In the latest issue of Baltimore OUTloud, College of Public Affairs Academic Adviser Kristen Tull offers perspective on coming out and higher education. “National Coming Out Day is recognized at many universities across Maryland and the country,” said Tull. “Administrators, faculty, and staff can and should play an integral role in the support of this day. Becoming a mentor and a role model is a good first step.”

Tull’s piece is the college’s second contribution to Baltimore OUTloud‘s new feature column called “Out on Campus,” dedicated to higher education and the LGBTQ experience. Earlier this month, Dean Roger Hartley kicked off the new column with a piece about public service and why it matters now more than ever.

Read “Coming Out and Higher Education” by Kristen Tull.

Read “Public Service Needs You” by Roger Hartley.

Criminal justice graduate student, Sonce Reese, gives extensive commentary in a new New York Times video called, “Uniting a Divided Baltimore.” The video was part of a front-page feature in the Oct. 20 edition of The New York Times that covered the University of Baltimore’s “Divided Baltimore” class. The video focuses on the different ways that the city is dealing with problems of economic disparities, segregation and other issues that led to the civil unrest of last spring.

Watch the video.

Read the article.

Learn more about “Divided Baltimore.”

George Julnes, professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, has been selected as the recipient of the 2015 Paul F. Lazarsfeld Evaluation Theory Award from the American Evaluation Association (AEA). This prestigious award is presented to an individual whose written work on evaluation theory has led to fruitful debates on the assumptions, goals, and practices of evaluation, according to the AEA website.

Julnes, who in addition to teaching, directs the Doctor of Public Administration program, has led and consulted on evaluation projects funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Social Security Administration. He also is a section editor of the American Journal of Evaluation and on the editorial boards of Evaluation and Program Planning, New Directions for Evaluation, and the International Review of Public Administration.

“George’s winning of the AEA’s Lazarsfeld Award is a major career achievement,” said College of Public Affairs Dean Roger Hartley. “All you have to do is take a look at the award’s past winners—it’s a who’s who of evaluation scholars. Everyone here in the College is very proud of George’s achievement.”

Julnes will receive the award at the AEA’s annual conference in Chicago on Nov. 13.

Learn more about George Julnes.

Tara Richards, a criminal justice assistant professor at UB, is quoted in a Huffington Post story about a new campus climate survey on sexual assault and misconduct, conducted by the Association of American Universities (AAU). The survey gathered responses from 150,072 students at 27 higher education institutions—one of the largest sexual harassment and assault surveys completed among US college students.

Richards believes the AAU survey results are “an important new tool regarding the context of gender-based violence among college students.”

The results reveal that 50-75% of surveyed students have experienced sexual harassment, including 3 of every 4 LGBTQ students. Approximately 1 in 10 female students are victims of assault involving sexual penetration through force or incapacitation. Over 11 percent of undergraduate women and nearly 15 percent of undergraduate LGBTQ students have experienced penetration or oral sex without their affirmative consent. According to survey results, freshmen, LGBTQ, and Native American students face the highest risks.

The survey found that most students don’t report sexual assaults. Of the few who do report an incident to their university or the police, most fear that no action will be taken. “The fact that many students reporting ‘penetration by force’ still feel that they will not be taken seriously or that no one will care or act on their behalf highlights how far we still have to go regarding changing the entire culture around sexual violence,” said Richards.

Learn more about Tara Richards and the School of Criminal Justice.

Renita Seabrook, an associate professor in UB’s School of Criminal Justice, is quoted in a Baltimore Sun story about grant monies raised to address unrest following the Freddie Gray riots. As a 2014 fellow of the nonprofit, Open Society Institute-Baltimore (OSI), Seabrook actively supports the needs of the Baltimore community. She firmly believes that we “have to invest in people.”

OSI promotes racial equality in the criminal justice system and provides opportunities for marginalized groups. After the April riots, the nonprofit divided $337,500 in grants between thirteen programs, most of which are managed by former OSI fellows. By distributing funds to committed individuals already experienced in serving community needs, OSI is confident that aid will be dispersed quickly and efficiently.

Several OSI programs focus on empowering young people to become community advocates. Others, like the program dubbed “You’re the Quarterback,” help men who are ex-convicts, unemployed, and homeless to support their families by finishing their education and finding jobs. Seabrook founded Helping Others 2 Win, a similar program designed for incarcerated and post-incarcerated women.

“The great thing about a grass-roots organization, you hear the pulse of the people,” Seabrook reflected. “You are right at the heart of understanding the needs of the community.”

Learn more about Renita Seabrook and Helping Others 2 Win.