UMBC honored members of The 1966 Society on September 19 — the 45th anniversary of the university’s opening day in 1966 — at a dinner hosted by president Freeman A. Hrabowski III celebrating the commitment they’ve made to UMBC’s future through planned giving. The group met in the Albin O. Kuhn Library and enjoyed a “7th Floor Tour of UMBC,” along with dinner with Dr. Hrabowski and the chance to share memories of their time at UMBC.

“I love that they continue to engage with students,” said Kimberly Robinson, director of campaigns and donor relations. “The stories they told are so wonderful, and so similar to what people are celebrating about UMBC today, such as excellence in faculty teaching and innovation in the classroom. It really was great to hear.”

This 1966 Society dinner will be an annual event, so if you have named UMBC in your estate plans, please contact Robinson at Kim.Robinson@umbc.edu or 410-455-3700 so she can make sure you are invited to next year’s event!

Below: A slideshow of The 1966 Society dinner.
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According to NASA, for 40 years, what created the Moon’s ionosphere was a puzzle until Tim Stubbs an Assistant Research Scientist at UMBC working at the Goddard Space Flight Center published a possible solution — moondust.

“An ionosphere made of dust,” says NASA, “instead of gas is new to planetary science. No one knows how it will behave at different times of night and day or at different phases of the solar cycle, or how it might affect future radio communications and navigation on the Moon. ”

Read more about Tim Stubbs’ discovery.

Credit: Science@NASA

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zSrP4MacFE&w=560&h=315]

After many months of filming on campus, “60 Minutes” featured UMBC on its program this past Sunday. What’s the bad news? It’s all too familiar: the United States continues to graduate too few students, particularly minorities, in science, technology, engineering, and math. The good news: “60 Minutes” focuses on UMBC as a place that gets it right.

We appreciate the recognition – but, more importantly, the opportunity to raise the visibility of this critical issue. View the full segment online here. A transcript is available here.

As you watch, you will see a well-executed production, not the months of taping, research, and editing. You certainly won’t see the messy outtakes. Transformation in higher education happens in much the same way. It’s a process, not a product. What started in 1988 with an idea for a select program for African-American males in science, math, and engineering – the Meyerhoff Scholars Program – has blossomed into a broad culture of student achievement at UMBC.

Lessons from the Meyerhoff program, for example, inspired scholars programs for undergraduates in the arts, humanities, public affairs, and teacher education. More recently, the Meyerhoff experience with group study informed course redesigns for first-year courses in science, engineering, and psychology. And, in turn, lessons from that initiative now have UMBC working to infuse active learning throughout its curriculum.

But these few examples aren’t the story. What we have worked toward over the past 25 years at UMBC is a culture that goes beyond “project mode” when it comes to improving undergraduate education.  More than a particular program, department, or initiative – we are an entire community that works relentlessly to improve the educational experience we provide.

Our faculty, staff, students, alumni, and partners have worked tirelessly, and often behind the scenes, to breathe life into that work. UMBC’s successes are your successes. Thank you for your continued support, and enjoy the spotlight!

If you were among the millions who bought the new iPhone 4S, then you can thank Dr. Harry Chen, the UMBC alumnus who helped develop the phone’s most notable new feature: Siri.

For those not among the millions, here’s a bit of background:  Siri is a virtual assistant that responds to voice commands. “She” can do things like make phone calls, send text messages, set alarms, and find directions. But, the remarkable thing about Siri is that she understands intent. Tell Siri “I’m drunk,” and she’ll bring up a list of cab services in the area. Tell Siri “I want a burger” and she’ll direct you to burger joints nearby, according to ratings.

Chen is a triple-play computer science UMBC alumnus, earning his bachelor’s degree in the subject in 1998, his master’s degree in 2000, and his doctorate in 2004.

Read the full story on UMBC’s Computer Science and Electrical Engineering site.

Read more alumni stories on Retriever Net.

In an editorial in Chevy Chase Patch, Mary Rivkin, associate professor of education, argues the importance of environmental justice, community health and childhood development to the decision-making process that is determining the future of the Capital Crescent Trail.

“Planners take many variables into account, but the variable of economic development should not dominate the decision-making as it has in the case of the Purple Line. I suggest that other variables—environmental justice, community health and childhood development—now take precedence,” Rivkin writes.

She urges developers to follow the model of “Highline Park in New York City, where a repurposed railway right-of-way has become a linear urban park so notable it has attracted both development and philanthropic funds.”

Her piece, “Re-envision the Trail—Plan Bigger” appeared on the website on November 9.

Carrie Evans, adjunct faculty member in Gender and Women’s Studies, was named the Executive Director of Equality Maryland.  Equality Maryland is Maryland’s largest LGBT civil rights group.

“We wanted the next Executive Director to have intelligence, compassion, a record of leadership on LGBT issues, and most importantly, an understanding of the unique needs of Maryland. We are confident that we have found that leader in Carrie Evans,” the organization’s board of directors wrote in an e-mail to supporters.

Evans appointment was covered in the Washington Blade in a November 9 story entitled “Equality Md. names new exec director.”

““This is an organization that is like a dear friend to me … and the stakes are high, marriage is on the table, as well as the gender identity bill. We have a whole new board of tremendously accomplished people and I can hit the ground running — it’s full speed ahead,” Evans told the publication.

Her appointment was also mentioned in November 10 Washington Post blog post, “Md. bishops: Same-sex marriage erodes religious freedom.”

The exhibition Where Do We Migrate To?, organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, will tour in spring 2012 to the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at Parsons The New School for Design. Opening on February 2, the exhibition will remain on view through April 15.

Artists Space in New York will host a launch for a book that accompanies the exhibition, also entitled Where Do We Migrate To?, on December 15 from 6 to 8 p.m. Svetlana Boym, an artist whose work is featured in the exhibition and who contributed an essay to the book, will speak.

Curated by Niels Van Tomme, Director of Arts and Media at Provisions Learning Project in Washington, D.C., Where Do We Migrate To? explores contemporary issues of migration as well as experiences of displacement and exile. Situating the contemporary individual in a world of advanced globalization, the artworks address how a multiplicity of migratory encounters demand an increasingly complex understanding of the human condition. As such, the exhibition allows multiple perspectives about its subject matter to unfold simultaneously, opening up a range of political, psychological, poetic, and pragmatic manifestations of the contemporary migrant experience. The exhibition was originally on view at UMBC from March 17 to May 7, 2011.

Image: Xaviera Simmons, (detail) Superunknown (Alive In The), 2010, C-prints mounted on Sintra, dimensions variable/size of installation variable, first produced for Greater New York 2010 MoMA/PS.1.

The Baltimore Sun quoted UMBC’s Donald Norris, chair of public policy, today in its ongoing coverage of the Sen. Ulysses Currie corruption case. “The evidence does suggest that what he did, if not criminal, is unethical,” Norris said. When asked about the Senate’s possible censure of Currie, however, he noted, “Currie is very well-liked by his colleagues, and that may mitigate the penalty.” For more, read “Common Cause calls for Currie censure.”

Yesterday, Norris reflected in the Sun on the election of Baltimore City Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake to her first full term. “Will she have signature achievements? I’m not sure,” said Norris. “The bottom line is going to be the quality of her stewardship of the city of Baltimore.”

The Maryland Business Roundtable for Education has unveiled a new program, “STEM Specialists in the Classroom,” designed to augment classroom instruction and inspire high school students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, WBAL reports.

President Freeman Hrabowski talked to WBAL about the importance of the new initiative and UMBC’s success in educating students in the STEM fields.

Jay Greene, one of the most successful and popular players in
UMBC basketball history, has returned to his alma mater as an assistant
men’s basketball coach, Head Coach Randy Monroe announced today.
Greene replaces another UMBC alum, John Zito ’06 who has entered private
business after three years on the staff.

“I’m really excited to have Jason be back and be a part of our staff,”
Monroe said. “He is going to bring a tremendous amount of basketball
knowledge to our staff, but above all, he has the ability to relate to the
student-athletes at UMBC.”The Whitehall, Pa. native has played the most basketball games, 122, and
most minutes, 4,192, in Retriever basketball history from 2005-09. The
two-time team captain dished out 683 assists, the most in school history,
the third-most ever in America East Conference history and the third-most
of any NCAA Division I player in the state of Maryland.

He scored 1,186 career points and was the Reggie Lewis Most Outstanding
Player in the 2008 America East Tournament, leading the Retrievers to
their first NCAA bid. In his junior season, Greene was the lone player in
the nation to be ranked in the top five in the nation in
assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 3.47) and assists per game (4th, 7.2 per
game).

Greene, who was named UMBC’s Outstanding Senior Athlete for 2008-09,
earned three league citations in four seasons of competition. He was an
All-Rookie team member in 2005-06, earned First-Team All-Conference honors
in 2007-08 and second team honors in his senior campaign.

Greene earned his bachelor’s degree from UMBC in sociology in the spring
of 2009. He spent the 2010-11 season at director of basketball operations
at Rider University.