Getting involved in research helps you network with faculty both on and off campus, strengthen your resume for graduate school, professional school, and employment, support your artistic vision, and helps you apply what they’ve learned in the classroom in a research setting. UMBC has several programs that support undergraduate research:

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits, performances, and film.

Undergraduate Research Awards (URA) provide up to $1,500 to undergraduate students to support their research or creative work with a UMBC faculty mentor on an original project. UMBC students of all years and disciplines are invited to apply.

UMBC Review (Journal of Undergraduate Research) Published annually, this peer-reviewed journal features academic papers written by UMBC undergraduates.

Travel Awards Students who are invited to present their work at a conference or festival may apply for funds to support their travel.

Research Opportunities Assistance with finding and applying to summer REUs and other research opportunities.

Prestigious Scholarships Support for students applying for prestigious scholarships such as Rhodes, Gates-Cambridge, Marshall, Truman, Goldwater, and others.

For more information, contact Dr. April Householder at aprilh@umbc.edu or visit:

ur.umbc.edu

Briana Yancy is a Geography and Environmental Science Major with a Psychology Minor who will graduate in May, 2019.

List any Scholars/Honors programs you are a part of: Meyerhoff Scholar 27 Cohort, URA Scholar 

Title of your research project: Nest Site Characteristics of the Bahama Oriole: Habitat Requirements of a Critically Endangered Species

What has been the most rewarding part? The most rewarding part is the outreach and effect on the community in the Bahamas this project has had. Every year we run into people who have our cards or have heard of us and want to help. They end up showing us nests or giving us valuable information about the birds and they always like to learn more about the project and how we are doing. 

We’re heading to Arlington, Virginia this coming October 2018 for the SREB Compact! If you went to the PROMISE SSI this year, think of The Compact as PROMISE SSI quadrupled! Yes, there are nearly 1000 students from around the country at the conference. As a group, PROMISE has traveled with graduate students to past SREB conferences around the US. This year, the conference is hosted in Arlington, Virginia from October 25 – 28, 2018. In order to go, you need to be nominated by the PROMISE AGEP. Read some of our former posts for the SREB conference here.

YOU have a chance to go with us, but PROMISE must nominate you. You cannot nominate yourself. We guarantee that we will take at least 8 people; we may take more. One year, we had so many great responses that we received additional funding and we took 30 people!

Here are some facts about the conference:

1.  This is the 25th Institute on TEACHING AND MENTORING/Compact for Faculty Diversity, October 25 – 28, 2018, Crystal Gateway Marriott , Arlington, VA. We tend to refer to this conference as “SREB.”

1. Scholars nominated to attend the Institute should ONLY be individuals who have an expressed interest in pursuing a career as faculty in a college or university (any post-secondary institution.) All of the sessions at the Institute will focus on topics and issues related to teaching at the post-secondary level. Consequently, scholars who are not interested in becoming a member of the faculty at the post-secondary level will not benefit from attending this Institute.

1. Nominated scholars must be minority or underserved STEM majors enrolled in a Ph.D. program. SREB will not accept nominations from students. (We will consider select masters students who are on track for Ph.D. programs. Note that Social Sciences are part of the “Science” in STEM.)

1. The conference will be in Arlington, VA. Hotel rooms at the Crystal Gateway Marriott will be available at no cost to you. Single rooms will not be available for scholars. Students will be placed in double rooms. 

1. Nominees must be part of the PROMISE: AGEP-T. This means that you must be a graduate student at one of the institutions within the University System of Maryland. If you are interested, you must show evidence of participation in a PROMISE AGEP event prior to September 16, 2018.

1. The graduate school department at UMB, UMD and UMBC have provided additional funding for AGEP scholars to attend the conference. Please make sure to apply!

TO APPLY: 

Write a comment to this post (below) with the following information (do not send email, email will not count). Please follow this order:

a) YOUR NAME

b) University & Department (no abbreviations). You must be a graduate student in a STEM field from one of the universities listed here: http://www.usmd.edu/institutions/. Include the link for your department and your laboratory.

c) Provide at least one link for your professional website. If you have more than one, you may provide up to three links, e.g., LinkedIn, department website.

d) Planned year of graduation for your PhD

e) One paragraph that describes the reason why you want to be a professor.

f) Which PROMISE events have you attended, and what have you learned?

g) If you’ve been “The Compact” in the past, what did you learn?

Once you apply using this format, send an email to promisestaff@gmail.com with the subject “SREB 2018 application, now online” so that we will have your email logged in our database for this event.

DEADLINE: MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2018

——————–

Forthcoming: Information about our orientation/logistics meeting, and agenda of the event.

https://www.sreb.org/institute-teaching-and-mentoring

https://instituteonteachingandmentoring.org/

Agenda: https://instituteonteachingandmentoring.org/Media/Default/Forms/2018%20AgendaAtaGlance.pdf

Description

Critical thinking, communication, collaboration/team building and innovation/creativity have been consistently articulated as top skills and competencies by organizations for employee development, talent management, succession planning and organizational growth. Yet most graduates lack proficiency in these skills. While institutions want faculty to leverage more technology for engagement and faculty are ready to use it meaningfully for coursework, it somehow gets lost in translation.

Join us for a one day training event to learn how Office 365 can help faculty and staff incorporate technology strategically so students will be prepared to keep up with the fast pace of change in businesses and to compete in a global society. 

Bring your own device to this one-day training designed for higher education institutions who want to learn more about Microsoft’s tools and resources for managing learning, engaging learners, delivering content seamlessly and completing administrative tasks associated with college courses.

Location In-Person Event:

Microsoft Eldridge Training Center

6518 Meadowridge Rd Suite 200

Elkridge, MD 21075

Description

This six-hour academy is designed to give educators an understanding of how Office 365 can provide the right environment for better learning outcomes, making the learning environment accessible for everyone with the tools and technologies in Office 365.  With Office 365, educators will learn how to become more innovative with cloud-based tools, regardless of the device they use.  This academy is aimed at educators for whom Office 365 is relatively new and who are looking to implement solutions to classroom problems right away. This training will explore Office 365 through hands-on activities that will introduce educators to OneDrive for Business, Office Online, Microsoft Teams, Forms, Sway, OneNote and Class notebook, as well as get a high-level overview of other tools that can enhance a classroom environment and make it accessible for everyone in today’s diverse classrooms.

Objectives

·         Create, share and sync a document on OneDrive for Business and Office Online

·         Explore features and co-author files in Office Online

·         Collaborate in Microsoft Teams as a professional learning community

·         Use Microsoft Forms to create formative and summative assessments

·         Experience Sway as a digital storytelling tool. 

·         Explore other Microsoft products that can enhance students' learning environment and help teachers create richer learning experiences

·         Use Delve to discover, organize, and manage files across Office 365

·         Learn simple steps for using Office 365, Office Lens and Windows to make a significant impact for the people who need accessible materials.

Location In-Person Event:

Microsoft Eldridge Training Center

6518 Meadowridge Rd Suite 200

UMBC Blackboard Update is provided by the Division of Information Technology for students, faculty and staff. If you have questions or need help, please consult the Blackboard Help tab inside Blackboard or directly at www.umbc.edu/blackboard/help.  You can also contact the Technology Support Center at 410.455.3838 or submit an RT (Request Tracker) ticket via the myUMBC Help Menu or directly at my.umbc.edu/help.

HEADLINES

Blackboard & Instructional Technology

• Blackboard Navigation Upgraded to “Ultra” Version

• Boot Camps Prepare Faculty for New Bb Course Interface

• FA2018 Courses Created in Blackboard on July 24

• Where’s my Blackboard Course? Tour the new dashboard

• Faculty Can Now Give Audio or Video Feedback in the Bb Grade Center

• Grade Anywhere with the Blackboard Instructor Mobile App

• TechSmith Relay to be Discontinued 12/31/18

• USM OER Call for Proposals due 8/29/18

For Your Information

• Known Issue: Faculty use of new course availability “lock” icon returns “access denied”

• Faculty Feedback Survey: Essential Blackboard Functions & Tools

• How do I request a new tool or integration for Blackboard?

• FAQ: Where is my course after the Ultra Experience upgrade?

Training & Professional Development

• All Upcoming Instructional Technology Events

• Monthly Ultra Experience Orientation: An overview to Bb’s redesigned course interface

Other DoIT News

• DoIT Begins Changes to myUMBC

• Employees with PS Access Required to Use 2 Factor Login
  (staff by 12/31/18, faculty by 9/1/19)

• UMBC Hits 1M RT Tickets

As always, if you have any questions, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection

• New Features | Known Issues | Updates & Fixes | Ultra Experience  

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff