2015 Fall Opening Meeting Celebrates UMBC Achievements, Emphasizes Commitment to Inclusion

In his remarks, Provost Rous welcomed faculty and staff to the new semester and gave an update on UMBC’s Strategic Planning Process. He also spoke about the need for improving faculty diversity, saying, “We cannot reach our full potential as a model public research university without the benefit of a full range of diverse perspectives and backgrounds driving our educational mission, research, scholarship, civic engagement, and educational mission.” He continued, “I know that you will join me in a renewed commitment to our most fundamental value of inclusion.”

President Hrabowski then delivered the annual State of the University address, sharing recent faculty, student, staff and broader university achievements. He emphasized the student experience in his remarks, highlighting that UMBC’s enrollment will exceed 14,000 students for the first time in Fall 2015. “Our incoming freshmen are a remarkable group of students,” he said, calling them “the most talented group we’ve ever had.”

“Over the years, putting people first has been at the heart of our success,” President Hrabowski concluded, in his remarks to faculty and staff. “Whether you’ve been here for decades or recently arrived, you make a difference through your contributions.  As I say every year at this time, it is an honor each day to serve as president.”

Read the full 2015 State of the University address on the president’s website.