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Education Trust: UMBC Excels in Promoting Hispanic Student Success

A new report from The Education Trust finds that UMBC is among the top colleges in the country for promoting Hispanic student success. The brief, “Advancing to Completion: Increasing degree attainment by improving graduation rates and closing gaps for Hispanic students,” examined the achievement gap between Hispanic and white students at public and private colleges nationwide, and whether those institutions were successfully working to narrow that gap. The study found that UMBC ranked 12th among public colleges for improvements in Hispanic students’ graduation rates between 2004 and 2010. Hispanic students at UMBC saw a 21.8-percentage-point increase in their six-year graduation rates, compared to a… Continue Reading Education Trust: UMBC Excels in Promoting Hispanic Student Success

UMBC Prepares for 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Chess Championship

The UMBC Chess Team is training for the 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship (“The World Series of College Chess”), which will take place December 27-30, in Princeton, NJ. The Pan-Am determines the top college or university team in North, South, and Central America, and the Caribbean. In its current form, it has been held annually since 1946. The Retrievers have won or tied for first place a record nine times (96,98,99,00(tie),01(tie),02,05,08(tie),09). The top four USA schools will advance to the President’s Cup (“Final Four of College Chess”), which will take place in early April in Herndon, VA. Started in… Continue Reading UMBC Prepares for 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Chess Championship

U.S. News Again Recognizes UMBC as Leader in Innovation and Undergraduate Teaching

From Freeman Hrabowski, President, and Philip Rous, Provost and Senior Vice President We are delighted to share the news that UMBC has been recognized again as a national leader in innovation and undergraduate teaching in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges guide. For the fourth year in a row, UMBC tops the U.S. News ranking of “Up-and-Coming” national universities, a place we share this year with George Mason University. U.S. News also ranks UMBC eighth on a list of the national universities that excel in undergraduate teaching, tied with Duke University, the University of California-Berkeley, the University of Chicago,… Continue Reading U.S. News Again Recognizes UMBC as Leader in Innovation and Undergraduate Teaching

UMBC ‘Cracks the Code’ on Student Success, The Baltimore Sun

The Baltimore Sun recently chronicled UMBC’s rise over the past two decades into a nationally-recognized powerhouse for academic innovation. As the campus approaches its 50th anniversary in 2016, UMBC sports enviable credentials, the Sun wrote: “It’s cited as America’s top up-and-coming university and a leader in undergraduate teaching by U.S. News. It has an endowment of about $60 million, built from less than $1 million when Hrabowski took over. Research funding has risen from less than $10 million to about $90 million.” While UMBC is known for excellence in a wide range of fields, the Sun notes that the university has found remarkable success… Continue Reading UMBC ‘Cracks the Code’ on Student Success, The Baltimore Sun

UMBC’s New BreakingGround Initiative in the Baltimore Sun

“On campus, the good side of politics” is new Baltimore Sun op-ed written by David Hoffman, UMBC Assistant Director of Student Life for Civic Agency, and SGA President Kaylesh Ramu ’13, political science. Hoffman and Ramu offer hope to readers who are “understandably skeptical about politics and public life” in this time of government gridlock and discord. They write that at UMBC, “students are helping lead the way to a new kind of politics that bridges difference and strengthens communities.” The piece goes on to explore the civic engagement work underway at UMBC—carried forward by the BreakingGround initiative—as well as… Continue Reading UMBC’s New BreakingGround Initiative in the Baltimore Sun

UMBC Launches BreakingGround: Dig in. Shape your world.

As the new semester brings fresh energy to campus, UMBC is launching BreakingGround: a campus-wide initiative to deepen and share our innovative approach to democratic engagement. In a time of widespread skepticism about the capacity of our democracy to respond to society’s needs, UMBC’s work is demonstrating the power of individuals and collaborative groups as agents of meaningful change and renewal. This work is deeply embedded in a campus culture that builds community from diversity and celebrates ingenuity and resourcefulness. BreakingGround features courses developed to promote civic agency; incentives to link community service projects with opportunities for deep learning and… Continue Reading UMBC Launches BreakingGround: Dig in. Shape your world.

UMBC Alums Compete in Major League Lacrosse’s Championship Weekend

Four UMBC alums competed in Major League Lacrosse’s Championship Weekend, held at Harvard University Stadium in Boston, Mass on August 25 and 26, 2012. Attackman Drew Westervelt is a member of the 2012 champion Chesapeake Bayhawks, while Brendan Mundorf, Peet Poillon and Terry Kimener competed for the runner-up Denver Outlaws. All four former Retrievers finished the 2012 season ranked in the top-20 in the MLL scoring race. Westervelt played for the Denver squad in his first five years in the league. A Third Team All-American for UMBC in 2007, the Bel Air, Md. native tied for 20th in the league… Continue Reading UMBC Alums Compete in Major League Lacrosse’s Championship Weekend

UMBC Men’s Soccer Program Selected to Finish Fourth in 2012 America East Conference

The UMBC men’s soccer program was selected to finish fourth in the 2012 America East Conference race by the league’s eight head coaches. The Retrievers placed fourth in the conference in 2011, earning a place in the six-team postseason tournament for the third consecutive year. UMBC had played in the league’s title game in both 2009 and 2010, winning the championship and advancing in the NCAA Championships in 2010. Read the full press release here.

UMBC’s “Great College to Work For” Ranking Garners Media Attention

A number of news outlets have noted that UMBC again made The Chronicle of Higher Education’s list of “Great Colleges to Work For.” This marks the third time in a row UMBC has made the annual list, the latest of which was published August 6. Here’s a sampling of the coverage: ABC-2 News – “UMBC among best colleges to work for” Baltimore Business Journal – “Four Maryland colleges among best places to work” Arbutus Patch – “UMBC Named ‘Great College to Work For’”  The Huffington Post – “The Best Colleges to Work For: Chronicle of Higher Education List 2012”

UMBC Named “Great College to Work For”

UMBC has again been named one of America’s “Great Colleges to Work For” by The Chronicle of Higher Education. “We are a ‘Great College’ because of the people here,” says President Freeman Hrabowski. “This honor yet again affirms what we all know: UMBC is a place that supports people, values collaboration, and fosters trust, respect, and enthusiasm for educating our students.” An annual survey by The Chronicle asks faculty and staff at institutions across the country to rank their workplaces on a host of factors. UMBC has made the list of “Great Colleges” for three years running. This year, it… Continue Reading UMBC Named “Great College to Work For”

UMBC Student Government in Huffington Post

This week’s Huffington Post article “Owning Yes We Can” highlights the inspiring work of UMBC’s Student Government Association (SGA), which the authors call “a national model…of student organizing and empowerment.” They focus on SGA’s successful effort this spring to organize student opposition to state budget cuts that would have led to a dramatic tuition increase. “Many would not have been able to stay in school with 15-20 percent increases in tuition expenses,” explained SGA member Meghan Carpenter. “I am so proud of what students from different organizations were able to start. We showed that students can make a change not… Continue Reading UMBC Student Government in Huffington Post

SUCCESS Serves Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Marking the 22nd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), yesterday Gov. Martin O’Malley announced the launch of SUCCESS, a four-year post-secondary education program for students with intellectual disabilities. The Maryland Department of Disabilities and UMBC partnered to develop the program (press release). An AP report on the announcement, which appeared in The Washington Post and on WBFF FOX45, noted that although students will not receive college credit, they will take a seminar with degree-seeking students, lead a service learning project, and intern at departments on UMBC’s campus. The Baltimore Sun added that SUCCESS will begin with 6-8 students… Continue Reading SUCCESS Serves Students with Intellectual Disabilities

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