Catalyst Magazine

Book Roundup: UMB Works Include How the Pandemic and Racial Unrest Built Resilient Universities

‘The Resilient University’

“The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Student Success

Peter H. Henderson, PhD, MPP, senior policy advisor to the president, University of Maryland, Baltimore, with authors Freeman A. Hrabowski III, PhD, MA, retired president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMBC); Lynne C. Schaefer, MBA, retired UMBC vice president for administration and finance; and Philip J. Rous, PhD, retired UMBC provost. “The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Student Success (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024).  

University leaders’ empowering approach to resiliency was tested by the dual crises of the COVID-19 pandemic and racial unrest. In 2020, some higher education leaders successfully navigated the unprecedented challenges the year presented and emerged as resilient agents of change in their academic communities. Freeman A. Hrabowski III was one of many leaders who followed the science during the pandemic and followed his heart in the fight for racial justice, even though the science was often playing catch-up with the virus, and colleges were playing catch-up on the history of race in our country. This precarious position often left higher education leaders in the disquieting position of making decisions with only partial or changing information. Drawing from lessons learned in real scenarios, the authors provide practical recommendations for empowering colleagues, cultivating resilience and courage, and sustaining purpose and inclusion within institutions. Building on Hrabowski’s previous book “The Empowered University,” “The Resilient University” offers university leaders invaluable insight into how the qualities of openness, resilience, courage, passion, and hope can be harnessed in times of crisis to guide their institutions to thrive. 

‘Placebo Effects’

Cover of Placebo effects

Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, MS, MPower Professor and director, Placebo Beyond Opinions Center, University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON); Jason Noel, PharmD, MPA, BCPP, associate professor, Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy (UMSOP); Patricia D. Franklin, PhD, RN, retired assistant professor and retired director, Office of Professional Education, UMSON; and Chamindi Seneviratne, MD, adjunct assistant professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, editors. “Placebo Effects: Through the Lens of Translational Research (Oxford University Press, 2023). 

This Open Access book integrates current knowledge on placebo research in health care to develop comprehensive and adequate strategies for better symptom management and treatment responses. This edited collection features the work of experts in placebo studies, including women, people of color, and international scholars, helping to diversify the existing scholarship in the field. It presents the latest research findings while also considering theoretical aspects of placebo. Together, the chapters in this volume help bridge the gulf between research and ideas in placebo studies and their day-to-day application in clinical practice to improve health care and health outcomes. 

‘Parliamentary America’

Cover of Parliamentary America

Maxwell L. Stearns, JD, Venable, Baetjer & Howard Professor of Law, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. “Parliamentary America: The Least Radical Means of Radically Repairing Our Broken Democracy” (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2024). 

Can a parliamentary democracy end America’s constitutional crisis? Americans face increasingly stark choices each presidential election and a growing sense that our government can’t solve the nation’s most urgent challenges. Our 18th-century system is ill-suited to our 21st-century world. Information-age technology has undermined our capacity to face common problems together and turned our democracy upside down, with gerrymanders letting representatives choose voters rather than voters choosing them. In “Parliamentary America,” Stearns argues that the solution to these complex problems is a parliamentary democracy. Stearns considers such leading alternatives as ranked choice voting, the national popular vote, and congressional term limits, showing why these can’t solve our constitutional crisis. Instead, three amendments — expanding the House of Representatives, having House party coalitions choose the president, and letting the House end a failing presidency based on no confidence — would produce a robust multiparty democracy. These amendments hold an essential advantage over other proposals: By leaving every member of the House and Senate as incumbents in their districts or states, the amendments provide a pressure-release valve against reforms threatening that status. 

‘LAI Pocket Guide’

Cover of LAI Pocket Guide Psychotropic Long-Acting Injectables

Megan Ehret, PharmD, MS, BCPP, professor, Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research, and co-director, Mental Health Program, UMSOP. “LAI Resources: Pocket Guide, Videos, Administrative Toolkit” (American Association of Psychiatric Pharmacists, 2023). 

The pocket guide is a resource that pharmacists and other members of a health care team can easily access in practice to quickly locate key information on each of the available psychotropic long-acting injectables (LAIs). This information includes indications, formulations, pharmacokinetics, dosing, management of missed doses, how supplied, storage, and clinical pearls on preparation and administration. The pocket guide also contains QR codes and links to videos and additional information on product preparation and administration.  

‘Recovery Cartoons’

Cover of Recovery Cartoons: The 12 Steps

Benjamin Canha, PhD ’20, RN, assistant professor, Universities at Shady Grove, UMSON. “Recovery Cartoons: The 12 Steps.(Amazon Global Publishing, 2024). 

The book takes a creative approach to guide readers through the principles of the 12-step recovery process. Through a series of engaging and relatable cartoons, each step is vividly depicted and explained, making the path to sobriety more accessible and understandable. The book offers a fresh perspective on the transformative journey of recovery, making it a valuable resource for those in recovery and anyone interested in understanding the 12-step program.  

‘Kendall’s Muscles’

The Cover of Kendall's Muscles Testing and Function with Posture and Pain

Vincent Conroy, PT, DScPT, assistant professor, Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science, University of Maryland School of Medicine. “Kendall’s Muscles: Testing and Function with Posture and Pain” (Wolters Kulther, 2023). 

The sixth edition transforms this landmark physical therapy classic to prepare students for unparalleled clinical success in today’s practice. Timeless coverage of manual muscle testing, evaluation, and treatment meets the latest evidence-based practices, engaging imagery, and dynamic digital resources to create a powerful resource students will reference for years to come. It includes updated graphics, charts, tables, photos, and references that “highlight evidence-based best practices,” but maintains classic Kendall pioneering notes. The first edition, published in 1952, set the standard for the profession of physical therapy. 

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Jen Badie

Jen Badie is the assistant director of editorial services in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

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