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Kiplinger again names UMBC a “Best Value College” for strong academics and affordability

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UMBC has again been named a Best Value College for 2016 by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, appearing on both the Best Value Public University list and “top 300” national Best Value University list. Kiplinger has recognized UMBC as a Best Value College for seven consecutive years. This ranking recognizes affordable four-year schools with outstanding academics. It is based on a combination of factors, including admission rates, student-faculty ratio, four-year graduation rates, and financial aid. See Kiplinger’s UMBC profile for details. This follows U.S. News rankings announced earlier in the fall that again recognized UMBC as a national leader in undergraduate teaching, tied with… Continue Reading Kiplinger again names UMBC a “Best Value College” for strong academics and affordability

UMBC Chess prepares for 2015 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Championship

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UMBC’s chess teams are preparing to participate in the 2015 Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, December 27-30. The championship will be held at Oberlin College in Ohio, and marks the 25th year that UMBC teams will participate in the event. Last season, UMBC Chess finished in fourth place at the President’s Cup. UMBC has won the Pan-American Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship ten times, and the National Collegiate Team Chess Championship six times. The 2015 A team includes international master Levan Bregadze ‘16, financial economics; team captain and grandmaster Niclas Huschenbeth ‘16, psychology; grandmaster Tanguy Ringoir ‘19, economics; and Dobrynya Konoplev… Continue Reading UMBC Chess prepares for 2015 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Championship

Data from learning management systems help improve teaching, say UMBC experts

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Systems that store and analyze data about how students are progressing through their coursework can be a powerful source of better decision-making in higher education. That’s the theme of a CampusTechnology.com article featuring a lengthy section on UMBC’s use of the Blackboard learning management and data-analysis system to promote student success. At UMBC, Blackboard data about student performance are now “across all the colleges and all the key functional offices that are responsible for student success, so they’re all able to get the data they want,”  says Jack Suess, chief information officer and vice president of information technology. Among the… Continue Reading Data from learning management systems help improve teaching, say UMBC experts

UMBC and U.S. Navy celebrate partnership establishing Maryland’s first NROTC unit

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On Monday, November 30, 2015, Assistant Secretary of the U.S. Navy Dennis McGinn and U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski joined President Freeman Hrabowski for a ceremony to formally celebrate the establishment at UMBC of Maryland’s first Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps (NROTC) program. The program, which is part of the new Maryland NROTC consortium that includes the University of Maryland, College Park, provides an opportunity for students to earn a commission in the U.S. Navy or Marine Corps while completing their undergraduate degrees. During the event, McGinn spoke highly of UMBC as an institution with exceptional leadership and innovative approaches to… Continue Reading UMBC and U.S. Navy celebrate partnership establishing Maryland’s first NROTC unit

UMBC named a top Baltimore workplace for 2015

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For the third consecutive year, the Baltimore Sun has named UMBC as one of the region’s top places to work. UMBC was the only government agency and the only university to rank among the top 100 workplaces in three size bands. With about 1900 employees, UMBC is considered a large employer. Organizations were ranked within bands by their scores on a confidential employee survey that measured job satisfaction, organizational health, and engagement. Organizations were invited to participate in part based the nomination of an employee. In all, 172 companies participated, and approximately 22,500 employees out of about 37,300 employees in… Continue Reading UMBC named a top Baltimore workplace for 2015

Goalkeeper Billy Heavner ’17 receives top academic honor in U.S. college sports

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UMBC goalkeeper and men’s soccer co-captain Billy Heavner ’17, financial economics, has been selected to the 2015 Academic All-America Division I Men’s Soccer First Team by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Heavner is the second UMBC men’s soccer player to receive this top academic honor, following in the footsteps of fullback Liam Paddock ’13, psychology and sociology, who earned the distinction in 2012. He is the seventh student-athlete in Retriever history to earn first team honors and the 22nd UMBC athlete to be cited by CoSIDA since 1977. Heavner is a phenomenal scholar-athlete, exceptional on the field and in the classroom.… Continue Reading Goalkeeper Billy Heavner ’17 receives top academic honor in U.S. college sports

UMBC campus, fall 2015.

Grad student Liz Winters ’13 featured on Maryland Public Television’s Ways to Pay for College program

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A recent program produced by Maryland Public Television about college affordability featured UMBC student Liz Winters ’13, psychology, and current master’s student in industrial and organizational psychology. The program “Ways to Pay for College” guided viewers through the many options of funding higher education. Several financial experts and student success stories were featured during the program which aired November 21 and 23 on Maryland Public Television. https://youtu.be/Zsn23C-n6Us Liz Winters (story begins at 33:50 in the video above) described her path in finding ways to finance her education at UMBC. After she served in the military for 12 years, she returned… Continue Reading Grad student Liz Winters ’13 featured on Maryland Public Television’s Ways to Pay for College program

Hassan Omar becomes UMBC’s first cross country All-American

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UMBC’S Hassan Omar ’16, mechanical engineering, concluded a phenomenal cross country career with the Retrievers by finishing 27th at the NCAA Championships on Saturday,  November 21. Omar is an exemplary scholar-athlete — a Meyerhoff Scholar recognized as an All-Academic runner, who is now UMBC’s first cross country runner to be named an All-American. UMBC Athletics reports that Omar completed the 10k course in a time of 30:16, besting his NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regionals time by 31 seconds. His NCAA Championship time is a new UMBC record, breaking the previous record Omar set in 2013. This achievement is the latest in a long list of accomplishments throughout his cross… Continue Reading Hassan Omar becomes UMBC’s first cross country All-American

Lisa Gray in WYPR conversation on race, activism, and free speech in learning communities

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In a radio appearance and in remarks to a newspaper, Lisa Gray, assistant director of student life for cultural and spiritual diversity, offered a vision for how college students can broach difficult topics of race without diminishing one another. Gray was featured in a Maryland Daily Record article on recent student demands for diversity at Towson University, and she was one of five guests on WYPR’s Midday show exploring “Student Activism, Race, and Free Speech” On Midday, Gray explained the import of the slighting remarks or gestures termed “microaggressions” by likening them to paper cuts. One paper cut is trivial,… Continue Reading Lisa Gray in WYPR conversation on race, activism, and free speech in learning communities

Pres. Hrabowski reflects on how Civil Rights movement inspired his career in education

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When Freeman Hrabowski was 12 years old, he marched for civil rights in his hometown of Birmingham, Ala., part of the legendary Children’s Crusade of 1963. It was an early lesson in the way a loving community can help empower children to take hold of their own futures. The president of UMBC recalled that and other lessons from his Birmingham childhood and discussed his latest book, Holding Fast to Dreams, in a wide-ranging podcast conversation with Dan Rodricks of the Baltimore Sun. Hrabowski noted that UMBC, which he has headed since 1992, was the first Maryland university open from its… Continue Reading Pres. Hrabowski reflects on how Civil Rights movement inspired his career in education

Shawn Bediako receives inaugural Marilyn Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement

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A message to the UMBC community from Provost Philip Rous: I am pleased to announce that Shawn Bediako, Associate Professor of Psychology, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement. This annual award is provided through an endowment established by Marilyn E. Demorest, Professor Emerita of Psychology and former Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs, to support the advancement of all UMBC faculty members in their academic careers; to facilitate their professional development; and to recognize their contributions to faculty advancement and success at UMBC. Dr. Bediako is recognized for his deep commitment to fostering… Continue Reading Shawn Bediako receives inaugural Marilyn Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement

Patrick Jose Dawson appointed director of Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery

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A campus message from Provost Philip Rous and Antonio Moreira, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs: We are delighted to announce the appointment of Patrick Jose Dawson as director of the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery, effective February 1, 2016. Mr. Dawson joins UMBC from Northern Illinois University (NIU), where for the past seven years he has served as dean of libraries. Prior to his appointment at NIU, he served as associate university librarian for information and research services at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Mr. Dawson’s appointment brings to a conclusion a successful national search that began this… Continue Reading Patrick Jose Dawson appointed director of Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery

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