The University System of Maryland's (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (traditional) and the Elkins Professsorship for Academic Transformation are open to UMBC faculty at the rank of Associate Professor and Professor for Academic Year 2026-2027.

Review the attached program information and the USM Wilson H. Elkins Professorship information page, which includes links to both opportunities, at https://www.usmd.edu/usm/academicaffairs/elkins.html.

Elkins Professors will exhibit, at a minimum, all the following qualifications:

• A solid record of achievement in a recognized academic or professional discipline
• Evidence of significant achievement outside traditional disciplines but linked in scholarly and professional ways to the work of the USM
• Demonstrated ability and continuing desire to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students in a range of learning situations
• Demonstrated ability and intent to participate in programs and activities outside the USM

Both opportunities require an institutional nomination from a Dean or Provost supporting the faculty member’s candidacy, necessitating an Internal Competition at the College level (detailed information with timeline is attached).

Qualified CAHSS faculty may prepare and submit a pre-proposal, following the attached Internal Competition instructions, to the CAHSS Dean's Office (via Box link) by April 20, 2026. Following a review of the pre-proposals, the advancers (one per professorship) will be notified to prepare complete proposals by April 24, 2026. The College-level nominated proposals will be submitted to the Provost's Office by May 10, 2026 for review and final selection, and then forwarded to the Office of the President. The UMBC nominated proposals must be routed for approval by the Office of Sponsored Programs (in Kuali) prior to submission to USM. The deadline for nomination submissions is May 22, 2026.  

Questions: Contact CARAT - Marc Ruppel, Director (mruppel@umbc.edu) or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director (rbruba1@umbc.edu).

***reposted from CARAT***

The University System of Maryland's (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (traditional) and the Elkins Professsorship for Academic Transformation are open to UMBC faculty at the rank of Associate Professor and Professor for Academic Year 2026-2027.

Review the attached program information and the USM Wilson H. Elkins Professorship information page, which includes links to both opportunities, at https://www.usmd.edu/usm/academicaffairs/elkins.html.

Elkins Professors will exhibit, at a minimum, all the following qualifications:

• A solid record of achievement in a recognized academic or professional discipline
• Evidence of significant achievement outside traditional disciplines but linked in scholarly and professional ways to the work of the USM
• Demonstrated ability and continuing desire to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students in a range of learning situations
• Demonstrated ability and intent to participate in programs and activities outside the USM

Both opportunities require an institutional nomination from a Dean or Provost supporting the faculty member’s candidacy, necessitating an Internal Competition at the College level (detailed information with timeline is attached).

Qualified CAHSS faculty may prepare and submit a pre-proposal, following the attached Internal Competition instructions, to the CAHSS Dean's Office (via Box link) by April 20, 2026. Following a review of the pre-proposals, the advancers (one per professorship) will be notified to prepare complete proposals by April 24, 2026. The College-level nominated proposals will be submitted to the Provost's Office by May 10, 2026 for review and final selection, and then forwarded to the Office of the President. The UMBC nominated proposals must be routed for approval by the Office of Sponsored Programs (in Kuali) prior to submission to USM. The deadline for nomination submissions is May 22, 2026.  

Questions: Contact CARAT - Marc Ruppel, Director (mruppel@umbc.edu) or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director (rbruba1@umbc.edu)

Shania- B.S. INDS 

Minors: 

• Computer Science 

Why did you choose INDS? 

I chose to major in INDS because it gives me the flexibility to combine my interest in technology, including both hardware and software, with other passions that don’t fit into just one field. It also allows me to design my education around the skills I want for my future career, leading me to reclaim my education and take control of my path.

List any UMBC faculty or staff you would like to highlight:

• Dr. Jose Arenas Gomez— He really pushed me to think outside the box and go beyond just academics. He encouraged me to explore my interests and find ways to actually weave them into my degree, which helped me make my education feel more personal and meaningful.

What are your plans for after graduation and how do you see yourself using your INDS degree?

After graduation, I plan to join the United States Air Force, where I can apply my skills in technology, problem solving, and adaptability in a real world setting. My INDS degree will allow me to bring a flexible, interdisciplinary approach to my work, helping me handle complex challenges and grow within my career.

Were you involved in any clubs or organizations?

• UMBC Catholic Retrievers
• UMBC bible study

Congrats Shania! 

Reposting from fhe Dresher Center for Humanities. Sign up here: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/dreshercenter/events/149521 

Part of our Spring 2026 Humanities Forum

Romanticism Bewitched: Witchcraft, Revolution and the Female Demonic

Orianne Smith, Professor, English, UMBC 

The Romantic-era witch was a remarkably flexible symbol of political and social disorder. The recent seventeenth-century witch hunts had already revealed deep anxieties about the subversive potential of women, and the witches who stalk the pages of Gothic poetry and prose or glare menacingly from works of art by Henry Fuseli and William Blake embody revolutionary anger and the possibility of radical social transformation. Despite the fears surrounding such figures, however, the Romantic period also saw witchcraft open up in conceptually new ways, enabling writers and artists to envision alternative means of interacting in the world that were not predicated on the subordination of women and other marginalized groups. Here, Orianne Smith embarks on an interdisciplinary reimagining of witchcraft, women's writing, religion, and social reform, providing original insights on the history of witchcraft and its influence on public discourse, literature and art.

This public forum is open for full participation by all individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other protected category under applicable federal law, state law, and the University's nondiscrimination policy.

Co-sponsored by the Department of English.

The University System of Maryland's (USM) Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (traditional) and the Elkins Professsorship for Academic Transformation are open to UMBC faculty at the rank of Associate Professor and Professor for Academic Year 2026-2027.

Review the attached program information and the USM Wilson H. Elkins Professorship information page, which includes links to both opportunities, at https://www.usmd.edu/usm/academicaffairs/elkins.html.

Elkins Professors will exhibit, at a minimum, all the following qualifications:

• A solid record of achievement in a recognized academic or professional discipline
• Evidence of significant achievement outside traditional disciplines but linked in scholarly and professional ways to the work of the USM
• Demonstrated ability and continuing desire to lead and inspire undergraduate and graduate students in a range of learning situations
• Demonstrated ability and intent to participate in programs and activities outside the USM

Both opportunities require an institutional nomination from a Dean or Provost supporting the faculty member’s candidacy, necessitating an Internal Competition at the College level (detailed information with timeline is attached).

Qualified CAHSS faculty may prepare and submit a pre-proposal, following the attached Internal Competition instructions, to the CAHSS Dean's Office (via Box link) by April 20, 2026. Following a review of the pre-proposals, the advancers (one per professorship) will be notified to prepare complete proposals by April 24, 2026. The College-level nominated proposals will be submitted to the Provost's Office by May 10, 2026 for review and final selection, and then forwarded to the Office of the President. The UMBC nominated proposals must be routed for approval by the Office of Sponsored Programs (in Kuali) prior to submission to USM. The deadline for nomination submissions is May 22, 2026.  

Questions: Contact CARAT - Marc Ruppel, Director (mruppel@umbc.edu) or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director (rbruba1@umbc.edu).

The Orser Center for Public Humanities is excited to announce the 2026 BFS 3.0 UMBC Fellows: Click here to learn more abut the 2026 Fellows

The Baltimore Field School 3.0, Collaborative Teaching in Public Humanities is a one-day intensive workshop aimed at creating collaborative teaching tools rooted in public humanities approaches that strive to make the university’s outreach infrastructure more equitable and inclusive. By the end of the day, participants will have contributed to a toolkit that may include syllabus templates, assignment examples, assessment tools, and rubrics that will be localized in a shared online repository.

As part of UMBC’s Public Humanities program, the Baltimore Field School is an ongoing approach to community engaged research that moves from extractive approaches to research and instead is aimed at building sustainable and ethical projects while helping make the university’s outreach infrastructure more equitable.

In January 2026, UMBC and Maryland Humanities entered into a memorandum of agreement to formalize a partnership. This partnership will continue UMBC’s role as the institutional host for Maryland History Day and serve as a foundation for expanded collaboration between the two organizations. These collaborations will include events highlighting One Maryland, One Book; a regional humanities network conference for the Greater Baltimore Region; and America 250 events for Baltimore County. We are planning to create internships for both undergraduate and graduate students in the humanities.

Please stay tuned for upcoming events!

Please, come join us for the Spring Celebration organized by the Russian Area!  

Thursday, April 9th, FA 427, 4:30pm to 6:00pm;

Light refreshments.

Welcome the Spring Season with Egg and matryoshka painting, coloring activities, conversation, and connection!

All are welcome!

UMBC recently published an Arts & Culture interview with Keegan Cook Finberg, covering her thoughts on poetry and society, poetry courses at UMBC, and her newest book Poetry in General: How a Literary Form Became Public (Columbia University Press, 2025). 

Reflecting on her own teaching, Finberg says:

"I want students to be okay with not understanding everything that they’re reading while exploring the aspects that they do understand—to explore why this author might want it to be difficult in the beginning, why there might be something important in that feeling of discomfort that they’re experiencing with the text. Can they notice moments of beauty in the text, even if they don’t yet understand what they mean? A lot of our conversations start with that sort of work. 

And once students realize that that is the goal—that they don’t need to be able to decode, they don’t have to be the person who knows it all in the room, there isn’t one right answer—it really unlocks a very different sort of space. I often watch that sort of journey with students. They realize that there’s something inherently important about this difficulty, important even to their understanding of themselves, their heritage, the way that language works in their households, even in their larger worlds."

Read more here!

RSVP on the event page: https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/humanitiesretrievers/events/152103

'A Lot is Happening in the World: Let’s Discuss!

(A Student/Faculty Forum)

Location

Performing Arts & Humanities Building : 216

A Lot is Happening in the World: Let’s Discuss! – Online Event

Date & Time

April 8, 2026, 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm

Description

LUNCH PROVIDED!What role do the humanities play in understanding and processing current events? Take part in a discussion with students and faculty as they consider how history, culture, and various areas of research shed light on emerging developments.