Update:

7:19 pm, April 8, 2026

Status: Resolved

Note from Google: The issue has been fully resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience and continued support.

Original Post:

As of Wednesday, April 8, 2026, Google is aware of an issue affecting Gmail users, who are experiencing delays in receiving and sending emails. No mail loss is expected. 

Google's engineering team is working on the issue. 

For direct updates, click Google Workspace Dashboard.

GridHack 2026 is an exciting, hands-on competition in which student teams compete to deliver the most accurate AI-augmented building energy audit. During this 3-hour live competition, teams will work with real-world building energy data and leverage cutting-edge AI tools to develop a BEPS compliance analysis, a retrofit roadmap, and a compelling grant narrative. The challenge culminates in a thrilling finale, where a DHCD-qualified auditor’s sealed findings are revealed live—allowing teams to compare their results against professional insights.

The winning team can earn up to $40,000 in fellowship funding, with paid fellowship positions worth up to $10,000 per person through the Responsible AI Lighthouse Fellowship. Every discipline is welcome - CS, environmental science, policy, design, engineering. No energy experience needed. Bring your laptop. Whether you're passionate about AI, sustainability, or engineering, GridHack provides a unique platform to gain real-world experience, collaborate with peers, and showcase your skills in a high-impact environment.

Get more information and register here

🚨BINGO IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW 🚨

🗓️ Tonight
⏰ 5–8 PM
📍 UC Ballroom

We’re not talking about small prizes either… we’re giving away BIG wins like:
☕ Espresso machine
📺 TV
🎮 PS5… yes, a PS5 WHATTTT

If you’re not there, you’re honestly missing out.

NEAR UMBC (FEMALE ONLY)

We are seeking one female roommate for a furnished bedroom in a private single-family home in the Maiden Choice/Arbutus area, less than 1.5 miles from UMBC on the Purple Campus Shuttle route. Three grocery stores are nearby, and the shuttle offers convenient pickup and drop-off.

Room Available August 18, 2026

The home is shared with two female UMBC students/professionals and the landlord couple. We are looking for a respectful, tidy individual who values a quiet, clean, and inclusive living environment. Ideal candidates are UMBC or UMB Ph.D., graduate, or junior/senior undergraduate students.

Home Details

• Newly renovated 4-bedroom, 3.5-bathroom home on a quiet dead-end street
• Fully furnished with Wi-Fi and streaming cable
• Open-concept kitchen (dishwasher, garbage disposal, icemaker, meal prep tools)
• Access to laundry room, living room, dining room, and covered front porch
• Snow removal and lawn care included

Included Essentials

• Trash bags, cleaning supplies, and tools
• Dishwasher detergent and dish soap
• Linens and towel sets

Bedroom Includes

• Spacious room with closet
• Full or queen bed
• Dresser with mirror and chest/armoire
• Nightstands or headboard shelf
• Desk and chair
• Smart TV with streaming
• Two sets of linens and new bath towels

Additional Amenities

• Personal kitchen cabinet
• Laundry room locker/cubby
• Street parking (please park in front of the home and respect neighbors)

Location & Transportation

• Short walk to UMBC shuttle and public bus stops
• Purple Line runs approximately every 15 minutes (weekdays)
• Walking distance to shopping centers

House Guidelines

• Non-smoker (no smoking inside); no drug use
• Must be clean and respectful of shared spaces
• Proof of renter’s insurance required
• Lease includes limits on overnight guests and shared cleaning responsibilities

Pet Policy

• No pets except documented medical support animals
• No cats or shedding animals (due to allergies)
• Documentation required (physician and veterinarian)
• Must remain in tenant’s room and be crated when unattended
• Tenant responsible for all pet care and cleaning

Lease Terms

• Fall: August 2026 – May 2027
• Summer: Mid-May 2027 – Mid-August 2027
• Includes holidays, weekends, and semester breaks
• Ideal for winter session housing

Preference for summer or academic-year leases; month-to-month considered.

Rent

• $1,000/month (shared bathroom and refrigerator with one person)

Security Deposit

• $500

Important Notes

• Private home (not Airbnb, hotel, or campus housing)
• Please bring personal belongings, toiletries, food/drink, laptop, and books

Contact

📞 Call/Text: 410-999-4668 (Mon–Fri, 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM)
📧 Email: whittleemail@gmail.com

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.

If you're interested in hands-on biology, research, and real experimental work, this is one of the most unique classes you can take.

What you’ll do:

• Work with real model organisms like Drosophila, zebrafish, C. elegans, chicken embryos, axolotl, planarians, and more
• Explore key concepts like:
  • Gene regulation & cell signaling
  • Pattern formation
  • Cell migration & adhesion
  • Cell fate determination
• Actually manipulate embryos and observe development in real time

The second half of the course is independent research: you design your own project, ask your own biological question, and run experiments to answer it.

About the professor:

Dr. Chugh (new faculty at UMBC, started Aug 2025)

• Postdoc at Harvard Medical School
• PhD (magna cum laude) from Max Planck Institute & University of Tübingen
• Super approachable and genuinely passionate about developmental biology!

This class was previously offered and is now being revived with new model organisms and project opportunities, great chance to be part of something fresh and impactful.

If you're thinking about research, grad school, med school, or just want a real lab experience beyond basic courses, this is a hidden gem.

👉 Highly recommend checking it out and signing up!

Hi everyone!

Hope the semester is treating you well, if not, Jesus will ❤️

Our last prayer meeting will be on May 11th from 2:30–3:30 PM in COMM 327. Come bring your prayer requests, whether it’s finishing the semester strong, salvation for family and friends, or healing for yourself or others.

We’ll also be praying for current global conflicts and Christian persecution around the world.

Don’t pray alone, come join us and bring a friend!

Matthew 18:20
“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

From

-IV Team

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).

From the Faculty Development Center:

Dear Colleagues,

No matter how long you’ve taught, there is always something you can learn from your colleagues. And if you generally prepare and teach your classes in isolation, you may wish you had more opportunities to have the kinds of conversations that would enrich your teaching practice, help you improve student engagement, and deepen your sense of belonging to a community of scholars. Faculty Learning Communities (FLCs) at UMBC fill this niche: An FLC is a cross-disciplinary group of 6-12 faculty who meet regularly throughout an academic year in a casual atmosphere - in person or virtually - to investigate a teaching-related topic of mutual interest. 
The Faculty Development Center is currently seeking proposals for new FLC topics. Funding may be available to support new FLCs in 2026-27. Any UMBC faculty or staff member with an interest in participating as a co-learner--not an expert--in investigating a particular need, issue, or opportunity related to teaching and learning may propose a topic for a year-long FLC. In order to entice other UMBC faculty/staff to join the FLC, topic proposals should describe in 1-2 paragraphs the importance of the topic and should suggest a few sub-topics the FLC might take up. Proposing a topic does not obligate you to facilitate the FLC. Approved topics will be announced as soon as possible. 
The deadline for topic proposals is Friday, April 24th, 2026. Please submit your proposal using this Google form.

Some current and recent FLCs have devoted their attention to topics such as:

• Fostering Resilience: Pedagogies and Strategies to Address Student Stress and Mental Health 
• Designing Humanizing Assignments in the Age of AI 
• Exploring the Design and Delivery of High Impact Experiences (HIEs) 
• Exploring Practical Metacognitive Approaches to Help Students Succeed 
• Developing Students’ AI Literacy Within and Across Disciplines
• Using AI to Enhance and Expedite Teaching
• Who Are Our Students? Exploring Student Identities and Why They Matter
• Serious Fun: Exploring the Role of Play and Humor in the Classroom
• Teaching in the Era of AI: A Multidisciplinary Conversation
• Thinking Critically about Critical Thinking
• Contemplative Pedagogies
• Flexible, Alternative, or “Un”grading Strategies 
• Teaching Creativity Across Disciplines
• Fostering pedagogies that engage and support transfer students
• Writing questions to foster deep learning and engagement

For further information about Faculty Learning Communities at UMBC, please consult the FLC page on the Faculty Development Center's website. If you would like to discuss your idea in more detail, please contact us at fdc@umbc.edu.  

Best,

Kerrie

Carly Shearer ‘26, an evaluation intern in the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, has been honored on the National Student Voting Honor Roll as a leader in nonpartisan campus civic engagement. The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) recognized 168 students across the country for their contributions to creating a more civically engaged culture within their campus communities. From civic learning to voter participation, these students lead by example and empower their peers to become lifelong participants in democracy. 

Shearer is in her second year as an intern with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. She explores the impact of the Center’s initiatives across campus and beyond. In addition to her service as an intern, Shearer participated in the Center’s STRiVE leadership for public purpose program and a Change Makers Dinner in the 2023-2024 academic year, was a site coordinator for STRiVE in 2025, and a STRiVE 2026 coach. She is a Center for Women in Technology Scholar majoring in computer science and minoring in gender, women’s, and sexuality studies.

Shearer said, “I'm grateful to everyone who nominated me for the award which reflects the shared commitment of our community to this work. Being part of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life has shown me that civic life is everywhere, and that students from any background have more power than they think. Our work helps students connect to civic life, no matter their major, and feel confident using their voices to make change.”

“Carly is one of the most extraordinary students I have had the pleasure of working with,” said Tess McRae ‘22, the Center’s assistant director for connective learning. “She is always willing to take on a challenge, and makes every project she works on better for her perceptiveness and intellect. The work she has done to support civic engagement on campus, including in her role with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, has been consistently thoughtful, innovative, and sensitive to the diversity of experiences among the student body. I am thrilled that ALL IN has recognized her excellent contributions.”

Jen Domagal-Goldman, executive director of the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, shared, “From hosting registration drives to initiating conversations with classmates in the hallway, our 2026 Student Voting Honor Roll is filled with students who exemplify what it means to be a leader in civic engagement. As college students face increasing barriers to voting while on campus, these students are making nonpartisan voter participation a lifelong habit for themselves, their peers and their campuses. We are thrilled to celebrate their accomplishments and excited to see their continued impact as we approach this year’s midterm elections.”

ALL IN supports more than 1,000 campuses and 10 million students nationally to make nonpartisan civic engagement an ongoing part of campus life. Members of the 2026 Student Voting Honor Roll were nominated by campus leaders for their dedication and excellence in voter education, registration and turnout in 2025. 

ABOUT the ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge 

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student civic engagement. Through an intentionally designed program that provides structure, support, and recognition, ALL IN works to improve civic learning, voter participation, and ongoing engagement in our democracy at more than 1,000 campuses nationwide. ALL IN believes higher education should play a role in developing an active and informed citizenry by educating students, motivating them to engage in American democracy, and instilling the value of lifelong participation. ALL IN is an initiative of Civic Nation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. 

ABOUT Civic Nation:

Civic Nation is an impact hub for ideas, leaders, and initiatives that strengthen civic culture, power, and participation. Rooted in purpose and powered by people, Civic Nation brings together individuals, grassroots organizers, industry leaders, brands, and influencers to take on the biggest issues of our time. Civic Nation is home to five national initiatives: ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge, Change Collective, It’s On Us, We The Action, and When We All Vote.