It is with mixed emotions I am writing to announce that Dr. Michael Carlin, Associate VP and Deputy CIO, will be leaving UMBC to become Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. His last day on campus will be Wednesday, July 10th.

Mike has been with UMBC since 1996, starting as a student employee and then hired full-time as a desktop support and help desk technician in 1997. Over the years, he’s taken on new roles with eagerness and demonstrated leadership in a variety of initiatives. He oversaw DoIT’s continuity of operations following power outages, took the lead on our support of the Columbus Center, served as the DoIT liaison for the 2010 IT Restructuring Report and led UMBC’s Google Apps deployment.

Mike is also a UMBC success story. While working full-time he completed both his Masters and Ph.D. in Information Systems and ultimately married his UMBC Organic Chemistry Lab partner Cherisse Carlin (Lewis), who also completed her Ph.D. in Language, Literacy and Culture. Mike and Cherisse are also devoted parents to daughters Shiloh and Adrielle.

Personally, I am very proud of Mike, and have appreciated his professionalism and distinctive grace under pressure. Please join me in congratulating Mike on his past and future successes.

Please join us in congratulating Mike and wishing him and his family continued success. DoIT will host an informal event on Tuesday, July 9th from 3:30 to 5pm, in the Commons Fireside lounge for members of the campus to come by and congratulate Mike.

Sincerely,

Jack Suess
Vice President and CIO

Division of Information Technology

Regrettably, I must announce that Karin Readel will be leaving UMBC as DoIT's Director of Instructional Technology. After deciding with her husband Bryan to relocate to Illinois, she has accepted a position as Education Coordinator in the Illinois Informatics Institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Her last day at UMBC will be Friday, June 7.

Since joining DoIT in 2010, Karin has had a tremendous impact on UMBC’s support of instructional technology. I thought I knew a thing or two about Blackboard, but I bow to her expertise and will miss it greatly. We all will. Beyond her rock solid leadership of DoIT’s instructional technology services and support, Karin has been a delightful colleague and friend. I’ve never worked with a more “can do” person, and will miss her energy and anecdotes. 

Karin returns to Illinois roots having studied at Urbana-Champaign and working at DePaul University. She came to UMBC’s Geography & Environmental Systems (GES) Department in 1999, rising to the rank of Senior Lecturer and serving as Undergraduate Program Director. She developed the lab science for non-majors course, SCI100 "Water: An Interdisciplinary Study," which she also redesigned for hybrid delivery in 2005, the first year DoIT supported the Alternate Delivery Program (ADP). Her extensive service to the campus included co-chairing the Academic Conduct Committee and serving on the President’s Commission for Women as well as the Computer Policy Committee. She advised countless numbers of UMBC students, and was well-known in the residence halls as a faculty mentor, often accompanied by her trusty canine companion "Bob," who was featured in UMBC Magazine.

I will follow up about future plans, but for now, please join me in congratulating Karin on her new endeavors, and thanking her for her success and friendship at UMBC.

Sincerely,

John Fritz
Asst. VP, Instructional Technology & New Media
UMBC Division of Information Technology