It’s 9 a.m., and the library is quiet, as libraries usually are, when Dr. Robert Burchard, professor emeritus of biological sciences, sits down to discuss his experience at UMBC and the reason he’s giving back to the place that’s been a second home to him for more than 40 years.
In January of 1967, just a few short months after UMBC opened its doors, Dr. Burchard joined the faculty of the biological sciences department. He was young and fresh off a stint as a member of the Peace Corps in Nigeria. From one adventure to another, Dr. Burchard discovered himself among the pioneering few who would lay the foundation for UMBC’s future.
“I felt I was part of a new and vibrant community,” says Dr. Burchard of those early years. “There was a sense that we were all a part of a pioneering educational experience.” It’s clear in talking to Burchard that he himself still brims with excitement at learning, and his enthusiasm extends well beyond the bounds of his own discipline. In fact, it’s led him to be an avid supporter of the arts at UMBC and the Albin O. Kuhn Library.
“I’m part of a university community,” says Dr. Burchard. “We’re here not only to further our own academic interests, but to broaden our horizons. There’s pleasure in learning something new. I would like to think that all our faculty are renaissance scholars.”
But Dr. Burchard is far more than a mere audience member or library card holder. He’s also giving back to these programs through his financial support. Each year, his gifts to the UMBC Annual Fund help support the arts and he’s also established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust that will aid in expanding the library’s collections. The trust, a planned gift, was an excellent way for Dr. Burchard to increase the level and impact of his support while also establishing a source of income for himself. The trust, which will take effect upon his passing, is a lasting legacy that will impact students and the university community for years to come.
“I grew up in an environment where you give when you can,” says Dr. Burchard. “I wanted to give back to an institution that has supported me.”
What will your legacy be? Learn more about Planned Giving.

It’s 9 a.m., and the library is quiet, as libraries usually are, when Dr. Robert Burchard, professor emeritus of biological sciences, sits down to discuss his experience at UMBC and the reason he’s giving back to the place that’s been a second home to him for more than 40 years.

In January of 1967, just a few short months after UMBC opened its doors, Dr. Burchard joined the faculty of the biological sciences department. He was young and fresh off a stint as a member of the Peace Corps in Nigeria. From one adventure to another, Dr. Burchard discovered himself among the pioneering few who would lay the foundation for UMBC’s future.

“I felt I was part of a new and vibrant community,” says Dr. Burchard of those early years. “There was a sense that we were all a part of a pioneering educational experience.” It’s clear in talking to Burchard that he himself still brims with excitement at learning, and his enthusiasm extends well beyond the bounds of his own discipline. In fact, it’s led him to be an avid supporter of the arts at UMBC and the Albin O. Kuhn Library.

“I’m part of a university community,” says Dr. Burchard. “We’re here not only to further our own academic interests, but to broaden our horizons. There’s pleasure in learning something new. I would like to think that all our faculty are renaissance scholars.”

But Dr. Burchard is far more than a mere audience member or library card holder. He’s also giving back to these programs through his financial support. Each year, his gifts to the UMBC Annual Fund help support the arts and he’s also established a Charitable Remainder Unitrust that will aid in expanding the library’s collections. The trust, a planned gift, was an excellent way for Dr. Burchard to increase the level and impact of his support while also establishing a source of income for himself. The trust, which will take effect upon his passing, is a lasting legacy that will impact students and the university community for years to come.

“I grew up in an environment where you give when you can,” says Dr. Burchard. “I wanted to give back to an institution that has supported me.”

What will your legacy be? Learn more about Planned Giving.

Associate Professor of English Piotr Gwiazda will read from his new book, Messages: Poems & Interview, at the Walters Art Museum on March 10.

Also reading will be Campbell McGrath, the author of ten books of poetry, including Spring Comes to Chicago, Florida Poems, Seven Notebooks, and most recently In the Kingdom of the Sea Monkeys (Ecco Press, 2012).

The reading will take place at the The Walters Art Museum, 600 N Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201, at 2 p.m. on March 10.  It is free to the public.

Associate Professor of English Piotr Gwiazda has recently released a new book entitled Messages: Poems & Interview.

Much of the book was written during Gwiazda’s residency at the James Merrill House in Stonington, Connecticut in the fall of 2008. Some poems first appeared in Linebreak, Mudlark, Past Simple, Revolutionesque, Vallum, and other journals. In the interview, Gwiazda talks about literary influence, the concept of empire, “the right to illusion,” contemporary US poets, Brecht, poetry and politics, poetry and pedagogy and exophonic writing.

The book is published by Pond Road Press, which publishes poetry books and chapbooks that include author interviews.

In his latest Baltimore Sun column, UMBC political science professor Thomas F. Schaller explores the causes of decreased class mobility in the U.S.

Having just returned from a trip to Finland, Norway and Sweden, Schaller writes that in Scandinavia “a person’s income is far less dependent upon his or her parents’ income than it is here in the United States. In contrast to the U.S., Scandinavian countries are less class-anchored and more egalitarian and feature higher rates of political participation — all features that we aspire to have here in America but which have vanished in recent decades.”

Schaller connects this finding to conservative policy decisions, such as “shift[ing] the tax burden from wealth (inheritance and capital gains) to work (payroll, income taxes).” For details, read his full commentary in the Baltimore Sun.

Judah Ronch, Dean of UMBC’s Erickson School, offers a pointed letter in today’s New York Times, responding to a report that some retirement communities are segregating their dining facilities based on residents’ required levels of care, sometimes splitting up married couple during meals.

In “It’s About More Than Food,” Ronch writes that although “different regulatory considerations might play into the dining decisions at differing levels of care in a continuing care retirement community…[w]hat’s important is the fact that dining is deeply tied to pleasure, identity and sense of community, and therefore the service being provided is not simply to deliver food. To make a point of segregating people because of their physical or mental condition is to threaten their sense of dignity and identity as a valued member of a community.”

Kristin Waters has set a 2012 challenge of raising $1,834.00 for First Descents, an organization that offers young adult cancer fighters and survivors a free outdoor adventure experience to empower them to defy their cancer and reclaim their lives. Kristin has set out to run 7 marathons in the state of Maryland in 2012; the total distance of 183.4 miles, with hopes of raising $10/mile. Kristin’s first marathon of the year was the 51st Annual George Washington Birthday Marathon on February 19 in which Kristin finished in 4:26:42. Her next marathon will be on March 3. More information on Kristin’s challenge and First Descents can be found here: http://teamfd.firstdescents.org/2011/fd/MDMarathoner/kristin/.

For more information, contact Kristin at kwaters@umbc.edu or ext. 5-8121.

A film shot last spring about the research of Robert Provine, psychology, and his undergraduate researchers aired in France and Germany on Dec 30.  The English version is forthcoming, but the German version can be seen below.

The program is mainly focused on Provine’s research into laughter and his book.  The crew spent about a week in Baltimore and UMBC, shooting material in Provine’s lab, one of my lectures, the Commons, and the American Visionary Arts Museum that had an exhibit featuring his work. Matt Groening of The Simpsons, Patch Adams and others were collaborators in the AVAM show. 

See the German language film here.

Robert Provine, psychology, has an essay in a newly published collection entitled This Will Make You Smarter. The book is the latest in a series by the website Edge.org, which focuses on an annual question posed to today’s leading thinkers.  This year’s question was “What scientific concept would improve everybody’s cognitive toolkit? “

This is Provine’s seventh contribution to the series, and his essay is entitled “TANSTAAFL” (“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch”). It focuses on the fact that everything has its price, a concept relevant to everyday life as well as all sciences. The idea of TANSTAAFL borrows from Robert Heinlein’s science fiction classic, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.”

Contributors to the book include Daniel Kahneman, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, Martin Seligman, Martin Rees, Robert Sapolsky, Steve Pinker, Jaron Lanier, V. S. Ramachandran, Lisa Randall, Brian Eno, J.Crain Venter, David Brooks, and others.  All of the essays can be read here.

Maryland State Delegate John Olszewski, a Ph.D. student in public policy at UMBC, spoke out about his vote on Maryland’s same-sex marriage bill in the Baltimore Sun this weekend.

Olszewski, 29, a second-term Baltimore County Democrat, says he wanted to be sure the bill enables religious institutions who do not want to participate in same-sex marriage ceremonies to refrain from doing so, and that he is confident the measure “goes above and beyond” to “protect religious institutions.” He concluded, “To go another day denying full rights to all Marylanders would be a disgrace.”

Prior to enrolling in UMBC’s Ph.D. program in public policy, Olszewski was a social studies and special education teacher for seven years. See Olszewski’s website for his full statement on the marriage legislation.