Launching Arts+UMBC Initiative

Thu, 15 May 2025 12:05:16 -0400

I am excited to announce the launch of Arts+UMBC, an ongoing, collaborative, multidisciplinary effort that will celebrate the arts at UMBC through the expansion of programming. On-campus, community, and national artists will be featured in unique and innovative ways that highlight and grow the UMBC art scene and the connection with the broader community.

Committees made up of faculty, staff, and students representing a range of arts disciplines worked diligently throughout the past year to plan and support an inspired calendar of arts programming that will highlight the creativity of our community. We will explore cross-disciplinary programming themes, including Trailblazers, the Harlem Renaissance, Artful Stories, and Space, Place, and Justice. We look forward to inviting the surrounding community to join us in celebrating what makes UMBC arts unique.

I’d like to thank the many people who have worked on this initiative to date, including the committee members listed below. I look forward to sharing more in the early fall around how we will celebrate the arts at UMBC in new and wonderful ways.

Sincerely,

Manfred H. M. van Dulmen

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

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Our Vision

UMBC will be recognized in the region and beyond as a transformative, inviting arts destination where creative interdisciplinary research and public-facing programming challenge, enrich, and inspire both on and off campus. By embracing UMBC's position as a leading voice in the arts and celebrating the breadth and depth of work and research among our community in the visual and performing arts disciplines, we will look to the arts initiative as a catalyst for evolving our campus arts culture into an interconnected and innovative network that will prepare our students for their creative futures.

Our Goals

Celebrate the talent and excellence of the arts at UMBC and the ways we engage our surrounding communities.

Fortify our reputation in the region and beyond as a comprehensive research university, in which the arts are integral.

Develop engaged regional audiences of all ages who visit UMBC as active participants in the arts.

Broaden our fundraising efforts in the arts in order to support and amplify the impact of the arts in the lives of our students and alumni, and by extension the communities in which they practice and perform.

Establish a foundation for interdisciplinary connections between academic departments and centers.

Committee Members

Becky Bosstick, Acting Director, Special Events, Institutional Advancement

Ann Sofie Clemmensen, Director, Linehan Artist Scholars Program; Associate Professor, Dance

Manfred H. M. van Dulmen, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Linda Dusman, Special Assistant to the Dean for Education and Arts Partnerships; Professor, Music

Emma Hagen ’14, Assistant Director, Creative Services, Student Affairs

Sara Lerma Jones, Director, Donor Relations, Institutional Advancement

Kimberly R. Moffitt, Dean, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences; Professor, Language, Literacy, and Culture

Tom Moore, Director, Arts and Culture, University Communications and Marketing

Stanyell Bruce, Director, Alumni Engagement, Institutional Advancement

Jenny O'Grady, Assistant Vice President, Strategic Content, University Communications and Marketing

Mary Ann Richmond ’93, Director, Community Affairs, Government Relations and Community Affairs

Kim Robinson, Director, Major Gifts, Institutional Advancement

Rebecca Uchill, Director, Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture

Yaakov “Jake” Weissmann ’06, Vice President, Government Relations and Community Affairs

Brigid Zuknick ’09, Dance, Alumni Association Board of Directors