Hosted every five years by the UMBC Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni (CBLA), the Legends of Excellence Awards Brunch honors the achievements and contributions of faculty and staff who have made a significant impact on the lives of UMBC’s black and Latino students. In the weeks leading up to this year’s event, we’ll be profiling each of this year’s honorees here on our blog. Read on for today’s bio… Simmona Simmons ’74, American studies, started working as a technician at the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery in 1966, the very same year UMBC opened its doors to students across… Continue Reading Legends of Excellence 2017: Simmona Simmons '74, Service and Special Projects Librarian
In partnership with the Career Center and the Office of Alumni Relations, the UMBC Student Alumni Association (SAA) was proud to host the annual Sweeten Up Your Network event on Tuesday, April 11. As one of Career Month’s staple events, Sweeten Up Your Network is open to students and alumni from all majors and years, and is almost entirely planned and executed by a team of SAA members. Because of their amazing efforts, this year we had just under 30 alumni and over 50 students participate! As the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations, I have the honor and privilege of… Continue Reading A Sweet Success: Reflections on Sweeten Up Your Network 2017
With college admissions season kicking into high gear, we got a few on-campus alumni together last week to send personalized notes to students accepted into the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS). Retrievers shared their memories and well wishes with accepted students across Maryland and all around the country. The project caught on off-campus, as well: all told, we had 61 alumni from a variety of CAHSS majors send out over 1,400 postcards to prospective students. We can’t wait to meet the Class of 2021! To learn more about opportunities to get involved as an alum, like us… Continue Reading Postcards from True Grit: CAHSS alumni send their well wishes to admitted students
Diverse. Innovative. Up-and-coming. Those are just three words often used to describe UMBC’s campus and culture. Another word, one that’s no less a part of who we are, is caring. We care about our students’ success, both academically and in their home lives. With initiatives like the Stay Black and Gold Fund, an emergency fund for students whose financial need stands between them and their studies, we’re creating that culture of caring from the ground up. Unlike many scholarship and grant programs on campus, the Stay Black and Gold fund is a student-led initiative. A committee of representatives from the… Continue Reading A Culture of Caring: Student philanthropy takes off with the Stay Black and Gold Fund
If you’ve never heard organ music in person, the first thing that strikes you is the complexity of the sound that comes from within it. At a recent concert showcasing an instrument donated to UMBC by Charles Nicholas, Professor of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, the organ’s power and artistry was on full display for a standing room-only crowd on February 10. “I was blown away, for one thing,” said Nicholas, following the recital and historical lecture by Paula Maust, an adjunct professor in the Music Department. Maust played an array of pieces to show the range and history of… Continue Reading Power and Artistry: UMBC’s practice organ, donated by Dr. Charles Nicholas, makes its public debut
UMBC has accumulated a rich history in its first 50 years, rising from a patch of Baltimore County farmland through the social and political turbulence of the mid-20th century to become a university nationally recognized for the quality of its education and its commitment to diversity. This year’s annual Hilltop Society dinner, in addition to being a “thank you” to our donors, carried on that story, as guests dined amid the “UMBC at 50: Sharing the Past, Building the Future” exhibit at the Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery. The exhibit was curated by Tom Beck and Lindsey Loeper ’04, American… Continue Reading Throughout the Ages: Past, present, and future converge at annual Hilltop Society Dinner
Could you get UMBC President (and head Retriever) Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, to say “Woof! Woof! Woof!?” Dan Bailey and Lee Boot, the visionaries behind the Imaging Research Center (IRC), did it early in UMBC’s 50th anniversary campaign. Bailey is a professor of Visual Arts who recently retired as director of the IRC. Boot is an affiliate associate professor of visual arts who became the new director of the center this past fall. Together, they lent their talents to creating a video that challenged UMBC alumni, students, faculty, and staff to be one of the hundreds of Retrievers who would… Continue Reading To You – Fall 2016
Richard Chisolm ’82, interdisciplinary studies, has a unique vantage point on UMBC’s history. He lived on the edge of campus as the university grew. In this essay, the award-winning documentary filmmaker and recipient of UMBC’s Alumnus of the Year award in 2001 explains how his career path was influenced by proximity to the university. “How did you get into filmmaking?” For over three decades, I’ve been working as an independent cinematographer and documentary filmmaker, travelling the world, interacting with remarkable humans on both sides of the camera, and being a messenger of information, education, and entertainment. It is an unpredictable,… Continue Reading A Lens on UMBC History
UMBC’s 50th anniversary coincided with the release of Our UMBC: A Strategic Plan for Advancing Excellence. It is a road map for UMBC’s future in key areas including academic research and scholarship, student experience, innovative curriculum, and how the university connects with the world outside it. UMBC Magazine talked about Our UMBC with Provost Philip Rous, who led the effort, and with two alumni – former alumni board President Bennett Moe ’88, visual and performing arts, and UMBC’s coordinator for student organizations Romy Hübler ’15, Ph.D., language, literacy, and culture – involved in creating the plan. What principles in drafting… Continue Reading Back Story – Fall 2016
UMBC celebrates its 50 years in style Saturday, September 17, 2016 was a day to remember for any Retriever who made it to campus to join in the biggest celebration of black and gold pride ever. Over 3,300 alumni, students, faculty and staff from across the campus community came together to attend the event – which included a puppy parade, storytelling, hands-on demonstrations and lectures across disciplines, athletics events, and a dazzling display of fireworks to cap it off. We wanted to share that day – including some of the best stories from faculty and alumni – with our readers.… Continue Reading House (of Grit) Party
