On July 24, WBAL-TV interviewed education professor Sarah Shin as part of a story on the Peyton family of Harford County, who are blending their American and Costa Rican heritage by raising their children bilingual.

Reporter Sarah Caldwell spoke with Shin, who is the author of the book Bilingualism in Schools and Society: Language, Identity, and Policy, about raising bilingual children. Shin told Caldwell that it’s best to start early. “The fact that children are not able to really put together coherent sentences does not mean that they aren’t processing language,” she said. Shin also said the creation of opportunities for children to interact with speakers of a second language could be beneficial, such as a bilingual babysitter, playgroup, or nursery or preschool.

UMBC political science professor Roy T. Meyers has been named recipient of the Frieder Naschold Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Field of Public Management for his paper “The Remarkable Case of Disappearing Earmarks in the United States: The Limits of Transparency Reforms” (download full pdf).

The Naschold Award recognizes the best paper presented at the conference of the International Public Management Network (IPMN) and is given once every other year. Meyers will formally receive the honor at the IPMN 2013 Conference in Siena, Italy.

Meyers also recently participated in the Memos to National Leaders project, coauthoring four memoranda (full PDF) that outline the bold and practical actions needed to repair our federal budget process. The National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) and the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) launched this project to address current policy challenges facing the United States. Their recommendations represent “a consensus of the best thinking by public management practitioners and researchers across the country.”

Earlier this summer, UMBC Associate Professor Ilsa Lottes (Sociology and Anthropology) presented a lecture on human rights at the Center of Excellence in Sexual Health Education at JAMK University of Applied Sciences in Jyväskylä, Finland. Lottes traveled to Finland as a Fulbright Specialist in the areas of sexual health and research methods.

Lottes is an expert on sexual and reproductive health in both the United States and Finland, with much of her research focusing on the views of college students. In this lecture, Lottes describes the basic principles of human rights and how sexual rights have been incorporated into human rights discourse to guide sexual health policy. Her lecture was also shared by video with conference participants in Russia.

President Obama Appoints UMBC President as Chair of National Education Commission

President Obama has named UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski chair of the newly created President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans.

In addition to advising President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, the commission will work closely with the newly-formed White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans, which is charged with coordinating federal agencies around this critical issue and identifying best practices nationwide. The commission also will lead a national dialogue – engaging the business, philanthropic, nonprofit and education communities – on African American achievement from early childhood through adulthood.

“The nation’s future will depend heavily on the extent to which we educate all of our nation’s children.  This commission will work to ensure that increasing numbers of African Americans excel academically,” President Hrabowski said.

“The work of my colleagues at UMBC has demonstrated that education in America can be both inclusive and excellent,” he said. “Our African American students study with people from all over the world and achieve at the highest levels. I am delighted that the President is again committing to the success of all students.”

The President has set the goal for America to have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020. This new White House initiative and commission will work toward that ambitious goal, complementing an existing initiative that strengthens the nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

President Hrabowski has worked extensively on national education issues, including chairing a National Academy of Sciences committee that examined minority participation in the sciences. In its final report, that committee concluded that, to remain competitive, the United States needs to significantly increase its investment in young people of all races interested in science, technology, engineering and math.

You can read more about President Hrabowski here. To learn more about the role of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans, please visit the White House website.

(7/26/12)

Alumnus Matthew Panunto ’12, M.S. geography and environmental systems (GES), has won the 2012 American Water Resources Association (AWRA) National Conference Student Poster Competition for his submission “Effects of valley segment sequencing on floodplain hydroperiods.”

According to the abstract, Panunto and co-authors Philippe Vidon, Pierre-André Jacinthe, and GES professor Matthew Baker’s piece used “numerical simulations of… hypothetical hydraulic constraints and empirical characterizations of valley segments and flood hydrographs in central Indiana’s White River valley” in order to understand more about the impact of “valley sequencing” on floodplain hydroperiods, or when a region is waterlogged. Along with a certificate and monetary award from AWRA, Panunto will be featured on the organization’s website, as well as in an upcoming issue of IMPACT magazine.

Panunto recently accepted a position at the USEPA in Athens, GA, where he is working on a term contract with the the Office of Research and Development’s National Exposure Research Laboratory Ecosystems Research Division. Panunto will help develop hydrologic and hydraulic watershed models and program applications for Geographic Information Systems for the EPA.

This article first appeared in UMBC Insights.

Alumnus Matthew Panunto ’12, M.S. geography and environmental systems (GES), has won the 2012 American Water Resources Association (AWRA) National Conference Student Poster Competition for his submission “Effects of valley segment sequencing on floodplain hydroperiods.”

According to the abstract, Panunto and co-authors Philippe Vidon, Pierre-André Jacinthe, and GES professor Matthew Baker’s piece used “numerical simulations of… hypothetical hydraulic constraints and empirical characterizations of valley segments and flood hydrographs in central Indiana’s White River valley” in order to understand more about the impact of “valley sequencing” on floodplain hydroperiods, or when a region is waterlogged. Along with a certificate and monetary award from AWRA, Panunto will be featured on the organization’s website, as well as in an upcoming issue of IMPACT magazine.

Panunto recently accepted a position at the USEPA in Athens, GA, where he is working on a term contract with the the Office of Research and Development’s National Exposure Research Laboratory Ecosystems Research Division. Panunto will help develop hydrologic and hydraulic watershed models and program applications for Geographic Information Systems for the EPA.

Political science professor Tom Schaller’s latest column for The Baltimore Sun was published on July 24th. “American should give up its role as lone superpower” dealt with the shifting paradigm in global relations, with nations such as Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Korea becoming major players in the international economy in the coming decades, while simultaneously there has been a decline in the United States’ ability to alter such currents.

Schaller suggested that rather than holding onto the idea of itself as the lone superpower, the U.S. should instead draw down its international dominance and focus more on domestic priorities. He also noted that, while such a decision may be unpopular with some, it could prove more beneficial in terms of life at home, and eventually bring a renewal of esteem for the United States and its ideals in the future.

“Chest-thumping nationalists may scream that American power is vital in a dangerous world,” wrote Schaller, “but the United States will never recede from the global scene entirely, nor shrink from future threats. Besides, a nation weak at home is doomed for weakness abroad. To lead the world anew we must lead ourselves first.”

Over 1100 full-time employees contributed to the 2011 Maryland Charity Campaign, a participation rate of 70 percent, earning UMBC the Maryland Charity Campaign Governor’s Cup Award for Outstanding Performance for the fifth consecutive year.

John Jeffries, Shelly Graham and Terry Aylsworth presented the Cup to President Freeman Hrabowski.

“The national recognition our students and faculty receive is a testament not only to their achievements, but also to how well this campus cultivates the life of the mind.”
-President Freeman A. Hrabowski III

The end of the academic year at UMBC brought a host of prestigious awards, recognizing the excellence of our students and faculty in fields as diverse as visual arts, political science and engineering. Just a few of their achievements:

Eric Dyer, associate professor of visual arts, was awarded a 2012 fellowship for creative arts by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation – one of the most prestigious awards for faculty in the arts and humanities. Professor Dyer is an artist, filmmaker, experimental animator and educator whose award-winning films have screened internationally at numerous festivals.

Two faculty members received 2012-13 Fulbright awards for scholars. Marc Zupan, associate professor of mechanical engineering, will teach and conduct research at the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto in Portugal. John Sturgeon, professor of Visual Arts, will serve as Distinguished Chair at the London College of Art. The appointment marks his second Fulbright Scholar award.

A record five UMBC students and recent alumni earned 2012-13 Fulbright awards for students. Vivian Ekey ’11, political science and modern languages and linguistics, will conduct research in Brazil; Ryan Max ’11, biochemistry, will teach English in Laos; David Anguish ’12, political science, will do research in Mexico; Achsah Joseph ’12, media and communication studies and interdisciplinary studies, will teach English in Malaysia; and Elena Mawyer ’12, modern languages and linguistics, will teach English in Spain.

Two recent graduates were invited to the 62nd Nobel Laureate Meeting, held this month in Lindau, Germany. Patrice Starck ’12 and Class of 2012 Salutatorian Robert Wardlow, both biochemistry and molecular biology, were among a few hundred young researchers invited to the conference to exchange ideas with Laureates. This is the third year in a row that UMBC students have been invited to the meeting.

Gunther Holtorf's 23-year road trip

Back in 1989, as the Berlin Wall fell, Gunther Holtorf and his wife Christine set out on what was meant to be an 18-month tour of Africa in their Mercedes Benz G Wagen. Now, with more than 800,000km (500,000 miles) on the clock, Gunther is still going.

The German former airline executive has travelled the equivalent of 20 times around the planet in the vehicle - which he calls Otto. He says he has never had a serious breakdown. Recently in Vietnam, Canadian-born photographer David Lemke joined Gunther on one section of his epic journey.