January is Braille Literacy Month, and January 4th marks World Braille Day, honoring the birthday of Louis Braille, the inventor of the Braille code. This month is all about raising awareness of the importance of braille literacy and recognizing how braille supports independence, education, and access for people with visual impairments and beyond.

When many people hear "braille," they think only of blindness, but braille benefits individuals with low vision, dual sensory loss, and multiple disabilities.

Here are 6 things you may not know about Braille:

• Louis Braille was just 15 years old when he invented Braille
• Braille is a tactile code, not a language—many languages can be read and written in Braille
• A braille cell is made up of 6 raised dots
• Braille includes letters, numbers, punctuation, music notation, and even formatting like bold and italics
• Braille takes up more space than print—Webster's Unabridged Dictionary is 72 volumes in braille
• There are two levels of braille: uncontracted (letter-by-letter) and contracted (a shorthand version)

Want to try it yourself? Here's a link to type and see your name in Braille.

As you go about campus this month, take a moment to notice braille on signs, elevators, and other materials. These small adaptations make a big difference in accessibility and independence. Let's celebrate Braille literacy, accessibility, and inclusive learning this month and all year long.

Christia Spears Brown, Ph.D., has been named dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) effective July 1, 2026. Brown joins UMBC from the University of Kentucky where she currently serves as a professor of developmental psychology and associate dean of student engagement and success in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Brown previously served as the director of the Center for Equality and Social Justice and associate chair in the department of psychology. Her administrative work has focused on building inclusive, student-centered systems that promote engagement, belonging, and academic success across diverse disciplines and communities. She earned her Ph.D. in psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and began her career as an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. 

An accomplished scholar, Brown has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters on children’s and adolescents’ understanding of discrimination, stereotypes, and social identity and the implications of these processes for academic and developmental outcomes. She is the author of three books, including Discrimination in Childhood and Adolescence, and her research spans gender, race and ethnicity, immigration status, and economic inequality. Her work has been supported by federal and foundation funding and is widely cited across psychology and education.

A committed educator and public-facing scholar, Brown is known for translating developmental science to broader audiences. She regularly engages with educators, families, and organizations, is frequently featured in national media, and has served as an expert witness on cases involving discrimination in schools. She is a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, president of Society for the Study of Human Development and secretary of Society for Research in Child Development, and has served in editorial leadership roles for several scholarly journals.

Integrate is recruiting an autistic and/or neurodivergent candidate for a Creative Services Internship with WTAE-TV, a part of Hearst Television, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

This in-person internship requires the candidate to work for 40 hours per week. The priority deadline to apply is Monday, February 24. The final deadline is Monday March 10. Candidates should apply by submitting their resume to the Creative Services Internship posting on our website: Current Openings.   

Upon submission of their resume, candidates will receive an email with the application form within 5 business days. Please submit the application form and requested materials by the specified deadline in the email.      

If you have any questions, please reach out to me at daniel@integrateadvisors.org or by phone at 212-839-0030 (ext. 3).       

Integrate works with employers to help them identify, recruit and retain qualified professionals on the autism spectrum for their specific hiring needs. Our goal is to increase inclusive competitive employment for college students and graduates with autism.  

Recruiter Information:
Daniel Rothenberg
Pronouns: he/him
Recruiter
212-839-0030(ext. 3)
www.integrateadvisors.org

To the UMBC Research and Creative Achievement Community,

Effort Reports for Fall 2025 are available and ready for certification. 

The Fall 2025 period includes Payroll 2026‐001 through Payroll 2026‐014 (from June 29, 2025 through January 10, 2026). Certifications are due March 31, 2026.

Please remember that Effort Reports are both a Compliance Tool and a Grants Management Tool. After reviewing payroll charges, work with your business managers if any changes are needed. Payroll cost transfers (retros) should be processed prior to certification of Effort Reports as retros will re‐open any previously certified effort due to adjustments.

To find out whether you have open effort reports for Fall 2025 (see page 6, Year: 2025 Period: Fall) and to learn how to certify them, see the attached updated Effort Report Quick Guide with screenshots for your convenience. This guide provides detailed instructions on how to access the Effort Reports.

In order for UMBC to be in compliance, please check Open effort reports for previous periods under your PI/Certifier ID name to ensure they have been Finalized. Any payroll cost transfers (retros) for previous periods will re-open effort reports and they need to be certified and finalized again.

*NOTE: If you are new to Effort Report certification, please see page 13, FAQ #1 in the Quick Guide for information on how to gain certification access. You will not be able to certify without proper access in PeopleSoft.

*NOTE: If the PI on the project is not available to certify due to termination, sabbatical, etc. see page 13, FAQ #2 in the Quick Guide for instructions. Requests must come directly from the department chair/dean/director.

Additional resource: Effort Report Certification Guidance webpage, which includes definitions of Effort.

Your timely commitment to this process is appreciated.