Dr. David Hoffman Receives Imagining America’s Randy Martin Spirit Award

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 10:22:48 -0500
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At the October 2025 Imagining America (IA) National Gathering, Dr. David Hoffman, Ph.D. '13, director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life was honored with IA's Randy Martin Spirit Award. The annual award recognizes an individual who embodies the unique combination of qualities that made the late Dr. Randy Martin, professor of art and policy in the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, a beloved and valued member of the IA community. It is presented to a professional "working in and/or in-partnership with higher education who consistently achieve excellence and demonstrate original thinking and approaches in at least 3 of the areas in which Randy Martin excelled: scholarship, artistry, pedagogy, mentorship, and institutional leadership/administration. Recipients will be people who, within all their professional roles, exude the many of the human qualities for which Randy will always be remembered: generosity, sincerity, humor, joy, curiosity, clowning, and an irrepressible joie de vivre."

"There are few staff members that I have worked with in my 20+ years in higher education who truly enact the values of their position and unit more effectively than David Hoffman," said Dr. James DeVita, assistant vice president for academic partnerships and high-impact experiences. "Not only does David demonstrate an unwavering commitment to supporting students, staff, faculty, and all who engage with UMBC in experiencing the true meaning of community, he does so by enacting the values of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life in every aspect of his work."

Dr. DeVita added, "David regularly goes above and beyond as a member of the UMBC community by embodying the Retriever spirit in both his on and off-campus engagement, producing scholarship in the field of higher education, and contributing to numerous local and national efforts to enhance civic engagement that have made him--and UMBC's campus--a recognized leader in the field. This award appropriately honors David for both who he is as a person and as a professional."

When announcing the award at a reception during the National Gathering, Milmon Harrison, vice chair of IA's National Advisory Board, shared, "This year's Randy Martin Spirit Award winner got his first paying job when he was 8 years old performing magic at a 7-year-old's birthday party. While he no longer works as a magician, his work continues to be magical as he breaks down unhelpful social norms to empower students to create thriving communities. He has an extraordinary talent connecting with students and helping them see possibilities for themselves and the world that they had not considered. Through story telling, he unmasks himself from an administrator in a role of power to a fellow, complex human being who has learned from trials and errors. He uplifts important student contributions to the campus, not by putting down a plaque, but by sharing these stories with new students so that they can envision themselves as change makers from day one rather than consumers of an already built and formed environment."

In their nomination, Dr. Romy Hübler '09, M.A. '11, Ph.D. '15; Markya Reed,'18, M.A.'23, and Tess McRae '22, assistant director for connective learning, Center for Democracy and Civic Life, stated, "David Hoffman exemplifies Randy Martin's generous, sincere, curious, and joyful spirit through his mentorship, original thinking, and institutional leadership. As a celebrated civic engagement leader with 22 years of transformative contributions at UMBC and in national organizations, he has had a positive influence in the lives of thousands of students and colleagues, including the three of us. We each worked with David as students and continue to do so now as community engagement professionals. (Dr. Hübler is director of the Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility at Towson University, and previously served as associate director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. Reed is assistant director of operations at Johns Hopkins University's Center for Social Concern. She was a graduate assistant with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life. McRae was a student intern with the Center for four years.)

They added, "His mentorship of us and others has been highly impactful. He listens to collaborators as equal contributors, opens spaces in places where people may feel marginal, and helps develop thoughtful community leadership competencies. At UMBC, David has been an architect and facilitator of programs, immersive experiences, and courses that engage hundreds in shaping the future of their communities….David is also a celebrated national leader. He served on the Imagining America National Advisory Board and the American Democracy Project (ADP) Steering Committee. He developed the ADP Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement Theory of Change, which has guided the work of the ADP network since its publication, and is currently working with ADP to update the Theory of Change to advance a just and liberatory America."