Did you know approximately one in every three college students are dealing with some form of food insecurity. Unfortunately, UMBC is not immune to this issue. The fact is many students are struggling to find enough food to survive. Here's how you can help!

This campaign runs from October 23 through November 3. Donations are accepted Monday to Friday, from 8 AM to 4 PM (Office Closes for Lunch from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM).

Questions? Contact Parking Services at 410-455-2551 or email parking@umbc.edu. Together we can make a difference! 

Facilities Management wants to extend a thank you to everyone who came out for the tree planting event last week! We did not anticipate such an amazing turn out and are so appreciative of the energy and positivity our campus community brought. Our goal for this event was to get our UMBC community more connected with each other and the environment. We can proudly say we accomplished this goal. Thank you to Phillip Cho, landscape architect, for laying out the planting plan for the trees, and to our Landscape and Grounds professionals, especially Charlie Hogan, for hosting the event and providing all necessary equipment and guidance. Thank you to Campus Planning and the Eco Ambassadors for coordinating and supporting the event, as well. We couldn't have made this happen without the help of everyone involved. 

Warm regards, 

Molly Power

As President Sheares Ashby announced, Campus Strategic Planning will begin soon. The Bold Conversations Final Report has been released and will serve as a guide for the strategic planning process. 

Shared governance organizations, including PSS, have been tasked to reach out to our constituents regarding the strategic planning process. We need YOU to tell us how you would like to be involved!

As President Sheares Ashby announced, Campus Strategic Planning will begin soon. The Bold Conversations Final Report has been released and will serve as a guide for the strategic planning process. 

Shared governance organizations, including PSS, have been tasked to reach out to our constituents regarding the strategic planning process. We need YOU to tell us how you would like to be involved!

As President Sheares Ashby announced, Campus Strategic Planning will begin soon. The Bold Conversations Final Report has been released and will serve as a guide for the strategic planning process. 

Shared governance organizations, including PSS, have been tasked to reach out to our constituents regarding the strategic planning process. We need YOU to tell us how you would like to be involved!

The Office for Academic and Pre-Professional Advising invites you to serve as an Orientation Advisor this Winter!

Advising is hoping to recruit more full-time staff this Winter -- although staff members are not compensated additionally for advising, as it occurs during regular business hours, this is an excellent professional development opportunity for them -- and can play a strong role in putting their department in front of students as they take their first steps at UMBC. A department that encourages its staff to take just a few hours of time, just a few times a month, to serve as an Orientation Advisor can lead to more exploratory students hearing about their majors or services, and more students receiving better advising than they otherwise would!

Advising will be offered over the course of several days throughout the month of January. Upon hire, advisors will be given the opportunity to select which days they are available to advise. No previous experience is required, and we will provide all training necessary!

Besides compensation for eligible advisors ($100 for training and each daytime session, $50 for each morning or evening session), this is a rare chance for staff to engage in professional development in ways that may not be otherwise available, and then bring those skills back to their home department. Orientation advising requires and trains diverse skillsets, such as one-on-one academic advising and counseling, university-wide policies and protocols, inter-office collaboration, and much more!

They are offering informational sessions for anyone interested or who even just MIGHT be interested in finding out about this exciting opportunity to expand their skillsets, make meaningful connections, serve their departments, and get paid!

More info on these can be found on the Advising myUMBC page.

To apply, please submit a completed application, together with a resume and cover letter, by Wednesday, October 25. The application and submission link can be found here.

Reach out to Laszlo Korossy, Assistant Director of Advising, Outreach, and Assessment with any questions.

HR is offering an Open Enrollment Information Session on Wednesday, October 18th at 10:00am. Session information can be found on myUMBC. Make sure to copy the webex link from myUMBC and put it on your calendar, you do not need to RSVP on myUMBC.

The session will be recorded. The link to watch the recording will be on the HR Open Enrollment website.

Employees must re-enroll during Open Enrollment if they want to have a Healthcare and/or Dependent Daycare Flexible Spending Account (FSA) account for the 2024 calendar year. FSA accounts do not automatically roll over to the next calendar year. 

All other benefits (medical, prescription, dental, life insurance, and AD&D) will automatically rollover to the following calendar year, even if the employee takes no action during Open Enrollment.  

Please wear clothes that can get dirty and close-toed shoes. All tools and equipment will be provided. 

Additionally, as part of the grant, there is a competition for multimedia storytelling related to your time volunteering - so think of creative ways to capture photos, videos, and more if you would like to contribute!

If you have any questions, please reach out to Molly Power in our Planning Office at mpower@umbc.edu.

Tickets are on sale for the 2023 USM Women's Annual Conference!

Thursday, Oct 26 - Friday, Oct 27 2023
The Universities at Shady Grove, Rockville, MD

Click Here to Purchase Tickets - 1 or 2-day passes available

Learn more about the USM Women's Forum here.

If it's been 3 years or more since you've taken Mental Health First Aid, now is the time to sign up for training!

We are excited to offer the UMBC community a 1-day skills-based training course designed to teach participants how to:

**recognize signs of mental health or substance use disorders.

**identify community resources.

**link people in crisis to the proper resources.

The course will consist of a 2-hour self-paced introduction course online, followed by a 6-hour virtual skills session with Mental Health First Aid instructors.  You will learn a 5­-step action plan and practice applying it throughout the skills section of the course.

Space is limited! You must register NO LATER than one week prior to the date of the training.