UMBC History

Firm Foundations – Earnestine Baker

Earnestine “Ernie” Baker UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program, created in 1988, is one of the landmark contributions to student success at the university – and has become a national and international model for creating greater diversity in STEM disciplines through concentrated cohort learning. Earnestine Baker, served as director and later executive director of the program before turning over the reins to her successor, the late Lamont Tolliver, who was succeeded by Keith Harmon. What follows are edited excerpts from a recent UMBC Magazine interview with Baker. Read our full story about how staff built UMBC’s infrastructure for student success. On transition… Continue Reading Firm Foundations – Earnestine Baker

Paws of Glory

Retrieving the Greatest Moments of UMBC Athletics History By Richard Byrne ’86 and Steve Levy ‘85 Athletics has been an essential part of the UMBC experience since the founding of the university. So narrowing down almost five decades of history – and shining a spotlight on a few of the iconic athletes of UMBC history – is not an easy task. Our guiding principles in what we did include aimed at inclusiveness. We tried to find the moment that spoke to each varsity sport played at UMBC, with equal weight to men’s and women’s teams. You can read more about… Continue Reading Paws of Glory

Histories & Mysteries

UMBC Magazine answers alumni questions about True Grit, secret campus tunnels, football, Hillcrest and more… Even though UMBC is a fairly young university, it still has mysteries and legends and stories of its founding. Why does UMBC look the way it looks? Why is a Chesapeake Bay Retriever our mascot? Why don’t we have a football team? What was Hillcrest? And what about those tunnels under the university? YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED. Why was the Hillcrest Building torn down? What was the history behind this structure? —Perry Alexander ’91  The silo on UMBC Boulevard suggests a connection between the university… Continue Reading Histories & Mysteries

Space in Time

As UMBC celebrates its newest work of public art, we look back at the university’s legacy of public works on campus. By Lindsey Loeper ’04 and Richard Byrne ’86 One of the key elements of UMBC’s history as a campus has been the institution’s search for a definition of its mission and purpose. Founded in the blossoming of a baby boom generation of students in Maryland and beyond that needed more teachers, classrooms and desks to fulfill the dreams of a college education, the university was buffeted by the same cultural, economic and political forces faced by the state and… Continue Reading Space in Time

Student Turmoil at UMBC 40 Years Ago — What Happened?

This essay was written by Manus O’Donnell ’72, English, who served as editor of the Retriever Weekly and as a senator in the Student Government Association. A little over 40 years ago UMBC was embroiled in protests and occupation rumors. The Viet Nam War created a lot of controversy in that period. 8 students were killed by National Guard during the riots at Kent State University in Ohio. Colleges everywhere had spontaneous student rioting. Across the country student bodies were organizing and college administrations were scrambling. UMBC was no exception. An envoy from Rutgers University came to recruit UMBC into… Continue Reading Student Turmoil at UMBC 40 Years Ago — What Happened?

Blow Up: 1969 Battle Over UMBC’s First Literary Magazine

How the 1969 battle over UMBC’s literary magazine kicked off an era of discontent at the university. “Literary Magazine to Determine True University Status of UMBC” The headline in the February 10, 1969 edition of The Retriever seems a bit grandiose, as do the brash pronouncements of its editor, quoted in the article: The staff of the magazine anticipates a lot of excitement on its debut. Editor Michael Jacobs stated in an interview that “the response to this magazine will be a kind of gauge on how far UMBC has approached being a true university.” By Richard Byrne ’86 As… Continue Reading Blow Up: 1969 Battle Over UMBC’s First Literary Magazine

Blow Up: 1969 Battle Over UMBC's First Literary Magazine

How the 1969 battle over UMBC’s literary magazine licked off an era of discontent at the university. “Literary Magazine to Determine True University Status of UMBC” The headline in the February 10, 1969 edition of The Retriever seems a bit grandiose, as do the brash pronouncements of its editor, quoted in the article: The staff of the magazine anticipates a lot of excitement on its debut. Editor Michael Jacobs stated in an interview that “the response to this magazine will be a kind of gauge on how far UMBC has approached being a true university.” By Richard Byrne ’86 As… Continue Reading Blow Up: 1969 Battle Over UMBC's First Literary Magazine

Scroll to Top