Lu.

For directions and more information about the show, please visit the gallery website.

The gallery featured alumnae photographers at its first show. Read more about the opening here.

Political science professor Roy T. Meyers was quoted in a Gazette article about Governor Martin O’ Malley’s third attempt to pass an offshore wind farm funding bill. Gov. O’Malley has encouraged President Obama to look at his proposal as a model for how Maryland produces clean energy, and Meyers believes that this proposal fits well with Obama’s focus on alternative energy sources in his second term.

According to Meyers, “Success this time around with the bill would put O’Malley squarely in the center of the Democratic Party’s potential 2016 candidates.” Meyers goes on to say that failure to pass the offshore wind farm bill will not hurt O’Malley’s potential presidential campaign due to previous success with high profile issues such as in-state tuition for undocumented students and legalization of same-sex marriage.

In a new Baltimore Sun article on managing grief during the holidays, Professor Robert Rubinstein, sociology and anthropology, offers advice for mourning families on how to make it through the season. “It’s a very difficult time,” he recognizes, before continuing, “That’s not to say people can’t have great holidays.”

Rubinstein’s research focuses on older adults’ experiences of  loss and grief. He offers his impression that, “People do tend to take care of each other,” around the holidays, as they share memories of deceased loved ones, such as favorite traditions or recipes. Rubinstein notes that often younger generations worry more about the grief of a widowed parent instead of their own. He recommends that those in mourning take opportunities to speak about the deceased, suggesting, “A public expression of grief and feelings about it is a good thing.”

Name: Micaela A. Perez Ferrero ’13
Major:  Political Science
Scholarships: Alumni Association Scholarship, Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program, The Shattuck Family Entrepreneurial Scholars Program, and The UMBC Political Science Department

Q:  How important is it for you to have received these scholarships?
A:  Without scholarships, I would not be at UMBC. Scholarships have not only allowed me to attend a 4 year university, but it also allowed me to attend UMBC. Scholarships have given me the opportunity to achieve my goals and dreams, and I am sincerely grateful for all those who have contributed to each of my scholarships.

Q: Why did you choose UMBC?
A: I decided to come to UMBC due to my acceptance into the Sondheim Public Affairs Scholars Program. I knew that I wanted to spend my four years as an undergraduate surrounded by a community that believed in helping others and making change in order to improve communities.

Q: What’s the most amazing thing you’ve noticed so far?
A: The most amazing discovery that I have made as a student here is how willing faculty and staff want to help you achieve your dreams. This year, I have the opportunity to not only intern in New York City, but also study abroad in Costa Rica. I would have never have achieved either of these dreams without the support and encouragement from my professors.

Q: Is there a particular class that has really opened your eyes?
A: POLI 450, Seminar in Public Administration and Management, really opened my mind to the idea of working in the public sector. Along with my internships in non-profit organizations, this class helped me learn more about my future career interests and what it means to be an effective leader in the public realm.

Q: What are your plans for after graduation next spring?
A: After I graduate, I hope to be admitted into the Teach For America Corps. I interned with TFA this summer and felt truly inspired and motivated by their mission to provide all children with a quality education. I hope to also pursue a Master’s in Public Policy in order to further my career. Ultimately, I wish to work either for the government or a non-profit organization.

Q: What would you like to say to alumni who have supported your scholarships?
A: To the alumni who contributed to my scholarship: thank you. Your contribution not only allowed for me to be able to study abroad, but it also allows me to continue my education at UMBC. My entire undergraduate degree is based on scholarships and so your contribution is of extreme value to me.

Interested in helping students like Micaela? Give today.

Nearly 90 current students and UMBC alumni talked life after college at the annual “Sweeten Up Your Network” speed networking event on November 28. Sponsored by the Student Alumni Association, the event allowed alumni from a variety of backgrounds to share their real-world expertise with students looking to hone their networking skills.

“The SAA students and I are very happy with the outcome of Sweeten Up Your Network this year,” said Cindy Greenwood, alumni programming coordinator.  “The event grew from about 50 attendees last year to nearly 90 this year and we have received great feedback about the conversations that students and alumni were able to have through this event.  We look forward to continuing to grow and improve the event in future years.”

See photos from the event here.

Formed in 2011, the Student Alumni Association is a student organization focused on connecting students with alumni and encouraging tradition and school spirit on campus. Read more about the group here.

The online journal Aeon has published an excerpt from associate professor of history Kate Brown’s forthcoming book Plutopia, which is due out in 2013.

“For the past seven years, I have spent a great deal of time in the radiated traces of the world’s first plutonium plants — the Hanford factory in eastern Washington State and the Mayak plant in the southern Russian Urals. As countries from the Middle East to the Baltics gear up for a new generation of nuclear power reactors, it is worth taking another look at how scientists laid claim to the ‘truth’ to dismiss the testimony of local farmers such as Tom Bailie, and how farmers fought back to cast doubt on the experts,” writes Brown.

Plutopia is about two communities—Richland, Washington and its Soviet parallel, Cheliabinsk-40—created to house operators of the world’s first two plutonium plants. It is the first to narrate in tandem the plutonium disasters in the US and USSR, and Brown argues that it no longer makes sense to tell the two histories separately. She shows that plutonium was a collaborative, transnational project that bound together the lives of working people across the cold war divide.

The excerpt, “A People’s Truth,” appeared online on December 3 and can be read here.

UMBC fullback Liam Paddock has been selected to the 2012 Capital One Academic All-America® Division I Men’s Soccer First Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA).   Paddock becomes the first men’s soccer player at UMBC to receive the nation’s top academic honor. He is the fifth student-athlete in school history to earn first team honors and the 20th Retriever overall to be cited by CoSIDA since 1977.

A senior with a 3.92 G.P.A. as a psychology and sociology major, Paddock was the 2012 ECAC Division I Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A team captain at UMBC, he was named 2012 America East Defender of the Year and was a repeat selection to the America East all-conference first team. The Worcestershire, England native scored a career-high three goals this season while leading the Retrievers to the America East championship and an 11-4-7 record.   UMBC reached the NCAA Championship in 2010 and 2012 with Paddock as a fixture at center back in the lineup. He started all 72 games that he dressed for in his four-year tenure in Baltimore.

“It’s remarkable how well Liam has done both on the field and in the classroom,” head coach Pete Caringi, Jr. said. “On the field, he was the leader and he helped us to get to three America East finals and compete in two NCAA tournaments. Off the field, he set the standard for our academic success. This culminates a tremendous career at UMBC and I couldn’t be more proud of what he’s done. Liam is a great player, but more importantly, he is a great person, and he has been an ambassador for our program.”

The Capital One Academic All-America® Men’s Soccer Division I first team had an average G.P.A. of 3.94.   UMBC tennis standouts Oscar Lopez (1999) and Lana Khvalina (2003, 2004), cross country/track’s Jen Ecker (2001) and swimming’s Keilan Freeman (2011) are UMBC’s other first team honorees.   Recent UMBC Athletics’ Hall of Fame inductee and soccer standout Ted Lawler earned Academic All-District II honors in 1999.

To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative G.P.A. of 3.30 on a scale of 4.00, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standings at his/her current institution and be nominated by his/her sports information director.

Since the program’s inception in 1952, CoSIDA has bestowed Academic All-America honors on more than 16,000 student-athletes in Divisions I, II, III and NAIA, covering all NCAA championship sports.   For more information about the Academic All-America® Teams program, please visit www.cosida.com.

UMBC junior forward Pete Caringi III is among a group of thirty-four of the nation’s top men’s college soccer players who have been named finalists for the 2012 Soccer News Net College Boot award, recognizing the men’s college player of the year.

The editors of each of the sites in the Soccer News Net network nominated up to five local players for the award, each of which will be eligible for the regional player of the year award. The nominations included athletes playing at colleges within each site’s coverage area, as well as athletes from the area playing collegiately elsewhere in the country. Nine additional at-large selections rounded out the nominations.

Fans from across the country can be able to vote for the top collegiate player. Voting will continue until December 22, and will be conducted on DC Soccer News (www.dcsoccernews.com) which will officially launch later this year, but is conducting voting as an introduction to the site.

Online fan voting will account for 40% of the total toward the award. The remaining 60% of the vote will be cast by the Soccer News Net editorial staff.

The winner of the popular vote will receive the Soccer News Net Supporter’s Choice Award.

Caringi had a brilliant 2012 campaign, scoring 14 goals and amassing 32 total points for the America East Conference champion Retrievers (11-4-7), who reached the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. Entering the tournament, Caringi was eighth in the nation in goals scored.
The son of head coach Pete Caringi, Jr. was named America East Striker of the Year and was selected to the America East First Team. He was a two-time America East Player of the Week, an ECAC Division I Offensive Player of the Week and a multiple honoree on “Teams of the Week” for Soccer America and College Soccer News.

“Hugging Laxmi to his chest, Mr. Garg climbed the ladder propped against the wall
of his house. The Devi weighed more than he’d expected,” begins a short story by Manil Suri, professor of mathematics, in the Washington Post Magazine.

“The Silver Spring Laxmi” is the tale of a homeowner who erects a Devi display to rival his neighbor’s Christmas decorations in an act of cultural rebellion. “Mr. Garg intended his Laxmi to give Christmas a run for its money, to rival the multitude of displays sure to invade the neighborhood in the coming weeks,” writes Suri. The story was published in the holiday fiction issue of the magazine, which is on newstands on Sunday, November 18.

Suri’s latest novel, The City of Devi, will be released in February.

Angel Chinn ’08, dance, was featured in The Gazette this month when her newly formed dance company, NonaLee Dance Theatre, was slated to perform an adventurous, site-specific program at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier. In the article, Chinn speaks about her switch from competitive running and studying education, to pursuing a degree in dance at UMBC.

Read the full story here.

Chinn created the NonaLee Dance Theatre in 2011 with the intention of giving dancers with diverse backgrounds the “opportunity to perform and grow artistically.” The dance troupe has evolved since its induction, but always aims to bring its own identity to the world of modern dance. This most recent performance was a “fresh take on modern dance and something people haven’t seen yet. It has a modern feel, it also has a hip hop feel, it has a funk feel,” she told The Gazette. NonaLee blurred “the line between audience and performer” by leaving the stage and performing in close proximity to the viewers in the museum lobby in a piece called “The Living Art Museum.”

Angel Chinn will return to UMBC to perform in the 2013 Baltimore Dance Project February 7-9. Read the entire article, including Associate Professor of Dance, Doug Hamby’s comments on Chinn’s dance at Gazette.net.

This article first appeared on UMBC Insights.