Dear Faculty and Staff,

UMBC has decided to participate in The Baltimore Sun Top Workplaces program, which identifies and compares top places to work in the Baltimore metropolitan area, based solely on the opinions of employees.

Thanks to everyone who has completed the survey. If you have yet done so, this is a reminder to keep an eye out for an email with a link to the online survey. The survey, conducted by Energage, an independent research company, should take about five minutes to complete. Energage will keep your responses confidential; however, certain members of the UMBC community will have access to the optional written comments on the survey. If you wish to remain completely anonymous, please do not submit any optional written comments that could identify you individually.

Additionally, please note:

• If you have not received a survey link, please check your spam or junk email for a message from "Energage Survey." To open the survey invitation, you may have to confirm the email is not spam.
• If you accidentally delete the survey email, you will receive a reminder email with another access link.
• Do not forward the survey email to a colleague. Each email has a unique code to prevent multiple responses.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Energage directly at 1-800-749-0187 or by replying to your survey email.

We encourage everyone's participation and hope you will take this opportunity to share your honest feedback.

Dear UMBC Community,

I am pleased to announce that we will launch a national search for a vice president for diversity, equity, and inclusion at UMBC. Since my arrival, I have spent much of my time listening and learning more about our shared value of inclusive excellence. I am grateful for the perspectives and advice shared by senior leaders, shared governance officers, the Office of Equity and Inclusion staff, our affinity group leaders, and both the Inclusion Council and Implementation Team. Our campus's bold commitment to supporting an inclusive and welcoming culture for all students, faculty, and staff led me to this decision to establish a full-time senior leadership role.

Candace Dodson-Reed, chief of staff to the president and executive director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion, will lead a diverse search committee to help us find a candidate who shares our core values. Our partners from the search firm Isaacson, Miller will assist in the process.

This empowered leader will first understand the depth and breadth of the work we already do across the campus to build diversity, equity, and inclusion, and will recommend effective ways to move that work forward. This position will also be responsible for managing all Title IX and civil rights efforts, which include a clear focus on discrimination, harassment, hate, and bias. Candace will share the full position profile with our community soon.

Thank you for your support as we launch this process and for all that you do to model inclusive excellence at UMBC.

President Valerie Sheares Ashby

Dear Colleagues,

We are saddened to learn of the recent transition of Dr. Alan Sorkin who served as chair of the Department of Economics for 31 years. Dr. Sorkin passed away on Friday, August 19, 2022 at home surrounded by his family after a long battle with an illness. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones and we know that many UMBC community members will mourn his loss. 

Dr. Sorkin joined the UMBC Economics Department in 1974 upon completing his undergraduate and doctorate in Economics at Johns Hopkins University. Prior to UMBC, he also spent two years with the Brookings Institution and five years with the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins. Under his leadership, the UMBC Economics Department more than doubled the number of faculty and student majors. The Department also introduced its Financial Economics B.S. and its M.A. in Economic Policy Analysis. He retired from UMBC and became Professor Emeritus in 2006.

His scholarly expertise focused on global public health but he also published innovative monographs in other areas of applied economics. He published twelve books and eight co-edited volumes. In addition to his books on health economics, the titles of his other books include Monetary and Fiscal Policy and Business Cycles in the Modern Era, Economic Aspects of Natural Hazards, Education, Unemployment and Economic Growth, and The Urban American Indian. His numerous contributions were recognized with the Heritage Award by the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in 2019. 

After his retirement in 2006, Alan still returned regularly to the UMBC campus to visit and lunch with faculty colleagues up until the 2020 pandemic.  Economics Department Chair David Mitch recalls that during his visits Alan would frequently inquire about current department issues. Among his numerous non-academic interests, Alan was an avid coin collector. His presence will certainly be missed.  

A visitation will be held at Schimunek Funeral Home, 9705 Belair Rd, Nottingham, MD on Friday, August 26, 2022 from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Another brief visitation will be held Saturday, August 27, 2022 from 9 AM to 9:30 AM at St. Michael Lutheran Church Perry Hall, 9534 Belair Road, Nottingham, MD 21236. Funeral services will begin at 9:30 AM, followed by interment at Highview Memorial Gardens, 3433 Fallston Rd, Fallston, MD 21047. The website for the funeral home is Schimunek Funeral Home | Funeral & Cremation (dignitymemorial.com).
 
Contributions may be made in his memory to Harford County Public Library Harford County Public Library (hcplonline.org) or to Fallston Volunteer Fire and Ambulance Company Donations - Fallston Fire Company (fvfac.org).

Kimberly R. Moffitt, Dean

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Shannon Tinney Lichtinger as Director of Institutional Research in the Office of Institutional Research, Analysis and Decision Support (IRADS), effective July 21, 2022. Shannon began her career at UMBC in 2005 as a research analyst in what was then the Office of Institutional Research (OIR). During her time in OIR, she developed a reputation as a strong researcher and collaborator across campus and was lauded for the meticulous nature of her work. She left to  pursue leadership opportunities in institutional research, planning, and development at other institutions in Maryland in 2008. Shannon returned to UMBC and IRADS in spring 2019, bringing a wealth of experience gained in private and community college settings. Since 2019, she has become an integral part of the IRADS team, taking the lead or a significant role in multiple areas across the unit that support the IRADS strategic mission, as well as that of the university.

In her new position, Shannon assumes leadership responsibility for all institutional research (IR) functions in IRADS, and has a key role in department strategic planning and administration, working closely with the Associate Vice Provost of IRADS.  She represents IRADS, both internally and externally, chairing or serving on a wide range of university committees and workgroups. In addition to overseeing IR staff, Shannon also assumes the role of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE) Portal Delegate, with responsibility for campus annual reporting.

Shannon earned a B.A. from McDaniel College and an M.A. from the University of Georgia (both in Sociology), as well as a Graduate Certificate in Institutional Research from Pennsylvania State University’s Education Policy Studies program in Higher Education. She is a trained Middle States evaluator and completed the Society for College and University Planning’s (SCUP) Planning Institute. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy at UMBC. Shannon was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa at McDaniel and into Phi Kappa Phi at the University of Georgia.

Shannon also engages in an impressive amount of professional and service activities. She has developed a strong reputation in the IR community, having served in various roles on the executive boards of both the Maryland Association for Institutional Research and the Northeast Association of Institutional Research (NEAIR), most recently serving as president of NEAIR from 2019-2021. At the national level she consistently volunteers with the Association of Institutional Research, and she regularly mentors students as well as newcomer and mid-career IR professionals. From 2021 to the present, she has served on the Scholarship Committee of the USM Women’s Forum, and has been the secretary for our campus chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, Chapter 22 UMB-UMBC.

Please join us in congratulating Shannon Tinney Lichtinger on this appointment and wishing her continued success in her new role at UMBC.

Antonio Moreira, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs

Constance Pierson, Associate Vice Provost for IRADS

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Annual virtual parking permits for faculty and staff expire at the end of August each year. We ask that all faculty and staff visit the UMBC Parking Services Portal to verify your vehicle information is correct and to update it if needed. Failure to obtain a valid permit for the 2022-2023 academic year will result in a citation. 

• Existing Payroll Eligible Faculty/Staff: If you already have the cost of your permit deducted from your paycheck, your permit will automatically be renewed. 

• New Payroll Eligible Faculty/Staff: New employees (those hired from February 9  -- August 23, 2022) must purchase their parking permits through payroll deduction. We ask that you submit your Payroll Deduction Form by Wednesday, August 24 at 11 a.m. You will see the payroll deductions for the 2022-2023 academic year from September 2022 through the end of May 2023.

• Payroll Ineligible Faculty/Staff: If you are not eligible for a payroll deduction for the cost of your permit, you must come to the Parking Services office to renew your permit. Our office is open Monday -- Friday, from 8  a.m. -- 4 p.m. Cost for an annual D Permit is $280 and for annual E Permit is $380. You may purchase with cash, check, or credit card.

For additional questions or if you experience any issues, please contact us directly at parking@umbc.edu or at.410-455-2551.

UMBC Parking Services

Dear Faculty and Staff,

UMBC has decided to participate in The Baltimore Sun Top Workplaces program, which identifies and compares top places to work in the Baltimore metropolitan area, based solely on the opinions of employees.

Beginning this week, you will receive an email with a link to the online survey. The survey, conducted by Energage, an independent research company, should take about five minutes to complete. Energage will keep your responses confidential; however, certain members of the UMBC community will have access to the optional written comments on the survey. If you wish to remain completely anonymous, please do not submit any optional written comments that could identify you individually.

Additionally, please note:

• If you do not receive the survey email within the next week, please check your spam or junk email for a message from "Energage Survey." To open the survey invitation, you may have to confirm the email is not spam.
• If you accidentally delete the survey email, you will receive a reminder email a few days later with another access link.
• Do not forward the survey email to a colleague. Each email has a unique code to prevent multiple responses.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact Energage directly at 1-800-749-0187 or by replying to your survey email.

We encourage everyone's participation and hope you will take this opportunity to share your honest feedback.

Dear UMBC Community,

We are pleased to announce an update to our self-service pathway to allow students to indicate their chosen middle and last names in addition to their chosen first names, pronouns, and gender identity in university administrative systems. Beginning this month, students can log into their myUMBC profile and update their chosen middle and last names. This process is optional and voluntary. More detail on how students may update their information is available here.

Students' chosen names are provided to faculty and staff through university administrative systems, such as PeopleSoft and myUMBC. Please note that the display of this information may differ from system to system. For example, not all university administrative systems currently accommodate chosen middle names.

The expanded name options build on prior work enabling students to indicate their chosen first name, pronouns, and gender identity. We invite you to view this brief video for more insight on the expanded chosen name initiative, including reminders on how to verify students' identity when working in campus systems.

Thank you to the diverse group of campus partners who worked together to implement this new process, and thank you for all you do everyday to make UMBC a safe, caring, and inclusive learning community.

The Office of Equity and Inclusion

Learn More Here

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The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) is responsible for promoting and coordinating the University's core values of inclusive excellence and equity. OEI has primary responsibility for managing UMBC's efforts related to Title IX, gender identity, and LGBTQ+ identity, as well as other civil rights issues. OEI is leading our campus community through this important culture change with the support and partnership of countless allies across UMBC. If you are experiencing discrimination based on your gender identity or sexual orientation, you can report it using OEI's online reporting form.

The diversity of UMBC's community and our commitment to inclusive excellence are among our greatest strengths. We are committed to continuing to improve and simplify pathways for alerting the university of chosen names and pronouns. While we recognize that achieving inclusion is an ongoing process, we will continue to strive to make our campus a safe and welcoming environment for everyone, including transgender people and other members of the LGBTQ+ community.

We are also committed to providing information and other supportive resources for members of the UMBC community with particular concerns about civil rights related to gender identity. Resources are available at the following sites:

UMBC Non-Discrimination Policy Statement

USM Policy of Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity or Expression

LGBTQ+ Resources at UMBC

UMBC Gender Inclusive Housing Options

Retriever Integrated Health

Pride Center

Women's Center 

UMBC LGBTQ Faculty/Staff Association

UMBC LGBTQ Student Union