April is known as Autism Awareness Month, including April 2 as World Autism Awareness Day (link).   In listening to many within the Autism community - there is a call for media to move from using awareness to acceptance this year to foster change and inclusivity for those affected by autism - read more about it from the Autism Society here.  Information on What is Autism is linked here, and a deeper dive sharing the voices of many people on the Autism Spectrum is posted here.

People of all identities around the world live, go to school and go to work with the neurodiversity that Autism brings to a world, often with struggle and difficulty. UMBC's students, faculty, staff, and visitors have this neurodiversity as well.  While many learn and work well with best practices and accessible design,  students (both undergraduate and graduate), as well as faculty and staff who experience disability with a diagnosed health condition (which includes autism) may seek accommodations through Student Disability Services (link) for academic programs, as well as work-related accommodations via Accessibility & Disability Services. 

National Deaf History Month runs from March 13-April 15th - and had its beginning in 1996 when two Deaf employees at Martin Luther King Library in DC began teaching their colleagues American Sign Language.  (UMBC has American Sign Language courses throughout the year, and Sign of  Life is the student organization for people who are learning/know ASL) April 8, 1864 was when Gallaudet University-the world's first institution of higher education for the Deaf and hard of hearing,  April 15th, 1817 is when the American School for the Deaf - the first public school of its kind - opened. 

Recent history includes the 2021 movie CODA winning Best Picture and Deaf actor Troy Kotsur, winning Best Actor at the Oscars, among other Oscars that night and SAG awards for best cast.  Marlee Matlin, who won her first Oscar in 1987, played a pivotal role in advocating for a predominantly Deaf cast.  Perhaps some of UMBC's students and alumni will be influenced by this history-making, if-you-can-see-it-you-can-be-it moment? Students, faculty and staff can learn more about UMBC's Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services here.

This month we highlight awareness about sexual assault - which informs community safety and health at UMBC. ADS and SDS are acutely aware of how this harmful and criminal behavior disproportionately affects people with disabilities.  Participating in the campus climate survey supports the campus awareness and training and response efforts. UMBC Office of Equity and Inclusion's survey is now open. You can access the online survey here and it will be open until Monday, April 25, 2022 and will take about 15-25 minutes to complete. This survey is anonymous and confidential; only after completing the Campus Climate Survey, is there a voluntary prompt for a drawing.

Content note: This survey asks some questions about personal experiences with sexual and interpersonal violence. Some of the language used in this survey is explicit and direct, and may be triggering or uncomfortable for some participants. Information on how to get help, if you need it, appears before and after the survey and is available at any time on the OEI website.

Learn more about Disability and Victimization here.  Become involved with awareness, prevention and safety by participating in Green Dot (prevention) Training and being familiar with UMBC Resources.

*People with disabilities, including the Deaf and Autistic communities are not a monolith, it's important to respect how people individually self-identify.

URCAD is still rolling.... 

Come see how UMBC engineering students developed a new video game!

URCAD.umbc.edu

April 18-24, online

The following are the remaining Leadershop sessions that are being offered for students to attend virtually:

[CANCELLED] Navigating Leadership in the New Normal
Thursday, April 21st at 11:00am (Virtual)
Peer facilitator: Simone Loysen

We have seen many unforeseen challenges, and its impact to the world as we knew it. This session will address leadership in the dreaded Zoom call and virtual spaces. Attendees will also learn about leadership approaches to practice when connecting with our college peers that aren’t as engaged as they may have been in the past.

Leading with Emotional Intelligence (Part 1)
Wednesday, April 27th at 11:00am (Virtual)
Peer facilitator: Karla Monroy

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a key element in becoming an effective and inclusive leader, this Leadershop explores what being emotionally intelligent means and how it positively impacts the process of leadership. This is part 1 of 2 on the topic.

Leading with Emotional Intelligence (Part 2)
Wednesday, May 4th at 11:00am (Virtual)
Peer facilitator: Karla Monroy

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a key element in becoming an effective and inclusive leader, this Leadershop explores what being emotionally intelligent means and how it positively impacts the process of leadership. This is part 2 of 2 on the topic.

2022 URCAD Alumni Keynote Speaker

Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler, ’11, Biological Sciences

NIH Scientist in Immuno-Engineering

Dr. Sadtler is introduced by UMBC President, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski

Dr. Kaitlyn Sadtler is a scientist and Chief of the Section on Immuno-Engineering at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She began her lab at the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering after a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Department of Chemical Engineering working on the molecular mechanisms of immune activation in the foreign body response. There, she was awarded a Postdoctoral Fellowship grant for her work on immunology and tissue engineering. She completed her Ph.D. at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine where she showed a critical role for Th2-T cells in biomaterial-mediated muscle regeneration. Her research has been published in journals such as Science, Nature Methods, Nature Communications, and Science Translational Medicine. She was recognized as a TED Fellow and delivered a TED talk that was listed as one of the top-viewed talks of 2018. Dr. Sadtler has been selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 List in Science, the MIT Technology Review 35 Innovators Under 35, and the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering program. She received the 2021 Outstanding Recent Graduate Award from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine for her work on SARS-CoV-2 Antibody testing, and a Special Pandemic Response Recognition from her undergraduate institution, UMBC. Dr. Sadtler finished her Bachelor’s summa cum laude and was recognized as an Outstanding Graduating Senior in the Biological Sciences. During her time at UMBC she was a tutor in general and organic chemistry at the Chemistry Tutorial Center, a member of the Women’s Rugby team, and participated in both 2010 URCAD and 2011 URCAD events.

Dylan is a URA Scholar and a Linehan Artist Scholar.

URCAD is LIVE, now through Sunday!

URCAD.umbc.edu

Presenter: Francesca Burton

Co-presenters: Eva Stanley, Danielle Wilson

Mentor: Fernando Vonhoff (Biological Sciences)

Abstract:

UMBC Parking Services is pleased to announce First-Year Resident Students (those with a valid F Permit) may park on the main campus in any C Permit Space for the rest of the Spring Semester beginning April 18. Please note, you must park in a legal C Zone space or you will receive a citation.  Posted signs will be enforced 24/7 even if the space falls in the C Zone. Reminder, this policy goes into effect Monday, April 18.

This policy will remain in effect through the end of the semester. It is expected that first-year students will be required to park in the Satellite Lot in the fall.

Questions? Please contact Parking Services at 410-455-2551 or parking@umbc.edu.