More than 70 alumni and friends enjoyed pizza and drinks at the 2012 IT & Engineering Happy Hour. The event, which  welcomed all UMBC alumni with a special focus on those from the College of Engineering and Information Technology, was sponsored by the UMBC Training Centers and held at Pub Dog of Columbia. Alumni enjoyed the chance to unwind after work while connecting with fellow Retrievers.

Check out all the great photos from this event on Flickr or Facebook.

About Our Sponsor
UMBC Training Centers extends the academic excellence of UMBC to working professionals and organizations through the delivery of professional, scientific and technical training. As a training partner with the industry’s leading technology providers and a Prometric and VUE certified testing facility, Training Centers provides training and certification preparation to thousands of students in IT, cybersecurity, and engineering. Training Centers recently expanded to a new facility in Columbia, MD on Columbia Gateway Drive. More information can be found online at www.umbc.edu/trainctr/cyber.

President Freeman Hrabowski has been named one of five inaugural inductees into the U.S. News STEM Leadership Hall of Fame, recognizing UMBC’s work advancing science education on campus, throughout Maryland and across the country.

Here’s what Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News & World Report, had to say: “Freeman Hrabowski is one of STEM’s brightest luminaries. His work at UMBC focusing on STEM is a true success story. Talk about filling the pipeline—Freeman turned UMBC into one of the country’s top producers of science, math, and engineering grads.”

That is a testament not just to leadership — but more importantly, to the vision, creativity and dedication of UMBC’s faculty and staff. It is also a testament to our partners, whose expertise and financial support have made UMBC’s successes possible.

On Friday, President Hrabowski joins business executives, philanthropists, policymakers and other educators at the U.S. News STEM Solutions 2012 Summit, an unprecedented gathering focused on one critical objective: creating a national consensus on the development of a STEM workforce.

As UMBC continues to address that pressing issue, the expertise and commitment of our faculty, staff, alumni and partners will be as crucial as ever. We are grateful for all you’ve already done and hope you share in our excitement about this honor.

UMBC’s Secondary Teacher Education and Professional Training for English Language Learners (or STEP T for ELLs) program has been awarded an additional year of funding by the U.S. Department of Education. The program is funded through the Office of English Language Acquisition.

The STEP T for ELLs Program helps secondary teachers of math, science, and social studies to provide effective instruction to ESOL students. This program provides professional development in areas such as teaching strategies and cross-cultural communications.

The program has surpassed its original goal of training 880 in-service teachers and 60 teacher leaders in the state of Maryland. The program has already trained 1,040 in-service teachers (math, science, social studies, and ESOL) and 273 teacher leaders.  These teacher leaders in Montgomery County Public Schools, Howard County Public School System, and Frederick County Public Schools will be training teachers in their school systems using STEP T for ELLs Program modules.  In addition, the program leaders are developing online professional development modules to be offered in the Maryland State Department of Education.

This program builds an understanding of who ELLs are and how to communicate across cultures effectively. More information about the program can be found here.

On June 24, The Washington Post published an Associated press article entitled “Md. governor struggles at home while critics say he’s too focused elsewhere.” O’Malley’s critics have claimed he has been delinquent in his obligations at home and that he is treating Maryland as a weigh station to a national office.

Donald Norris, chair of public policy, said that O’Malley’s recent difficulties regarding the expansion of gambling in the state reflected more on the dynamics between Maryland’s Senate and House leaders.

“This is the strongest gubernatorial office in the country and this particular governor is a strong governor, so my guess is if he wanted this badly enough and he thought the timing was right, he’d pull out all the stops, but I don’t think that’s the case,” Norris said.

News that Dresher Center for the Humanities director Rebecca Boehling’s was recently named Director of the International Tracing Service, has recently been covered in several news outlets.

On June 22,  The Baltimore Jewish Times published a story entitled “Professor To Head International Tracing Service,” which explored Boehling’s background and that of the ITS. Boehling spoke on a number of topics which ranged from anecdotal experiences related to the ITS’s profile and the shifting discourse within Germany on the war to the possible advantage of being an American “outsider” holding such a sensitive post as hers. As to her plans for the ITS during her expected 2 1/2 year tenure in Germany, Boehling said that “[t]he ITS is burgeoning… but I’m going to make sure it burgeons more.”

Boehling was also a guest on WYPR’s Maryland Morning with Sheilah Kast on June 26th, where she spoke on her appointment to the ITS, its evolution from its original purpose of tracing and reuniting family members and other survivors of the Holocaust to incorporate more scholarly research, and being the first American appointed to its directorship.

On June 26, Kate Drabinski, lecturer in gender and women’s studies and director of UMBC’s Women Involved in Learning and Leadership (WILL) program, was a guest on the Marc Steiner show for a discussion on the dynamics of gender in contemporary society and whether the differences between the genders are innate or socially constucted. Drabinski was joined by former American Psychological Association (APA) head Diane Halpern and Goucher College women’s studies visiting associate professor Jennifer Williams.

“In feminist theory the debate about the difference between sex and gender is an old one, sex being biological and gender being social,” Drabinski said. “But there’s no way to isolate the biological from the social because the second we ask the question we’re bringing our social world into it.”

The full conversation can be heard here.

From Ben Lowenthal, Associate VP, Financial Services and Charlene Hughins Uhl, Director of Budget and Resource Analysis, Financial Services

Financial Services and the Office of Budget and Resource Analysis are very pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Marlo Zeroth as Assistant Director of Budget and Resource Analysis in Financial Services, effective July 2, 2012.

Marlo has over twenty-nine years of experience in financial and budgetary analysis and application that spans the public and private sectors. He comes to UMBC from the Maryland State Treasurer’s Office, where he was the Deputy Director of Banking Services. He also worked in the financial offices of two former but well-known Maryland companies – Hechinger’s and Woodward & Lothrop, as well as at the top ranked auditing firm of Arthur Andersen & Company. Marlo received his Bachelor of Sciences degree in accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park and earned the prestigious EW Sells Award ranking him among the top 100 scores in the country on the CPA exam. His accounting and budgeting background, data management skills, and experience in solving complex business problems will be valuable to UMBC in the years to come.

We are fortunate to have such an experienced accounting professional joining our team. Marlo will be located in the Budget Office; 3rd floor, Administration Building. He can be reached at mzeroth@umbc.edu or 5-2627. Please join us in giving Marlo a warm welcome to UMBC.

Every day, we in the office of Alumni Relations hear about students making the most of their time here at UMBC…and beyond! However, many of these students wouldn’t be able to attend UMBC without the scholarship support they receive.

There are students like Jeremy, who fell in love with the poetry of Marlowe and Donne and took acting classes at UMBC. We just found out he got a great job in publishing after graduation — congratulations, Jeremy!

There are students like dance major Paige, whose life was turned around by the chance to volunteer in Haiti as junior. We got to see the amazing piece she choreographed during Undergraduate Research & Achievement Day — well done!

And, there’s Gift — a member of the class of 2012 who plans to study cardiology next year, and who hopes to someday open a free clinic in his native India. Clearly, he was aptly named!

Students like Jeremy, Paige, Gift — and so many others — thrive at UMBC because of the community, the challenges, and the learning experiences they find in such great abundance here. But, without scholarships, many would not have the chance to even start.

Please make your gift to UMBC before the end of the fiscal year (June 30). You can support student scholarships, your favorite academic department, a sports team, or the university’s greatest need. Every gift counts!

UMBC’s donors support the university for many reasons, and for that we are grateful. One such donor is Jean Rittermann, President of Conveyor Handling Company, Inc., who along with her sister, Nancy Carey, established the Anthony Alvarez Award for Outstanding Students in Engineering in honor of their father.
Q: How did you become involved with UMBC?
A: Education and hard work have always been a priority in our family. So as our business prospered, and we [Rittermann, her sister and their spouses] realized the importance of giving back to the community, it seemed only logical to think about creating a scholarship. By doing so, we would be able to establish a lasting tribute and thank you to my father for starting this company and for providing us with the opportunities that have so positively impacted our lives.
As a material handling distributor, engineering is a very integral part of our business, so we wanted to choose a university with an engineering program that was strong, dynamic and of the highest quality. We also wanted it to be located in our community. It seemed that UMBC was the perfect fit.
Q: Who is the Alvarez Scholarship for?
A: The Alvarez Scholarship is for a full-time engineering student who has completed his or her sophomore year and has demonstrated academic success by achieving a GPA of at least 3.0 and who also has a demonstrated record of leadership and/or community service.
Q: The scholarship is named for your father, who is still living. Why was it important for you to give back to UMBC in this particular way and in his name?
A: When I reflect back over the years, I realize how fortunate I am to have a father who cares so deeply about the welfare of his family. Establishing this scholarship was our way of thanking him for his many years of guidance and support and the hard work and dedication he put into to his career. We realized that by endowing an engineering scholarship at such an outstanding university, we would be acknowledging what is important to him.
Q: How do you feel when you think about the students who are helped by the scholarship you provide?
A: As I read the essays written by the students on the scholarship applications, I am amazed at the goals that they have set for themselves and at the tremendous drive and fervor that they possess to reach them. They recognize the need for their skills regionally, nationally and internationally. These students definitely realize that without this financial help, they may not be able to fulfill their goals and that is a great disappointment to them. I’m so impressed by their commitment and drive. Not only are they taking a full course load every semester, many of them have part-time jobs where they work 20 or 30 hours a week. You don’t always see that in young adults.
The students who have received our scholarship are so, so grateful. The award has given them a chance to focus on and enjoy what they are studying and not have to worry about juggling a part-time job and their coursework.

UMBC’s donors support the university for many reasons, and for that we are grateful. One such donor is Jean Rittermann, President of Conveyor Handling Company, Inc., who along with her sister, Nancy Carey, established the Anthony Alvarez Award for Outstanding Students in Engineering in honor of their father.

Q: How did you become involved with UMBC?

A: Education and hard work have always been a priority in our family. So as our business prospered, and we [Rittermann, her sister and their spouses] realized the importance of giving back to the community, it seemed only logical to think about creating a scholarship. By doing so, we would be able to establish a lasting tribute and thank you to my father for starting this company and for providing us with the opportunities that have so positively impacted our lives.

As a material handling distributor, engineering is a very integral part of our business, so we wanted to choose a university with an engineering program that was strong, dynamic and of the highest quality. We also wanted it to be located in our community. It seemed that UMBC was the perfect fit.

A: The Alvarez Scholarship is for a full-time engineering student who has completed his or her sophomore year and has demonstrated academic success by achieving a GPA of at least 3.0 and who also has a demonstrated record of leadership and/or community service.

A: When I reflect back over the years, I realize how fortunate I am to have a father who cares so deeply about the welfare of his family. Establishing this scholarship was our way of thanking him for his many years of guidance and support and the hard work and dedication he put into to his career. We realized that by endowing an engineering scholarship at such an outstanding university, we would be acknowledging what is important to him.

A: As I read the essays written by the students on the scholarship applications, I am amazed at the goals that they have set for themselves and at the tremendous drive and fervor that they possess to reach them. They recognize the need for their skills regionally, nationally and internationally. These students definitely realize that without this financial help, they may not be able to fulfill their goals and that is a great disappointment to them. I’m so impressed by their commitment and drive. Not only are they taking a full course load every semester, many of them have part-time jobs where they work 20 or 30 hours a week. You don’t always see that in young adults.

The students who have received our scholarship are so, so grateful. The award has given them a chance to focus on and enjoy what they are studying and not have to worry about juggling a part-time job and their coursework.