John Nelson, co-coordinator of the MA Program in ESL/Bilingual Education, received the Lifetime Achievement Award from Maryland TESOL at their annual conference on Saturday, October 1. The award recognizes his “substantial and exemplary contributions to the field of ESL in the state of Maryland.”

Nelson began his career in TESOL in the mid-1960s as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ethiopia. Since then he has taught ESL to elementary and secondary school, university and adult English language learners. He has been a teacher trainer, program administrator and consultant in more than 10 countries on four continents.

On Tuesday, October 11, at 1 p.m., Kimberly Moffitt, assistant professor of American studies, will be a featured guest on WYPR’s “Midday with Dan Rodricks.” She will discuss Baltimore in film. The segment can be heard on 88.1 FM or streamed live here.

Lafayette Gilchrist ’92, Africana studies, may be best known in Baltimore as the pianist and composer at the helm of the New Volcanoes, ever-evolving, avant-garde big band. But before he became a big name in the jazz scene, he could be found practicing his skills in UMBC’s practice rooms.

“Gilchrist… describes himself as a ‘ghost’ in the music department. ‘My Grand-mommy said, ‘You’re going away to a fancy college; make sure you meet the people who scrub the toilets.’ I did. And they had keys to everything,’ Gilchrist recalls. He began to spend nights in the practice rooms, waving goodbye to the janitors as he left early each morning,” writes Baynard Woods in the Urbanite.

Today, Gilchrist finds that Baltimore’s eclectic music scene provides the perfect home genre-bending sound.

The story, “Explosive,” appeared on the Urbanite’s website on September 28.

Gilchrist was also the subject of a segment on WAMU’s “The Signal.” Before becoming a jazz pianist, he used to lace up the boxing gloves. “The Signal” talks with Gilchrist about his years as a fighter and the musical inspiration he took from the sweet science.

The piece aired on Saturday, October 8, and was repeated on Sunday, October 9. It can be heard here.

Occupy Wall Street arrived in Baltimore this week, with Occupy Baltimore participants gathering at McKeldin Square (at Light and Pratt Streets). Protestors have mentioned causes such as fighting income inequality, corporate greed and corruption, but the broader movement has not yet released specific goals. Laura Hussey, assistant professor of political science, told the Baltimore Business Journal, “We can look at some of the contemporary social movements today, social rights movements, anti-war, labor unions… Their policy demands are fairly specific. This seems to be a broader coalition and their demands are very vague.” Hussey said both left-wing and libertarian protesters are involved.

Maryland Democrats currently control both of the state’s two U.S. Senate seats and six of eight House seats, “and now they’re looking to make it seven,” writes Thomas Schaller, professor of political science, in his latest Baltimore Sun column. Although the GOP controls the process of drawing Congressional maps across much of the nation, the reverse is true in Maryland.

In the last ten years, the state population has grown 9% to nearly 5.8 million residents. Schaller writes, “That growth was anything but uniform statewide, of course. Continued population shifts away from Baltimore City toward the Baltimore suburbs, Washington suburbs and especially toward the outlying portions of the state are changing the geographic power calculus.” He argues that Democrats undertook a redistricting strategy “in the hope of flipping the 6th District.”

In early July, the Greater Baltimore Tech Council launched a search for companies with the most unique, innovative and creative technologies. A panel of judges reviewed the applications and compiled a list of the top 10. Two Catonsville-based companies made the list, including one located at bwtech@UMBC.

Now you can vote for those two Catonsville companies, Via Place and Rogue Networks, to be named the Greater Baltimore Tech Council’s “Hottest Tech in Town.”

Via Place develops mobile GPS apps and is an affiliate company of chamber member Mindgrub.

Rogue Networks develops cybersecurity solutions in the Cync incubator at bwtech@UMBC.

Voting is open until October 13 here.

NPR’s Morning Edition reports the U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote today on a temporary measure — or “continuing resolution” — to keep the government funded through mid-November, after having missed its appropriations deadline for the 14th year in a row. Congress uses continuing resolutions when they can’t complete work on appropriations bills before the start of a new fiscal year. UMBC political science professor Roy Meyers told NPR, “What that means is that there’s a great deal of uncertainty when you’re running a program about how much money you have to hire people or to sign contracts and the like, and that creates lots of inefficiencies.”

A USA Today article on the same topic focused on proposals to improve the budget process. However, not everyone is optimistic about the suggestions. Meyers is wary, telling USA Today, “When members of Congress don’t want to confront the difficult policy decisions, they start talking about process, and we may be in that phase now.”

Dalton Tolliver ’15 was named the America East Conference Volleyball Rookie of the Week for matches ending October 2, 2011.

Tolliver amassed a team-high 28 kills in two matches and hit .323 in a 3-0 win over Binghamton and a 3-2 setback versus Albany. She totaled one solo block and recorded four assisted blocks. Her 16 kills versus Binghamton tied a season high.

She is the second Retriever freshman to earn the first-year player award in 2011. Hannah Schmidt ’15 was the league’s recipient on August 29 and September 6.

Read the full press release here.

“When an older family member needs supportive housing, there’s often a rush to find a place with the ‘best quality,'” wrote Leslie Morgan, professor of sociology, in a Baltimore Sun op-ed. “But what is quality?” she asked. “Do family or friends value the same things as the future assisted-living resident?”

In searching for assisted living for a family member, Morgan recommends looking beyond a facility’s cosmetic factors to attend to the individual habits, interests and needs of the person who will live there. “What are their priorities?”; “How important is flexibility in their daily routine?”; “What about continuing lifelong behaviors, like having a drink before dinner, attending religious services or spending time outdoors?”

To learn more, read “Questions to Ask Before Choosing Assisted Living.” Leslie Morgan is UMBC’s Lipitz Professor of the arts, humanities and social sciences for academic year 2011-2012 and one of the nation’s foremost scholars on aging.

Retriever Fever is Spreading

Each year, Retriever Fever begins with a simple spark.

Around dusk, a crowd gathers on Erickson Field to light the annual bonfire – a towering spectacle signifying not just the start of UMBC’s Homecoming, but the energy of a collective college experience.

Still relatively young (UMBC celebrates its 45th year this fall), the university is in the process of building traditions like the bonfire.  Add in a Homecoming weekend chock full of athletic events, picnics, performances and reminiscing, and it’s easy to see why students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and friends come together to celebrate UMBC.

“Our focus has been building an experience that students will think about when they are here – and that makes them want to come back as alumni,” said Jen Dress, assistant director of major events in the Office of Student Life. “Take the bonfire. Students initially had skepticism about it. But you look at pictures and see how students are real close at the beginning and then have to move back as the bonfire ramps up. They now see it’s a much bigger thing.”

This year’s Homecoming – UMBC’s 11th – brings back many such popular events from last year, including:

• Midnight Madness, Men’s Soccer Game, 5K Dawg Chase and other athletic events
• Community Picnic, Taste of UMBC, RATT Reunion and other social events with great food
• Outstanding Alumni of the Year Awards
• Comedy Night, featuring Donald Glover of NBC’s “Community”
• Student Talent Show, Pep Rally and Bonfire

The weekend also includes several new events, including a Homecoming dance; an Art and Humanities Afternoon, featuring UMBC alumni filmmakers; celebrations of the Women’s Center’s 20th anniversary; and specialized reunions for student leaders, the Shriver Center and other groups.

And, in the spirit of building traditions, current students decided to add a community parade just before this year’s bonfire. Students can decorate parade floats, and spectators can join a musical march leading up to activities on Erickson Field.
“We wanted to create an event that every member of this campus could be a part of,” said senior Divya Patel, student chair of Homecoming.