Campus Life

The News – Summer 2014

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A GRAND ENTRANCE The UMBC community – as well as visitors to campus – will have to pardon some dust and altered traffic patterns over the next two years. But it’s all for a good cause: a reimagining of the entrance to UMBC that will enhance not only the aesthetic beauty and ease of access to the university’s campus – but also enhance the safety of the pedestrians, cyclists and motorists who travel along its roads and paths. Construction work on the New Campus Entrance Project began in June 2014 on areas familiar to alumni and others in the UMBC… Continue Reading The News – Summer 2014

At Play – Summer 2014

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ESTONIAN EXCELLENCE There isn’t an NCAA in Estonia. No college recruiters or flashy promoters. So back in 2011, rising UMBC senior Lauri Kaei had to get onto the radar of UMBC men’s and women’s swimming and diving coach Chad Cradock ’97, psychology, the old fashioned way: grit, determination, and some timely word of mouth from other Estonians – including Herol Marjak ’13, history, and Johan Rohtla ’14, biochemistry – who have swum competitively at UMBC. Flash forward three years. Kaei is one of the top performers on UMBC’s successful swimming and diving teams, chalking up individual achievements and helping the… Continue Reading At Play – Summer 2014

Call center

The News – Winter 2014

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PHONE HOME Once in a while you might get a call asking for your support for UMBC and its mission. The person on the other end of the line? A UMBC student. Five nights a week, UMBC students assemble at Alumni House and reach out to alumni and parents via the university’s Phonathon. The program was brought back to campus in 2011 after being outsourced to a third party for eight years. Dayna Carpenter, UMBC’s director of annual giving, says that the university made the change because it was students who could make the most tangible connection to donors. “People… Continue Reading The News – Winter 2014

soccer celebrations

At Play – Winter 2014

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GOALS ORIENTED Both the women’s and men’s soccer squads can look back on 2013 as an amazing journey  – breaking new ground for UMBC’s athletics program while proving that winners on the field can also excel in academics. Both UMBC soccer teams won the America East regular season and conference championships – and claimed bids to the NCAA tournament with decisive victories in front of home fans at Retriever Soccer Park. Expectations were high for the men’s squad going into the season, and they were fulfilled when the team won its NCAA bid – and the right to host the… Continue Reading At Play – Winter 2014

The News – Fall 2013

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PAST AND FUTURE The torch has been passed at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) – and it has been passed from one historian to another. Scott E. Casper arrived on campus as the new dean of the CAHSS and professor of history in July, following John Jeffries, who retired and is now a professor emeritus of history and dean emeritus of the college. Casper was the interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Nevada, Reno and a professor of history at that university, serving as chair of the department and director… Continue Reading The News – Fall 2013

At Play – Fall 2013

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LEAD DAWG UMBC Athletics has a new head Retriever. Tim Hall was named director of athletics, physical education and recreation and arrived at the university in early July. He comes to UMBC from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), where he was director of athletics for six years. Hall cites “UMBC’s commitment to the comprehensive student-athlete experience” as one of the reasons that he wanted to become a Retriever. “UMBC is an institution that sees academic success and athletics success as not mutually exclusive,” he says. Under Hall’s tenure, UMKC experienced plenty of success, which propelled the school to a… Continue Reading At Play – Fall 2013

John Jeffries

The News – Summer 2013

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CALL TO HISTORY The proscenium theatre of UMBC’s recently-opened Performing Arts and Humanities Building was perhaps the most appropriate venue for this year’s W. Augustus Low Lecture in History. The lecturer was John Jeffries, dean of UMBC’s College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS) and professor of history, who will retire from the university on June 30. Among the greatest legacies of his 40 years of scholarship and service to UMBC – much of it as leader of the Faculty Senate and the college – was his guiding hand in making the new building a reality, and literally cementing… Continue Reading The News – Summer 2013

At Play – Summer 2013

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BLADE RUNNERS On a Thursday night at the Retriever Activities Center, amidst a hard-fought pickup game of basketball  and  wrestling practice on large mats, a group clad in loose-fitting, traditional Japanese-style garments clashes with wooden training swords called shinai. These warriors are members of the UMBC Kendo Club, students of the samurai tradition of kendo, or “The Way of the Sword.” Over a 90-minute training session, they engage with head-and-body-armored instructors from a group called Baltimore-Annapolis Kendo in controlled exercises and watch demonstrations of the sort of action group members might expect in kendo competitions. The club was founded in… Continue Reading At Play – Summer 2013

The News – Winter 2013

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TEACHING THE FUTURE October 6 was a special night at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront, when 900 guests filled the main ballroom for “A Celebration of Leadership + Innovation” that honored UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, on his 20 years as the university’s leader and inaugurated the Hrabowski Fund for Innovation to sustain and extend advances in teaching. The celebratory buzz hadn’t yet died down when Provost Philip Rous and a committee selected to administer the fund were already at work identifying the next wave of academic innovators at UMBC. In January, the committee announced the Hrabowski Fund’s first awards.… Continue Reading The News – Winter 2013

Net Achievements

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When the number-one seed Denver Outlaws met the second-seed Chesapeake Bayhawks at Harvard University in the Major League Lacrosse championship game in August 2012, there was a Retriever reunion of sorts between the lines. Denver Outlaws player and league MVP Brendan Mundorf ’07, sociology, is perhaps the best-known UMBC men’s lacrosse player today, but two of his Outlaws teammates – Peet Poillon ’10, interdisciplinary studies, and Terry Kimener ’09, American studies – also played their lacrosse at UMBC. And lining up against that Retriever trio for the Chesapeake Bayhawks? Former UMBC standout Drew Westervelt ’09, economics. (Westervelt also plays professional… Continue Reading Net Achievements

At Play – Winter 2013

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SMART WINS Aki Thomas, acting head coach of UMBC men’s basketball team, is a cool customer at courtside. He exudes calming reassurance in team huddles, and he’s more likely to remove his glasses and stare than bark at a referee after a bad call. Thomas became head coach in October – less than a month before the season opener – after the resignation of Randy Monroe. He has been coaching and recruiting at UMBC since 2007, after a playing career that included time at the University of Colorado and Howard University, as well as a stint playing professional basketball in… Continue Reading At Play – Winter 2013

The News – Fall 2012

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS By the time you read this, the first phase of UMBC’s Performing Arts and Humanities Building will already be teeming with students and faculty eager to study, teach, work and play in the brand-new space. So what are they seeing as they walk into the building? UMBC Magazine managed to get a peek as the furniture arrived – and just before faculty and staff moved into the place in late July. One of the jewels of the new building is the 275- seat proscenium theater (1), which is a significant upgrade on the theatre department’s former performing space,… Continue Reading The News – Fall 2012

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