Grounded in the voices of thousands of Retrievers, UMBC’s new Bold Moves strategic plan was shaped by listening sessions, surveys, and conversations that kept returning to one central theme—inclusive excellence. The end result, brought to fruition by a dedicated steering committee, will guide the university’s future and shape its ongoing work with students, employees, and communities across Maryland.
Launched last week, Bold Moves: Strategic Ambitions for the Future of UMBC centers on five strategic pillars: growing student opportunity and success, transforming teaching and learning, redefining excellence in research and creative achievement, cultivating organizational innovation and vitality, and strengthening Maryland and its communities. Bold Moves imagines a day when anyone admitted to UMBC can come to UMBC.
The plan builds on values reaffirmed by the UMBC community in 2024 through a campuswide core values survey: inclusive excellence, student success, academic excellence, community engagement, and an innovation mindset.
“Bold Moves reflects the work of people across UMBC who shared their experiences, challenged us to think bigger, and helped shape a plan grounded in our values,” says Charissa Cheah, chair of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee and professor of psychology. “Its success will depend on that same spirit of collaboration as we expand opportunities for students, support our faculty and staff, and deepen UMBC’s contributions to communities across Maryland.”
Among its goals, UMBC aims to expand access to a UMBC education, redefine student success through what it calls the “Retriever Promise,” and extend the impact of signature programs to more learners. The university will also build on its strengths in undergraduate teaching, community engagement, research, and creative achievement.
The plan calls for UMBC to strengthen support for faculty and staff, invest in infrastructure and systems, and expand partnerships with industry and the public sector. It also emphasizes the university’s role in advancing the public good and contributing to Maryland’s vitality and well-being, particularly Baltimore City and Baltimore County.
Bold Moves was inspired and guided by the aims articulated in the 2026 – 2030 Maryland State Plan for Higher Education and the University System of Maryland’s Vision 2030. Bolstered by learnings and lessons from a robust set of community listening sessions along with a series of critical surveys that further informed the plan, these strategic ambitions for UMBC stem from the community’s shared values and are enriched by a multitude of voices.
“Bold Moves” represents UMBC’s vision for its next chapter: That future begins now, and the work will be pursued collectively on behalf of its students, Maryland, and the broader world.
Read the Bold Moves: Strategic Ambitions for the Future of UMBC strategic plan.
