Yelena Yesha is a tenured Professor at the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her B.Sc. degrees in Computer Science and in Applied Mathematics from York University, Toronto, Canada, in 1984, and her M.Sc. degree and Ph.D. degrees from The Ohio State University in 1986 and 1989, respectively. She joined the Department of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County as an Assistant Professor in 1989. In 1994 she was promoted to the rank of tenured Associate Professor, and in 1995 she was promoted to the rank of tenured Professor. In 1994-1995, while on leave from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, she was the Director of the Center for Applied Information Technology (CAIT) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as a United States federal government employee (civil servant). In 1995 she became the Director of the Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences (CESDIS) at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. She has published 12 books as author or editor, and more than 200 papers in prestigious refereed journals and refereed conference proceedings, and has been awarded external funding in a total amount exceeding 30 million dollars.

This website will serve as a repository for Career-Life Balance resources. We will raise awareness of the CLB policies by posting them on this website on a regular basis. We will also showcase profiles of faculty members who are successfully balancing career and life. Our premise is that things that are done outside of UMBC do not have to remain secret. We would like to showcase the fact that people take the leave that they've earned to raise families, that they participate in health and wellness activities, and that they take time for community engagement. We will design and launch campus posters, banners, and have a web presence that will showcase this balance, and that will both celebrate and publicize the activities that represent a full life. The list below provides examples of UMBC faculty policies that we will highlight through the website, seminars and workshops, and visual imagery such as posters and banners:

• A minimum assured period of paid parental leave of eight (8) weeks
• A one year extension of the time for tenure review for new parents
• Leave and support options, e.g., Collegially Supported Leave: Faculty members’ academic responsibilities covered by colleagues, on a voluntary basis, for a period of time.
• Redistribution of Duties: Adjustment of faculty members’ responsibilities among teaching, service, and research.
• Family and Medical Leave: Leave guaranteed by the federal government for a life-changing event (birth, adoption, or serious health condition).
• Development of an individualized “Family Support Plan.”
• Workload modifications, to the extent authorized by the institution and feasible within the faculty member’s department.