In a recent piece for ‘Noise,’ an arts blog from the City Paper, UB alum and adjunct writing instructor Anthony Moll, M.F.A. ’14, offers his take on Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors, the new book by former President George W. Bush. The book is a collection of portraits of U.S. military veterans who have served since 9/11 painted by Bush himself, and includes short essays about each of the soldiers he depicted.

While the book has been billed as Bush’s tribute to veterans, Moll—who served eight years in the U.S. Army—says that the book “seems to be less about the paintings, and more about a man’s attempt to amend his place in our memory.”

Read the article: Portrait of the war president as an artist.

Langsdale Library hosts a series called RED Talks (Research Engagement Day) where faculty and students have an opportunity to present their research to the UB community. On Feb. 28, three applied psychology graduate students participated in the latest RED Talks event. Tannaz Rahman gave a talk on “Learning and conservation at the National Aquarium,” Stephen Shaul discussed “Mediational effects of distress intolerance between PTSD symptomology and reactive aggression” and Charles Thornton presented on “Adolescent bullying associated with adult professional development.” Faculty from across the University also gave presentations.

View past RED Talks presentations at http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/about-us/news-events/red-talks.

M.S. in Applied Psychology student Tannaz Rahman

M.S. in Applied Psychology student Stephen Shaul

M.S. in Applied Psychology student Charles Thornton

Liz Bamford, M.F.A. ’13, who writes under the pseudonym Vivian Shaw, has landed a book deal with leading science fiction and fantasy publisher, Orbit. The first book in her new three-book series about the adventures of Dr. Greta Helsing is titled Strange Practice and is scheduled for release in July of 2017.

Learn more about Vivian Shaw at http://vivianshaw.tumblr.com/.

Lecturer D. Watkins, M.F.A. ’14, has been named among Richtopia’s list of the top 200 most influential authors in the world.

See the complete list of Authors Top 200.

Learn more about D. Watkins at http://d-watkins.com/.

This week’s M.F.A.-sponsored reading event with 100-year old poet Henry Morgenthau III received a great write-up by the Baltimore Jewish Times. The reading was a kickoff to celebrate Morgenthau’s debut collection of poems, A Sunday in Purgatory, published by UB’s Passager Books.

Read the article: balt-jwsh-times_170223.

Learn more about Passager Books.

Read more about Morgenthau and Passager Books in The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post.

Christine Lincoln, M.F.A. ‘11, had her story, “What’s Necessary to Remember When Telling a Story,” published in the winter 2016 issue of The Paris Review, a literary magazine featuring original writing, art and in-depth interviews with famous writers.

Read an excerpt here.

Learn more about Christine Lincoln at http://www.yorkcity.org/government/poet-laureate/.

As part of last week’s Ninth Annual African American Arts Festival, Spotlight UB presented a poetry showcase hosted by spoken word artist Lady Brion. Check out these powerful shots of some of the artists who performed, courtesy of photographer Rob Clatterbuck…

See the full spring 2017 Spotlight UB schedule at ubalt.edu/spotlightub.

In a new piece for Erickson Living’s Tribune, associate professor and director of the M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts program, Kendra Kopelke, talks about supporting and publishing the works of senior writers.

In 1990, Kopelke was inspired to help launch Passager, a UB-affiliated journal dedicated to writers over 50, because of the impact that her older students had on her as a young professor. “Working with older writers who had so much passion and wisdom changed my life,” Kopelke told the Tribune.  “Being as young and naïve as I was, they opened my eyes and taught me so many things as a writer. Here I was, their teacher, and I think I was doing the lion’s share of the learning.”

Passager is still going strong today and because of its success, Kopelke and coeditor Mary Azrael added a book publishing arm in 2005 called Passager Books. Passager Books produces anthologies, poetry collections, short fiction and memoirs by authors whose work has appeared in the journal, including the new book A Sunday in Purgatory by centennial poet Henry Morgenthau III. The M.F.A. program will host a special reading with Morgenthau on Monday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. in the UB Student Center.

Read the Tribune article.

Learn more about Assoc. Prof. Kopelke.

Welcome back CAS students and faculty! We hope you enjoyed your winter break and are rested and ready for another great semester. 2017 is already off to a great start for the College of Arts and Sciences. Check out what’s happened so far and what’s coming up!

1. Professor Christine Spencer appointed dean of the college.

Christine Spencer, a faculty member at UB since 2007, was appointed dean of the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences, following a stint as interim dean of the college and a national search for a permanent dean. Dean Spencer is excited to continue working with CAS students, faculty, staff and alumni. Learn more about Dean Spencer.

2. 2017 marks the 80^th anniversary of the College of Arts and Sciences.

This year, the college celebrates 80 years of arts and sciences at the University of Baltimore. Stay tuned for news and information about events commemorating this anniversary throughout the year.

3. The Klein Family School of Communications Design launches new fellowship in writing and social justice.

Announced late last year, the new Michael F. Klein Fellowship in Creative Writing and Social Justice will be awarded to a student beginning the M.F.A. in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts program this fall. Learn more at www.ubalt.edu/socialjusticefellow.

4. Industrial and organizational psychology students traveled to Barcelona, Spain.

Students in the M.S. in Applied Psychology program’s industrial and organizational psychology concentration traveled to Barcelona, Spain in mid-January for the study abroad portion of their Organizational Theory and Development course. The UB students studied virtually with their counterparts at the University of Barcelona for seven weeks prior to meeting and collaborating with them in person. Learn more about the applied psychology program’s study abroad opportunities and global partnerships.

5. The College of Arts and Sciences offers two new technology-based minors.

The college will offer two new minors designed to increase students’ marketability in today’s technology-driven job market: Mobile Application Development and Web Development. Though the new minors will not officially be available until the fall of 2017, students can begin taking classes toward the minors prior to fall. Learn more at www.ubalt.edu/minors.

6. Spotlight UB announces its spring season of performing arts events.

UB’s performing arts series has announced its spring 2017 performances, starting with the Ninth Annual African-American Arts Festival next month. View the complete spring 2017 event line-up at www.ubalt.edu/spotlightub.

7. The Simulation and Digital Entertainment program hosts 2017 Game Jam.

UB’s Simulation and Digital Entertainment program at the Universities at Shady Grove will once again host the annual Game Jam event, a weekend of game creation and development, held at the USG campus in Rockville, MD. Learn more and register online.

Have a great first week and stay tuned for more exciting news and events throughout the semester!!

Professor Christine S. Spencer has been named dean of the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences, following a stint as interim dean of the college and a national search for a permanent dean. Dean Spencer has been a faculty member at the University of Baltimore since 2007, serving as a professor in the School of Health and Human Services and the School of Public and International Affairs in the College of Public Affairs. Her research expertise is in disparities in quality and access to health care among vulnerable populations, including those with disabilities.

Read the press release announcement.

Learn more about Dean Spencer.

Learn more about the Klein Fellowship.

Five undergraduate students from Associate Professor Elizabeth Nix‘s History of Baltimore class (HIST 382) have had their work published in the Keystone, the bi-weekly newsletter of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation (BAF). The pieces were submitted for BAF’s “Love Letters to Baltimore Buildings” feature.

“I am very proud that they are writing for an authentic audience,” said Nix. “And so is the Baltimore Architectural Foundation. One of their staff members sent me a thank-you note for including this assignment in my class for the second year.”

Congratulations to Bataul Alkhateeb, Drew Mazurek, Benjamin Thornton, Ashley Tippie, and Ashley Tunstall. Click below to read each of their letters.

Read “Phoenix Shot Tower Letter #2” by Bataul Alkhateeb.

Read “The Walbert” by Drew Mazurek.

Read “The Assembly” by Benjamin Thornton.

Read “Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church” by Ashley Tippie.

Read “Fifth Regiment Armory” by Ashley Tunstall.

We just wanted to share this group shot taken after an in-class training on group processes led by graduate students Bernadette Carolina (far right) and Tyler Reck (far left). The course is Cross Cultural Organizational Psychology taught by Professor Sharon Glazer (top center). We love our students! 🙂

Top row: Tyler Reck, Shannon Quaranta, Taras Letnaunchyn, Sharon Glazer, Behrang Khazraei, Bernadette Carolina; Middle row: Symone Duarte, Jessica Harraka, Efehi Edomwonyi; Bottom row: Rachel Viegas, Virginia Carter, Amy Sullivan