President Valerie Sheares Ashby Invites You to Join Us for the
Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
University Center Ballroom
11:30 a.m. Community Lunch
12 p.m. Awards Ceremony
Please join me in sharing gratitude for the UMBC community, and celebrating this year’s Presidential Faculty and Staff awardees, University System of Maryland awardees, and additional distinguished university honorees.
Written by Margie Burns, assistant teaching professor of English, UMBC
Most readers hear “pride and prejudice” and immediately think of Jane Austen’s most famous novel, that salty-sweet confection of romance and irony with a fairy-tale ending.
Few people, however, know the history of the phrase “pride and prejudice,” which I explore in my new book, “Jane Austen, Abolitionist: The Loaded History of the Phrase ‘Pride and Prejudice.’”
Like most Austen fans and scholars, I had read and loved her novels for years without learning much about the history of the title, which Austen chose after scrapping the original one, “First Impressions.”
By the 20th century, “pride and prejudice” became solely associated with Austen’s 1813 novel.
The phrase, which has religious origins, appeared in hundreds of works before Austen was born. From Britain it traveled to America, and from religious tomes it expanded to secular works. It even became a hallmark of abolitionist writing.
While 2025 marks Austen’s 250th birthday, the phrase “pride and prejudice” first appeared more than 400 years ago, in religious writings by English Protestants. As the daughter, sister, cousin and granddaughter of Church of England ministers, Austen was certainly aware of the tradition.
If ministers wanted to reproach their parishioners or their opponents, they attributed criticism of their sermons to “pride and prejudice” – as coming from people too arrogant and narrow-minded to entertain their words in good faith.
While the usage began in the Church of England, other denominations, even radical ones, soon adopted it: “Pride and prejudice” appears in the writings of Nonconformists, Anabaptists, Quakers, Dissenters and other representatives of “Schism, Faction and Sedition,” as one anonymous writer called them.
One early takeaway is that, amid fervent religious conflicts, various denominations similarly used “pride and prejudice” as a criticism.
The unnamed minister himself complained that, owing to “the Pride and Prejudice of mens Spirits, the prevailing Interests of some Factions and Parties, the greatest part of the Nation are miserably wanting in their Duty.”
At the same time, the phrase could be invoked to support religious toleration and in pleas for inclusiveness.
“When all Pride and Prejudice, all Interests and Designs, being submitted to the Honour of God, and the Discharge of our Duty,” an anonymous clergyman wrote in 1734, “the Holy Scriptures shall again triumph over the vain Traditions of Men; and Religion no longer take its Denomination from little Sects and Factions.”
In the 18th century, advances in publishing led to an explosion of secular writing. For the first time, regular people could buy books about history, politics and philosophy. These popular texts spread the phrase “pride and prejudice” to even more distant shores.
One fan was American founding father Thomas Paine.
In his 47-page pamphlet “Common Sense,” Paine argued that kings could not be trusted to protect democracy: “laying aside all national pride and prejudice in favour of modes and forms, the plain truth is, that it is wholly owing to the constitution of the people, and not to the constitution of the government[,] that the crown is not as repressive in England as in Turkey.”
Others included Daniel Defoe, author of “Robinson Crusoe.” In his 1708 essay “Review of the State of the British Nation,” Defoe satirically exhorted the public to vote Tory rather than electing men of sense, to “dispell the Poisons” that “Sloth, Envy, Pride and Prejudice may have contracted, and bring the Blood of the Party into a true circulation.”
After the philosophers, the historians and the political commentators came the novelists. And among the novelists, female writers were especially important. My annotated list in “Jane Austen, Abolitionist” includes more than a dozen female writers using the phrase between 1758 and 1812, the year Austen finished revising “Pride and Prejudice.”
Among them was Frances Burney. Scholars have often attributed Austen’s famous title to Burney, who used the phrase “pride and prejudice” in her novel “Cecilia.”
But Burney was not alone. Female novelists who used the expression before Austen included Charlotte Lennox, sisters Harriet and Sophia Lee, Charlotte Turner Smith, Mrs. Colpoys, Anne Seymour Damer and mother and daughter Susannah and Elizabeth Gunning, who jointly authored their novel “The Heir Apparent.”
As the critique embodied in the phrase progressed beyond religious and partisan conflict, it became increasingly used in the context of ethics and social reform.
My most striking discovery in this research is the long-standing association of the phrase “pride and prejudice” with abolitionism, the movement to eradicate enslavement and the slave trade.
The leaders of transnational antislavery organizations used it at their conventions and in the books and periodicals they published. In 1843, 30 years after the publication of Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice,” British Quaker Thomas Clarkson wrote to the General Antislavery Convention, which was meeting in London.
He exhorted the faithful to repudiate slavery “at once and forever” if there were any among them “whose eyes may be so far blinded, or their consciences so far seared by interest or ignorance, pride or prejudice, as still to sanction or uphold this unjust and sinful system.”
He even used the phrase twice. Acknowledging that some violent abolitionists had aroused reaction, he warned his audience that “this state of feeling arises as much from pride and prejudice on the one hand, as from indiscretion or impropriety on the other.”
At the funeral for abolitionist John Brown, the minister prayed over his body, “Oh, God, cause the oppressed to go free; break any yoke, and prostrate the pride and prejudice that dare to lift themselves up.”
The prayer uttered at John Brown’s burial. Library of Congress
Use of the phrase did not end with Emancipation or the end of the U.S. Civil War.
In fact, it was one of Frederick Douglass’ favorite phrases. On Oct. 22, 1883, in his “Address at Lincoln Hall,” Douglass excoriated the Supreme Court’s decision rendering the Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional.
As was typical of Douglass, the speech ranged beyond racial inequities: “Color prejudice is not the only prejudice against which a Republic like ours should guard. The spirit of caste is malignant and dangerous everywhere. There is the prejudice of the rich against the poor, the pride and prejudice of the idle dandy against the hard-handed workingman.”
Early on in “Pride and Prejudice,” the conceited Caroline Bingley snipes that Elizabeth Bennet shows “an abominable sort of conceited independence.” Later, the snobbish Lady Catherine accuses Bennet of being “headstrong.” But near the ending, Mr. Darcy tells Bennet that he loves her for “the liveliness” of her “mind.”
In this respect, Bennet reflects a quality that all of Austen’s heroines possess. While they try to adhere to standards of courtesy and respect, none are guilty of saying only what the leading man wants to hear.
Jane Austen. Stock Montage/Getty Images
Given that Austen chose her title to honor the phrase and its history, it is ironic that her own fame ended up drowning out the abolitionist associations of “pride and prejudice” after the Civil War.
If there is any work of fiction that successfully makes self-sufficiency, independent thinking and open-mindedness look good – and makes sycophants, rigidity and hysterical devotion to rank and status look bad – it is “Pride and Prejudice.”
Yet the lasting popularity of Austen’s novel demonstrates that the ethics contained in the phrase continue to resonate today, even if its context has been lost.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article and see more than 250 UMBC articles available in The Conversation.
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Williams and a Jibo robot show some UMBC pride. (Photo courtesy of Williams)
As a senior in high school in Prince George’s County, Maryland, Randi Williams ’16, computer engineering, was almost certain she was going to MIT for undergrad. Since middle school she’d had the understanding that MIT was the school “for people who want to build things,” and by spring of senior year she had already been admitted under early action. But fate had other plans.
Her mother had learned about UMBC’s Meyerhoff Scholars Program from a 60 Minutes segment that aired right around when Williams was applying to colleges. The nationally renowned Meyerhoff Scholars Program, founded in 1988, works to increase diversity among future leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by supporting students who intend to pursue a Ph.D. or combined M.D./Ph.D. in these fields.
Williams applied to the program and it was during an on-campus event for top Meyerhoff applicants that her mind began to change. She was impressed with the support and camaraderie the program offered. In the end, Williams opted to become a Retriever—and never looked back.
“If I hadn’t gone to UMBC, I don’t think I would have developed the leadership skills I did,” says Williams, who is returning to campus on April 16 as the keynote speaker for Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day. “My mentors always encouraged me to speak up. I really benefited from that.”
At UMBC, Williams embraced myriad opportunities to learn and grow. She excelled in her classes, conducted research in the Mobile, Pervasive, and Sensor System Lab of Professor Nilanjan Banerjee, and was involved in the Meyerhoff Scholars, Honors College, and Center for Women in Technology communities.
“Randi’s work was noticeably excellent,” says Charles LaBerge, Ph.D. ’03, electrical engineering, a professor of the practice in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering who taught Williams in six different courses, from Intro to Engineering to her senior capstone, in which she and her team worked on underwater vision for a robotic sub. “Randi is always upbeat and friendly. Her capstone peers regarded her as a great teammate.”
In her sophomore year, Williams co-founded the hackUMBC student group with fellow Meyerhoff Scholar Perry Ogwuche ’14, computer science and mathematics, and organized the university’s first hackathon, a 24-hour competition where teams of students create innovative solutions to problems that matter to them. Using that experience, she also ran hackathons for youth in Baltimore, centered around issues of community safety and interactions with police.
Randi Williams, far right, and other hackUMBC attendees pose for a photo with then UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski. (Photo courtesy of Williams)
Williams always wanted the people around her to succeed, and worked hard to lift everyone up, says her UMBC roommate of four years, Amreen Chadha ’16, financial economics: “I saw Randi pull all-nighters just to help her peers with studying and assignments that she had already completed.”
Throughout her time at UMBC, Williams stayed true to her passions and ideals, Chadha says. “Randi was always herself in the absolute best way: She was honest, thoughtful, caring, and all around great. If I had something on my mind, I was never afraid to be open with her. She balanced her school work and social life so well that it drove others around her to find the same balance.”
After graduating summa cum laude, Williams did at last say “yes” to MIT, where she joined the Personal Robots Group at MIT’s Media Lab. She earned a master’s in media arts in sciences in 2018 and a Ph.D. in the same field in 2024. Williams studied how young children understand and interact with AI, and worked on tools and teaching methods to enable young learners to undertake their own AI-based projects. She developed robots, called PopBots, that can teach AI concepts to preschoolers through social interaction, and also developed a middle school AI and ethics curriculum used by thousands of teachers around the world called “How to Train Your Robot.”
Williams tells the story of one young student she met who wanted to become a doctor and was not, at first, particularly interested in AI. But through a project in Williams’ class the student developed an AI tool to translate when a doctor and patient don’t speak the same language. “This student was inspired by her own situation of translating for her mother in doctors’ offices, and she imagined an AI companion that could do the same,” Williams says.
Williams says the anecdote illustrates how she would like young people to see AI—as a tool to empower themselves and address the problems they see around them.
Williams speaks about teaching with AI during STEAMConf Barcelona 2024, a conference about technology education. (Image courtesy of Williams)
In the summer of 2026, Williams will head to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to become an assistant professor in the Human-Computer Interaction Institute.
“Running my own research lab has been my dream for years,” Williams says.
Before beginning that next chapter, she is working as a research lead at Day of AI, a nonprofit organization spun out of MIT, with the mission of preparing K-12 students of all backgrounds and abilities to be successful, responsible, and engaged in an increasingly AI-powered society. The mission fits with Williams’ passion of making technology education accessible to everyone.
“AI is like a big wave approaching us. We can either put our heads in the sand and pretend it’s not coming, or we can ride the wave,” she says. “I want everyone riding the wave.”
Although pop culture often portrays AI as an adversary of humans, Williams prefers to focus on the collaborative potential.
“I tell my students, this is what AI can create—And I’ll make a small circle with my hands; this is what humans can create, and I’ll make a bigger circle; And, putting my arms out wide—this is what we can create together.”
]]>In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated immigration enforcement actions against noncitizens across the country. The Secretary of State cancelled the visas of multiple individuals for the stated reason that their continued presence in the country “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
More recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), began terminating the SEVIS immigration records of international students who are alleged to have criminal records or whose visas have been cancelled by the Department of State. In some cases, neither students nor their schools are being notified of these terminations.
UMBC conducts daily audits of all SEVIS immigration records it manages, and will inform affected students and scholars of changes to their immigration status as quickly as possible. Any UMBC student or employee who receives a communication from the U.S. Department Homeland Security or U.S. Department of State regarding the validity of their visa or immigration status should contact the Center for Global Engagement (CGE) immediately.
Any member of the campus community who has concerns that they may be at risk of status termination or visa revocation is encouraged to speak with a qualified immigration lawyer who specializes in deportation defense. Such attorneys may be located through the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
On April 9, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin considering antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.
Executive Order 14159, issued on January 20, 2025, directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to require all noncitizens in the United States to register with the government, under section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. § 1302).
While this law has been on the books for many years, until now there was no formal process to comply with the rule apart from mandatory fingerprinting when applying for a visa abroad or submitting certain applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In addition to the registration requirement itself, noncitizens are required to carry with them proof that they have satisfied the requirement, a policy known as the “document-carry” requirement. Both the new registration requirement and the document-carry requirement are set to go into effect on Friday, April 11, 2025.
Most people in F-1, J-1, or H-1B status already met the registration requirement when they applied for their visa and for entry to the United States. Proof of compliance with the registration requirement for most individuals is the Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, which is available online for those admitted at a U.S. port of entry, or in paper form attached to the Approval Notice issued to those who filed a change of status application within the U.S.
Among those who will need to take action to meet the new registration requirement are those who last entered the U.S. before they were 14 years of age. At UMBC, this is likely limited to individuals in F-2, J-2, or H-4 dependent status, based on a parent’s principal F-1, J-1, or H-1B status. Anyone who is the parent of an F-2, J-2, or H-4 status child who is (1) under 14 years of age and (2) was not registered (or fingerprinted, if required) when applying for their visa must register within 30 days of arrival. And anyone who is the parent of an F-2, J-2, or H-4 status child who last entered the U.S. before reaching 14 years of age is now required to register their child with DHS within the 30 days following their child’s 14th birthday.
There is a helpful guide to this new requirement available here from Cornell Law School, Penn State Dickinson Law, and the President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. Additional resources from NAFSA: Association of International Educators are available here, and a detailed write-up of the new requirements is available from Klasko Immigration Law Partners here.
In addition to meeting the registration requirement, all noncitizens in the U.S. are required to carry proof that they have done so. As noted above, for the vast majority of individuals, their I-94 Arrival/Departure Record is their official proof of compliance with the registration requirement. Individuals can and should download a copy of their most recent I-94 record as soon as they enter the U.S. after a trip abroad. In order to ensure compliance, individuals in F-1, J-1, H-1B, and other nonimmigrant statuses are required to carry a paper copy of their I-94 record with them at all times.
We recommend printing out a copy of your I-94 record from the online system and placing it in your wallet or purse so that it is always with you. In addition, individuals in F-1 status are advised to carry a copy of their Form I-20 with them, and those in J-1 status should carry a copy of their Form DS-2019 with them at all times. Lawful permanent residents (LPRs) should always carry their green card (Form I-551) with them. Additional information about the document-carry requirement is available from NAFSA here.
]]>In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated immigration enforcement actions against noncitizens across the country. The Secretary of State cancelled the visas of multiple individuals for the stated reason that their continued presence in the country “would have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences for the United States.”
More recently, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), began terminating the SEVIS immigration records of international students who are alleged to have criminal records or whose visas have been cancelled by the Department of State. In some cases, neither students nor their schools are being notified of these terminations.
UMBC conducts daily audits of all SEVIS immigration records it manages, and will inform affected students and scholars of changes to their immigration status as quickly as possible. Any UMBC student or employee who receives a communication from the U.S. Department Homeland Security or U.S. Department of State regarding the validity of their visa or immigration status should contact the Center for Global Engagement (CGE) immediately.
Any member of the campus community who has concerns that they may be at risk of status termination or visa revocation is encouraged to speak with a qualified immigration lawyer who specializes in deportation defense. Such attorneys may be located through the American Immigration Lawyers Association.
On April 9, 2025, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will begin considering antisemitic activity on social media and the physical harassment of Jewish individuals as grounds for denying immigration benefit requests.
Executive Order 14159, issued on January 20, 2025, directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to require all noncitizens in the United States to register with the government, under section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. § 1302).
While this law has been on the books for many years, until now there was no formal process to comply with the rule apart from mandatory fingerprinting when applying for a visa abroad or submitting certain applications to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In addition to the registration requirement itself, noncitizens are required to carry with them proof that they have satisfied the requirement, a policy known as the “document-carry” requirement. Both the new registration requirement and the document-carry requirement are set to go into effect on Friday, April 11, 2025.
Most people in F-1, J-1, or H-1B status already met the registration requirement when they applied for their visa and for entry to the United States. Proof of compliance with the registration requirement for most individuals is the Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record, which is available online for those admitted at a U.S. port of entry, or in paper form attached to the Approval Notice issued to those who filed a change of status application within the U.S.
Among those who will need to take action to meet the new registration requirement are those who last entered the U.S. before they were 14 years of age. At UMBC, this is likely limited to individuals in F-2, J-2, or H-4 dependent status, based on a parent’s principal F-1, J-1, or H-1B status. Anyone who is the parent of an F-2, J-2, or H-4 status child who is (1) under 14 years of age and (2) was not registered (or fingerprinted, if required) when applying for their visa must register within 30 days of arrival. And anyone who is the parent of an F-2, J-2, or H-4 status child who last entered the U.S. before reaching 14 years of age is now required to register their child with DHS within the 30 days following their child’s 14th birthday.
There is a helpful guide to this new requirement available here from Cornell Law School, Penn State Dickinson Law, and the President’s Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. Additional resources from NAFSA: Association of International Educators are available here, and a detailed write-up of the new requirements is available from Klasko Immigration Law Partners here.
In addition to meeting the registration requirement, all noncitizens in the U.S. are required to carry proof that they have done so. As noted above, for the vast majority of individuals, their I-94 Arrival/Departure Record is their official proof of compliance with the registration requirement. Individuals can and should download a copy of their most recent I-94 record as soon as they enter the U.S. after a trip abroad. In order to ensure compliance, individuals in F-1, J-1, H-1B, and other nonimmigrant statuses are required to carry a paper copy of their I-94 record with them at all times.
We recommend printing out a copy of your I-94 record from the online system and placing it in your wallet or purse so that it is always with you. In addition, individuals in F-1 status are advised to carry a copy of their Form I-20 with them, and those in J-1 status should carry a copy of their Form DS-2019 with them at all times. Lawful permanent residents (LPRs) should always carry their green card (Form I-551) with them. Additional information about the document-carry requirement is available from NAFSA here.
Dear UMBC Community,
I write to share an update on the university’s response to federal actions and orders and the work ahead to continue undeterred in advancing our mission and vision and standing up for our institutional values.
This update is not exhaustive in reporting on every piece of work being done by our core team and others involved in our rapid response; but it provides important information in a few key areas that I know are of shared concern. We anticipate providing an update on our federally funded research, education, and training programs and projects in the coming days.
International Student Immigration Status
First, as you may know, UMBC recently discovered that the federal government terminated the F-1 immigration status of four of our international graduate students. We are running daily audits of UMBC’s records in the federal Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS), and these audits revealed the record terminations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In each instance, we reached out immediately to the students. Neither UMBC nor the students received any prior notification or subsequent explanation from ICE for the terminations. Some of the affected students plan to depart the U.S. immediately, while others have engaged immigration counsel and are exploring their legal options. We are coordinating with the students and with faculty and administrators to explore options for any of these students who must depart the U.S. to complete their coursework and degree programs.
These are extremely concerning developments, and the actions affecting our international students are among hundreds of such actions that have been reported at more than 80 colleges and universities across the country. We continue to closely monitor the SEVIS records of our UMBC community members holding F-1 or J-1 status, and we will continue to provide support and guidance to our international community.
Please visit our information and resources site frequently for the latest updates on our work in response to federal actions and orders. Among other things, it includes information on international travel, updates regarding visa interview waiver eligibility, resources for international students, and guidance related to the potential for federal immigration enforcement action on campus. Please also reach out to the Office of International Students and Scholars (OISS) for additional support. My sincere thanks to the entire team in OISS for their tireless work and dedicated support of our international student and scholar community.
Budget Update
As I noted in a message before spring break, there remains much uncertainty about the scale and scope of impact of a variety of federal actions and orders on our research and, more broadly, on our university operations. While other institutions have seen massive cuts in federal research funding, leading some of them to announce austerity measures, we have not, to date, seen a similar impact. We are proceeding thoughtfully to assess existing and potential impacts and to determine what measures are needed.
One piece of clarity we now have is our funding from the state. With the close of the General Assembly session on Tuesday and its final passage of Maryland’s $67 billion budget, we know that in the coming fiscal year, UMBC will see a 7 percent reduction in its state operations budget. This is more than the 5 percent reduction we had originally expected, but given the uncertainties in recent months at both the state and federal levels, we anticipated that the state’s reduction would grow.
The University System of Maryland has directed its institutions, including UMBC, to prepare a 3-year budget projection incorporating the current cuts and anticipating additional ones, if needed. We will be engaging with members of the community, including shared governance, as we develop this projection, which will be completed by early May. We will be able to share further details about the projection, as well as the budget planning process for FY26, at that time.
Affirming Our Core Values
At UMBC, excellence is our imperative, and we define excellence as inclusive. We seek out and value a wide range of viewpoints and backgrounds and work to ensure that our university community is welcoming and safe to all. We know excellence in the pursuit of knowledge requires a wide range of inputs and perspectives; we know that excellence in teaching means providing safe environments that welcome a range of viewpoints and foster learning across differences; and we know that excellence in community engagement means we must always ask how can we better serve our communities? whose communities have we not engaged?
Time and again, I have heard this community express to me its commitment to inclusive excellence. As we uphold state and federal laws and our own university policies, we will not step back from our commitment to our deeply held values.
In addition to inclusive excellence, academic freedom and free speech remain core values that are imperative to our academic excellence and to the advancement of our public-serving mission. We remain committed to academic freedom across all of our disciplines—in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and sciences and engineering–and will continue to uphold this value that is fundamental to higher education.
In Gratitude
In addition to the thanks I have shared above to the team in OISS, I want to extend gratitude to all in this extraordinary community who are working every day to protect and advance the critical importance of the university and its work and to demonstrate the impact of our work to the wider world.
I am grateful, as well, to the many who have asked, “How can I help?” I appreciate the questions and the ideas that we have seen emerge, sometimes turned into quick action. One example of that is the website of resources for displaced federal workers and the Paws and Pivot webinar series launched to provide practical resources and community for individuals affected by recent federal workforce changes. Thank you to the Alumni Engagement and Career Center teams for their incredible work to stand up these resources in record time.
In the midst of such challenging times that I know weigh heavily on many, this and other stories inspire and encourage us all to carry on with our important work, knowing the meaningful difference it makes to individuals and communities. Thank you, and we will be in touch with you again soon.
Sincerely,
President Valerie Sheares Ashby
UMBC’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) is returning for its 29th year on April 16. For nearly three decades, the annual showcase highlights the research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by undergraduate students who are working alongside faculty mentors.
URCAD 2025 returns to the University Center for research on assessing campus vegetation using tethered weather balloons, a student-curated gallery exhibition that explores “the theme of identity,” an analysis of how social media plays a role in Mexican feminist movements, and much more. Throughout the years, URCAD has grown to be a hallmark experience for Retrievers that exemplifies the expansive breadth and collaborative nature of UMBC research. This work is evident by the university’s reconfirmed designation as an R1 institution by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education earlier this year.
As we gear up for the next edition of the highly-anticipated day of undergraduate research, here are five ways URCAD is a uniquely UMBC experience:
At URCAD, research enthusiasts—including those initially hesitant—have the opportunity to come together and “geek out” about all things research. First-time participants and seasoned presenters alike are able to showcase what they’ve explored and learned in one of UMBC’s many research labs, out in the field, or within specific industries. On average, about 300 student presenters take part in URCAD each year, with last year’s event featuring more than 400 student participants. Even amid a global pandemic, students eagerly participated in the event from their homes, drawing in 8,000 virtual visits in 2020 and 11,000 virtual visitors in 2021.
True to UMBC’s intentional culture of inclusive excellence, URCAD spotlights the collaboration that happens across multiple colleges, disciplines, and departments. At URCAD 2023, a team of students from the College of Natural and Mathematics Sciences and the College of Engineering and Information Technology presented their research on the tradeoffs that exist between privacy and utility when using smart devices at home. This year’s event will include a presentation of a multidisciplinary capstone team that designed and constructed a fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicle, among many other other cross-collaborative projects.
Nearly each URCAD iteration features presentations of research conducted throughout Baltimore City and Baltimore County. Past events have included a short film screening that chronicles the history and the decline of LGBTQ+ nightlife in Baltimore City; a presentation on findings from a 2021 UMBC-led study to better understand the experiences of low-income Baltimore families without broadband access; and a 2017 URCAD photography exhibit that captured the experiences of unhoused people living in Baltimore’s Station North area.
Sean William Radaskiewicz ‘18, visual arts, presented his photography series “Station North, Baltimore: Homelessness and the Individual,” at URCAD 2017. (Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC)
Each year, the research event includes a keynote speech delivered by esteemed UMBC alumni— some of whom were once URCAD presenters themselves—such as the 2024 keynote speaker Stefanie Mavronis ’12, political science, media and communication studies. Mavronis shared her journey of being a student researcher and how her experiences led to her current position as the director of the Mayor’s Office of Safety and Engagement in Baltimore City. Randi Williams ’16, computer engineering, will deliver the URCAD 2025 keynote speech. Williams is the research director of Day of AI, a non-profit organization that provides educators with artificial intelligence literacy curriculums for K-12 students.
The flyer for URCAD 2025 featuring alumni keynote speaker Randi Williams ’16, computer engineering.
Many past URCAD presenters have gone on to pursue advanced degrees and postdoctoral fellowships following their time at UMBC. And they say the early exposure to rigorous research opportunities help land those positions. After presenting at URCAD 2023, Ellie Bare ’23, biological sciences, shared that “having opportunities to improve my science communications abilities was invaluable and really great…it even helped me with my post-baccalaureate interviews.”
Before his current role as a research assistant with the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., Peter Wilschke ’24, economics and political science, presented research he worked on as an intern at The Hilltop Institute at UMBC during last year’s URCAD event. Beyond academia, URCAD participants have found industry success. Members of UMBC’s Game Developers Club, some of whom were past URCAD presenters, have gone on to find positions at Facebook, the Unity game engine platform, and Firaxis games, to name a few.
More information on URCAD 2025 presenters and additional sneak peeks of upcoming presentations can be found here.
]]>Location: Admin Building, Second Floor, Room 218
There are only 25 seats available. If you plan to attend, please RSVP as soon as possible via google form HERE. Once you have indicated your intent to attend, a calendar invite will be sent over to you.
Whether you're new to campus or have been here for years, this is a wonderful chance to meet fellow international faculty, researchers, and staff, exchange insights, get to know the Provost and build a supportive community.
We look forward to seeing you there!