In his May 29 column for The Baltimore Sun entitled “Markets are less competitive than you think”, UMBC political science professor Tom Schaller answered critics of his previous column, which pondered as to why so many tolerate the inefficiencies of market-oriented entities as compared to governmental ones.

Tackling in particular the assertion that consumers have the choice of taking their business elsewhere in the private sector in contrast to dealing with the supposed monopoly of governments, Schaller noted that things are not so simple when taking into account the forms of competition within government at the state and local levels. He also wrote of the various “oligopolies” within the IT, banking, airline, and entertainment/media industries, and closed with a challenge:

“Should they wish to practice what they preach about the magical powers of pluralistic market competition, here’s a challenge: Go a month — heck, go a week — without shopping at a big-box retailer, eating at a national restaurant chain, flying on a major commercial airline, or watching or listening to any movie, cable network program, radio station, magazine or newspaper owned by Disney, Viacom or Time-Warner.”

The Department of English is pleased to announce that Deborah Rudacille, will join the department as a visiting professor of the practice this fall.

A 1998 science writing graduate of Johns Hopkins University’s Writing Seminars program, Rudacille has been published in various local and national magazines, as well as authoring three books: The Scalpel and the Butterfly: The War Between Animal Research and Animal Protection (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2000), The Riddle of Gender: Science, Activism and Transgender Rights (Pantheon, 2005), and most recently Roots of Steel: Boom and Bust in an American Mill Town  (Pantheon, 2010), a work of history whose subject matter remains prescient given the recent events concerning RG Steel’s declining fortunes in Sparrows Point.

According to Christopher Corbett, actong chair of English, Rudacille will teach four courses at UMBC next year. Her fall courses will be “Reporting the Local” (ENGL384), which will cover forms of community journalism in the digital age, and “Diagnosing Gender” (ENGL317/GWST390), a combined section course with gender and women’s studies which will “weave together the history of scientific and medical attempts to define gender with the lived experience of transgendered and intersexed individuals.” In the spring, she will teach an introductory science writing course and a reading course called “The Physician as Writer.”

Rudacille expressed her pleasure with joining the university, saying, “I’m very excited about my courses and eager to get started teaching this fall. I’ve heard great things about UMBC students from instructors who have taught at the school–that they are smart, motivated and hard-working. Engaging with such a high caliber of students is what I am most looking forward to at UMBC.”

More of Rudacille’s previous work can be found at her website.

On Sunday, 88 students from local universities embarked on a cross-country bike trip as part of the 4K for Cancer program run by the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. Among this year’s participants was Michelle Wong ’13, financial economics, who said that she is riding in memory of her mother Natalie, and to support of her grandmothers Ethel On and Vernan Wong, who are currently fighting their own battles with the disease. The Baltimore Sun covered the program in a May 27 story entitled “UMBC senior joins cross-country ride for cancer victims.”

“I think it builds everyone’s passion,” said Wong regarding those close to her who have been lost or are still fighting their illnesses as the motivation for herself and her fellow riders. “I think that’s what drives and motivates each individual [in the 4K for Cancer], and everyone feeds off each other.”

According to the Sun, the ride will stretch from Baltimore to Portland, Oregon, over 70 days, with participants staying at churches and YMCAs along the route, and “are expected to offer community services to cancer organizations across the nation.”

Marc Olano, associate professor of Computer Science and Electical Engineering and director of the Computer Science BS in Game Development Track, was quote in a Baltimore Sun story on the closing of the Timonium-based video game company Big Huge Games. The story, “Timonium video game maker closes, lays off 100,” appeared on May 25.

The 12-year-old company of 107 employees was shuttered last week as a result of its parent company, Providence, RI’s 38 Studios, closing down due to its own mounting debts. The loss of Big Huge Games to the Maryland video game industry is significant, as the company had been a “longtime major [player]” according to Olano. He also noted that the closing should not be a reflection on Big Huge Games’ own management and staff, but rather on the “financial problems of their parent [company] that had ultimately led to this.”

Laura Hussey, assistant professor of political science, is quoted in a recent Gazette story regarding Governor Martin O’Malley and his political future.

The article focuses on O’Malley’s ongoing second chairmanship of the Democratic Governors Association, where he has been able to build potential support and create links with potential contributors for higher office. Hussey offers contrary opinion as to any negative effect which the recent state budget debacle might have on the governor’s fortunes, as voters “tend to have short memories” and criticism in nationally-read conservative publications like the Wall Street Journal could help in raising O’Malley’s profile across the country for the 2016 election year.

The story, National Democratic stage gives O’Malley major boost,” appeared in the Gazette on May 25.

The 6th Branch recently announced a partnership with Got Your 6, a national campaign encouraging veterans and civilians to work together in bettering their communities.

Dave Landymore ’13, human geography, executive director of The 6th Branch, describes the group as a “veteran-led community service organization” that uses “military leadership skills to motivate and lead volunteers from all walks of life in an effort change the conversation about what is achievable and what isn’t.”

The partnership will focus on the Got Your 6 leadership pillar “The Mission Continues,” with the hope that The 6th Branch will involve veterans and their families in 1.5 million hours of community service by July 2013. Also participating are other organizations includingTeam Rubicon and The Corporation for National and Community Service.

“We’ve seen some terrible things in places like Iraq and Afghanistan; some of those things we see here at home as well. As veterans, we can’t abide letting our fellow citizens who live in substandard conditions continue to believe there’s no hope for them,” Landymore said.

Recent activities by The 6th Branch include “Operation: Oliver,” which focused on bettering the Oliver neighborhood of Northeast Baltimore. Jeremy Johnson ’12, sociology, was active in this effort.

Kevin “KAL” Kallaugher, UMBC artist-in-residence and cartoonist for The Economist and The Baltimore Sun, is exhibiting his work at the National Museum of Contemporary Arts in Bucharest, and was co-organized with the U.S. Embassy in Romania. The exhibit opened May 15.

The exhibit was covered by Financiarul on May 17, with the newspaper writing that it portrays “a wide range of themes, including American symbols, the fight against terror, the American economy and big corporations, the US in a world context as well as American political leaders.”

The English-language version of the article can be found here.

We are very excited to share the news that Lynn Rehn, Assistant Vice President and Controller, Financial Services has been selected as a 2012 recipient of the NACUBO Rising Star Award. Per NACUBO’s website, this prestigious, national award “identifies future leaders in higher education — up-and-coming individuals in the areas of finance, administration, and business known for their innovative, meaningful contributions to the improvement of their profession and the efficiency of their institution.”

Lynn’s nomination describes the major improvements she has made in financial statement and data accuracy, audit resolution, business process, policy, and grants/contracts accounting. “Her leadership in raising the overall accounting accuracy across the broader University stems from her professionalism, honesty, excellent skillset, and ability to apply laser-like focus to problem resolution. She quickly assesses the needs, identifies the required resources, and applies time and effort accordingly to get the job done.”

Lynn will receive her award at the NACUBO Annual Meeting in Washington DC, July 29, 2012. The award comes with national recognition in the NACUBO Business Officer magazine along with a scholarship for a future NACUBO seminar.

Please join us as we congratulate Lynn on this well-deserved honor.

William LaCourse, Interim Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, was in last Friday’s Baltimore Business Journal. The section of the story, titled STEM programs try to build the workforce of the future, on LaCourse and UMBC focused on the creation of the Chemistry Discovery Center.

“LaCourse and his colleagues developed the Chemistry Discovery Center, an adjunct to the traditional introductory chemistry lecture course. At weekly, two-hour sessions students are randomly paired into teams to solve problems. Each student rotates through roles of supervisor, recordkeeper, data collector and result disseminator. Instructors answer questions but they don’t lecture. The rotating roles have promoted a sense of accountability, which LaCourse thinks has been key to the program’s success. The failure rate in his Chemistry 101 class has been halved, from 30 to 15 percent; the number of chemistry majors at UMBC has doubled, to 160.”

To read the article (subscription required) go to: Higher Learning: STEM programs try to build the workforce of the future.

Shawn Bediako, associate professor of psychology, has been named to the advisory board of the Center for the History of Psychology (CHP).  The CHP, which is located at The University of Akron, provides access to and interprets the historical record of psychology and related human sciences.  It is home to a museum of psychology and the Archives of the History of American Psychology.

“I’ve always had an interest in the history of psychology,” said Bediako. “I use my interest in history to balance out the rigors of doing research.”

Bediako came to the center’s attention in 2008, when he planned a celebration to mark the 75th anniversary of the first African American woman earning her doctorate in psychology. As a member of the advisory board, Bediako hopes to add the stories of minority psychologists to the larger history of the discipline.

“We have to stop looking at the experiences of marginalized groups as being separate from the larger history of the discipline,” he said.

The CHP advisory board assists the center in matters of collection management, public outreach, and development.