Hosted every five years by the UMBC Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni (CBLA), the Legends of Excellence Awards Brunch honors the achievements and contributions of faculty and staff who have made a significant impact on the lives of UMBC’s black and Latino students. In the weeks leading up to this year’s event, we’ll be profiling each of this year’s honorees here on our blog. Read on for today’s bio…
The Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington arrived at UMBC in 1986 as the Assistant Director of Residential Life, and at first, he says, he “wasn’t sure how [he] would be received” by the campus community. “As an openly gay, African-American, Christian man,” he writes, “I had experienced my share of people not being willing to engage fully.” However, he inspired a generation of students by being his most authentic self, and “[showing] up in truth, compassion…and excellence.”
Given his background in social justice work, the Rev. Dr. Washington was initially hired to help improve diversity training for resident assistants and professional staff in ResLife. Over his 16-year career at UMBC, he played several key roles in the administration, serving as Multicultural Affairs Coordinator, Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs, Director of Student Life, and, finally, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs. Washington also taught as an affiliate faculty member in the Departments of American Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Social Work.
The Rev. Dr. Washington left UMBC in 2002 to answer a call to ministry and attend Howard University School of Divinity. During his time in divinity school, the Washington Consulting Group (WCG), his diversity consulting firm, began to grow. In 2015, WCG was named one of the top 10 global diversity consulting groups in the world. Dr. Washington serves as the company’s president and CEO, as well as the co-pastor of Unity Fellowship Church of Baltimore and the President and Co-Founder of the Social Justice Training Institute. In addition to his M.Div. from Howard, he holds a B.S. in therapeutic recreation and music therapy from Slippery Rock State College, an M.S. in higher education and student affairs and a second M.S. in counseling and counselor education from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in counseling and personnel services from the University of Maryland.
Washington’s former students remember him as a man of integrity, who was “instrumental in developing leaders at UMBC.” Washington, for his part, counts them as his “greatest success.”
“They taught me what it means to be a servant leader, [and] that authenticity would, in fact, lead to deeper and more impactful relationships,” he writes. He remains connected to campus today by working with the Meyerhoff Summer Bridge Program, as well as through Residential and Student Life, the departments where he made his mark on the university.
Register NOW for the Legends of Excellence Awards Brunch on Saturday, May 6!
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