Dear UMBC community, 

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jeanne M. VanBriesen as the dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology (COEIT) effective July 1. Jeanne is a distinguished academic leader with a bold vision for the future of engineering and information technology research and education and a commitment to inclusive excellence.

Jeanne joins UMBC from Carnegie Mellon University where she is the Duquesne Light Company Professor in the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Engineering and Public Policy. She recently completed service as the division director in the Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, in the Engineering Directorate, at the U.S. National Science Foundation. She previously served as the vice provost for faculty at Carnegie Mellon and as the chair of the faculty senate.

Jeanne holds a bachelor’s in education and a master’s and Ph.D. in civil engineering from Northwestern University. She is a licensed professional engineer, a board certified environmental engineer, and a diplomate of water resources engineering. 

An accomplished scholar, Jeanne has published more than 75 scientific articles and given more than 200 professional presentations. Her research, which has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Defense, the Colcom Foundation, the Heinz Endowments, the Packard Foundation, and the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance, focuses on environmental systems, including biotransformation of recalcitrant organics, detection of biological agents in drinking water and natural water systems, speciation-driven biogeochemistry of chelating agents and disinfection by-products, and environmental impacts of energy extraction.

An award-winning educator, visionary leader, and active mentor, Jeanne has supervised 24 Ph.D. dissertations and numerous M.S. theses. She has served on several boards, including the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, and she is a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Environmental Water Resources Institute, the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

I want to give a special thanks to Bill LaCourse and the dedicated members of the search committee for their efforts in conducting a comprehensive national search. 

I am excited for Jeanne to join UMBC and build on the tradition of integrating undergraduate and graduate education, research, innovation, and service to address evolving global needs. Please join me in welcoming Jeanne to the UMBC community.

Anupam Joshi Named Special Assistant to the Provost for AI and Computing

I am also pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for Anupam Joshi, who selflessly served as the interim dean for the past two years. In addition to his current roles as the Oros Family Professor and director of UMBC Cybersecurity Institute, Anupam will be transitioning to a new role as the special assistant to the Provost for AI and Computing. In this role Anupam will lead UMBC’s strategy for AI and Computing including coordinating and leveraging current efforts in this space, lead the strategic planning for university goals in this area, and leverage new resources and university partnerships. 

Anupam is a renowned expert in cybersecurity, AI, and data science. He brings decades of leadership, research excellence, and visionary thinking to this new role. His appointment marks an exciting chapter for UMBC as we expand our efforts to drive innovation, foster interdisciplinary collaboration, and shape the future of ethical and impactful AI on campus, across the USM, and around the globe. 

Please join me in congratulating Anupam on this well-deserved recognition. I look forward to the continued growth and success of the AI and computing programs under his leadership.

Sincerely, 

Manfred H.M. van Dulmen

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear UMBC Community,

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Christa J. Porter as the next vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. Christa joins UMBC on July 1 from Kent State University in Ohio where she serves as the interim dean of the Graduate College and as a faculty member. 

The vice provost and dean of the Graduate School is a key position in serving the university to guide the future of graduate education and graduate student success at UMBC. Christa is a collaborative leader who brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to inclusive excellence and student success to the role. She brings substantial administrative experience at the department and university level, working across colleges and divisions in a shared governance environment. 

As we embark on strategic planning, Christa also has significant experience in this space. In addition to her administrative experience, Christa brings a very strong record as a faculty member. Christa is a nationally recognized scholar, teacher, and mentor. Her areas of expertise include the socialization and trajectory of Black women in higher education, student development at the intersections of identities, and research and praxis in higher education and student affairs. In addition to serving as the next vice provost and dean of the Graduate School, Christa will also have a faculty appointment in the Language, Literacy, and Culture doctoral program.

Christa earned a Ph.D. in college student affairs administration and an interdisciplinary qualitative research studies certificate at the University of Georgia, a M.A. in higher education from the University of Maryland, College Park, and a B.A. in social relations and policy from Michigan State University.

I want to give a special thanks to Jeffrey Halverson, who has selflessly served as the interim vice provost and dean of the Graduate School. His thoughtful leadership has been invaluable during this season of transition. I also want to take this opportunity to thank Ana Oskoz for chairing the search committee and everyone who was involved in the search process. I appreciate your continued commitment to graduate education at UMBC. 

Please welcome Christa to the UMBC community as she returns to Maryland. 

Sincerely, 

Manfred H.M. van Dulmen

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs

Dear UMBC Community, 

I write to share an update on the university’s response to federal actions and orders and the work ahead to continue undeterred in advancing our mission and vision and standing up for our institutional values. 

This update is not exhaustive in reporting on every piece of work being done by our core team and others involved in our rapid response; but it provides important information in a few key areas that I know are of shared concern. We anticipate providing an update on our federally funded research, education, and training programs and projects in the coming days. 

International Student Immigration Status

First, as you may know, UMBC recently discovered that the federal government terminated the F-1 immigration status of four of our international graduate students. We are running daily audits of UMBC’s records in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and these audits revealed the record terminations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

In each instance, we reached out immediately to the students. Neither UMBC nor the students received any prior notification or subsequent explanation from ICE for the terminations. Some of the affected students plan to depart the U.S. immediately, while others have engaged immigration counsel and are exploring their legal options. We are coordinating with the students and with faculty and administrators to explore options for any of these students who must depart the U.S. to complete their coursework and degree programs.

These are extremely concerning developments, and the actions affecting our international students are among hundreds of such actions that have been reported at more than 80 colleges and universities across the country. We continue to closely monitor the SEVIS records of our UMBC community members holding F-1 or J-1 status, and we will continue to provide support and guidance to our international community. 

Please visit our information and resources site frequently for the latest updates on our work in response to federal actions and orders. Among other things, it includes information on international travel, updates regarding visa interview waiver eligibility, resources for international students, and guidance related to the potential for federal immigration enforcement action on campus.  Please also reach out to the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) for additional support. My sincere thanks to the entire team in OISS for their tireless work and dedicated support of our international student and scholar community. 

Budget Update

As I noted in a message before spring break, there remains much uncertainty about the scale and scope of impact of a variety of federal actions and orders on our research and, more broadly, on our university operations. While other institutions have seen massive cuts in federal research funding, leading some of them to announce austerity measures, we have not, to date, seen a similar impact. We are proceeding thoughtfully to assess existing and potential impacts and to determine what measures are needed. 

One piece of clarity we now have is our funding from the state. With the close of the General Assembly session on Tuesday and its final passage of Maryland’s $67 billion budget, we know that in the coming fiscal year, UMBC will see a 7 percent reduction in its state operations budget. This is more than the 5 percent reduction we had originally expected, but given the uncertainties in recent months at both the state and federal levels, we anticipated that the state’s reduction would grow.  

The University System of Maryland has directed its institutions, including UMBC, to prepare a 3-year budget projection incorporating the current cuts and anticipating additional ones, if needed. We will be engaging with members of the community, including shared governance, as we develop this projection, which will be completed by early May. We will be able to share further details about the projection, as well as the budget planning process for FY26, at that time.   

Affirming Our Core Values

At UMBC, excellence is our imperative, and we define excellence as inclusive. We seek out and value a wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds and work to ensure that our university community is welcoming and safe to all. We know excellence in the pursuit of knowledge requires a wide range of inputs and perspectives; we know that excellence in teaching means providing safe environments that welcome a range of viewpoints and foster learning across differences; and we know that excellence in community engagement means we must always ask how can we better serve our communities? whose communities have we not engaged? 

Time and again, I have heard this community express to me its commitment to inclusive excellence. As we uphold state and federal laws and our own university policies, we will not step back from our commitment to our deeply held values. 

In addition to inclusive excellence, academic freedom and free speech remain core values that are imperative to our academic excellence and to the advancement of our public-serving mission. We remain committed to academic freedom across all of our disciplines—in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences and engineering–and will continue to uphold this value that is fundamental to higher education.

In Gratitude

In addition to the thanks I have shared above to the team in OISS, I want to extend gratitude to all in this extraordinary community who are working every day to protect and advance the critical importance of the university and its work and to demonstrate the impact of our work to the wider world. 

I am grateful, as well, to the many who have asked, “How can I help?” I appreciate the questions and the ideas that we have seen emerge, sometimes turned into quick action. One example of that is the website of resources for displaced federal workers and the Paws and Pivot webinar series launched to provide practical resources and community for individuals affected by recent federal workforce changes. Thank you to the Alumni Engagement and Division of Professional Studies teams for their incredible work to stand up these resources in record time. 

In the midst of such challenging times that I know weigh heavily on many, this and other stories inspire and encourage us all to carry on with our important work, knowing the meaningful difference it makes to individuals and communities. Thank you, and we will be in touch with you again soon. 

Sincerely,

President Valerie Sheares Ashby

Dear UMBC Community, 

As you know, this afternoon, a Baltimore County Police officer was injured in a shooting that occurred in the parking lot of the Baltimore County Police station on Wilkens Avenue. This was a shocking incident of violence, especially because of its proximity to our campus. I want to assure our UMBC community that there is no imminent or ongoing danger to our community, and the shooting has been determined to have been an isolated incident. The suspect was taken into custody immediately following the incident, and the Baltimore County officer is in the hospital in stable condition. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office Independent Investigations Division and the Baltimore County Police Department are investigating. 

I want to commend our UMBC Police Department for its exemplary work throughout today’s incident. Our officers were among the first to arrive on the scene, and I am grateful for their swift and professional actions, and for their leadership in keeping us informed and staying closely connected to Baltimore County Police. Our thoughts and support go out to the injured officer and his family and to the Baltimore County Police Department in this difficult time. 

I want to remind you that resources are available for faculty, staff, and students who may need support. Please do not hesitate to seek out resources for support should you need them. 

For students:

Retriever Integrated Health

Retriever Care 

For employees and their households:

Employee Assistance Program 

Immediate assistance and 24/7 support resources are also available

Sincerely,

President Valerie Sheares Ashby