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UMD Names First Associate Provost for Community Engagement

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UMD Names First Associate Provost for Community Engagement


The University of Maryland on Thursday named a University of Minnesota Twin Cities researcher and professor as its inaugural associate provost for community engagement, effective Aug. 1.

Tania D. Mitchell will lead UMD’s new Center for Community Engagement, guide the development of a vision and mission for the center’s work, and collaborate with campus partners to expand and support community engaged research, teaching, learning and service activities. She will also oversee the coordination of campuswide community engagement efforts—elevating existing partnerships and creating new programs and initiatives.

“An internationally recognized scholar committed to diversity and inclusivity, Dr. Mitchell brings decades of experience that is essential to developing collaborative relationships with communities,” said UMD Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice. “I am confident that her leadership will cultivate mutually beneficial community partnerships that support our strategic vision to advance the public good through impactful teaching, research and service activities. This mission-critical work will help prepare students to be civic leaders that serve communities across our state and nation and around the globe.”

At Minnesota, Mitchell serves as professor and chair of the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, and is the Rodney Wallace Professor for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning. Her scholarship and teaching focus on fostering students’ leadership capacity for social change and social justice; and the pedagogy, philosophy and practice of service-learning and community engagement in higher education.

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“I am excited by the opportunity this position offers to align my education and professional work while also supporting the University of Maryland in building, strengthening and advancing community-engaged teaching, participatory and community-centered research, partnership development, and other community-facing efforts,” said Mitchell.

As associate provost, she will work to integrate service learning and civic engagement into courses and academic programs, and expand our impact through research partnerships with local, state, national and global stakeholders. To support these goals, the existing Office of Community Engagement will join the center and continue to work with the campus community and surrounding neighborhoods to create mutually collaborative educational, business, government and community partnerships.

With professional experience in admissions, student activities, residential life and academic affairs, Mitchell is a scholar and practitioner who has taught at Stanford University, Mills College, California State University Monterey Bay and the University of Massachusetts. She has been recognized with the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award and the Early Career Research Award by the International Association for Research on Service Learning and Community Engagement and is also an inducted member of the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship, honoring her scholarly contributions.

Mitchell’s scholarship has been published in numerous books and journals, and she is an editor of four books: “Civic Engagement and Community Service at Research Universities: Engaging Undergraduates for Social Justice, Social Change, and Responsible Citizenship,” “Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement,” “Educating for Citizenship and Social Justice: Practices for Community Engagement at Research Universities” and “Black Women and Social Justice Education: Legacies and Lessons.”

She holds a B.A. in political science and communications from Baylor University, an M.S. in higher education and student affairs from Indiana University, and a graduate certificate in feminist studies and an Ed.D. in student development from the University of Massachusetts.

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Maryland

Maryland residents question new paint can fee amid growing costs

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Maryland residents question new paint can fee amid growing costs


A trip to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) left some drivers stunned by higher costs that they say are piling up across the state.

Tony Joshua said he walked away when he saw what it would cost to register his vehicle.

“Sticker shock? (laughs),” he said. “I turned right around and got out of the line. I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have it.”

ALSO READ | Maryland’s new paint fees spark outrage as recycling nonprofit isn’t registered in state

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The cost of registering, titling and inspecting a vehicle in Maryland doubled last year, but the fee increases don’t stop at the MVA. The Maryland legislature has approved more than 300 new fees in the past two years including a tire tax, a tech tax and a vending machine tax.

“It’s just like greed more than anything,” Baltimore resident Clifton Parrot said.

Baltimore resident Sheila Bowling questioned how the additional funding is being used.

“This is the million dollar question. Nobody knows what those fees are doing. Everything is high in the city,” she said.

If I’m dodging potholes, where is the money going?” Joshua asked.

One of the latest fees will be attached to every gallon of paint sold in Maryland and will go to a nonprofit organization that will manage Maryland’s paint recycling program. But FOX45 News has learned that the nonprofit, PaintCare, isn’t registered as a nonprofit in the state of Maryland, even though it’s set to receive a dollar fee for every gallon of paint sold in the state.

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Joshua said the growing costs have him questioning whether he can stay in Maryland.

“It flabbergasts me where the money is going. Sometimes I’m like ‘dude, do I stay here?’” he said.

Bowling said, “This shouldn’t be happening in 2026 this shouldn’t be happening.”

For many Marylanders, the rising fees have strained budgets and morale, with some saying they can no longer afford the increasing price of driving.

“I’m just at my wits end about it. I’m like when do we, the taxpayers get a break?” Joshua asked.

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Deadly motorcycle crash closes busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Montgomery Co. – WTOP News

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Deadly motorcycle crash closes busy stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Montgomery Co. – WTOP News


A deadly crash involving a motorcycle shut down a stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday.

A deadly crash involving a motorcycle shut down a stretch of Connecticut Avenue in Chevy Chase, Maryland, early Tuesday.

Montgomery County police said officers responded around 6:15 a.m. to a report of a crash involving a car and a motorcycle at Manor Road and Connecticut Avenue.

A motorcyclist was found in serious condition. Police said the man died at the scene.

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A woman driving the car was hospitalized with minor injuries.

Connecticut Avenue is closed in both directions between Jones Bridge Road and Manor Road as police investigate the collision.

The crash is the latest in a series of deadly motorcycle incidents across Maryland, including a deadly hit-and-run in Charles County that left one man dead Saturday.

A map of the area is below.

CLICK MAP FOR THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS FROM THE WTOP TRAFFIC CENTER: Map shows closure of Connecticut Avenue in both directions, south of Interstate 495 in Chevy Chase, Md.

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Maryland House passes bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults

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Maryland House passes bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults


Maryland lawmakers have approved a bill that would end the automatic charging of certain juveniles as adults and is now on its way to the governor’s office for review.

The Youth Charging Reform Act passed the House of Delegates on Monday after clearing the Senate last week. The bill aims to end the automatic charging of 16- and 17-year-olds as adults for certain drug, assault, and gun offenses.

ALSO READ | Bill to end automatic charging of some juveniles as adults inches closer to passage

The bill drew significant opposition from several top prosecutors in Maryland, including Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates, Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Tara Jackson, Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy, and Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney Anne Colt Leitess.

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For months, they’ve warned that the change could weaken accountability and pose public safety risks.

“DJS is not equipped to deal with these increased violent offenders, and the legislature should defer the implementation of this bill until the programs are in place,” McCarthy said.

Maryland sheriffs also joined the pushback, including Carroll County Sheriff Jim Dewees, who previously said, “This is not a smart move, by any means, I don’t like it because, and I think by and large, law enforcement doesn’t like it, because we don’t have a whole lot of trust in the juvenile court system and the DJS system.”

ALSO READ | FOX45 sends video of prosecutors’ concerns to lawmakers backing juvenile justice bill

Supporters of the bill argued that most cases end up in the juvenile system regardless, and therefore, it makes sense to start them in the Department of Juvenile Services.

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“They’re already ingesting that work anyway; they’re already doing that workload anyway,” Sen. Will Smith, lead sponsor of the legislation, previously told FOX45 News. “We’re just wasting time and money by sending them to the adult system first.”

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The bill now awaits at Gov. Wes Moore’s desk for a final decision.



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