UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND / FEARLESS IDEAS
BE THE SOLUTION MAGAZINE
Summer 2021
Letter from the Dean Dear Friends, During the past academic year—which was filled with both successes and challenges—there was no happier moment for me than participating in the commencement exercises in Maryland Stadium. Graduates and their families were finally able to celDean Gregory Ball ebrate in person, albeit without the full pomp and circumstance of a more traditional ceremony. But we were together, and I cherished the opportunity to see so many Terps on campus for such an important milestone. We have much more to celebrate, and to examine, as you’ll read in these pages. We continue to address the COVID-19 pandemic through campus safety protocols and through important research. We also continue to address the pandemic of structural racism and anti-Black and anti-Asian violence that plagues our country.
We increasingly rely on surveys and big data sets to enhance our research, learning and teaching opportunities. I am proud that we recently launched the Social Data Science Center in collaboration with the College of Information Studies. Gathering, analyzing and utilizing data to inform policy and best practices have never been more important, as we address the most pressing issues of our times. Looking forward, we are carefully planning and preparing for a full in-person residential experience for all of our students this fall. We continue to rely on the generosity, patience, innovation and goodwill of our entire community of alumni, donors, faculty, staff, and students in these efforts. Thank you for your engagement and for your support. We invite you to read more at bsos.umd.edu, and to connect with us on social media. Please send your updates and feedback to bsosalumni@umd.edu. I look forward to hearing from you.
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Sincerely,
Gregory F. Ball Dean and Professor, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences University of Maryland
Inside This Issue Seeking Answers & Action: The BSOS Anti-Black Racism Initiative. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 The Next Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Getting Social with Data Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Perspectives from a Pandemic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Department News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Updates from Centers and More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Peace Chairs News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Alumni and Giving News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
On the cover: Illustration by Chris Campbell
BSOS Points of Pride
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It did not start with George Floyd. But his words—“I can’t breathe”—and his cries for his deceased mother while dying under the knee of a police officer are what stopped many Americans from continuing to turn a blind eye to outrageous racial injustice. In the national consciousness, Floyd’s haunting final moments mix with names and scenes across the country—Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Black Lives Matter protestors confronted with greater force than the predominantly white insurgents who stormed the U.S. Capitol building, resulting in casualties. In many ways, 2020 became a turning point in awareness and acknowledgment of anti-Black racism, and of deadly inadequacies and injustices in American policing and politics. Why? How? When will it stop? Why won’t this end? How many more? What will it take? Questions also arose closer to home in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. As educators, administrators and researchers, what can we do to address anti-Black racism? How can we improve society? How can we ensure that our classrooms and our campus are safe, fair and accessible to all? Professor Rashawn Ray in the Department of Sociology wanted answers, and action. With support from Dean Greg Ball, Ray connected with more than 40 faculty members, staff, and students across the college and the university to establish the BSOS Anti-Black Racism Initiative (ABRI). ABRI promotes long-term change in the college and on the campus, and beyond. Grounded in the behavioral and social sciences, its mission is to elevate the status and experience of African Americans. To do so, ABRI engages in supporting scholarship, teaching, and dialogues of all types, and at all levels, to fight against anti-Black racism in our society— ABRI Director individual, structural, and cultural. Rashawn Ray “Faculty in BSOS have conducted research on ways to address racism for years. The Anti-Black Racism Initiative is a way to scale up this work, address disparities and make sustainable change on our campus and in our communities,” Ray said.
Connecting the Dots, Finding the Gaps The work started, Ray said, as a “data dump”—colleagues worked to find out what resources and programs are already available on campus, and what is missing. The college and the university already have a number of impactful resources and initiatives related to the work of ABRI. Ray tapped into those resources, and organized conversations among faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students, and members of the College Park community about challenges and opportunities. Early needs and priorities emerged: additional hires of faculty members who do work in areas related to ABRI’s mission; more mentorship and development opportunities for Black faculty members; more mentorship and guidance opportunities for Black students; and seed grants and funding opportunities to support ABRI-related research and activities.
departments are already being identified and examined, with the hopes of scaling them up to greater levels. Doing so would help UMD stay current and competitive with peer institutions. “We’ve seen that responsive, effective, immediate action can be taken to meet these needs. There are a lot of big changes happening at our peer institutions,” Ray said. “There is no reason why we need to wait to make transformative change happen here at Maryland.”
Events focused on addressing racism and related social issues have already been held by ABRI in collaboration with units including the Critical Race Initiative and the Bahá’í Chair for World Peace. “One way that we have found ABRI to be useful already, is that it sheds light on the challenges that many of us already know we face on this campus. As a faculty member, on busy days, you’re just trying to get from Point A to Point B. This process has made addressing anti-Black racism and creating a better culture a priority, front and center,” said Associate Professor Dawn Dow of the Department of Sociology. Dow is co-chair of the ABRI’s Research and Events subcommittee, along with Professor Hoda Mahmoudi, holder of the Bahá’í Chair. A continuing challenge, Dow noted, is that the work of ABRI must not be limited
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to those involved in the initiative itself, or to students and faculty already doing work in related areas. “We want everyone to feel ownership of these issues. This is a national crisis that is happening right now,” Dow said. “There are no quick fixes. But this work can and should belong to everyone.” Events and formal discussions are also helping faculty members from across different disciplines to find ways they can support one another and amplify related efforts. “This work is helping us to break down the silos and bring people together. The more the ABRI communicates what’s happening in the college, the more faculty will start to connect with others, and likewise students. We help make events and opportunities visible, and the more we do so, I think people will begin to see areas where there might be more possibilities for collaboration,” Mahmoudi said.
Realities, Resources and Resolve As assistant dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and as a researcher in the field of psychology, Dr. Kim Nickerson brings both administrative leadership and experience as a faculty member to his work in the ABRI. Nickerson co-chairs the Pedagogy Subcommittee along with Associate Professor Jessica Goldberg of the Department of Economics. Nickerson said that, over the years, he has seen programs and initiatives start and stop, some with more success than others. “Right now, we have the support and the enthusiasm for ABRI,” Nickerson said. “But to be honest, humans have short attention spans.”
PHOTOS BY KOREY TOWNSEND/ VOICEDTV
The need to address and standardize curricula and reading lists also emerged— ABRI leadership agree that it is past time to update and expand reading lists and other course materials to include diverse perspectives and ways of thought. Ideas and solutions have also begun to emerge. There is discussion and crosscampus support for an Anti-Black Racism Minor, in collaboration with the College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU). Specifically, the Department of African American Studies in BSOS and the Department of American Studies in ARHU would play key roles in this potential offering. The ABRI leadership team is working with colleagues across campus on this effort. Looking to the local community, Joel and Kim Feller Endowed Professor Joseph Richardson, the acting chair of the Department of African American Studies, is discussing restorative justice possibilities for the Lakeland community within College Park, which was disrupted by campus expansions. “We are working with College Park Mayor Patrick Wojahn, with Maxine Gross of the Lakeland Community Heritage Project, with Associate Professor Mary Corbin Sies in the Department of American Studies, and other stakeholders to explore the ways the university has been involved in damage to the Lakeland community, including the destruction of 104 Black-owned homes. This is about the displacement of a community, their loss of wealth and quality of life,” Richardson said. “We are a land-grant institution. We have a responsibility to these people. There was damage that was done.” Ray says that promising efforts within the College Park area and within BSOS
Nickerson helps the ABRI to stay focused on what he calls the “three Rs”: Realities, Resources, and Resolve. The realities, he said, are both lack of funding and organizational red tape. He said he hopes that resources can be allocated to meet ABRI recommendations in the near future, and that the resolve to improve the Black experience can be sustained, even as other challenges and priorities emerge. “We can and must improve the Black experience on this campus. Through our research and our work, we also have the ability to improve the Black experience in this country,” Nickerson said. “We have some uncomfortable realities. But I believe we also have great potential, and the necessary resolve. We need support from our leadership, and we need support from our alumni. We now have a platform to concentrate that support.”
An Enduring Crisis Requires Urgent Response Several faculty members noted the different ways that the college and the university addressed the COVID-19 pandemic in real-time—while not responding with appropriate urgency to the life-and-death problems driven by racism. “We’ve been talking a lot about racial health disparities in this country as they relate to COVID. What struck me about the university’s response to the COVID pandemic was how quickly funding and resources and plans appeared. All of a sudden, there were immediate plans of action when it came to COVID operations. There were pots of money available for seed grants supporting research related to COVID. There was a student crisis fund established,” Richardson said. We continue to be in a public health crisis related to racism. We have a racial epidemic of gun violence, for example. Racism is a public health threat. Where is the immediate response? Where is the funding to support research and programs that will address the health issue that is racism?” Ray says that, in order for BSOS and the university to prove that addressing
ABRI Engagement and Support BSOS and ABRI leadership welcome the engagement and support of our alumni, donors, students, faculty and staff across the UMD and College Park communities. To learn more about upcoming ABRI events, visit abri.umd.edu. Watch the video at: go.umd.edu/abrivideo.
ABRI Leadership and Subcommittees Founder and Director Professor Rashawn Ray (SOCY) Pedagogy Co-Chairs: Associate Professor Jessica Goldberg (ECON) and Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Kim Nickerson Policy and Community Engagement Co-Chairs: Associate Professor Isabella Alcañiz (GVPT) and Professor Joseph Richardson (AFAM, ANTH) Professional Development Co-Chairs: Professor Antoine Banks (GVPT) and Dr. Nazish Salahuddin (PSYC) Research and Events Co-Chairs: Associate Professor Dawn Dow (SOCY) and Professor Hoda Mahmoudi (Bahá’í Chair for World Peace) “Ultimately, the work and impact of the ABRI will do more than benefit Black students, faculty and alumni. We’re creating an environment that will benefit all Terps, and that will enrich the experiences of all UMD students,” Nickerson said. Alumni, donors and friends are invited to contribute to the BSOS Diversity Gift Fund, which was established to support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives within the college, which includes ABRI: go.umd.edu/bsosdiversitygiftfund. To discuss possible events and mentorship opportunities, contact Director of Alumni and Donor Relations Jenny Kilberg at jkilberg@umd.edu. To discuss more giving opportunities, contact Chief Development Officer Kenny Beaver at beaver@umd.edu.
anti-Black racism and related challenges are indeed priorities for the institution, swift action must be taken, and significant investments must be made. By the time this magazine is published, the ABRI’s formal report will be published as well, and presented to BSOS leadership for review. Ray said the report will outline many calls to immediate action, most especially funding for faculty hires and faculty development; support for the ABRI minor; and funding for ABRI events and community engagement opportunities.
“We’ve proven that there is great innovation. We now need to know that there will be great investment to move these efforts forward,” Ray said. “In the middle of a pandemic, when many of us were stretched with teaching and research and home life, we also took on the tremendous work of this project. It would be a disaster if this was just another report that sits on a shelf. Maryland has the capacity to be a national and international leader in anti-Black racism in the areas of teaching, research, mentorship, and the student experience.”
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College of Behavioral and Social Sciences: Be the Solution | 5
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ew Year’s Eve 2020 seemed heightened, as many looked forward to leaving a chaotic year behind—even though the future still seemed uncertain. Change again was on the horizon as a new presidential administration began on January 20. With more and more people receiving COVID-19 vaccination doses every day, there is a renewed feeling of hope. But looking at the national and global landscapes, we still see many challenges—and have many questions. As some aspects of life begin to return to “normal,” many wonder— was “normal” the best we can do as a society? To improve and to move forward—what’s next? We asked six BSOS faculty members to weigh in on the world’s great challenges by answering, “What is The Next Step we need to take to make positive change?”
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Addressing Racism, Pursuing Social Justice Janelle Wong, Professor Department of Government and Politics
R
ecent events—including the storm on the U.S. Capitol in January and the horrific incident of racialized and gendered violence in Atlanta in March—underscore the importance of examining race and racism as central and enduring features of our political landscape. Turning our research lens to the ways that racism manifests in different, but related, forms is essential for rooting out the problem and its deadly consequences. For example, with my colleague Dr. Kanisha Bond, we ask how race matters in populist movements—not only in the ideologies that we witnessed among Capitol insurrectionists, but in shaping Black-led movements. The very term “populism” itself tends to evoke racial connotations. With colleagues including Drs. Rossina Zamora Liu, William Liu, and Richard Shin, I am analyzing political discourse around access and racial equity in public magnet schools. Here we see that even in the wake of increased reports of antiAsian violence and discrimination, some Asian Americans engage in rhetorical frames that serve to limit the access of other students of color, particularly Black, Latinx, and Indigenous students, to public resources. I also study the confluence of religious identity and race in shaping political attitudes. I wrote a book about racial differences in political attitudes among evangelicals; I am now taking a closer look at those who are secular in their religious identity. With graduate student Jennifer St Sume, I write about how even within the fast-growing group of religiously unaffiliated voters, important racial differences exist when it comes to policy views. The bottom line is that any examination of U.S. politics necessitates and is more complete with attention to race and racism.
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Strengthening U.S. Diplomacy and International Relations
Building a Resilient and More Inclusive Economy Melissa S. Kearney, Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics
Shibley Telhami, Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development
T
he damage that has been done to America’s global credibility during the past few years has been severe and is not easily reversible. While former President Donald Trump is no longer in office, his influence and policies have a lasting impact. President Joe Biden can reverse many of Trump’s damaging steps and can renew commitments to allies. But most actors now fear that the next president may reverse Biden’s own moves, making Biden’s mission challenging. Biden will thus have to be more proactive and bolder, starting first with rejoining the Iran Nuclear Deal—the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action—as an early test of American credibility. Second, the political hyper-polarization in the United States during the past four years has been detrimental to objective analyses of American interests. Some issues have suffered. Russia is a good example, though not the only one. Regardless of Trump’s relationship with Moscow, Russia is not America’s biggest foe globally. There are issues of conflict and competition, but also areas of possible cooperation. Setting aside the polarizing lens is a necessary step to wide-eyed analysis of American interests. Finally, “America is back” is a useful slogan, and—as a counter to “America first”— a helpful message. But America’s relative power, as well as the global perceptions of that power, have substantially diminished. Similarly, “leading by example” is important. But some of our flaws are structural, such as racial injustice, deepening inequality, troubled democracy—and they have become globally visible, even if Biden may work hard to address them. Modesty is a healthy starting point.
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o foster widespread economic security and reduce income disparities in the United States, more Americans need to have access to high-quality, affordable opportunities to build their skills and obtain higher levels of education. There are persistently high gaps in employment rates, earnings, household income—as well as marriage rates, health outcomes, and other social indicators— between those with and without a college degree. There is much that can be done to improve the economic wellbeing of Americans who do not have college degrees. One immediate priority should be to increase the amount of federal, state, and philanthropic dollars that are invested in public universities and colleges, especially community colleges. Public colleges are engines of upward mobility, and a well-targeted investment would equip them to better serve millions of students each year. Public two-year community colleges enroll half of all college students in the country, and disproportionately serve racial and ethnic minorities and students from low-income families. They are widely accessible to students with different academic and financial backgrounds, but they are often resource-constrained and yield poor student outcomes. More investment would allow these institutions to better serve students and increase the rates at which students persist in college, complete an associate degree, transfer to a four-year institution, and ultimately earn more money. This would expand educational opportunity and increase skill attainment, improving economic security, reducing income inequality, and promoting U.S. productivity and global economic competitiveness.
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Prioritizing Global Food Security
Bridging Sociopolitical Divides
Effectively Addressing Domestic Terrorism
Catherine Nakalembe, Assistant Research Professor
Antoine Banks, Professor
Bill Braniff, Professor of the Practice
Department of Government and Politics (GVPT)
Director, National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)
Department of Geographical Sciences
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ith at least half of the 815 million undernourished people in the world living in countries struggling with conflict and violence, there is clear evidence that food and water insecurity and armed conflict are mutually reinforcing. Conflict interrupts and destroys food systems. Addressing food and nutrition security for all should be a top priority. I am proud to work with NASA Harvest on related efforts. Global food production will need to increase by 70% to feed a population expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050. This increase needs to happen within currently cultivated land if we are to protect forests and other ecosystems. Yet, in its current form, agriculture production is far from optimal. Smallholder farmers responsible for feeding more than 2 billion people face numerous challenges, including topsoil loss, shrinking water and farmland, production losses from extreme events, and pests and diseases. Agricultural yields in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain extremely low, and food insecurity is immense in SSA despite billions of aid into the sector. However, if empowered, the smallholder farmers who have the most to lose can make the biggest strides. The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated the challenges they face, and risks of strife are at an all-time high. Our focus today should be to make sure that smallholder farmers are provided with the support systems they need to make agriculture more productive and lucrative. We need equitable and global economic relief for the most vulnerable. Smallholder farmers hold the key to food and nutrition security for millions, and they need access to information and resources to help their farm production.
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y research mainly focuses on the conditions dividing Americans on race. I haven’t given as much thought to identifying the circumstances that can bring us together. My suspicion is that racial polarization in America can be softened if more people saw the world though Blacks’ eyes. This idea makes me think of a book everyone should read: “Black Like Me” by John Howard Griffin. The American experience needs to be the Black experience. Investment in this experience in all walks of life should help tear down the racial divide plaguing American society. Alauna Safarpour, a GVPT Ph.D. student, whose dissertation I am co-chairing, is studying this very question. She examines whether perspective-taking can reduce people’s racially prejudiced attitudes. That is, by helping people see through the eyes of marginalized groups, Safarpour contends that they can empathize with people different from them. Her dissertation produces some convincing results in that the perspective-taking task causes people to have more positive attitudes toward Blacks. Importantly, this effect is largest among those who have the strongest anti-Black attitudes. Her findings offer a glimpse as to why the racial divide continues in America. It is because people with the most hostile racial views rarely engage in taking the perspective of Blacks. This experience is different from Blacks who engage in what W.E.B. DuBois refers to as “double consciousness”—always seeing the world through the eyes of both Blacks and whites. Racially prejudiced individuals hardly ever peer into the Black gaze. However, when they do, this racialized perspective produces substantial results among the most racially resentful.
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TART has argued for a strategy to address domestic terrorism based on a public health approach to violence prevention, which was just embraced by the Department of Homeland Security. Violent extremist narratives sell victimhood so that they can then sell violent empowerment—terrorism and hate—as the solution. This ideological sales pitch is more effective at mobilizing violence among individuals with risk factors that cannot be addressed through criminal justice solutions. Instead, by empowering communities, we can strengthen the protective factors that diminish the attractiveness of the violent empowerment offered by violent extremists. We also need investment in resources to blunt the negative psychological, political and economic impacts of violent extremist attacks. If extremist violence fails to generate the negative, polarizing impacts the perpetrators desire, the incentive for the next attack decreases. Instead, leaders often succumb to political pressure, making unrealistic promises to “eradicate” enduring movements. Unmet promises sow mistrust, aggrandize the perpetrators, and undermine the legitimacy of institutions when the next attack occurs. Finally, I would like to see rational resource allocation based on a comprehensive understanding of ideologicallymotivated violence in the United States, including acts of terrorism and hate crimes. For reasons that are less valid over time, we prioritize the 60 to 70 terrorist attacks per year over the 8,000 to 9,000 hate crimes, undervaluing the victims of hate crimes in the process and underappreciating the threat from perpetrators motivated by racist, misogynist and gender-identity biases.
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College of Behavioral and Social Sciences: Be the Solution | 9
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Getting Social with Data Science
Interdisciplinary Center Aims to Improve Access to Data Science Across Campus
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rom tracking the global spread of COVID-19 and the distribution of vaccines to addressing disparities in education to evaluating the impacts of air pollution, data science can help answer some of the most pressing questions facing our society. However, if that data isn’t carefully collected—and is not inclusive of all populations, or doesn’t take into account human behaviors that can distort results— those answers can be misleading, or can even exacerbate problems. Enter the Social Data Science Center (SoDa) at the University of Maryland. Recognizing the need to pair data collection and analysis with behavioral and social science perspectives, the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM) and the College of Information Studies (iSchool) partnered with Facebook to launch the center in the fall of 2020. SoDa leverages the university’s strengths in survey methods, measurement, information management, data visualization and analytics to provide what leaders call a “match-making” space for researchers all over campus who want to incorporate data science into their work. “What we had hoped for was that this one platform where we can all be found would help generate more inter-curricular research. That has certainly happened, and much more quickly than expected, which goes to show there was a real need,” said Dr. Frauke Kreuter, co-director of the Co-Director center and a professor in JPSM. Frauke Kreuter
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Fighting COVID-19 One Survey at a Time
BSOS Online For more information on SoDa, visit socialdatascience.umd.edu
THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIP WITH FACEBOOK, SoDa collaborated with Carnegie Mellon University on the Facebook COVID-19 Symptom Survey—one of the largest data collection efforts related to the pandemic—which is currently fielding in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 55 languages. Since its launch in April 2020, more than 40 million responses have been collected, enabling policymakers and researchers to track daily symptoms, testing, mental health, economic anxiety, preventative health behaviors and more. For example, researchers were able to use the data to study mask-wearing around the globe and discovered major inconsistencies between nations observing the practice. Meanwhile, in December, SoDa, Carnegie Mellon and Facebook began collaborating with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to incorporate questions about COVID-19 vaccinations into the Symptom Survey. The newly added questions enable the survey to track daily vaccination uptake, measure vaccine-related sentiments, and examine how trends vary across different population subgroups in real-time. The U.S. version of the Symptom Survey is conducted by Carnegie Mellon, and SoDa handles the international data. “From anthropologists and psychologists addressing the opioid crisis to Dr. Kreuter’s work on the COVID survey with Facebook, our faculty members use and interpret large-scale data sets to help us understand and address the greatest challenges of our times,” said Dean Greg Ball. “Collaboration across disciplines and industries using new methods in data science has never been more important, or more possible. We are excited to work with the iSchool, Facebook, and many other entities across campus and around the world through this new center.”
Social Data Scientists for the Next Generation
ONE OF THE OVERARCHING GOALS of SoDa is to make it easier for anyone at UMD to receive training in social data science. The center offers a host of online continuing education courses—some of which can be completed in as little as one or two days—on everything from how to design a questionnaire to the correct way to draw a sample or an introduction to machine learning. “No matter what you study, you could become a little data scientist on the side pretty easily,” said Kreuter. “The courses are already here.” For anyone looking for a deeper dive, the university is considering a new interdisciplinary social data science major and, if approved, students may begin to sign up by the fall of 2022. Meanwhile, the
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Creating Connections
WHILE RESEARCH PROJECTS focused on the ongoing pandemic continue to be a priority, the potential for collaborations under the umbrella of SoDa expand to every corner of campus, center leaders say. “SoDa is uniquely cross-disciplinary, bringing together researchers and students from social sciences, education, journalism, mathematics, public health, computer science, statistics, business, and information science,” said Dr. Brian Butler, co-director of SoDa and senior associate dean in the iSchool. Some of the first projects to be tackled as part of SoDa touch on everything from smartphones to privacy to allocation of government funds: Chris Antoun, assistant research professor with a joint appointCo-Director Brian ment in JPSM and the iSchool, and Brian Kim, assistant research Butler, image courtesy professor in JPSM, received a grant from the National Center for of the iSchool Engineering and Science Statistics (NCSES) in collaboration with researchers from the University of Michigan. They are exploring ways to redesign the NCSES’s Survey of Doctorate Recipients in order to reduce respondent burden by developing a design concept that involves breaking up the survey into short modules administered via a smartphone app and by removing or shortening questions that request information available from other sources. Katie Shilton, associate professor in the iSchool, and Kreuter received a grant from the National Science Foundation to examine privacy and security features in mobile applications. The main goals of the project are to study developers to discover work practices that encourage privacy and data security by design, and to build tools to encourage such work practices in order to bolster protection for sensitive mobile data. Partha Lahiri, director and professor in JPSM and a professor in the Department of Mathematics, is developing statistical methodology that can improve government fund allocation formulas. For example, more than $130 billion is allocated each year to states and localities based on the Model-Based Small Area Income & Poverty Estimates produced by the Census Bureau. Lahiri’s refined methodology could keep low-income students fed and get them the books and other resources they need to succeed in school.
recently renamed Ph.D. program in survey and data science reflects an updated curriculum that incorporates current trends in the field. Samantha Chiu, who previously worked for a private survey research firm, was attracted to the Ph.D. program because of the blend of social and data sciences with survey methodology. “In the past when I worked on data privacy with different computer scientists, I didn’t think necessarily about the people behind the data—how subgroups can change things, how they change patterns,” Chiu said. “I am fascinated in the science behind data collection.”
SoDa also aims to expand its reach outside of the university. For example, the Center brings together experts from various fields for a SoDa symposium series to consider topics ranging from the measurement of conflict to strategies for building and maintaining nation-scale data infrastructures. “Through groundbreaking research, rapid response data gathering efforts, innovative education offerings, and thought-provoking events, SoDa will continue to advance the effective, efficient, and ethical use of social data to address issues in health, education, and economic development, and other issues critical to societal resilience and collective wellbeing,” Co-Director Brian Butler said.
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PERSPECTIVES FROM A PANDEMIC “Y
our internet connection is unstable.” That’s the by-nowfamiliar message that popped up on Associate Professor Sarah Croco’s Zoom screen as she was leading a course on exit polling in September.
Amid Online Instruction and Masked Interactions, BSOS Faculty and Students Share Stories from a Year Like No Other
Croco pressed on with her lesson, guiding students on how to brainstorm questions for a survey they were designing. The connectivity issues did not improve, and eventually she was kicked out of the Zoom and unable to log back on. As she fumed—and tried to figure out how to cram everything she hadn’t had a chance to cover into her next class—she got an email from a student explaining that the entire class stayed online and finished their task of compiling a list of 30 survey questions on their own. “I started crying. I couldn’t believe it,” Croco said. “The narrative of the whole fall was that ‘college students wouldn’t be able to handle it’—but I have not seen that. I was just blown away.”
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J
ack Keane, an economics major from Ellicott City, Md., was not about to let COVID-19 rob him of the chance to live on campus as a freshman. But the experience was not quite what he’d imagined: he spent most of his time alone in his single dorm room, taking classes virtually and eating meals by himself.
“It has been harder to meet people,” Keane said. That’s why Keane challenged himself to take advantage of what limited opportunities he could to broaden his social circle. He played trombone in the UMD Marching Band, which held socially distanced practices outdoors, became involved with the UMD Club Triathlon team, and applied to be a BSOS Ambassador, which will allow him to connect with other Terps interested in economics. “It was definitely lonely at times,” Keane said. “But one positive thing is I’ve been able to focus more on my academics.” Keane is looking forward to a more satisfying and well-rounded sophomore year at UMD, and plans to pack his social calendar as fully as possible.
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ardaan “Vee” Dua, B.A. ’21, hopes to never again hear the phrases, “You’re on mute” or “Can you see my screen?” The self-described “caller, not texter” bucks the stereotype of members of his generation often characterized as digitally obsessed and more comfortable interfacing via a screen than in person. When changes came to campus abruptly in March 2020, Dua—who is from New Delhi, India—faced a difficult decision: Should he go home to live with his family, or stay in College Park? It’s a choice many international students had to make in the early days of the pandemic.
“There was a lot of uncertainty, and I was concerned if I left, I wouldn’t be able to come back,” Dua said. “Ultimately, it felt safer to stay here than to go back home.” Dua has not seen his family since December of 2019, and had to miss his sister’s wedding due to travel restrictions. He says his pre-COVID-19 days at UMD feel like a distant memory now. Dua graduated without his parents by his side, unlike what he had always pictured. As he heads off to graduate school at the University of Tennessee, he’s looking forward to getting away from his computer and making face-to-face connections again, but he’ll take with him a renewed appreciation for what he leaves behind. “I realized that College Park has felt like home to me for a very long time,” he said. “I never felt out of place here.”
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hile McKenzie Horton will be a junior in the fall of 2021, she feels like a freshman, still using Google maps to get around campus. At the onset of COVID-19 restrictions, Horton, a psychology and criminology and criminal justice double major, had to abruptly return to her family’s home in District Heights, Md., where she stayed for most of her sophomore year. She said the experience was “isolating,” but also found that virtual learning wasn’t as challenging as she anticipated—and came with some unexpected benefits. “I actually feel more connected to faculty than I did my freshman year,” Horton said. “I also discovered I was able to multitask and adapt better than I thought I would.”
As a member of CIVICUS, a living and learning program focused on community service, political engagement and leadership development, Horton had most been looking forward to service opportunities as a way of getting involved in campus life. Even though CIVICUS adapted events and service projects to be accessible online, Horton said she didn’t find the experience as fulfilling as interacting with people directly. Eventually, Horton moved back into a residence hall. She is looking forward to seeing more people walking around the mall in the months ahead. “There’s just something about being on campus,” Horton said. “I’m happy to be here, and it’s motivating me, and I’m just more focused.”
K
orey Rothman misses noise. As the director of CIVICUS, she’s fond of hearing students chattering in the hallways outside her office in Somerset Hall, or picking up snippets of conversations as she walks across campus. As a living and learning program, CIVICUS focuses on helping students make connections through service and leader-
ship opportunities, but COVID-19 has made the living part of the mission more difficult. Roughly half of the students enrolled in the program, which is for freshmen and sophomores, lived in single rooms in Somerset during the 2020-2021 academic year, while the other half participated remotely. Meanwhile, program leaders pivoted from in-person to virtual events. “A big concern is that I don’t want to further create a divide between students who are remote and the students who are in person,” Rothman said. “For us, the challenge is helping the students connect with each other, and helping those who are at home build a community.”
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College of Behavioral and Social Sciences: Be the Solution | 15
Researchers Receive $2.5 Million Grant to Study Marriage, Kinship and Child Well-Being in Kenya A TEAM OF RESEARCHERS from UMD and the African Population and Health Research Center in Nairobi, Kenya will spend the next five years examining how families and support networks function in rapidly urbanizing yet impoverished communities in Africa. Supported by a $2.5 million grant from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the project measures “marriage as a Photo of family in Nairobi, Kenya by Shutterstock. process,” the contours of kinship support, and the implications for children’s health and well-being in densely populated communities in Nairobi. “Urbanization rates in sub-Saharan Africa are some of the highest in the world,” said Professor Sangeetha Madhavan of the Departments of African American Studies and of Sociology, who leads the project. “Kenya’s impressive efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals on child health and well-being mask the elevated risks for children in low-income urban contexts, a pattern found in other African settings. We know very little about the role of two key social institutions—marriage and kinship—that provide the key resources for child rearing.” The research team will use surveys and in-depth interviews with both women and men and track young children’s physical and cognitive development over the next four years. The findings can help identify vulnerable mothers and children and inform the development of effective policies to improve the health and well-being of mothers and children in poor urban contexts in Africa.
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BSOS Online Read more at go.umd.edu/kenyastudy
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Mellon Supports UMD African/Black Diaspora Research Seminar IN 2020, UMD was awarded a two-year, $500,000 grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to launch an interdisciplinary African Diaspora studies research seminar. Led by Dr. Sharon Harley, the seminar, hosted by the Department of African American Studies, “Race/Ethnicity and Gender Identity in a Shifting Cultural, and Racial Climate: African/Black Diaspora Academic and Public Discourse” continues virtually. The seminar addresses a central question: How are nationality and the specifics of diverse ethnicities and gender formations reshaping the framing of identity among first- and second-generation African immigrants and their relationships with native-born U.S. African American populations in the 21st century? Related public events have included: n “Conversations and Visual Representations of Race/Ethnic/Gender Identity” with Curlee R. Holton and Deborah Willis, co-hosted with The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora; n “Student Perspectives: Conversations in African/ Black Identity,” featuring students from St. Mary’s College of Maryland, UMD, Baltimore County, and Howard University—a similar event was held with New York University (NYU) students; n “Rooted: Black Women, Southern Memory, and Womanist Cartographies,” co-hosted with NYU, featuring artists Michelle Lanier and Allison Hamilton; n “Race/Ethnicity and Gender Identity in a Shifting Cultural, and Racial Climate: African/Black Diaspora Academic and Public Discourse,” an introduction to the research seminar for the UMD community. A public event is planned for the fall at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and a culminating conference will be co-hosted at the University of Ghana in 2022.
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Exploring and Preserving Baltimore’s Past she was Black, that she worked as a laundress, and that she had had at least three children.Through systematic archaeological excavation, they seek to understand what was life like for McGill, her family, and her neighbors.Then—as now—Baltimore was a deeply segregated city. Fracchia hopes to learn more about and prioritize the lived experience of members of this significant Black community and the structural racism that they faced.
ASSISTANT RESEARCH PROFESSOR ADAM FRACCHIA of the Department of Anthropology is working with a group of students and faculty from several universities and other volunteers to research and excavate in Old West Baltimore, one of the city’s most prominent early African-American neighborhoods. The artifacts they have uncovered tell the story of the residents of Etting Street, from the dishes on their tables to the slates that children used to practice writing. “From these fragmentary pieces of everyday, we can begin to sketch a picture of life in this neighborhood.This is a story that has not been told archaeologically,” Fracchia said.
Adam Fracchia (bottom) and student Lyteera Felipa map soil stratigraphy in a test unit on Etting Street in Baltimore.
Fracchia’s team searched the census and other records and discovered that a woman named Sarah McGill rented the house for 40 years beginning in 1900.They know
Shelley Halstead, founder of the nonprofit Black Women Build, owns the house. Through revitalization of these rowhouses, the organization provides training and affordable homeownership to Black women in the neighborhood. Halstead graciously allowed the project to conduct the excavations prior to the renovations.
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Social Sciences, Humanities Can Help in Response to Climate Change, Study Finds A PAPER PUBLISHED IN APRIL in Nature by multidisciplinary scholars asserts that our response to present-day climate change needs to be informed by a more holistic study of the past. “To deal with climate change, it’s not going to be anything one discipline can do,” said co-author Associate Professor George Hambrecht of the Department of Anthropology. “Research is not going to do us much good unless we can apply it to human existence.”
Hambrecht cautioned that integrating stories of resilience produced by humanities and social science researchers should not be taken as an argument downplaying the danger that the planet faces. While modern societies have far greater technology and resources at their disposal than their predecessors, the level and speed of man-made climate change occurring now is far greater than any in human existence. Rather, the paper is meant as a potential solution to bridging communication gaps that can open between scholars relying on numerical techniques such as weather models and laypeople who can have difficulty relating them to daily life. The social sciences, Hambrecht said, offer a “huge database of how humans have reacted in the past.”
Inuit fisherman in Greenland by AP Photo/ Brennan Linsley
Researchers’ reliance on data such as grain prices or easily documented events like wars have given too much weight to the idea that climate change leads to irreversible failure, the authors argue in the paper. Instead, they suggest that history has many examples of communities that adjusted and possibly thrived—even if it was at the expense of their neighbors.
Adapted story by Liam Farrell appears courtesy of Maryland Today.
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Renowned Scholar Rod Brunson Joins the CCJS Faculty THE DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE is pleased to welcome Rod K. Brunson to the faculty. Brunson’s research informs criminal justice policy and crime control practices. “We are delighted to welcome Rod Brunson to our department. Rod is one of the leading scholars on police-community relations in the world,” said Professor Gary LaFree, chair of the department. “He will be engaged in research and teaching on how concentrated neighborhood disadvantages are linked to criminal violence in America.” In the fall, Brunson will teach a course on police-community relations. “The primary learning objective is to facilitate students’ understanding of well-established issues in the delivery of police services across a wide range of ecological contexts,” Brunson said. Brunson comes to Maryland from Northeastern University, where he served as the Thomas P. O’Neill Jr. Chair of Public Life; professor of criminology and criminal justice and of political science; and director of graduate mentoring and diversity initiatives within the College of Social Sciences and Humanities. He is also a Fellow of the American Society of Criminology. Brunson’s scholarship appears in numerous publications, including Criminology and the Journal of Research, Crime and Delinquency. Brunson said he was drawn to Maryland because of the strength of the department, and the commitment he sees in areas of research and mentorship that are important to him. “While UMD criminology has been the top-ranked program for decades, I recently had opportunities to engage with university leaders, allowing me to become familiar with the administration’s planned investments in addressing persistent social justice issues,” Brunson said. “I am personally committed to increasing the number of scholars from underrepresented groups in academia, and have been especially successful in encouraging students of color to pursue doctoral degrees. I look forward to continuing these efforts at Maryland.”
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Rachel Ellis Awarded Russell Sage Foundation Pipeline Grant ASSISTANT PROFESSOR RACHEL ELLIS in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice was awarded an emerging scholars pipeline grant from the Russell Sage Foundation (RSF) and the Economic Mobility and Opportunity program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Ellis’s project, supported by the nearly $30,000 grant, will examine the challenges that women face while on probation, with special attention to the role of gender and motherhood. “For this project supported by the RSF, I will conduct interviews and ethnographic observations with probation officers and women on probation,” Ellis said. Twenty-one awards were recently granted. This initiative supports early- and mid-career tenure-track scholars who are underrepresented in the social sciences in order to promote racial, ethnic, gender, disciplinary, institutional, and geographic diversity. Reflecting on the impetus of her project, Ellis said, “The topic of punishment often conjures images of chain-link fences, guard towers, and razor wire. But probation is the single most common form of punishment in the United States today. What’s more, some studies have shown that women are more likely than men to be sentenced to probation rather than prison.” The goal of the project is to learn about the dayto-day realities of a probation sentence, examining whether and how socioeconomic and racial inequalities matter for women’s lived experience of probation.
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COVID Vaccination Delays Could Cost Global Economy Trillions A STUDY LED by Professor Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan of the Department of Economics suggests the U.S. should also be concerned about vaccinating people outside its borders. Kalemli-Ozcan and colleagues at the University of Koc in Istanbul analyzed 35 industries in 65 countries and how they were linked economically in 2019, before the pandemic. They then used data on COVID-19 infections to demonstrate how the coronavirus crisis disrupted these linkages, and how vaccinations could help repair the damage. Results showed that if wealthier nations are fully vaccinated by the middle of this year, and developing countries vaccinate only half of their populations, the global economic loss will amount to around $4 trillion. “Wealthier nations have just as much to lose as less-developed countries if vaccinations are not distributed equitably around the world,” Kalemli-Ozcan said. “It would cost countries like the U.S. less to invest in providing vaccines to poorer countries than the potential economic loss they would incur if trade partners like Mexico or Brazil can’t recover from the pandemic.”
Image via Getty
In a projected worst-case scenario—where the U.S. and wealthier nations can’t vaccinate the majority of citizens before the end of 2021, and developing countries receive no vaccines this year—the shock to the global economy could exceed $9 trillion in losses. During a World Health Organization press conference in January, Kalemli-Ozcan explained to leaders how widespread vaccinations in wealthier nations will help domestic businesses like restaurants and gyms recover quickly. However, she warned, industries such as automotive and construction that depend on outside countries for materials and supplies will continue to suffer if vaccines are not made available worldwide.
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Before and After Brexit: UMD Research Examines Impact of New Trade Deal THE FIVE-YEAR ORDEAL known as Brexit finally reached a conclusion in January when a new trade deal between the United Kingdom and European Union officially took effect. However, research led by Professor Nuno Limão of the Department of Economics shows how years of uncertainty surrounding Brexit has already damaged international trade, and explores what this could mean for the future in a post-Brexit world.
after the Conservative Party won the general election in Britain in May of 2015 until the Brexit referendum passed in June of 2016, signaling the U.K.’s intentions to leave the E.U. They found that as the probability of Brexit increased, the value of traded U.K. goods and services declined significantly. It’s going to take time for firms to learn and adapt to the new rules, meaning the period of uncertainty is far from over.
Image via iStock
The research spans a series of papers and is summarized in a column published by the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Limão and his
co-authors—including Kyle Handley, ECON Ph.D.’11 and Alejandro Graziano, ECON Ph.D. ’20—specifically examined the period
“Economic leaders need to use this as a lesson for future trade negotiations and understand the consequences of so much uncertainty,” Limão said.
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South America Lost 21.6 Soccer Fields of Natural Land Per Minute for 34 Years A NEW STUDY REVEALS that the South American continent lost 20% of its natural ecosystems since 1985—equivalent to 21.6 soccer fields of natural land being degraded or converted by human activity every minute for more than three decades. Brazzaville, Republic of Congo; photo via Getty Images
UMD Researcher Examines Traffic in Poached Wild Meat in Urban Africa THE ILLEGAL TRAFFIC OF POACHED, wild meat into some cities in Africa is more dynamic than previously understood, according to Department of Geographical Sciences-led research that gives new insight into a practice that harms wildlife populations while risking virus transmission from animals to humans that can set off disease outbreaks.
Researchers in the Global Land Use and Discovery laboratory completed a comprehensive analysis of satellite data between 1985 and 2018 to examine the human impact on natural land across South America. Results published in April in Science Advances show a substantial expansion of pastures, croplands, and tree plantations (increasing by 23%, 160%, and 288% respectively), enabling the transformation of the continent into a global center of agricultural commodity production.
The study, published in April in Global Ecology and Conservation, categorizes traffickers and sellers of illegal wild meat in two of Central Africa’s growing urban centers, the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe Noire in Republic of the Congo. Associate Professor Meredith Gore and colleagues at the Wildlife Conservation Society used crime science methods to identify different types of sellers and traffickers involved in trading illegal wild meat from endangered species such as pangolins, great apes and dwarf crocodiles in the two cities. “Our research shows some of the ways illegal wildlife trade touches cities. It also provides a new tool to help develop effective solutions to combating the practice, which can be devastating to wildlife and contributes to food insecurity,” Gore said. Wild meat is a dietary staple in many rural areas of Africa and can be traded legally. However, the practice becomes illegal when it involves species protected by law or when animals are taken from protected areas or trafficked across borders. The trade in illegal wild meat can present new biosecurity risks, creating new transmission routes for pathogens, particularly from meat that has been mishandled or undercooked. Disease outbreaks and even pandemics are thought to have originated from handling or eating wildlife. In earlier research, Gore and colleagues proposed ways to increase surveillance, biosafety and security efforts to head off outbreaks related to the illegal trade before they occur.
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Soybean field in Bolivia; image courtesy of GLAD Lab
Researchers also discovered approximately 136 million acres of land had been altered from their natural state, yet did not have any discernable use—a significant loss of ecosystem services without any economic benefits. “These events are the most recent manifestation of an ongoing transformation of South America’s ecosystems, the unprecedented scale of which we present in our paper,” said Viviana Zalles, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Geographical Sciences who was the lead author on the study.
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Virtual Feller Lecture Featured Congressman Swalwell, Professor Rouse REP. ERIC SWALWELL, GVPT ’03, (D-CALIF. 15) engaged in a timely political discussion with Professor Stella Rouse for the virtual Feller Lecture in March.The moderator was noted journalist Mike Viqueira, GVPT ’86, the Washington bureau chief of NewsNation.
Rouse, who also serves as director of UMD’s Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement, offered insight into voter behavior and sociopolitical priorities among Millennials. Swalwell has stayed connected with his alma mater, serving on the BSOS Board of Visitors, and also serving as the college’s winter commencement speaker in 2018.
Nearly 200 online guests joined this signature college event, which also featured welcoming remarks from President Darryll J. Pines and Dean Greg Ball. Swalwell spoke on a wide range of topics, including his views on gun laws and on student loan debt, and his service as an impeachment manager in the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump.
Congressman Eric Swalwell
When responding to a question submitted by a student regarding advice on running for office, Swalwell replied, “Don’t seek an office. Seek out issues, and you’ll find the office.”
The Feller Lecture was established by a generous donation from alumni Joel J. Feller, GVPT ’90, and Kim A. Feller, ’89, longtime supporters of the University of Maryland and of BSOS. T he first Feller Lecture was held in 2018 and featured Chuck Todd, moderator of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and V iqueira.
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BSOS Online Watch the 2021 Feller Lecture: go.umd.edu/fellerlecturevideo
Poll Revealed Doubt over Safety of Live Sporting Events in Spring
events this spring, they should be required to wear masks—but those results were split along political party lines.
IN THE EARLY SPRING, 42% of Americans said they would be comfortable attending a sporting event in person, and a strong majority (69%) didn’t expect sports to safely return to full fan attendance until mid-fall or later, according to a Washington Post–University of Maryland Poll.
for Sports Journalism in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
The poll, fielded online March 12-18 among a random national sample of 1,500 adults, reflects a new collaboration between The Post and two UMD centers—the Center for Democracy and Civic Engagement (CDCE) in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, and the Shirley Povich Center
Poll results also showed that 40% of Americans who have been to live sporting events since 2018 missed attending them “a lot,” while another 47% missed going “a little,” and 14% didn’t miss going at all. Meanwhile, 76% of all respondents said if sports leagues allowed fans to attend
Photo by AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
“Nearly all Democrats and Democraticleaning independents (96%) supported a mask requirement for attendees at sporting events, while just over 52% of Republicans and Republican leaners did so,” said Professor Mike Hanmer of the Department of Government and Politics. Hanmer serves as co-director of the poll and as CDCE’s research director. “The results make it clear that one cannot look to sports for an escape from partisanship.”
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BSOS Online Read more at go.umd.edu/sportspoll21
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Image via iStock
Rao Family Expands Support to HESP
Facial Cues Help Toddlers with Autism Better Comprehend Speech in Noise, Research Shows
LONGTIME SUPPORTERS of the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences Paul Rao, HESP Ph.D. ’85, and Martina Rao added a new gift of $50,000 to a fund they had previously established. Their generosity provides additional funding to an outstanding graduate student in the department each year. Their foundational gift, the Paul and Martina Rao Graduate Student Fellowship for Hearing and Speech Sciences, supports an annual award for speech-language pathology graduate students. Dr. Rao has served as a visiting professor in the department, and is a past member of the BSOS Board of Visitors and a past chair of the HESP Advisory Board.
RESEARCH FROM THE Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences finds that paying close attention to faces may help toddlers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) better hear and understand speech in noisy environments. Researchers compared the abilities of children aged 2 to 5, with and without ASD, to understand speech both in quiet and in the presence of background noise. In findings published in the Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, all of the children had more difficulty in the noisy scenario, but toddlers with ASD were less able to use visual cues such as facial expressions and lip-reading to help them understand. However, those children with autism who spent more time looking at speakers’ faces appeared to struggle less with the background noise. “The ability to understand speech amidst noise is critical for success and learning,” said lead author Professor Rochelle Newman, chair of the department. “Our results point to potential future interventions for children with autism who are having difficulty with this skill.” In the study, children observed two objects displayed on a screen and were prompted verbally to look at one of the objects. Researchers introduced a person talking at a low volume to assess the toddlers’ ability to deal with background noise, and then showed a video of a person’s face delivering the instructions to examine whether this affected comprehension. “While previous studies have found that adults and adolescents with autism have particular difficulty with noise, ours is the first to test this in young children,” Newman said.
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Paul and Martina Rao
Dr. Rao said the original gift was made to memorialize a friend and colleague, Dr. Carol Frattali, a visiting HESP professor. “Carol died too young at 50, and was a true icon in quality and in outcomes in our field,” Dr. Rao said. When discussing the conclusion of that gift, Mrs. Rao wanted to make another gift, both to strengthen the department and to continue to honor Frattali. “The greatest cause we have been involved in during our lives is supporting gifted HESP students,” Mrs. Rao said. “I may not be a Terp, but we love the department.” The college and the department wish to not only thank the Raos for their generosity, but to affirm that Mrs. Rao is, indeed, a Terp for life.
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Partha Lahiri Appointed as New Director of JPSM DR. PARTHA LAHIRI was appointed as the new director of the Joint Program in Survey Methodology (JPSM). Lahiri is a professor in both JPSM and in the Department of Mathematics in the College of Computer, Mathematical and Natural Sciences. He also is an adjunct research professor at the Institute of Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. “Surveys and data science are playing key roles in a number of important global topics, from tracking the COVID pandemic to understanding voter behavior. We are fortunate to have Dr. Lahiri—who is known for his interdisciplinary efforts— leading JPSM at this critical time,” Dean Greg Ball said. Before coming to Maryland, Lahiri was the Milton Mohr Distinguished Professor of Statistics at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His research interests include big data, Bayesian statistics, record linkage, and small-area estimation. Lahiri has served on a number of advisory committees, including the U.S. Census Advisory committee and U.S. National Academy panel. Over the years, Lahiri advised various local and international organizations such as the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank, and the Gallup Organization. He is a Fellow of the American Statistical Association and of the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, and is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute.
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Yan Li Named as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association THE BSOS COMMUNITY congratulates Professor Yan Li, who was elected as a Fellow of the American Statistical Association. To be selected, nominees must have an established reputation and have made outstanding contributions to statistical science. Li holds joint positions in JPSM and in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health. “Working with caring and supporting colleagues plays a critical role in this election,” Li said. “Making contributions to the advancement of survey statistics and biostatistics through fruitful collaborations will continue to be my future endeavors.” Li has received numerous grants and contracts, including three sole-source contracts from the National Institutes of Health for her research on health disparities and improving external validity of epidemiologic cohort analyses, as well as grants for her work in developing advanced survey analysis methods to study gene-environment interaction on human diseases. Her recent consultation activities with National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) resulted in multiple papers and software packages. Two of these projects estimate important health data. The first measures the U.S. asthma prevalence using the NCHS’s Research and Development Survey—a probability panel survey with potential selection bias. The second estimates the seropositivity prevalence to the SARS-CoV-2 virus antibody among the target population of adults age 18 and over living in the United States who had never been diagnosed, using a web quota sample.
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Students, Faculty Strengthen Pathways to Advanced Degrees through PREP THE PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM (PREP) creates pathways from the first year of the undergraduate experience all the way through graduation— with the ultimate goal of earning an advanced degree—for students who benefit from focused guidance.
In its first four years, PREP has seen promising outcomes. These include: early involvement in research projects; increased knowledge of and participation in the department; increased networking with peers, faculty and advisors; professional development skills; and increased knowledge about graduate programs and applications. PREP graduate Michelle Penka, PSYC B.S. ’20, is exploring options to pursue a master’s degree in social work.
PREP students visited American Psychological Association offices in Washington, D.C., in 2019.
PREP students include those who are the first in their families to attend college, or who are from low-income backgrounds, or are members of groups that are underrepresented in psychology graduate and doctoral programs. The program was founded and is directed by Dr. Nazish Salahuddin, who also serves as the director of undergraduate studies and as assistant chair for equity and inclusion in the Department of Psychology. “A closer look at the experiences of our undergraduate students revealed that Black and Latinx students were less likely be included in important co-curricular experiences, such as research assistantships, which are important for those who intend to pursue graduate study,” Salahuddin said. “PREP was created to promote equity in involvement in research and mentoring experiences, knowledge about graduate education, and access to professional networks that aid in pursuing graduate education.” PREP students participate in a comprehensive four-year program that begins with research participation in the first year, and culminates with assistance with graduate school applications during senior year. One-credit classes such as PREP for Research and PREP for Graduate School anchor the program.
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“PREP is one of the best decisions I made in my undergraduate career,” Penka said. “Having a mentor has helped me to gain research assistantships, prepare for interviews, provide clarity for my career aspirations, given me access to different opportunities, and ultimately provided me with a sense of comfort as I went through undergrad.”
Whitney Clarke is a junior pursuing a B.A. in psychology, a certificate in women’s studies, and a minor in Black women’s studies. Navigating the challenges of college life has not always been easy, but she said that PREP has helped her gain tools and experience to succeed. “In a field as large and diverse as psychology, PREP makes that pool just a bit smaller, and is composed of people who look like me and understand the struggles it has taken to get here. I have felt so heard and seen in this program,” Clarke said. “But overall, I am given tools that I do not know where I could have gotten elsewhere, including opportunities to prepare for graduate school, mentors who care about me, peers who are working towards a similar goal, and the opportunity to make a difference in the department and in my community.”
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Alumni are encouraged to contact Dr. Salahuddin at nsalah@umd.edu to learn more about volunteer opportunities with PREP.
BSOS Online Learn more and give to PREP at go.umd.edu/supportPREP
Sonalde Desai Elected as President of the Population Association of America PROFESSOR SONALDE DESAI of the Department of Sociology was elected as president of the Population Association of America (PAA), an interdisciplinary group of demographers that promotes high-quality research. “At a time when public policies need more and better data than ever before, data collection systems are under tremendous strain due to the pandemic,” Desai said. “My focus as PAA president will be to ensure that voices of demographers play an important role in strengthening data collection systems around the globe.” Desai concentrates on social inequalities in developing countries, with a particular focus on gender and class inequalities. She studies inequalities in education, employment and maternal and child health outcomes by locating them within the political economy of the region. While much of her research focuses on South Asia, she has also engaged in comparative studies across Asia, Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. With Professor Feinian Chen, and in collaboration with the National Council of Applied Economic Research in New
While Pursuing Ph.D., Alumna Became Mayor of Berwyn Heights DURING THE LAST YEAR of pursuing her doctorate, Amanda Dewey, SOCY Ph.D. ’21, successfully ran for mayor of Berwyn Heights, Md. Dewey is also now a senior research analyst in local policy at the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy. “The Berwyn Heights election system is a single race for council, with the top vote-getter becoming mayor. I decided to run because I wanted to continue to serve my community,” Dewey said. “From a policy perspective, my platform focused on engaging in our region and county through local partnerships, educational advocacy, sustainability, and pedestrian and cyclist safety.”
Delhi, Desai is engaged in carrying out a panel study of more than 40,000 households across India during a period of 20 years. This India Human Development Survey provides a rich resource for research on the relationship between poverty, gender inequality and public policy, as well as on different dimensions of human development during a period of rapid social change. Since the onset of the pandemic, Desai and her colleagues have conducted four telephone surveys to provide real-time data supporting public policy formulation to address this crisis. “This is a well-deserved honor,” said Professor Jeff Lucas, chair of the department. “In addition to recognizing Sonalde’s stature in the field, it reflects our department’s continued prominence in demography. Sonalde joins distinguished past faculty members Harriet Presser and Suzanne Bianchi in serving as president of the PAA.”
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Just a few months into her term, Dewey said that the town of about 3,000 residents is focused on many of the same challenges facing the nation: getting citizens access to COVID-19 vaccines; connecting residents who have felt isolated during the pandemic; sustainability and environmental concerns; and issues related to social justice. Initiatives that Dewey has promoted include a Walkable Bikeable Berwyn Heights Task Force, and completing a new raised crosswalk protecting cyclists and pedestrians near Lake Artemesia. “Berwyn Heights is strategically deciding how to utilize the relief support we will receive from the American Rescue Plan. We believe that this funding presents a transformational opportunity for our community,” Dewey said. “Especially as we come closer to being able to gather in person, we continue to pursue opportunities to engage all members of our community and make sure that our committees, opportunities, and events represent the full racial, ethnic, and age diversity of Berwyn Heights.”
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UPDATES FROM CENTERS AND MORE
Providing Better Tools for Better Overdose Outcomes
CESAR: Addressing Substance Abuse for 30 Years
THE CENTER FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE RESEARCH (CESAR) won a competitive award from the Office of National Drug Control Policy to expand the innovative Emergency Department Drug Surveillance (EDDS) program. EDDS has proven to be effective in identifying substances used by patients and in providing guidance for local testing programs. Hospitals provide selected de-identified electronic health record information The University of Maryland Medical Center was a pilot to CESAR each Emergency Department Drug Surveillance program site. quarter. EDDS also Photo credit: University of Maryland Medical System. offers each hospital one-time free testing of up to 150 de-identified urine specimens for 490 drugs. “We’re helping hospitals to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the drugs recently used by patients, update routine testing protocols, and analyze how COVID-19 has affected drugrelated emergency department visits,” said CESAR Director Eric Wish, the project’s Principal Investigator. MPower funding was used to initiate EDDS in seven Maryland hospitals. That pilot project revealed that fentanyl was being missed by the drug screen at several Baltimore hospitals, and subsequently resulted in the addition of fentanyl to their routine drug testing panel. This new funding will enable CESAR to expand EDDS to five hospitals outside of Maryland. The additional sites were selected this spring. Results are expected later this summer, and will be released on a CESAR-operated website and data dashboard.
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BSOS Online Read more at go.umd.edu/EDDS
26 | College of Behavioral and Social Sciences: Be the Solution
THIS ACADEMIC YEAR marks the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Center for Substance Abuse Research (CESAR). CESAR was launched in the wake of the death of Terp basketball legend Len Bias by the Departments of Psychology, Criminology and Criminal Justice, and what is now the School of Public Health, with support from the state of Maryland. Led by Director Eric Wish, CESAR investigates the problems substance use and misuse create for individuals, families, and communities. CESAR informs policymakers, practitioners, and the general public about substance use and misuse. CESAR has enabled Maryland and other states to be proactive by spotting drug trends, alerting the public, training students, and launching cost-effective responses. CESAR was on the forefront of examining heroin problems in the 1990s, ecstasy and other club drugs in the early 2000s, and novel psychoactive substances and methamphetamine in the past decade. Today, CESAR is Dr. Eric Wish focused on developing the use of expanded urinalyses in high-risk populations to detect fentanyl and emerging drugs. “Our mission is to shed light on what is new and unknown. We help professionals on the front lines to better understand what substances are out there, and what can be done to prevent overdoses and fatalities,” Wish said. “We especially focus on the rapid dissemination of information useful to practitioners and policymakers.”
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BSOS Online Learn more at cesar.umd.edu
PEACE CHAIRS NEWS
Bahá’í Chair Brings Communities Together to Promote Social Justice THE BAHÁ’Í CHAIR for World Peace and its incumbent, Professor Hoda Mahmoudi, have fostered dialogue on equality, social justice, and multicultural understanding this academic year.
Elizabeth Johnson, founder of both the Urban Ocean Lab and of the Ocean Collectiv. “Though the pandemic has prevented us from gathering in person, we are thrilled that audiences around the world have attended our virtual conversations about so many important topics,” Mahmoudi said. “We are determined to address the most pressing issues of our times in research-focused, multidisciplinary ways.”
The Chair’s series of virtual events included: “Anti-Asian Violence in Context: Historical Roots and Contemporary Connections” with Professor Janelle Wong of the Department of Government and Politics; “Decoloniality, Ontology and the Structure of Racism” with Professor Everisto Benyera of the University of South Africa; and “Reactionary Democracy in the United States: How Racism and the Populist Far Right Became Mainstream,” with Dr. Aurelien Mondon of the Professor Hoda University of Bath and Dr. Aaron Winter of the Mahmoudi University of East London. The Bahá’í Chair Annual Lecture, “A Conversation on Climate Science, Policy, and Justice,” was delivered by Dr. Ayana
Mahmoudi also serves as the co-chair of the Research and Events Subcommittee of the new BSOS AntiBlack Racism Initiative (see story page 2). In that role, she seeks to break down silos, and to connect and amplify related efforts across campus and in the College Park community.
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BSOS Online Watch online events and learn more at bahaichair.umd.edu
Sadat Chair Highlights Timely International Issues WHILE AUDIENCES WERE not able to gather on campus for signature events held by the Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development, hundreds attended virtual events moderated by the Chair’s incumbent, Professor Shibley Telhami. In October, the Sadat Forum featured a conversation with Dr. Fiona Hill, the Robert Bosch senior fellow in the Center on the United States and Europe in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings, on “Russian Interference in U.S. Elections, the Trump White House, and Looking Ahead Past November.” Hill discussed how dynamics such as foreign policy concerns and partisanship impact voter behavior.
Sadat Chair and the Department of Art. This year’s theme was Black Lives Matter. Seventeen students submitted works, in both 2D and 3D categories. Winners were selected by a distinguished committee of judges.
“Intolerable” by Daniel Merkowitz-Bustos, ’21, won first prize in the 3D category of the Sadat Art for Peace Competition. Telhami also moderated a conversation with Suzanne Maloney of Brookings; Professor Vali Nasr of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; and Barbara Slavin, director of the Future of Iran Initiative at the Atlantic Council, on “Biden and the Iran Nuclear Deal: Options and Consequences” at the Sadat Forum in March. The annual Sadat Art for Peace Competition was held in the spring by the
“After students reflected on Black Lives Matter, the resulting art and descriptions— especially the winning pieces—enhance our public conversation about compelling questions of our time,” Telhami said. View the winning entries at umdartstudio.space/sadat.
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BSOS Online Watch the Sadat Forum with Dr. Fiona Hill at go.umd.edu/sadatforumhill Watch the Sadat Forum: Biden and the Iran Nuclear Deal at go.umd.edu/sadatforummarch21
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ALUMNI AND GIVING NEWS
Take a Virtual Tour of the Feller Center for Advising and Career Services STUDENTS IN THE COLLEGE OF BEHAVIORAL AND SOCIAL SCIENCES now have a new campus home for planning their futures, following a major renovation of its former career center. The Feller Center for Advising and Career Services is our co-located hub for academic advising and career planning services.
John T. Consoli/University of Maryland
Alumni Invest in Our Future Through Maryland Promise Scholarships THE MARYLAND PROMISE SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM provides supportive educational and financial opportunities to undergraduate students from the state of Maryland and from Washington, D.C. who exhibit strong academic and leadership potential. Generous BSOS alumni and donors have supported the program through three new scholarships. n The Feldman Family Maryland Promise Scholarship was established in February by Gregory M. Feldman, ’90 and Elizabeth H. Feldman, ’89. The scholarship provides annual support to a BSOS student. n The Barbara S. Marion Maryland Promise Scholarship was
established in December 2020 by Lisa Marion Mandell and Paul Mandell, GVPT ’95 to honor Mrs. Mandell’s mother. The scholarship provides annual support to a BSOS student. n The Joanne Mandell and Jared Mandell Maryland Promise
Scholarship was established in February by the Mandells to honor Mr. Mandell’s mother and father. The scholarship provides annual support to a student in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Mr. Mandell serves as chair of UMD’s Board of Trustees, and is a past chair and current member of the BSOS Board of Visitors. Mr. Feldman is a new member of the Board of Visitors. The college sincerely thanks the Mandells and the Feldmans for their continued loyalty, support and guidance.
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While BSOS students already work closely with academic advisers, experiential learning experts and career advising staff, Dean Gregory Ball and Associate Dean Katherine Russell saw the need to expand and better integrate career services for BSOS students with existing academic experiences and advising. “Over the past few years, we’ve moved from the attitude that these activities outside of the classrooms—internships, workshops, research projects—are optional, useful things to do, and have instead adopted the attitude that these experiences are actually an essential part of a broad education,” Ball said. “This means that we need to ensure that we are making these opportunities available for all students.” The beautifully renovated space on the second floor of Tydings Hall was made possible by a $4 million gift from Joel J. Feller, GVPT ’90 and Kim A. Feller ’89—the single largest donation in the college’s history.
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BSOS Online Watch the virtual tour of the Feller Center at go.umd.edu/fellertour Learn more at fellercenter.umd.edu
ALUMNI AND GIVING NEWS
BSOS Board of Visitors Welcomes New Chair, Vice Chair Additional Members, BSOS Board of Visitors
THE COLLEGE IS PROUD TO ANNOUNCE that Dr. Katherine Pedro Beardsley, a former BSOS associate dean for undergraduate studies, will serve as the new chair of the BSOS Board of Visitors (BOV). Gary L. Rozier, ECON ’99, will serve as vice chair. The BOV advises the dean and other college leadership on a broad range of topics, and also serves the student and alumni communities.
DR. CLIFFORD W. BASSETT, M.D., B.S. PSYC ’80 Medical Director, Allergy and Asthma Care of New York STEVEN T. BEGLEITER, B.A. CCJS ’92 President and CEO, KBL Group International GREG FELDMAN, B.A. GVPT ’90 President, Three Wire Systems
BOV Chair Katherine Pedro Beardsley
“Many faculty, students and alumni have spoken very highly to me about Katherine and Gary’s leadership,” said Dean Gregory Ball. “I appreciate their experience and counsel, and am grateful for their service in these new roles.” Beardsley has been a member of the board for many years. With her husband, Robert Beardsley, she has supported BSOS through a number of significant gifts and scholarships. Rozier—who serves as managing director of Oak Street Real Estate Capital, LLC—is an active and engaged alumnus and donor, who has established a namesake Professional Experience Endowment Fund, as well as a namesake Professional Experience CurrentUse Fund. He is also a member of the Economics Leadership Council.
FELECIA LOVE GREER, B.A. PSYC ’79 Vice President, Large Customer Strategic Solutions and Customer Advocacy, Pepco Holdings, Inc. MATTHEW J. HAAS, B.A. GVPT ’93 Senior Vice President, Jones Lang LaSalle SORABH MAHESHWARI, B.A. ECON, B.S. FINANCE ’01 Founding Partner, Churchill Real Estate Holdings PAUL S. MANDELL, ESQ., B.A. GVPT ’95 CEO, Consero Group LLC Chair, UMD Board of Trustees MICHAEL MANN, B.A. GVPT ’02 Partner, Sidley Austin LLP SINGLETON B. MCALLISTER, ESQ., B.A. AASD, GVPT ’75 Partner, Husch Blackwell ROY MCGRATH, B.A. ECON, GVPT ’93 State and Federal Government Service JOSEPH H. MELTZER, B.A. GVPT ’93 Founding Partner, Kessler Topaz Meltzer Check, LLP DWAYNE MIDDLETON, B.A. ECON ’90 Global Head of Fixed Income Trading, T. Rowe Price
Vice Chair
At a recent meeting, Ball recognized Gary L. Rozier the many contributions of immediate past chair Steve Cooker, GVPT ’77, who is the executive vice president for Monster Government Solutions. “Steve is a longtime supporter of our college, whose generosity and vision has seen us through an extraordinary period of growth, change and challenging circumstances,” Ball said.
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TODD D. SNYDER, ESQ., CPA, B.A. ECON ’85 Managing Member, SK Research, RCS Capital Corporation THE HON. ERIC R. SWALWELL, B.A. GVPT ’03 U.S. Congressman (D-Calif. 15) JOSEPH TROCINO, B.A. GEOG ’67 Consultant and Lecturer, UMD DR. JINGLI YANG, PH.D. GEOG ’95 Chief Executive Officer, ERT
Office of External Relations 0145 Tydings Hall 7343 Preinkert Dr. University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742
UMD Student Crisis Fund With the continued COVID-19 pandemic, Maryland students have been hard hit by campus and employment disruptions and need help with getting food, housing and basic day-to-day necessities. Since March of 2020, the UMD Student Crisis Fund has distributed more than $2 million to thousands of students. Thank you for your support and consideration! go.umd.edu/crisisfund
Be the Solution is produced annually by the Office of External Relations, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. For more information about this publication, or about alumni engagement and giving opportunities, please contact 301.405.3475 or bsosalumni@umd.edu.
Dr. Gregory F. Ball Dean and Professor, College of Behavioral and Social Sciences
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Kenny Beaver, ’07 Chief Development Officer Jennifer Kilberg Director, Alumni and Donor Relations
Sara Gavin, Journalism ’01 Associate Director, Communications and Media Relations Tom Bacho Associate Director, Creative Services
We gratefully acknowledge the numerous contributions of staff members from Maryland Today and in the Office of Strategic Communications for this publication. Covers and interior pages contain recycled content.
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