Dear Members of the UMBC Community,

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Professor Margaret Re as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs effective July 1, 2022. 

Reporting directly to the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs, Professor Re will advance UMBC's mission by supporting the academic program review process, new program development, and instructional space use and planning, among other activities. To carry out these responsibilities, Professor Re will collaborate with divisions, academic units, and colleges across UMBC. Reporting to the Provost, Professor Re will support strategic planning implementation activities and the revision of UMBC's General Education Program.

Professor Re joined UMBC in 1997 and is a Professor of Visual Arts. She holds an M.F.A. in graphic design from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and a B.F.A. in communication design from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Her research interests include typography, design history, and women and design. A former START and Research and Creative Achievement Council chair, Professor Re is a practicing design educator, researcher, and consultant to academic, cultural, and non-profit institutions. She has received numerous awards and fellowships, including awards from the National Endowment for the Arts. The American Institute of Graphic Arts, the American Association of Museums, and the Type Directors Club have recognized her scholarship.

UMBC is fortunate to have someone of Professor Margaret Re's impressive experience and talent to serve as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs. Please join us in congratulating Professor Re on her new appointment and supporting her in this important endeavor.

Provost Philip Rous

Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Antonio Moreira

Are you ReADY?

Facilities Management and Residential Life are excited to announce the launch of our new customer request portal ReADY for faculty, staff, and students to report maintenance issues and to request services, effective Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

ReADY is a user-friendly application which runs on all smart phones, tablets, and computers.

ReADY allows all campus users to request services, using an easy-to-follow system of tiles and dropdown selections. Based upon your affiliation as a faculty/staff, commuter student, or residential student, you will see a customized set of tiles to report issues and request services for buildings, grounds, roadways, and other infrastructure.

Access ReADY via this link using your UMBC email and password:

https://umbc.assetworks.cloud/ready

Customers will receive email notifications and be able to monitor status of requests by clicking on Process or Notifications in ReADY. 

For current AiM Users, ReADY replaces the AiM work order request process. The AiM interface for requests will be disabled at 5 pm on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.

A ReADY user guide and additional information is available on Facilities Management’s website:

https://fm.umbc.edu/work-request/

The UMBC Graduate School Dissertation Fellowship
Application Deadline: Friday, July 15, 2022

The Dissertation Fellowship is designed to provide doctoral candidates at UMBC an opportunity to devote the necessary concentration and attention towards finishing the writing of their dissertations. The Fellowship is specifically designed for students with full-time jobs off-campus, for those without any financial support who are making steady progress with their writing, and for whom having additional time and resources would permit them to complete the process more expeditiously. This Fellowship is not available as an option for students with available graduate assistantship support.

The Dissertation Fellowship could provide promising doctoral candidates with financial support so that they may reduce their current obligations and partially offset any reductions in salary or increases in expenses. No additional work assignments other than work on the dissertation are to be associated with this support.

Priority will be given to students who demonstrate that the Fellowship will allow them the needed time to complete their writing and to make revisions in time to defend the work within a realistic but expeditious time frame. Awards will be made to students who have demonstrated a commitment to provide at least 20 hours per week for an entire academic semester to writing the dissertation.

Dissertation Fellowship awards are available for Fall 2022. The duration of an award is for one semester. The maximum level of support for Fall is a total stipend of $10,000 per Fellowship plus tuition remission for two credits of 899. Dissertation fellows are required to register for 9 credits of 899 (which is billed at 2 credits). We will provide tuition remission for the cost of 899 only. Please note that fellows are required to pay for 2 credits of mandatory fees associated with 899.

To be considered for a Dissertation Fellowship, the Ph.D. candidate must:

• be in good academic standing;
  
• provide a letter of support from the Chair of the Dissertation Committee that:(1) describes the state of the dissertation and the probable impact of receipt of the Fellowship on the progress toward completion; and, 2)verifies that no UMBC-administered financial support is available for the student;
• provide, if employed outside the university, written evidence from the student's employer indicating the employers willingness to reduce job time and duties in order for the student to participate in the Fellowship;
  
• submit a dissertation abstract of no more than two pages in length; and
  
• submit a 1 to 2-page management plan signed by the Chair of the Dissertation Committee describing the status of the dissertation work, the steps required to complete the work, and the feasible time line for completion.
  
• Identify, if a prior recipient of a Dissertation Fellowship, the prior term (e.g., Spring 2021) in which the Fellowship was received.

Applications for Fall 2022 Dissertation Fellowships will be accepted by the Office of the Associate Dean of the Graduate School until 4:30 p.m., Friday, July 15, 2022. Completed applications MUST be submitted via email as a single PDF to DFFall2022@umbc.edu. A committee consisting of three members of the Graduate School Leadership Team will review applications and announce recipients of the Fellowship by Friday, August 5, 2022. Selection will be based on the extent of convincing evidence that the award will provide the critical element needed to complete the dissertation.