Alumni

Between You and Me, an exhibition by Coordinator/Producer of the New Media Studio, Christine Ferrera ’10 M.F.A., Imaging and Digital Arts, opens Friday, June 21, at 8 p.m. at the Gibbs Street Gallery in Rockville, Maryland. According to Rockville’s VisArts website, Between You and Me is a collection of performance pieces “that circuitously contemplate art, humor and feminism. Each piece uses personal monologue as a vehicle to explore longing, insecurity, narcissism and enlightenment. By counter-posing live and recorded performance, satire and sincerity, the artist either transcends her angst or winds up in a self-reflexive tangle.” The works include Starbux Diary; Awkward Pauzez… Continue Reading Ferrera ’10, MFA, IMDA, Headlines Show in Rockville

Yesterday, Maryland State Senator Allan Kittleman ’81, political science, launched his campaign for Howard County Executive. He is the first to announce his candidacy for county executive, a position that has been left vacant by term limits. According to the Baltimore Sun: During a 15-minute address to his supporters, Kittleman, 54, said his priorities for the county are education, solving transportation issues, fostering economic development, and assisting county residents who are suffering. If he is elected, Kittleman would be the first Republican to hold county executive office in Howard County since 1998. Read the full article.

Kathleen Warnock ’80, interdisciplinary studies, has pursued a successful career as a playwright – including a production of one of her newest plays, Grieving for Genevieve, at Venus Theatre in Laurel this summer. She’s taken many roads to get there – sports journalist, travel editor, game show contestant – and profited greatly from her passions for rock’n’roll, classical literature and lesbian erotica. Warnock says there is a method to her mercurial ways: “I constantly re-evaluate my priorities by asking, ‘Is it worth it to me to continue to do this?’ and I am constantly shifting my load.” Take Grieving for… Continue Reading A Sense of Play – Kathleen Warnock ’80, INDS

As our newest cohort of alumni looks ahead to the future, let’s also take a moment to reflect on Commencements of the past. We hope you’ll enjoy this slideshow of UMBC Commencements through the years! Special thanks to UMBC Digital Collections for keeping our great university’s history so neatly organized for all to use. Please share your Commencement memories with us here or on Twitter using #UMBCgrad! We’d also love to add in Commencement photos from missing years; email them to retrievernet@umbc.edu, and we’ll add them to the slideshow!

It’s that time of year again…congratulations to the nearly 1,700 undergraduate and graduate students who are officially becoming UMBC alumni this week! A few Commencement-related items for all our newly-minted grads: Visit our New Grads Page to find out all about the perks of being a UMBC alum and to update your info so you can stay in touch with your friends at UMBC! Check out the Class of 2013 Page to read about some really cool students! And, be sure to share your Commencement experience with the community by tagging posts and tweets with #UMBCgrad We wish you the… Continue Reading Congratulations to the Class of 2013!

More than 100 current and alumni members of the UMBC Rugby teams reunited this month at their annual picnic. Click the photo to enlarge.

Feeling the urge for a little theater with a Retriever twist? Mark your calendar for the June opening of Grieving for Genevieve, a play by Kathleen Warnock ’80, INDS. Not only does the show play at the alumna-owned Venus Theatre in Laurel, it stars Karen Costanzi ’92, theatre, as Genevieve. Venus artistic director Deborah Randall ’94, theatre, chose the play as part of the 2013 season for its thematic fit, but she’s also very excited to work with Warnock, whose plays she greatly admires. Grieving for Genevieve won the John Golden Award for Excellence in Playwriting in 2005, and Warnock… Continue Reading Alumna Play to Show at Alumna Theatre in June

UMBC alumnus Joseph T. Jones ’06, social work, CEO of The Center for Urban Families, was honored last week by the Greater Baltimore Committee as the recipient of the 2013 Walter Sondheim Public Service Award for his work connecting low-income men and women to job and family support. According to a press release from the GBC: Working from the non-profit organization’s center, located on Monroe Street in West Baltimore, Jones “is a beacon of hope to young men and women in Baltimore,” GBC President & CEO Donald C. Fry said in presenting Jones the award at GBC’s 2013 Annual Meeting… Continue Reading Jones ’06, SocWk, Receives 2013 Walter Sondheim Public Service Award