Summer 2016

The Pursuit of Excellence

/ 1 minute of reading

From the day UMBC opened its doors, the work of teaching and research has been at the heart of university life. The love of learning has been passed on by the university’s faculty across disciplines in lecture halls, laboratories, office hours, and in the field. We’ve selected some of the best images of a dynamic endeavor of teaching and exploration that has stretched from 1966 to the present day, aspiring not only to excellence but to greater access for all students to the wisdom and understanding that our faculty carry with them.

Pining for the Past

/ 4 minutes of reading

When he was 30 years old, Neil Beller ’83, interdisciplinary studies, decided to make his mother a special gift for Mother’s Day: an aerial map of the Carney neighborhood where he had grown up, annotated with his favorite memories.  Over time, Beller fleshed out those annotations – and a map grew into a memory quest. In 2015, Beller published Missing Pine Park – a book based on the project. The book is named after a small public space in Carney that lost its one remaining pine tree during Beller’s youth. Someone cut it down, decorations and all, on Christmas Eve.… Continue Reading Pining for the Past

Microscope & Meter

/ 4 minutes of reading

Diana Zeiger ’01, biochemistry is an editor and writer for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She is also a published poet. UMBC Magazine asked her to reflect on the areas in which her two passions overlap. A poet and a scientist walk into a bar. Sounds like the setup for a terrible joke, doesn’t it? I can tell you, however, that they’d actually have a lot in common. Exploring these commonalities has been at the center of my professional life. I took a bachelor’s degree in creative writing at Johns Hopkins University, where my main interest was poetry.… Continue Reading Microscope & Meter

Hurdles & Healing

/ 4 minutes of reading

Damon Tweedy ’96, biological science, graduated from UMBC in 1996 with a 4.0 grade point average – the first participant in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program to achieve that mark. And when he entered Duke Medical School, he excelled in the classroom there as well. But when Tweedy began his clinical rotations and his residency after taking his M.D., he faced the task of translating that knowledge into effective care for real human beings. He also found his transition carried special challenges. He was one of the few African American students in his medical-school cohort, and he was training in a… Continue Reading Hurdles & Healing

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