UMBC now has trial access to Springer eBooks. The trial runs through December 31, 2010.

NOTE: Trial access is only available for 2005-2010 copyright Springer eBooks from all collections.

The Springer eBooks trial provides access to over 20,000 eBook titles in twelve subject collections:
* Behavioral Science
* Biomedical and Life Sciences
* Business and Economics
* Chemistry and Materials Science
* Computer Science (including the highly regarded Lecture Notes in Computer Science)
* Earth and Environmental Science
* Engineering
* Humanities, Social Sciences and Law
* Mathematics and Statistics
* Medicine
* Physics and Astronomy
* Professional Computing and Web Design

Titles include textbooks, reference works, monographs, and book series. All titles are fully searchable and hyperlinked.

For off-campus access, please login via VPN first (http://vpn.umbc.edu). Then follow the link under "News & Events" on the library homepage. For more info on remote access, see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/services/remoteaccess.php

Please let us know what you think. Leave a comment or send your comments to Janet Hack at jhack@umbc.edu.

Today the Human Rights Campaign praised a statement from the Association of Professional Chaplains affirming the responsibility of chaplains to serve all service members and refuting the notion that the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” would preclude a chaplain from serving “both God and the U.S. armed forces.”

The group issued the following statement in response to a recent letter to President Obama from a group of retired military chaplains opposed to repeal: 

The largest organization of professional chaplains in the United States, in a statement issued today, says that the beliefs of a faith group about homosexuality do not preclude a chaplain from serving “both God and the U.S. armed forces,” as claimed by some retired military chaplains who do not want the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy revoked.

Association of Professional Chaplains President, Rev. Dr. David Johnson, D.Min. BCC, says, “All board certified chaplains (BCC) must abide by our Code of Ethics, which requires serving people without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Our Code further prohibits chaplains from imposing doctrinal positions or spiritual practices on those they serve.”

Chaplain Valerie Storms, M.Div. BCC, president-elect, says, “Chaplaincy is grounded in the common belief in the dignity of every person and the ability of each person to experience the presence of a loving Creator in a time of crisis, hardship or circumstances that bring them into the presence of a chaplain. We do not work as promoters of a particular faith tradition but as ministers of hope to all in need.”

The Association of Professional Chaplains has over 4,000 members in more than 150 faith groups. Professional chaplains are endorsed by their faith groups to serve in diverse settings, including the military, hospitals, civil service, palliative care, businesses, mental health, long-term care, corrections, and hospice. They promote the spiritual health of individuals in those settings.

The association and its members embrace the following values:

• Professional competency and ethical practice
• Faith as an essential dimension of wholeness
• Dignity and worth of all persons
• Inclusivity and diversity
• Justice and equality for all
• Spiritual care of persons, communities, organizations and systems

The Association of Professional Chaplains is a national, not-for-profit professional association which advocates for quality spiritual care of all persons as an essential dimension of total care and services provided by public and private institutions and organizations.

The campaign to oust three Iowa judges who ruled in favor of marriage equality in 2009 succeeded. An independent judiciary is now threatened and no organization is more responsible for that than NOM. And they’re feeling good about it.

Following Tuesday night’s result, NOM president Brian Brown said, “The three judges were overwhelmingly rejected, sending a powerful message to any judge who thinks they can impose gay marriage by judicial fiat against the wishes of the people.”

Brown went on to reiterate NOM’s commitment to hammering its anti-gay agenda in states like New Hampshire, Iowa, and Minnesota.

So, just who are these NOM characters who could soon be flying into your state? Watch our video over at NOMExposed.

The Professional Staff Senate (PSS) provides a forum for discussing issues involving or of interest to exempt staff members. Such matters include academic and administrative policies that affect exempt staff. The senate is an active member in UMBC’s system of shared governance, presenting the interests and concerns of its constituents to the University Steering Committee and seeking improvements for the mutual benefit of staff members and the university. PSS works diligently to maintain and contribute to community life at UMBC.

Access the PSS Blackboard siteto view meeting minutes and governance documents.

Members of the Professional Staff Senate (PSS) represent all members of the Professional Staff is by serving on various committees and task forces. For details about these committees and their functions, and to find out who among your Senators is serving on which committees. A full listing can be found in our documents tab labeled 2012 - 2013 Staff Senate.

Professional Staff Senate Roster 2012-2013

EXECUTIVE BOARD

Carrie Sauter, President

Laila Shishineh, Vice-Preseient

Steve Bowers, Treasurer

Keisha Campbell, IT Officer

Alison Ginder Secretary

Stanyell Bruce, Past President

SENATORS

Steve Bowers, Financial Services, bowers@umbc.edu, 5-1496

Stanyell Bruce, Alumni Relations, bruce@umbc.edu, 5-2632

Keisha Campbell, Office of the Registrar, campbelk@umbc.edu, 5-5770

Dayna Carpenter, dayna@umbc.edu, 5-3377

Hans Cooper, Office of the Registrar, hcooper@umbc.edu, 5-1886

Joel DeWyer, Commons Administration, dewyer@umbc.edu. 5-1446 (CUSS)

Alison Ginder, Residence Life, alisong@umbc.edu, 5-3575

Ben Goldberg, Off Campus Student Services, beng@umbc.edu, 5-5672

Delana Gregg, Sondheim Publ. Affairs Scholars, delana1@umbc.edu, 5-2916

April Householder, McNair, Scholars Progam, aprilh@umbc.edu, 5-3057

Joshua Lubben, Undergraduate Admission, jlubben@umbc.edu, 5.1224

Michelle Massey, Int'l Education Services, massey@umbc.edu, 5-6705

Jenny O'Grady, Institutional Advancement, jogrady@umbc.edu, 5-1711

Michael Oettel, Shriver Center, moettel@umbc.edu, 5-5655

Jerron Peatson, Athletics, jpearson@umbc.edu, 5-6797

Matthew Poland, Sponsored Programs, mpoland@umbc.edu, 5-8155

Alison Rohrbach,  University Heatlh Services, arohrbach@umbc.edu, 5-1599

Carrie Sauter, Interdisciplinary Studies, csauter@umbc.edu, 5-2037

Laila Shishineh, Undergraduate Education, lailams@umbc.edu, 5-3737

Brian Souders, International Educations Services, souders@umbc.edu,5-2624

Kristin Waters, Office of the Registrar, kwaters@umbc.edu, 5-8121

Beth Wells, Provost Office, bwells@umbc.edu, 5-8907

UMBC Professional Staff Senate 2011-2012 Action Plan

1. Support University efforts to create a healthier campus community

• Identify and develop complimentary avenues to support the HR Wellness Initiative
• Promote and educate staff about healthy lifestyles via PSS events and other campus events/initiatives
• Encourage departments that have created health initiatives to share broadly with other staff
• Explore and promote health subsidy opportunities

2. Identify ways to increase staff morale

• Promote opportunities for professional development
• Work with campus leaders to address the issue of an increased workload
• Continue to promote telecommuting and carpooling policies and opportunities
• Advocate for increased leadership training for supervisors to increase staff morale and retention
• Pilot PSS mentoring program

3. Continue to advocate for merit and COLA increases and address disparities in compensation packages

• Work with campus and CUSS leaders to advocate for merit and COLA increases and how they will be distributed
• Examine issues related to changes in health and retirement benefits for new employees, existing employees and retirees
• Address issues related to salary inequity, compensation and promotion

4. Increase communication with professional staff

• Make better use of PSS communication vehicles (listserve, groups page, etc)
• Encourage better two way communication (share information broadly and quickly with staff and encourage staff to bring concerns to the senate)
• Continue to work with campus leaders to strengthen communication with professional staff
• Increase communication with staff as it relates to budget issues and decisions

5. Advocate for the establishment of an Employee Assistance Program (EAP)