Taking Back The Piano
Ida Dierker
Mentor: Lisa Cella, Music
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the piano became a symbol of wealth and status, especially within middle and upper-class families. It was marketed to women, reinforcing traditional gender roles and confining them to domestic life. Piano playing, associated with femininity and refinement, was considered the most respectable instrument for women. Rather than fostering creativity, it was often used to control women’s emotions and entertain men, influencing their prospects for marriage. Despite these barriers, women composers like Maria Anna Marrinez, Lilli Boulanger, Clara Schumann, and Florence Price persevered, carving out careers in music composition. While many social barriers have lessened in the 21st century, female composers still face challenges. In response, more women are creating provocative pieces that incorporate diverse cultural styles, extended techniques, and social justice themes. Amplifying these voices is crucial for advancing women’s rights. For my project presentation, I will premiere a section from composer Hanna Moore’s piece “Piano is a Woman.” We will explore the evolution of female expression through the piano, the importance of amplifying lesser-known voices in music, and delve into Moore’s composition.
This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
It’s been an exciting week filled with everything you need to know about financial wellness! From saving and investing to building credit and budgeting, we've covered it all—and there's still more to come! Plus, there are still scholarships up for grabs! If you missed the details, we’ve listed the scholarships below. You can check them out on Scholarship Retriever for more information.
MSW 2025 Scholarships:
MSW Bingo Card: $1,000 (1 winner)
MSW Attendance: $1,000 (4 winners)
MSW Post-Survey: $500 (2 winners)
MSW Reflection Essay: $2,000 (2 winners)
Dear UMBC Community,
I write to share an update on the university’s response to federal actions and orders and the work ahead to continue undeterred in advancing our mission and vision and standing up for our institutional values.
This update is not exhaustive in reporting on every piece of work being done by our core team and others involved in our rapid response; but it provides important information in a few key areas that I know are of shared concern. We anticipate providing an update on our federally funded research, education, and training programs and projects in the coming days.
International Student Immigration Status
First, as you may know, UMBC recently discovered that the federal government terminated the F-1 immigration status of four of our international graduate students. We are running daily audits of UMBC’s records in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and these audits revealed the record terminations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In each instance, we reached out immediately to the students. Neither UMBC nor the students received any prior notification or subsequent explanation from ICE for the terminations. Some of the affected students plan to depart the U.S. immediately, while others have engaged immigration counsel and are exploring their legal options. We are coordinating with the students and with faculty and administrators to explore options for any of these students who must depart the U.S. to complete their coursework and degree programs.
These are extremely concerning developments, and the actions affecting our international students are among hundreds of such actions that have been reported at more than 80 colleges and universities across the country. We continue to closely monitor the SEVIS records of our UMBC community members holding F-1 or J-1 status, and we will continue to provide support and guidance to our international community.
Please visit our information and resources site frequently for the latest updates on our work in response to federal actions and orders. Among other things, it includes information on international travel, updates regarding visa interview waiver eligibility, resources for international students, and guidance related to the potential for federal immigration enforcement action on campus. Please also reach out to the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) for additional support. My sincere thanks to the entire team in OISS for their tireless work and dedicated support of our international student and scholar community.
Budget Update
As I noted in a message before spring break, there remains much uncertainty about the scale and scope of impact of a variety of federal actions and orders on our research and, more broadly, on our university operations. While other institutions have seen massive cuts in federal research funding, leading some of them to announce austerity measures, we have not, to date, seen a similar impact. We are proceeding thoughtfully to assess existing and potential impacts and to determine what measures are needed.
One piece of clarity we now have is our funding from the state. With the close of the General Assembly session on Tuesday and its final passage of Maryland’s $67 billion budget, we know that in the coming fiscal year, UMBC will see a 7 percent reduction in its state operations budget. This is more than the 5 percent reduction we had originally expected, but given the uncertainties in recent months at both the state and federal levels, we anticipated that the state’s reduction would grow.
The University System of Maryland has directed its institutions, including UMBC, to prepare a 3-year budget projection incorporating the current cuts and anticipating additional ones, if needed. We will be engaging with members of the community, including shared governance, as we develop this projection, which will be completed by early May. We will be able to share further details about the projection, as well as the budget planning process for FY26, at that time.
Affirming Our Core Values
At UMBC, excellence is our imperative, and we define excellence as inclusive. We seek out and value a wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds and work to ensure that our university community is welcoming and safe to all. We know excellence in the pursuit of knowledge requires a wide range of inputs and perspectives; we know that excellence in teaching means providing safe environments that welcome a range of viewpoints and foster learning across differences; and we know that excellence in community engagement means we must always ask how can we better serve our communities? whose communities have we not engaged?
Time and again, I have heard this community express to me its commitment to inclusive excellence. As we uphold state and federal laws and our own university policies, we will not step back from our commitment to our deeply held values.
In addition to inclusive excellence, academic freedom and free speech remain core values that are imperative to our academic excellence and to the advancement of our public-serving mission. We remain committed to academic freedom across all of our disciplines—in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences and engineering–and will continue to uphold this value that is fundamental to higher education.
In Gratitude
In addition to the thanks I have shared above to the team in OISS, I want to extend gratitude to all in this extraordinary community who are working every day to protect and advance the critical importance of the university and its work and to demonstrate the impact of our work to the wider world.
I am grateful, as well, to the many who have asked, “How can I help?” I appreciate the questions and the ideas that we have seen emerge, sometimes turned into quick action. One example of that is the website of resources for displaced federal workers and the Paws and Pivot webinar series launched to provide practical resources and community for individuals affected by recent federal workforce changes. Thank you to the Alumni Engagement and Division of Professional Studies teams for their incredible work to stand up these resources in record time.
In the midst of such challenging times that I know weigh heavily on many, this and other stories inspire and encourage us all to carry on with our important work, knowing the meaningful difference it makes to individuals and communities. Thank you, and we will be in touch with you again soon.
Sincerely,
President Valerie Sheares Ashby
Dear UMBC Community,
I write to share an update on the university’s response to federal actions and orders and the work ahead to continue undeterred in advancing our mission and vision and standing up for our institutional values.
This update is not exhaustive in reporting on every piece of work being done by our core team and others involved in our rapid response; but it provides important information in a few key areas that I know are of shared concern. We anticipate providing an update on our federally funded research, education, and training programs and projects in the coming days.
International Student Immigration Status
First, as you may know, UMBC recently discovered that the federal government terminated the F-1 immigration status of four of our international graduate students. We are running daily audits of UMBC’s records in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and these audits revealed the record terminations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In each instance, we reached out immediately to the students. Neither UMBC nor the students received any prior notification or subsequent explanation from ICE for the terminations. Some of the affected students plan to depart the U.S. immediately, while others have engaged immigration counsel and are exploring their legal options. We are coordinating with the students and with faculty and administrators to explore options for any of these students who must depart the U.S. to complete their coursework and degree programs.
These are extremely concerning developments, and the actions affecting our international students are among hundreds of such actions that have been reported at more than 80 colleges and universities across the country. We continue to closely monitor the SEVIS records of our UMBC community members holding F-1 or J-1 status, and we will continue to provide support and guidance to our international community.
Please visit our information and resources site frequently for the latest updates on our work in response to federal actions and orders. Among other things, it includes information on international travel, updates regarding visa interview waiver eligibility, resources for international students, and guidance related to the potential for federal immigration enforcement action on campus. Please also reach out to the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) for additional support. My sincere thanks to the entire team in OISS for their tireless work and dedicated support of our international student and scholar community.
Budget Update
As I noted in a message before spring break, there remains much uncertainty about the scale and scope of impact of a variety of federal actions and orders on our research and, more broadly, on our university operations. While other institutions have seen massive cuts in federal research funding, leading some of them to announce austerity measures, we have not, to date, seen a similar impact. We are proceeding thoughtfully to assess existing and potential impacts and to determine what measures are needed.
One piece of clarity we now have is our funding from the state. With the close of the General Assembly session on Tuesday and its final passage of Maryland’s $67 billion budget, we know that in the coming fiscal year, UMBC will see a 7 percent reduction in its state operations budget. This is more than the 5 percent reduction we had originally expected, but given the uncertainties in recent months at both the state and federal levels, we anticipated that the state’s reduction would grow.
The University System of Maryland has directed its institutions, including UMBC, to prepare a 3-year budget projection incorporating the current cuts and anticipating additional ones, if needed. We will be engaging with members of the community, including shared governance, as we develop this projection, which will be completed by early May. We will be able to share further details about the projection, as well as the budget planning process for FY26, at that time.
Affirming Our Core Values
At UMBC, excellence is our imperative, and we define excellence as inclusive. We seek out and value a wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds and work to ensure that our university community is welcoming and safe to all. We know excellence in the pursuit of knowledge requires a wide range of inputs and perspectives; we know that excellence in teaching means providing safe environments that welcome a range of viewpoints and foster learning across differences; and we know that excellence in community engagement means we must always ask how can we better serve our communities? whose communities have we not engaged?
Time and again, I have heard this community express to me its commitment to inclusive excellence. As we uphold state and federal laws and our own university policies, we will not step back from our commitment to our deeply held values.
In addition to inclusive excellence, academic freedom and free speech remain core values that are imperative to our academic excellence and to the advancement of our public-serving mission. We remain committed to academic freedom across all of our disciplines—in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences and engineering–and will continue to uphold this value that is fundamental to higher education.
In Gratitude
In addition to the thanks I have shared above to the team in OISS, I want to extend gratitude to all in this extraordinary community who are working every day to protect and advance the critical importance of the university and its work and to demonstrate the impact of our work to the wider world.
I am grateful, as well, to the many who have asked, “How can I help?” I appreciate the questions and the ideas that we have seen emerge, sometimes turned into quick action. One example of that is the website of resources for displaced federal workers and the Paws and Pivot webinar series launched to provide practical resources and community for individuals affected by recent federal workforce changes. Thank you to the Alumni Engagement and Career Center teams for their incredible work to stand up these resources in record time.
In the midst of such challenging times that I know weigh heavily on many, this and other stories inspire and encourage us all to carry on with our important work, knowing the meaningful difference it makes to individuals and communities. Thank you, and we will be in touch with you again soon.
Sincerely,
President Valerie Sheares Ashby
On April 7, 2025, Jessica Burstrem of LLC Cohort 23 successfully defended her dissertation and earned the title of Doctor of Philosophy. Her degree will be conferred in May, 2025. Her virtual defense went well and she gave a impressive presentation of her dissertation research, Interested: How Susan S. White, Shareholder Advocacy, and 50 Years of Indigenous Activism Changed the Game and the Name of the Washington Football Team.
The program wishes to acknowledge the guidance and commitment of Jessica's committee:
Chair:
Denise Meringolo, History
Ramon Goings, Language, Literacy and Culture
Members:
Amy Froide, History
Fernando Tormos-Aponte, University of Pittsburgh
Allan Downey, McMaster University
Congratulations, Dr. Burstrem! ]]>The Language, Literacy, and Culture Program is pleased to announce that Shahin Hossain of LLC Cohort 23 successfully and skillfully presented his dissertation research proposal on April 7, 2025.
Shahin's project is titled, Measuring College Students' Reliance On Large Language Models In Academic Writing: Impacts And Insights From A Mixed-Methods Study.
After his presentation, Shahin discussed the next stages of his work with his committee.
Many thanks to Shahin's committee members:
Chair:
Ramon Goings, Language, Literacy and Culture
Members:
Michele Stites, Education
Lara Martin, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering
Susan Sterett, Public Policy
Yusuke Kuwayama, Public Policy
Please join us in congratulating Shahin on reaching this significant milestone!
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