Take Back the Night (4/30)

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, join the Women’s Center and UHS and let’s take back the night on April 30 from 6:30-9 p.m. at the Commons Quad.

Event Details:
6:30 p.m. – Resource Fair and Clothesline Project
7 p.m. – Welcome and Speak-Out
8 p.m. – March through Campus
8:30 p.m. – Musical Performance

The Resource Fair includes the following organizations: FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, Hollaback Baltimore, Turn Around, Domestic Violence Center of Howard County, UHS, WILL, Green Dot and the Relationship Violence Awareness and Prevention Advocates, and the Women’s Center.

For more information about this event, see our Breaking Ground post. For more details or questions, contact the Women’s Center at womens.center@umbc.edu or 410-455-2714.

UMBC Tree Planting and Landscape Tour (4/24)

Help beautify the UMBC campus and learn more about its natural wonder on Wednesday, April 24, with a campus tree planting and walking landscape tour.

Join UMBC’s chapters of Lambda Phi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. for “Tree Planting 101″ from noon to 1 p.m., and a tree planting event from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Both events will take place between Lots 1 and 3, behind the Physics and Public Policy buildings. Be sure to wear clothing appropriate for outdoor work. For questions, contact Dasia Robinson at dasia1@umbc.edu.

A landscape walking tour of campus will also be held on the 24th from 2 to 3 p.m., starting at the doors of the Administration Building. For information, contact Donna Anderson at d_anderson@umbc.edu.

Both events are part of UMBC’s weeklong Ecofest, which runs from April 22-26. For more information, click here.

Internal Controls Education Session (4/24)

The Auditors are Coming! The Auditors are Coming! Are you ready? Recognizing the benefits of internal controls and understanding internal controls is the responsibility of the campus community. We are having a two-hour session to cover the information you need to be prepared in case the auditors come to your area! This session is appropriate for faculty and staff and is highly recommended for new employees and existing employees who would like a refresher course on Internal Controls.

The session will be Wednesday, April 24, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., in the Commons, Room 331.

Register by Tuesday, April 23, at: www.umbc.edu/training (locate the event and click “I can attend.”)

Please contact Sharon Doherty-Ritter in Management Advisory Services at doherty@umbc.edu or ext. 5-1620 for any additional information.

UMBC Graduate Student to Compete In U.S. Chess Championship

The 2013 U.S. Chess Championship has been scheduled for May 2 to 13 at the Chess Club & Scholastic Center of St. Louis (CCSCSL), and UMBC graduate student, Sabina Foisor, has been invited to compete.

Sabina, an international student from Romania and a Women’s Grandmaster, will be competing in her fifth consecutive U.S. Women’s Championship. She recently competed with the U.S. Women’s Team in the World Team Championships held in Astana, Kazakhstan and helped the UMBC Chess Team finish 3rd in the nation at the Final Four of Collegiate Chess the first weekend in April.

Good luck, Sabina!

Take Back the Night (4/30)

In recognition of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, join the Women’s Center and UHS and let’s take back the night! Meet us on the Commons Quad.

Event Details:
6:30 p.m.: Resource Fair and Clothesline Project
7 p.m.: Welcome and Survivor Speak-Out
8 p.m.: March through Campus
8:30 p.m.: Musical Solidarity Performance

The Resource Fair includes the following organizations: FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture, Hollaback Baltimore, Turn Around, Domestic Violence Center of Howard County, UHS, WILL, Green Dot and the Relationship Violence Awareness and Prevention Advocates, and the Women’s Center

Student organizations are invited to create signs for the rally to show their solidarity in ending sexual violence. Individuals and groups can make signs on April 23rd from 11:30am-1pm on the Breezeway or from 11am-1pm in the Women’s Center. All materials will be provided.

For more information about this event, see our post on the BreakingGround blog.

For questions, contact the Women’s Center at 410.455.2714 or womens.center@umbc.edu

Discovering the Leader Within (6/5)

Effective leadership is any organization’s most critical competitive advantage. Knowing “how” to be effective and “being effective” are sometimes two very different things. As Steven Covey says; “To know and not to do, is like not knowing at all.”

By attending Discovering the Leader Within, you will develop a deeper understanding of the Leadership Styles Continuum, discover which style you prefer, and learn how to create action items that enhance your personal leadership development. You will also learn how to:

• Inspire action as a leader
• Apply the necessary leadership style to be effective
• Gain followership
• Use aspects of Kouzes and Posner’s five leadership practices and 10 commitments to stretch your leadership abilities
• Enhance your personal leadership development, motivating you to cultivate and practice your leadership styles

This workshop will be on Wednesday, June 5, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in University Center Room 312. Please register by May 28.

How to Be An Inspirational Leader (5/15)

Inspirational leaders somehow find a way to get more out of their people than would have seemed possible. They get great results while maintaining the engagement and excitement of their team.

Very few people are born with the charismatic leadership abilities that naturally drive those around them to dig deep to achieve their all-out best. But these skills can be learned. When you attend How to Be An Inspirational Leader, a facilitated Webinar, you’ll learn the strategies used by the most inspirational leaders of all time to ignite incredible performance from people, strategies like:

• The secrets of motivation – what works and what doesn’t
• Communicating your vision effectively to encourage buy-in
• Simple motivation strategies that have a big effect on inspiration and morale
• And more!

This workshop will be on Wednesday, May 15, 12:30–3:30 p.m. in ITE Room 456. please register by May 7.

SkillSoft Topic of the Month: Management Essentials

This set of one-hour modules is appropriate for anyone in a supervisory role. The first module will help you understand the essential responsibilities you have when directing others and the practices you should employ in order to meet those responsibilities. Module two will help you identify those tasks which can be handled by others familiar with your work so you can focus on the more time-consuming and demanding responsibilities on your list. Module three introduces best practices for confronting your direct reports about difficult behavior from employees. Module four describes what diversity is, including its benefits and covers how to prepare to manage a diverse team by understanding key diversity issues and setting ground rules. See below for course names and numbers within SkillSoft.

• Directing Others
  Course number: mgmt_15_a01_bs_enus
• Delegating
  Course number: mgmt_15_a02_bs_enus
• Confronting Difficult Employee Behavior 
  Course number: mgmt_15_a04_bs_enus
• Managing a Diverse Team
  Course number: mgmt_15_a05_bs_enus

Visit UMBC SkillSoft for a Quick Start Guide, FAQ’s and a link to the SkillPort log-in.

Get more information about SkillSoft and the Business Exploration Series courseware.

To schedule a department presentation about using SkillSoft for professional development, call ext. 5-6262 or e-mail hrtraining@umbc.edu.

National Volunteer Week: Join Us for Food, Fun and a Celebration of Service

Join us April 21-29 in a celebration of service! National Volunteer Week is a week-long series of events honoring the dedication and motivation of service and civic engagement involvement. Some upcoming events include:

Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon
Thursday, April 25, 12-1 p.m. in UC312
Join us for some food and conversation! We want to thank you for your involvement in service and community engagement over the past year. You all have dedicated yourselves to taking action in your respective communities and we want to continue to celebrate that spirit of service.

Connecting Community Partners Service Fair – RSVP
Friday, April 26, 11:30 a.m to 1:30 p.m. in UC310 and UC312
The Service Fair will be an opportunity for nonprofit and community organizations to come together at UMBC and build relationships with our campus community. Meet more than 30 nonprofits visiting – learn how to get involved in service and journey to a world of service possibilities. Network with community partners and get your personalized ‘service passport’ stamped for a chance to win prizes. You may be interested in this event if you are considering:

• Engaging in individual service
• Building a service component into a course
• Diversifying opportunities for course components
• Inviting speakers to your class
• Exploring post-UMBC careers at nonprofit organizations
• Connecting your respective community with service opportunities (e.g., student org., affinity group, department)
• Working together to build a social change experience through a residential setting

If you have any questions, please contact Kayla Keelan, Office of Student Life, at kaykee1@umbc.edu.

Prescription Drug Take Back (4/26; 4/27)

More than 7 million Americans currently abuse prescription drugs. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including the home medicine cabinet.

UMBC will be hosting a campus drug take back for the community to provide a venue for persons who want to safely dispose of unwanted, expired or unused prescription drugs.

Collection dates will be:

• Friday, April 26 , 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Commons Main Street
• Saturday, April 27, 8 a.m.  to 4 p.m. at the UMBC Campus Police Station

If you would like to find a drop-off location closer to your place of residence, visit the Drug Enforcement Agency’s website. Please contact Mickey Arora, UHS Health Education Coordinator, for more information about this initiative at parora@umbc.edu or 410-455-3752.