Dear Colleagues,

We have reached an important milestone in our three-year response to COVID-19. With the end of the federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 on May 11 and the resulting change from emergency response to our routine protocols for infectious disease education, prevention, and response, we have now ended our online reporting. The COVID-19 subgroup Health Team that has led our response holds its last regular meeting this week. We know that COVID-19 will remain a part of our community, and we will be ready to implement safety measures as needed in the future. But this is, indeed, a significant moment, and it is an occasion to reflect on and express gratitude for the incredible work of so many members of our community.

To say the last three years have been challenging is certainly an understatement. The Health Team worked diligently throughout the pandemic to keep our community safe and informed and to minimize the impact of the pandemic on our community members and our educational experience. This has been an enormous lift for everyone, and I am grateful to you all for your collective efforts.

Today, I extend my sincere gratitude to all members of the Health Team: Vic Madrid, Bruce Herman, Damian Doyle, Kim Leisey, Marie Lilly, Samantha Smith, Lucy Wilson, and, of course, Nancy Young. And an extra thanks to the COVID-19 Planning and Coordinating Committee (CPCC), led by Provost Philip Rous and Vice President for Information Technology and CIO Jack Suess, and the members of the other subcommittees who contributed so greatly to this effort. 

On behalf of the entire UMBC community, thank you for your tireless dedication and care for our community.

Sincerely,

Dear UMBC Community, 

As the July 4 holiday approaches, we would like to thank all of you for your commitment to the university and our students. To that end, July 3 will be observed as an Administrative Leave day. Timesheets for eligible Regular and Contingent II employees will be automatically coded with the administrative leave code (ADM). 

Summer session classes will not meet on July 3. Students enrolled in summer session classes should check with their instructors for guidance on make-up dates and times. Summer camps will continue as scheduled. Please check with your supervisor to see if you are required to maintain essential services during this time (and if so, you may use this Administrative Leave on another day). 

Please enjoy the long July 4 weekend. 

Sincerely, 

Dear Colleagues, 

I am writing to inform you that Dr. Patrice McDermott has shared with me her intention to step down from her position as vice provost for faculty affairs on July 31, 2023. 

Dr. McDermott joined the Office of the Provost in 2009 and has demonstrated outstanding leadership and service as vice provost during the past 14 years. In addition to her many administrative and oversight responsibilities, her commitment to faculty diversity and inclusion over many years has been both remarkable and deeply impactful. Under her leadership, the Office of Faculty Affairs has designed and developed many programs and initiatives focused on enhancing faculty diversity and faculty support. This included the development of new faculty recruitment strategies and postdoctoral pathways, STRIDE, faculty affinity groups, and UMBC's faculty leave policies, the latter of which formed the basis of USM's current policy. 

As vice provost, Dr. McDermott also advanced a wide range of institutional and transformational change projects including, most recently, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Leadership Grant to advance faculty leadership development, the NIH STEM BUILD grant to advance undergraduate diversity and success in STEM fields, and the NSF Maryland AGEP Promise Academy Alliance (APAA) to increase the number of historically underrepresented minority tenure-track faculty. She holds an appointment as a senior scholar at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), where she works toward national change as a member of the Board of Directors for the Society of STEM Women of Color (SSWOC) and the AAC&U Inclusive Excellence Commission. 

Dr. McDermott joined the UMBC faculty in 1993 as a member of the American Studies Department, which she has served as chair. She previously served in leadership positions as associate dean and as a special assistant to the dean in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, worked with then-President Freeman Hrabowski as lead Co-PI of the NSF-funded ADVANCE Institutional Transformation Grant, and established the UMBC Office of Faculty Diversity Initiatives. 

I am deeply grateful to Dr. McDermott for her leadership as vice provost and for being such an outstanding colleague for so many years. Personally, I have deeply appreciated and benefited greatly from her insight and commitment in advancing our work together and the shared values and vision of our UMBC community. I hope you will join me in thanking her for her exemplary service and in wishing her well in continuing her work as Co-PI, with Dean Kimberly Moffitt, on the Andrew Mellon Foundation grant awarded jointly to UMBC, UMD, and Morgan State University to diversify senior leadership in higher education. 

Sincerely, 

Dear Colleagues,

Last week's Commencement was a joyous culmination of our students' UMBC journeys, and I know that you shared in that joy because you played important roles in their journeys. Now, with the spring semester, final exams, Inauguration, and Commencement in our rear-view mirror, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on all we have accomplished and express my gratitude to each of you for this extraordinary and wonderful first year we have spent together. 

It has been a whirlwind, an adventure, and a homecoming all at once for me. I have learned so much from you about UMBC -- its character and its caring community, as well as its excellence and ambition. And I have seen you adjust and adapt to significant change and transition with grace and thoughtfulness for both your colleagues and the institution. 

To have joined this beloved community that holds the same values and sense of higher education's purpose that have long inspired and driven me is to have found a home among you. It is an extraordinary privilege to serve in leadership to this community. 

As we grow and evolve together, I know we will do so with those shared values as our North Star. This was evident time and again in our UMBC Bold: Campus Conversations this spring. I have now received the summaries and reflections on those conversations from our co-chairs, and I look forward to carrying the ideas and aspirations we heard into strategic planning this fall. You will hear more from me about the process and structure for that work, but for now, I wanted to extend my thanks once more to all who participated in the Campus Conversations and, especially, to those faculty, staff, alumni, and students who helped lead them. 

I know our campus will remain alive with activity through the summer and that for many of you, the months ahead will be as busy as the ones that have just passed. But I do hope that all of you find time for rest, rejuvenation, and reflection. And I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for welcoming me so warmly to UMBC, for making this first year as your president so incredible, and for embracing the work we will do together to create UMBC's exciting future. 

Sincerely, 

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to share with you the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 salary guidelines that we received from the University System of Maryland (USM) for faculty and staff in Regular and Contingent II positions, together with UMBC's plan for implementing those guidelines.

While there are no changes to the structure for exempt staff salary positions, the USM Board of Regents will vote in June on a proposal to adjust the nonexempt salary structure in FY2024. Nonexempt employees whose pay falls below a new minimum of a pay range would receive a pay increase to the new minimum of the range. Any adjustment to the salary structure will be effective July 1, 2023.

All Regular faculty and staff, Contingent II staff, and graduate assistants will receive a 2 percent COLA increase, effective July 1, 2023. Eligible employees must have been on the university payroll since June 30, 2023, to be eligible for the COLA.

A 2.5 percent merit pool, effective July 1, 2023, will be distributed to each division and applies to Regular faculty and staff and Contingent II staff. Merit increases will be based on a PMP overall rating of "effective" or better for the rating period of April 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023 (if a PMP was not submitted for an eligible employee for that period, the overall rating will be considered "effective").

Regular nonexempt staff must have completed original and/or promotional probation by June 30, 2023, to be eligible for the merit increase. Nonexempt staff on original and/or promotional probation will receive a 2.5 percent increase upon their successful completion of the probation period.

Regular exempt staff must have been in an eligible position prior to January 15, 2023, to be considered for a merit increase.

Contingent II staff must have been in an eligible position prior to January 1, 2023, (nonexempt staff) or January 15, 2023, (exempt staff) to be considered for a merit increase.

Regular faculty must have been hired prior to January 15, 2023, to be eligible for a merit increase.

For all divisions/colleges, there will be a consolidated pool. The merit pool for faculty will be distributed proportionally to the colleges and other academic units, and deans of the colleges will be responsible for the allocation of merit pay.

The minimum wage for all Maryland workers will increase to $15 per hour, effective January 1, 2024. However, UMBC will raise our minimum wage effective July 1, 2023.

If you have questions or need additional guidance, please consult your supervisor. Our continued thanks and appreciation to our entire community of faculty and staff for your ongoing dedication to UMBC.

Sincerely,

Provost Philip Rous

Vice President for Administration and Finance Kathy L. Dettloff

Kim Leisey, senior associate vice president for student affairs, will retire from UMBC at the end of the academic year after 36 years of service to Maryland's higher education system, 32 of those at UMBC. While Kim is retiring from higher education, she will continue to create communities of inclusion in a new role as the executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating a positive environment inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, and related communities. 

Kim joined UMBC in 1991 as an assistant director in residential life, and also led the Office of Residential Life before joining the Vice President's office. Both the faculty mentor and the nationally recognized living-learning programs were created under her leadership. 

Kim founded BRACT, the Behavioral Risk Assessment and Consultation Team. She worked with the Maryland Mental Health Association to adopt mental health training (developed in Australia), making UMBC the first university in the country to offer Mental Health First Aid. She brought the Green Dot Bystander Intervention Program to UMBC and developed our current relationship with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. With support from a Verizon grant, Kim also developed a relationship violence prevention program. Her commitment to well-being led to the renovation of the Retriever Activities Center and in the planning, construction, and opening of the new Center for Well-Being. Most recently, her vigilant and strategic leadership were integral to the campus COVID-19 response. 

She used her passion for creating broad communities of care to advocate for LGBTQ students, faculty, and staff on campus and across the University System of Maryland (USM). Along with colleagues, Kim founded the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Faculty Staff Association (a precursor to today's LGBTQ Association). Her vision and the work of the group resulted in one of the earliest inclusive living agreements for live-in residential staff in the country, the start of the campus Safe Zone program, gender neutral housing, and regional LGBTQ student leadership conferences. UMBC was the only campus to testify to the Board of Regents in support of changes to the USM non-discrimination policy with the full backing of their executive and shared governance groups, resulting in the addition of sexual orientation to the USM non-discrimination policy in 1997 (the language was later changed to include gender orientation and sexual expression). 

Compassion, care, integrity, and inclusion are hallmarks of Kim's leadership. I am grateful for Kim's commitment to the Division of Student Affairs and the entire UMBC community, and especially for the care she's given to the development of students and her staff. We are now working to determine coverage for the transition period. If you are uncertain of whom to contact after May 26, please reach out to the student affairs office at studentaffairs@umbc.edu or 410-455-2393. 

Dear UMBC Community,

The federal Public Health Emergency for COVID-19 ends today, May 11, 2023. As a result of this decision by the Department of Health and Human Services, and continued low COVID-19 rates in Maryland, UMBC is also stepping down its COVID-19 emergency response and returning to its routine infectious disease prevention, response, and education protocols. The university continues to work closely with local and state health agencies and will be ready to implement any needed safety measures if the situation changes. In addition, we will make some changes to our existing policies. 

COVID-19 testing kits and KN95 masks will continue to be available on campus through the end of the semester, as supplies last. Retriever Integrated Health will continue to provide testing and healthcare for symptomatic community members as a part of a visit. You can learn more about services and fees on Retriever Integrated Health's website. 

We know that COVID-19 will remain a part of our community and urge you to continue to take steps to stay healthy and to support others as they do the same. Please stay home if you are sick. We understand that many in our community will continue to mask for a variety of reasons and we ask everyone to continue to respect their decisions.

Dear Friends, 

The inauguration of our sixth president on April 27 was nothing short of spectacular. What an honor it was to hear remarks from Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Maryland Delegate Mark S. Chang '99, and Baltimore County Executive John A. Olszewski, Jr., Ph.D. '17, along with greetings from our own shared governance leaders. The investiture ceremony was full of pageantry (and beautiful music!) and at the same time felt warm, personal, and authentically UMBC. It was great to be with you and all of our special guests in celebrating UMBC and our outstanding president, Valerie Sheares Ashby. 

Today, it is my great pleasure to share with you a collection of content from the inauguration events. You'll see on our inauguration website a selection of videos and photos and a feature story about the inauguration produced by University Communications and Marketing, as well as media coverage of the events. 

I couldn't be prouder of this UMBC community or more excited for our future together. My thanks to all who played a part in the inauguration and those who joined us in this historic celebration. 

In April 2022, a new grading option for undergraduate courses, Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U) grading, was approved by the Faculty Senate to be implemented in fall 2023. Further modifications to the S/U grading option were approved by the Faculty Senate in April 2023, and the necessary infrastructure has been put in place to implement the new S/U grading option for students on schedule, beginning in fall 2023. The S/U grading option will replace the Pass/Fail (P/F) grading option currently offered on selected regularly graded (A - F) undergraduate courses at UMBC. The S/U grading option will not be available for courses that are graded P/F only.

The new S/U grading option aims to provide equity in grade calculation: Unlike the P/F option, neither the S nor U grade will be computed in the student's GPA; and students who choose the S/U option will be able to remain in these courses past the individual course withdrawal deadline and receive academic content through the end of the semester.

The S/U grading option will be available for all regularly graded undergraduate courses that currently carry a P/F grading-option designation. Students will be able to choose the S/U option up until the individual course withdrawal deadline each semester. A maximum of 12 credits of S/U grades will count toward a student's undergraduate degree.

What isn't changing with the new S/U grading option? Undergraduate courses taken S/U may only count toward the student's elective credits; they will not fulfill general education, major, minor, prerequisite, or certificate requirements. Courses taken S/U will not count toward Latin Honors eligibility requirements.

For more details, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document about S/U grading is available to help inform you regarding this new grading option.

Additional questions about the new S/U grading method may be directed to academicpolicyquestions@umbc.edu.