There are so many ways to leave a legacy.

By all accounts, over her many years at UMBC, Dr. Alice Robinson, a founding professor in theatre, left legacies in the broadened hearts and minds of countless students here. After her passing, her legacy lives on through a scholarship fund aimed at the very students she taught.

(Click on the photo at right to enlarge the full piece in UMBC Magazine.)

We are inspired by the gifts Dr. Robinson gave to UMBC.

What will your legacy be?

Constantine Vaporis, director of the Asian studies program and professor of history, is a consultant and writer for a new exhibit at the National Geographic Museum entitled “Samurai: The Warrior Transformed,” which opens March 7 and runs through September 3.

The exhibition was planned to coincide with and D.C.’s annual National Cherry Blossom Festival, which this year marks the 100th anniversary of the gift of 3,000 cherry trees to Washington, D.C. by the government of Japan

In the video below, Vaporis answers the question, “What do samurai have to do with cherry blossoms?”

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUCayZlvvdU&w=560&h=315]

The Maryland Senate this week followed the Maryland House of Delegates in passing legislation allowing same-sex marriage, but opponents are planning a voter referendum. In the Gazette’s coverage of the issue, UMBC professor and chair of public policy Donald Norris argues that the referendum vote might depend on who is nominated as the GOP presidential candidate — a more extreme or more centrist candidate — and who comes out to vote as a result. Either way, says Norris, “It’s going to be a squeaker.”

UMBC assistant professor of political science Laura Hussey also offered her comments for the article, as well as another story on what remains for the current legislative session. She suggests that in this session bills dealing with the death penalty and firearms will likely get less attention than bills dealing with fiscal issues due to the economic climate.

“Lin case you hadn’t noticed, people have become Lin-fatuated with the Lin-spiring rags-to-riches story of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin. He’s a regular Linternet phenomenon!” begins a story on msnbc.com’s “The Body Odd.”

The appeal of puns such as the one’s inspired by Lin’e name may be that they’re fun to create, and they can seem almost addictive because they have clever elements and insights to them. But not everyone likes them.

“Puns are considered the lowest form of humor — a reason why speakers say, ‘no pun intended,’ denying responsibility for their spontaneous e-joke-ulation,” said Robert Provine, professor of psychology.

The story, “Our Lin-sane attraction to terrible puns, explained,” appeared on the site on February 24.

UMBC political science professor Thomas Schaller will appear on MSNBC’s “Up w/Chris Hayes” on Saturday, February 25. The morning show airs 8:00-10:00 a.m. Schaller frequently comments on national politics in his regular Baltimore Sun column, on Salon and through programs such as Current TV’s “The Young Turks.” He is the author of Whistling Past Dixie.

We’re pleased to announce that UMBC’s giving site, Giving to UMBC, has been recognized by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education.

The site, which won a 2012 Region II silver medal in the Website: Fundraising/Development category, went live in fall 2010 and features a Tumblr account that clues you to daily campus happenings, a new blog on giving, donor and student stories, and plenty of chances to learn about the effects of philanthropy. You can even share your own giving experiences with the world.

The latest issue of UMBC Magazine features a nice little piece about the win. Read the full story here.

On Friday, February 24, Symmes Gardner, executive director of the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture (CADVC), addressed the Maryland House of Delegates as a special speaker on Black History Month. His presentation featured images of the CADVC’s major touring exhibition, For All the World to See, organized in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and now on display at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Among the delegates attending the presentation were Speaker of the House Michael Busch and Speaker Pro Tem Adrienne Jones (’76 psychology). In his remarks, Mr. Gardner emphasized the importance of the Maryland State Arts Council, which provided significant funding for For All the World to See.

Jill Scheibler, a psychology doctoral student, was featured in a Baltimore Sun story about Baltimore’s Make Studio, which offers a place for developmentally challenged men and women to develop and market their artistic skills.

Scheibler is one of a trio of art therapists who founded Make Studio in 2010. The studio serves artists with disabilities such as autism, bipolar disorder and Down’s syndrome.

“Through the process of working at the studio and working with others, they’re developing translatable skills,” she said. “They learn about time management, how to be cooperative, how to present themselves, how to market themselves.”

The story, “Make Studio offers platform for artists with disabilities” appeared in the Baltimore Sun on February 23.

Kaye Whitehead ’09 Ph.D., language, literacy and culture, recently published an op-ed in the Baltimore Sun. In her piece, entitled “Black History is American History,” she argues that “we should no longer celebrate or recognize Black History Month; instead, we should teach black history alongside white history, Asian-American history, Latino history, women’s history and others” in order to create one narrative of American history.

Aformer middle school social studies teacher, and the 2006-07 Gilder Lehrman Maryland History Teacher of the Year, Whitehead did not recognize Black History Month in her classroom. She is now an assistant professor of communication at Loyola University Maryland.

Her op-ed appeared in the Sun on February 15.

Last week the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) held their annual event Bits & Bytes program for high school junior girls. The Bits & Bytes program is open to high school junior girls interested in finding out more about technology majors in college. The purpose of the event is to engage local high school girls in a college atmosphere as well as expose them to the possibility of an engineering or IT major.

“The event was definitely a success,” says Katie Glasser, Assistant Director of CWIT. “This is the largest group of girls we’ve ever had.”

Students come from high schools across Maryland and Virginia. “They get to know each other during the two-day program through team-building activities and the team design competitions,” says Glasser. Glasser says they also have the chance to meet with representatives from the different IT and engineering departments at UMBC, attend a college class, receive a tour of the UMBC campus and speak with a diverse group of UMBC students.

“It’s a lot of fun to see them experience college,” says CWIT scholar Michael Barrett. “This is a gateway for most of them.”

Northrop Grumman sponsored the event and Seanna Garrett from Northrop Grumman Corporation was the Keynote speaker at the Welcome Reception on Sunday evening. The Keynote is the kick-off to the Bits & Bytes event, and is designed to energize the high school girls and inspire them to be the next leaders in technology. In addition to the Keynote, a group of engineers from GE’s Middle River Aircraft Systems — Judah Baumer (UMBC Alumnus ’08), Holly Reilman, Margaret Schreffler, Rani Spivy and Rachel Preston — came on Sunday night to talk with the girls about potential engineering applications and they did an aviation engineering activity with paper airplanes.

The highlight of the two-day event was the engineering competition and the information technology competition. For the engineering competition the goal was to design an efficient vehicle that rolled down an inclined surface and crashed into a wall without disturbing the payload, an egg. For the information technology competition the student teams had to use the software, Alice, a 3-D programming environment. The objective? Create an animation based on a well-known children’s book using the Alice software. “The competition,” says one participant, “made me more confident about aspects of the Engineering field and my future potential.”

Each competition was judged by a team of three — composed of one UMBC faculty member, one UMBC student, and one industry professional. For the IT competition, the judges were Shreya Mohan (Information Systems Junior and CWIT Scholar), Amy Everhart (Information Systems), and Yolanda Clinton (Harris Corporation). There were two sets of judging teams for the engineering competition. One team included Amy Chou (Chemical Engineering Senior), Dr. Joshua Enszer (Chemical Engineering), and Gwen Cadieux (BAE Systems). The other team included Jessica Izumi (Chemical Engineering Sophomore), Dr. Tinoosh Mohsenin (Electrical Engineering), and Bridget Beamon (Johns Hopkins APL).

Some of the high school students say that as far as an engineering major goes they’re still on the fence. But, they say the Bits & Bytes program, allowed them to talk with UMBC students in the engineering and information technology programs at UMBC. This, they say introduced them to the different opportunities available — an experience which may one day soon give rise to the some of the nation’s next generation of engineers and information technology professionals.