Perspectives

Firm Foundations – Jack Suess

/ 7 minutes of reading

Jack Suess Jack Suess ’81, mathematics, and M.S. ’95, information systems, is the director of UMBC’s Division of Information Technology (DOIT) and a witness to UMBC’s amazing growth in this key area of 21st century academia. What follows are edited excerpts from a recent UMBC Magazine interview with Suess. Read our full story about how staff built UMBC’s information infrastructure. On his professional path into computer science at UMBC In those days, computer science was under mathematics. I was majoring in math, and in my sophomore year, I was doing the applied math track. And somebody said, ‘Well, if you… Continue Reading Firm Foundations – Jack Suess

Up on the Roof – Winter 2016

/ 4 minutes of reading

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, takes your questions. The role of UMBC’s staff members in the story of the university’s rise to prominence is often overlooked. What are your reflections on how UMBC’s staff members have contributed to the institution? — Richard Byrne ’86, English People don’t think about how important staff members are until something doesn’t go well. If things are going well, everyone’s happy, and no one even thinks about the fact that the place is operating as it should. What people don’t know if they have not been involved in the operation of the institution is… Continue Reading Up on the Roof – Winter 2016

To You – Winter 2016

/ 3 minutes of reading

What’s your UMBC story? And what part does your UMBC story play in the narrative of a pioneering university that is now 50 years old? So much of what we have learned at UMBC Magazine over the seven years that we have been publishing has come from exploring both of those questions. Sometimes it’s a profile of an alumna or an alumnus doing amazing things in their lives. It’s also the stories about the breakthroughs that our faculty make in – and across – disciplines, or their innovations in teaching that help UMBC students succeed in learning and growing as… Continue Reading To You – Winter 2016

Back Story – Winter 2016

/ 4 minutes of reading

A university is only as good as its library, and the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery is at the heart of UMBC’s intellectual enterprise. The library has been built by a dedicated staff over 50 years, so UMBC Magazine asked two of its longest-serving employees –acting director Joyce Tenney ’79, ancient studies, and chief curator Thomas Beck – for their perspectives on this essential campus institution. UMBC’s first employee was a librarian, and the library is the place on campus where the staff members connect most directly with students and faculty. What role have staff members played in building… Continue Reading Back Story – Winter 2016

Up on the Roof – Fall 2015

/ 4 minutes of reading

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, takes your questions. “Was there ever a time when asking a question had a tremendous impact on your life or changed its course? — Monica Berron ’13, media and communications studies Yes. When, as a child, I was in a math program on a college campus and a professor asked the class a question that no one could answer. The rest of the class became very upset, because the professor told them: “When you can answer the question, come and see me.” The students complained: “You’re the teacher. You’re supposed to tell us the… Continue Reading Up on the Roof – Fall 2015

To You – Fall 2015

/ 2 minutes of reading

Even though UMBC isn’t quite 50 years old, our university has already developed intriguing rumors and legends. One of the most persistent of these legends – submitted by Tal Levitas ’08, political science – is whether UMBC was designed to control student unrest. This notion was part of campus folklore when I arrived at UMBC as an undergraduate in 1984. The short and boring answer is “no.” When you plot the history of UMBC’s initial design and construction (1963-1966) against the trajectory of campus unrest that peaked after the killings at Kent State University in 1970, the timelines don’t match… Continue Reading To You – Fall 2015

Back Story – Fall 2015

/ 4 minutes of reading

As UMBC prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016, the university is creating a grassroots effort to spur alumni engagement and pride. A bold motto – “We Need Hundreds of You to Reach Thousands of Us” – sums up the aims of the initiative: Recruit a dedicated band of Retrievers to spread word of the celebration to almost 70,000 fellow UMBC alumni. UMBC Magazine asked three alumni leaders involved in the “Hundreds” campaign – UMBC Alumni Board of Directors member Zozscha Bomhardt ’93, mechanical engineering, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Planning Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, health science and policy,… Continue Reading Back Story – Fall 2015

Up on the Roof – Spring 2015

/ 3 minutes of reading

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III takes your questions. UMBC and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), have a longstanding relationship that dates back to the founding of UMBC in 1966. Recently the partnership has grown deeper, with increased ties in research and other areas. How important is this relationship between our universities and where is it heading in the future? – Richard Byrne ’86 Two institutions are rarely as closely connected as UMBC and UMB. That is especially true when you take note of the difference in our ages. UMBC is preparing to celebrate its 50th anniversary, which makes… Continue Reading Up on the Roof – Spring 2015

To You – Spring 2015

/ 3 minutes of reading

As the university and our alumni begin to plan for UMBC’s 50th anniversary in 2016, those of us who put together UMBC Magazine have been thinking hard about the history of the institution and how we tell its story. You saw some of the results of that process in our Fall 2014 issue, in which we recalled some of the greatest moments in the history of UMBC athletics. And you’re about to read more about our university’s past in this Spring 2015 issue, as we tell the stories behind some of the most prominent pieces of public art – some… Continue Reading To You – Spring 2015

Beyond Watson

/ 5 minutes of reading

Computers can crunch mind-boggling arrays of data. They can even win quiz shows. But are there more powerful applications of this analytical power yet to come? Claudia Pearce ’89 M.S., ’94 Ph.D., computer science, is the Senior Computer Science Authority at the National Security Agency (NSA). The winner of UMBC’s Alumna of the Year Award in Engineering and Information Technology in 2014, Pearce is diligently seeking the answer to that question. Watson is IBM’s Deep Question Answering system. You might recall that when Watson was put to the test against human contestants on the television quiz show, Jeopardy!, the system… Continue Reading Beyond Watson

Back Story – Spring 2015

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The magical run to the NCAA Final Four by the UMBC’s men’s soccer team this past fall got two of our alumni – Brian Hodges ’07 and ’10, M.A., who played varsity basketball, and Miguel Calderon ’12, who played varsity soccer – thinking about why the university has been able to cultivate scholar athletes who excel in the classroom as well. Top-flight college athletics are woven deeply into the American experience. For generations, fans have cheered their alma maters (or even schools that they adopt as favorites) on to victory. But the student-athletes have been and should be the main… Continue Reading Back Story – Spring 2015

Up on the Roof – Fall 2014

/ 4 minutes of reading

UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III takes your questions. Q. UMBC has made immense strides as an academic institution under your leadership, and students and alumni take great pride in those achievements. What role does athletics play at UMBC – and how can we infuse our athletics program with that same pride and school spirit? – Tim O’Ferrall ’95, interdisciplinary studies Athletics are exciting and enlightening. One can learn a lot playing a sport about teamwork, about leadership, about discipline, about hard work, about how to lose, and how to win. We take great pride in viewing athletics as a… Continue Reading Up on the Roof – Fall 2014

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