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In Brief

UMD Community Invited to Virtual Conversation on the University’s Budget

University of Maryland students, faculty and staff are invited to join President Darryll J. Pines and Vice President for Administration and Finance Carlo Colella tomorrow to learn about and discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the university’s budget. 

Voluntary Registry of Close Contacts, Personal COVID-19 Dashboard Launch

Jeff Hollingsworth, vice president for information technology and chief information officer, sent the following email to the campus community today: We are all adapting to learn and work during the COVID-19 pandemic while striving to keep our community safe and healthy. Today I am pleased to announce new ways that technologies developed by the Division of IT, in consultation with the University Health Center, can help us all stay healthy.

New COVID Tests Required for Students Living On, Near Campus, and All Coming to Campus as of Sept. 14

Dr. Sacred Bodison, interim director of the University Health Center, sent the following message to the campus community today: As we continue the gradual reopening of campus, with the expectation that in-person undergraduate education will begin on Sept. 14, this email provides important updates about testing requirements and your next opportunity for COVID-19 testing on campus.

Athletics Training Suspended After 46 Terps Test Positive for COVID-19

Terps athletics training has been suspended after on-campus COVID-19 screenings by the University Health Center on Monday and Tuesday returned 46 positive results for 501 student-athletes tested, affecting 10 teams, Maryland Athletics announced this evening. The suspension is a precautionary measure pending the results of a screening scheduled for Sept. 8.

University Leaders: Practice Safe Behaviors During Labor Day Weekend

In an email to campus today, University of Maryland President Darryll J. Pines, Vice President for Student Affairs Patty Perillo and Dr. Sacred Bodison, interim director of the University Health Center, said resuming in-person instruction as planned on Sept. 14 could depend on vigilance against COVID-19 during the extended Labor Day holiday weekend.

$2.36M Federal Grant to Support Services for Low-income, First-generation Students

The University of Maryland Academic Achievement Programs has received a $2,355,070 grant from the U.S. Department of Education to fund its counseling and academic services for low-income and first-generation participants. The grant is nearly $80,000 larger than the last award. “We are thrilled—this grant boost means we’ll be able to help more students with underrepresented backgrounds but high academic potential achieve high academic performance,” said Jerry L. Lewis, executive director of Academic Achievement Programs (AAP).

Howard Center Project Investigates Evictions Amid COVID-19

As the arrival of COVID-19 caused millions to lose their jobs and the federal government to enact an eviction moratorium, the University of Maryland’s Howard Center for Investigative Journalism today released a package of stories published in news outlets nationwide examining whether that ban successfully kept people from becoming homeless.

Quantum Technology Center, Naval Research Lab Announce Partnership

The Quantum Technology Center (QTC)—a joint venture between the A. James Clark School of Engineering and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences—today entered into an education partnership agreement with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) to identify and pursue quantum technology research opportunities. The new partnership with NRL is focused on advancing quantum information science for applications relevant to national defense, and will involve exchanges of expertise and samples; collaborations in experimental, theoretical and educational work; mutual research proposals; and the exchange of researchers.

UMD Nominated for Two Unique Venues Awards

The University of Maryland has been nominated in two categories in the 2020 “Best Of” awards competition sponsored by Unique Venues, an organization for event planning. UMD is on the ballot for “Best Venue for Youth Retreats & Camps” and “Best Venue for Weddings.”

NIH Grants to Support Research on Reducing Stigma as a Barrier to Infectious Disease Care

Supported by two recent grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a University of Maryland research team will partner with the South African Medical Research Council to focus on how disease stigma affects tuberculosis (TB) and HIV patients in South Africa, home to the largest number of people living with HIV/AIDS and one of the highest rates of TB globally. The same community health workers deployed to interact with HIV and TB patients are now charged with doing home-based testing for COVID-19, which is prevalent and increasing in South Africa.

Campus Drive Near Metro Station Reopens

A portion of Campus Drive that had closed to make way for the light-rail Purple Line has reopened to vehicle traffic and pedestrians. Campus Drive east of Baltimore Avenue at the underpass near the College Park Metro station closed in April until Aug. 23.

Glass Recycling Returns to UMD

The University of Maryland has launched a new glass recycling collection program, part of a partnership with colleagues at a county facility in Northern Virginia that aims to maximize the value of the material.

Leadership Tips: How to Hold Each Other Accountable ‘4 Maryland’

Vice President for Administration and Finance Carlo Colella, Vice President for Student Affairs Patty Perillo and Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin sent the following email to the campus community today:  We are hearing from students, faculty and staff who want to work together to hold each other accountable for achieving the goal of successfully completing fall semester with in-person instruction and other academic and social experiences.

Walk-in COVID-19 Testing Added at Maryland Stadium; More Dates, Regular Testing Planned

Dr. Sacared Bodison, interim director of the University Health Center, sent the following email to the campus community today: Testing is an essential tool in managing the spread of COVID-19, and as more students, faculty and staff physically return to campus, I wanted to clarify testing expectations for all members of our campus community. All students who are physically returning to campus or the College Park area must have a pre-arrival and post-arrival COVID-19 test.

Office of Student Conduct: ‘Swift Action’ Against Violations of 4 Maryland Guidelines

Andrea Goodwin, director of the Office of Student Conduct, sent the following email to students today: Over the past several weeks you have received a lot of communication from campus about the 4 Maryland Commitment, healthy behaviors and compliance. As a result, I have received many questions about what will happen if students fail to adhere to the 4 Maryland guidelines.

Free Masks to Be Distributed to Students on Campus Three Ways

The University of Maryland is giving away two free face coverings to students as part of its efforts “4 Maryland” to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Pines Warns Against Large Parties, Gatherings as County Positivity Rate Falls

President Darryll J. Pines sent the following email to the campus community today: Over the past week, several prominent academic institutions were forced to pull back from their return-to-campus plans due to outbreaks of COVID-19 and the evolving pandemic. Positive cases on college campuses have been measurably linked to attending large gatherings or house parties.

Center Awarded $300K to Help Small Businesses Amid Pandemic

A federal $300,000 grant has been awarded to the U.S. Economic Development Administration-supported University Center at the University of Maryland, College Park and Morgan State University (UMD-Morgan EDA Center) to help Maryland small businesses respond to the devastating economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Aerospace Engineering Grads Win, Undergrads Take Second at International Rotorcraft Competition

In the 15th century, Leonardo da Vinci envisioned a craft that flew using a single helix-shaped propeller—the aerial screw—viewed by many as the first vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) machine ever designed. In 2020, University of Maryland aerospace engineering graduate students won first place and undergraduates took second place in the Vertical Flight Society’s (VFS) 37th Annual Student Design Competition, which challenged students from across the world to reimagine da Vinci’s design.

UMD Researchers Identify Structure of Blue Whirls

A team of researchers at the University of Maryland and Texas A&M University has identified the structure of “blue whirls,” small, spinning blue flames that produce almost no soot when they burn and are a potential new avenue for low-emission combustion.

Research Activities to Transition to Phase 2

The University of Maryland will transition its on-campus research operations to Phase 2, or “immediate presence,” on Aug. 24, Vice President for Research Laurie E. Locascio wrote in an email to staff and faculty today. Researchers who are able to continue to do their research remotely should do so and not return to campus at this time.

Grant to Fund Higher Ed Reopening Research

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $300,000 grant to University of Maryland researchers to provide decision-making tools to colleges and universities during the coronavirus pandemic and for any similar scenarios in the future. 

COVID-19 Testing Required for All Returning to Campus; Free On-Campus Testing Available

The University of Maryland announced yesterday that all UMD students must take a COVID-19 test after arriving for the fall semester, in addition to the testing required of all students, faculty and staff within 14 days before they come to campus, following University System of Maryland guidance.

Online Workshops to Aid Instructors in Antiracist Work

Three upcoming online workshops from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) and the Teaching and Learning Transformation Center (TLTC) will explore how instructors can incorporate antiracist teaching practices and tackle potentially uncomfortable discussions in a classroom setting.

Res Life Releases Housing Assignments, Move-in Appointments; Extends Cancelation Deadline

The Department of Resident Life will release appointments for moving into residence halls tomorrow, and has extended the deadline for canceling an On-Campus Housing and Dining Agreement for the 2020-21 academic year through noon on Wednesday.

Stamp Student Union Reopens

The Stamp Student Union has reopened, featuring a renovated and expanded University Book Center. Grab a Starbucks coffee, lunch to go or a scoop at the Maryland Dairy. 

Locksley Forms National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches

University of Maryland Head Football Coach Michael Locksley today announced the formation of the National Coalition of Minority Football Coaches (NCMFC), which he founded to remove roadblocks, increase awareness and spur action toward fair and equitable hiring at all levels of football.

Revised 2020 Maryland Football Schedule Released

The Big Ten Conference today released the University of Maryland’s revised 2020 football schedule, which features 10 games against conference opponents, and acknowledged the continued work needed to control the novel coronavirus on campuses and in communities nationwide.

$1.9M NIH Grant to Support Development of New Methods to Create Drugs

The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a five-year, $1.9 million grant to a University of Maryland researcher who is breaking new ground in the effort to synthesize drugs.

No Positive COVID-19 Tests for Student-Athletes, Athletics Staff Members From July 27 Screening

USDA Grant Funds UMD-led Research of Solar Power on Agricultural Land

Agricultural economists at the University of Maryland have been awarded nearly $500,000 by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) to lead a multi-institutional investigation into the legal, economic and policy implications of solar power production on rural or agricultural land.

No Student-Athletes, Athletics Staff Members Test Positive for COVID-19 During July 20 Screening

An on-campus screening of 192 student-athletes and athletics staff members for COVID-19 on July 20 resulted in no positive test results, Maryland Athletics announced today. 

Three-Week Virtual Training Program Offered on Racial Trauma, Accountability, More

A group of Black counseling psychologists and colleagues across the nation, including one from the University of Maryland, has organized three weeks of personal and professional development for academics to learn about racism and practice accountability and collective action.

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