Federally-funded science researchers have tightened their belts in recent years, as budgets for federal research agencies have decreased in many core areas. Concerned at the prospect of future research funding cuts, particularly for model organism and basic research, the Coalition to Promote Research and Coalition for National Science Funding gathered scientists and representatives of funding agencies to present a Congressional Poster Exhibition and Reception.

Held on April 13, 2016 at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., the event gave legislators and their staff a greater understanding of the value of research currently supported by the federal government and the processes for selecting grant recipients. UMBC biological sciences professor Jeff Leips, a federally-funded scientist who uses the fruitfly (Drosophila) to study traits associated with aging, attended the event to discuss the importance of research using this workhorse model organism.

“Much of what we know of biology comes from model organisms,” Leips says. He explains that fruitflies share about 60 percent of their genes with humans, and about 75 percent of disease-causing genes in humans have a parallel gene in flies, so studying the tiny critters is a cost-effective, practical, and ethical way to learn about human disease. Labs that use model organisms also provide ample opportunities to train the next generation of scientists.

Leips spoke with Senate staffers at the meeting who were “very open to listening,” he says. While some of the onus is on politicians to take time to learn the intended purpose of research in context, Leips suggests, scientists and research institutions “could do more.” He recommends organizing similar events on university campuses and inviting local legislators. He also suggests helping scientists become more aware of how scientific language can have different meanings in a lay context, to prepare them for speaking with the media and general audiences.

To learn more about Jeff Leips’ experience at this event, read his post on the Genetic Society of America‘s blog.

Header image: Jeff Leips at the Congressional Poster Exhibition. Photo by Charles Votaw.

We, the undersigned faculty and staff at UMBC, are writing to join the chorus of voices expressing concern about an incident that occurred at this year’s URCAD Day on April 27, 2016. We also look forward to joining the campus conversation moving forward about the importance of academic freedom for all of us at UMBC. Many of us work closely with these students as they develop their research questions, do their work, and prepare high quality presentations for an interdisciplinary audience each April. We all look forward to this day and its celebration of the best and brightest independent researchers drawn from our impressive undergraduate student population. We are so proud of the growth of URCAD over the past 20 years and the central role it plays in encouraging inquiry at UMBC.

One of this year’s outstanding projects was presented by Riley Auer and Hao Wang, who worked as part of the interdisciplinary research group “Seeing Science” to produce “Illustrating the Unseen: Analogy and Metaphor in an Ancient Gynecological Text.” In order to communicate her research, Ancient Studies scholar Auer used a large representation of internal reproductive organs drawn by INDS scholar Wang at the center of their poster along with explanatory text. Wang's art was specifically designed to show the human body *as human.* The poster was originally placed at the front of the University Center Ballroom as an exemplar of the interdisciplinary work highlighted at URCAD. It was later moved to an alternate location and surrounded by several signs warning of content that might be inappropriate for viewers under 17. This research presentation was, in effect, sidelined by an NC-17 rating.

We are deeply concerned that research about reproductive health is being interpreted as “adult” material. Those of us who do research in this area, or who teach about gender and sexuality, are deeply troubled that our research, and that of our students, should be isolated and treated as if it is inappropriate in an academic setting. All research should be valued and supported at UMBC, and the sidelining of Auer and Wang's work creates a chilling effect on the research and teaching investments of many faculty and students at UMBC.

Our concern extends beyond those of us doing this specific kind of research, however. Auer and Wang’s project was produced at a research university under the guidance of faculty members tasked with training the next generation of researchers. Their work would be accepted at any of our professional conferences without question. Faculty need to have the latitude to work with students on groundbreaking research—like Auer and Wang's—without worrying that they, or ourselves, will be shamed or our research hidden. Students need to learn, as they are meant to do at URCAD, what professional intellectual work looks like. This incident challenges the tenets of academic freedom that are so vital to intellectual life at the university, and it risks interrupting our work with students as we train them as researchers who will produce the next generation of knowledge for all of us.

We, the undersigned, are pleased that Dr. Hrabowski moved quickly to apologize to these student researchers. We also look forward to the opportunities promised by Dean Diane Lee and Dean Scott Casper to discuss lessons learned from this incident. We also urge URCAD to produce a statement that makes clear that academic freedom is at the core of its mission. It is absolutely imperative for our students to hear from faculty, staff, and administration that we support their research, wherever it may take them. We know that we, their faculty and staff supporters, are excited to see where they go.

Sincerely,

Kate Drabinski, Gender and Women’s Studies

Susan McDonough, History

Marjoleine Kars, History

Carole McCann, Gender and Women’s Studies

Bambi Chapin, Sociology and Anthropology

Amy Bhatt, Gender and Women’s Studies

Dawn Biehler, Geography and Environmental Systems; Gender and Women’s Studies

Jason Loviglio, Media and Communication Studies

Donald Snyder, Media and Communication Studies

Cassie Kilroy Thompson, Student Disability Services

Fan Yang, Media and Communication Studies

Viviana MacManus, Gender and Women’s Studies

Jamie Trevitt, Health Administration and Policy Program

Jessica Berman, English and Dresher Center for the Humanities

Christine Mallinson, Language, Literacy & Culture

Nicole King, American Studies

Marina Adler, Sociology and Anthropology

Timothy Phin, Ancient Studies

Molly Jones-Lewis, Ancient Studies

Michael Lane, Ancient Studies

Joanna Gadsby, Library

Melissa Bailey, Ancient Studies

Mejdulene Shomali, Gender and Women’s Studies

Rebecca A. Adelman, Media and Communication Studies

Anne Sarah Rubin, History

Tiffany Gierasch, Chemistry and Biochemistry

Liz Stanwyck, Mathematics and Statistics

Constantine N. Vaporis, History and Asian Studies

Christine A. Mair, Sociology and Anthropology

Dena T. Smith, Sociology and Anthropology

Amy M. Froide, History

Linda Dusman, Music

Michele Osherow, English and Judaic Studies

Kate Brown, History

Steve Yalowitz, Philosophy

Tomoko Hoogenboom, Modern Languages Linguistics and Intercultural Communication

Timothy Nohe, Visual Arts

Lisa M. Gray, Student Life’s Mosaic: Culture and Diversity Center and Interfaith Center

Eric Campbell, Philosophy

Michelle R. Scott, History

Nicole Else-Quest, Psychology and Gender & Women’s Studies

Shelly Wiechelt, Social Work

Amy Hurst, Information Systems

Paige Rogers, English

Theodore S. Gonzalves, American Studies

Robin Barry, Psychology

Stacy Branham, Information Systems

Bill Shewbridge, Media & Communication Studies

Doug Hamby, Linehan Artist Scholars Program and Dance

Susan McCully, Theatre and Gender & Women’s Studies

Wayne Lutters, Information Systems

Rebecca Schacht, Psychology

Dena Aufseeser, Geography and Environmental Studies

Robert Anderson, Psychology and Interdisciplinary Studies

Claudia Galindo, Language, Literacy, and Culture

Nkiru Nnawulezi, Psychology

Carol Hess, Dance

Whitney Schwab, Philosophy

Charissa Cheah, Psychology

Kalman Nanes, Mathematics and Statistics

Laura Rose, Psychology

David Rosenbloom, Ancient Studies

Andrew Nolan, History

Lee Boot, Imaging Research Center

Shari Waldstein, Psychology

Brandy Harris Wallace, Sociology and Anthropology

Donald F. Norris, School of Public Policy

Raimi L. Quiton, Psychology

William D. Blake, Political Science

Matthew E. Baker, Geography & Environmental Systems

Lisa Pace Vetter, Political Science

Lindsey Loeper, Library

Daniel Gallaher, Library

Robin Moskal, Library

Katy Sullivan, Library

Sarah New, Library

Sarah Leupen, Biological Sciences

Michelle Flinchbaugh, Library

John Breitmeyer, Library

James Stephens, Library

J. Kevin Eckert, Sociology, Anthropology, and HAPP

Vickie Williams, Education

Lynda Aldana, Library

Tiffany Wilson, Library

Tyson King-Meadows, Africana Studies and Political Science

Dan Ritschel, History

Devin Hagerty, Political Science/Global Studies

Susan Graham, Library

Bronwyn Hunter, Psychology

Cynthia Wagner, Biological Sciences

David Lansing, Geography and Environmental Systems

Colin Studds, Geography and Environmental Systems

Brian Grodsky, Political Science

Bonny Tighe, Mathematics

Ana Oskoz, Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication, and Humanities Scholars Program

Edward Larkey, Professor of German Studies and Intercultural Communication, MLLI

Thania Muñoz Díaz, Modern Languages Linguistics and Intercultural Communication, MLLI

Ana María Schwartz Caballero, Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication

Denis M. Provencher, Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication

Renée Lambert-Brétière, Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication

Maggie Holland, Geography and Environmental Systems

Sandy Parker, Geography and Environmental Systems

Tania Lizarazo, Modern Languages, Linguistics and Intercultural Communication + Global Studies

Brigid Starkey, Political Science + Global Studies

Ivan Erill - Biological Sciences

Phyllis R. Robinson, Biological Sciences

Drew Alfgren, Library

Andrew Miller, Geography and Environmental Systems

Tom Schaller, Political Science

Suzanne Braunschweig, Geography and Environmental Systems and Interdisciplinary Science

Lyn Dahlquist, Psychology

Thomas Moore, Office of Institutional Advancement

Christine Cowden, Library

Conor Aylsworth, Social Work

Lori Hardesty, Shriver Center

Cindy Greenwood, Center for Women in Technology and Cyber Scholars Program

Romy Hübler, Student Life

Cory Bosco, Coordinator of Student Life for Fraternities and Sororities

Julia Celtnieks, Office of Institutional Advancement

Crystal Diaz-Espinoza, Center for Women in Technology

Nicole Smith, Library

Jody Shipka, English

Paulomi Dholakia, Off-Campus Student Services

Lauren Mauriello, Residential Life Office

Orianne Smith, English

Andrea Kleinsmith, Information Systems

Susan Martin, Center for Women in Technology

Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies and Language, Literacy & Culture

Gail Orgelfinger, English

Cynthia Hody, Political Science

Tamara Bhalla, American Studies

Nicole Cousin-Gossett, Sociology and Anthropology

Jean Fernandez, English

The Rev. Dr. Katrina Grusell, UMBC Episcopal Chaplain

Christopher Allen Varlack, English

Piotr Gwiazda, English

Robin Farabaugh, English

Raphael Falco, English

Patricia Wick, Counseling Center

Meryl Damesiewicz, Sociology

Julie Crosby, Academic Advising

Christine Powers, Academic Advising

Richard Fomo, CSEE/CYBR

Willie B. Lamousé-Smith, Africana Studies

Theodore Rosen, Psychology

Sally Shivnan, English

Gunes Koru, Information Systems