Jennifer Artis, senior director of student belonging, and Dr. Samantha Smith, director, Office of Health Promotion (OHP), were selected for the 2024 Ujima Institute Cohort, held in October. The institute, part of NASPA, offers an intensive, challenging, and collegial learning environment for student affairs professionals as they develop culturally relevant leadership skills that leverage their unique ethnic heritages and histories and prepare to lead increasingly diverse institutions.
Ujima is the third principle of Kwanzaa and embodies an active commitment to the collective and to shared liberation. Inherent to the principle of Ujima is sharing in one another's achievements and hardships. Ujima, as a practice, assumes that the reconstruction of the history and humanity of the African diaspora is a fundamental part of the struggle for human liberation. The principle of Ujima serves as the foundation for this institute, which has been envisioned and developed by senior level leaders committed to investing in building successive generations of student affairs leaders with the knowledge, skills, and competencies to build vibrant, diverse, global, and socially just higher education environments.
“I am thrilled that both Jennifer and Samantha were selected for the Ujima Institute,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Renique Kersh. “The principles of Ujima are exactly the principles that I hope all leaders across the division will embody in our work and as we engage with partners across the University. I look forward to seeing how the lessons learned through this experience show up both in Jennifer and Samantha’s work and throughout the division.”
Dr. Smith shared, “The Ujima Institute was a well-timed pause from the hussle of the campus to re-discover and begin to uncover the leader that I am destined to be. This transformative experience allowed me to better understand the nuances of student affairs practice and cultivate strategies to better infuse health and wellbeing into those strategies. I believe this experience will allow me to better co-create with students and provide robust support for each team member within OHP and the greater UMBC community.”
Cohort members chart a plan for professional growth that addresses key competencies, career discernment, and personal values; experience safe space to share and strategize about navigating institutional challenges and politics with integrity and cultural alignment; and develop mentoring relationships with senior student affairs leaders invested in their success.
Artis explains, “The Ujima Institute came at exactly the right moment! Unlike many conferences where I focus solely on gathering resources for the communities I serve, this experience allowed me to invest in myself and refill my own cup, which was running low. Though I wasn’t sure what to expect initially, I quickly realized I was exactly where I needed to be. Surrounded by inspiring Black student affairs professionals and leaders, I gained invaluable insights, built lasting connections, and reignited my passion. This transformative experience will shape both my personal and professional journey, and I am deeply grateful to the Ujima Institute for offering such an empowering space for growth and reflection.”
This summer, the Career Center proudly announced its acceptance as a member of the International Career Collective (ICC), a distinguished network of 23 U.S. universities supporting over 120,000 international students from more than 150 countries. This membership marks a milestone for UMBC's international students, as it opens up a collaborative platform to enhance their career development.
As part of the ICC, UMBC will partner with top institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, Duke, and NYU, to offer specialized career resources tailored for international students. Upcoming initiatives will feature an International Career Summit and Employer Expo, fostering professional development and networking on a global scale.
The ICC’s mission is to unite higher education professionals in creating impactful events and resources that aid international students in launching successful careers. Through this collaboration, students will gain access to career events, skill-building workshops, and a global network of employers.
This month, ICC universities, including UMBC, will co-host the 2024 International Career Summit, a virtual five-day event designed to empower students with career insights and strategies. Highlights include sessions on communication, job search tactics, global career paths, and life design, concluding with the ICC Career Expo on November 19. Spaces are limited; registration is essential for each day. For more information about the ICC and the upcoming summit, visit the ICC website.
Read about UMBC's first ICC event.
For more information, contact:
Christine Routzahn, Director, UMBC Career Center
Farhan Nadeem, International Student Career Advisor
Recent data from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) highlights the exceptional career readiness of UMBC graduates. “UMBC continues to surpass national career outcome rates across all degree levels,” said Christine Routzahn, director of the Career Center.
Bachelor’s Degree Outcomes
Nationwide, nearly 85% of Class of 2023 bachelor’s degree graduates were employed or pursuing further education within six months of graduation, according to NACE’s First Destinations report. UMBC stands out with an impressive Career Outcome Rate of 93%.
Full-Time Employment: Nationally, 57.2% of bachelor’s degree recipients were employed full-time within six months, compared to UMBC’s 65%.
Further Education: While 20.2% of graduates nationwide pursued further education, UMBC’s rate was higher at 24%.
Graduate Degree Outcomes
UMBC’s graduate degree holders also excelled beyond national averages:
Master’s Degrees: For master’s degree graduates, the national career outcome rate—defined as being employed or pursuing further education within six months—was 89.4%, according to NACE’s report. UMBC outpaces this with a Career Outcome Rate of 90.8% for master’s recipients.
Doctoral Degrees: Doctoral graduates nationwide had a 92.5% outcome rate, but UMBC achieved an exceptional 100%.
These results reflect our strong academic programs and the collective efforts of the UMBC community in fostering student achievement. "Our collective work empowers UMBC students to achieve meaningful career paths and long-term success," Routzahn emphasized.
For the fifth year in a row, Residential Life's curriculum "ResCore 4" was selected as a showcase presentation at this year's Institute on the Curricular Approach (ICA) hosted by ACPA.
Five Residential Life staff members traveled to Chicago in October to present on a component of our residential curriculum. The presentation, "Following the Gold Brick Road: UMBC's Journey with Facilitation Guides," focused on Residential Life’s use of facilitation guides within the Residential Life curriculum.
“We are happy that Residential Life could support us attending and presenting at this conference,” said Chris Ambrose, acting associate director. “ICA is a great opportunity each year to dive deeper into the curricular approach and come back to campus re-energized to keep moving forward! It's always a great time for us to network with other institutions to discuss trends and learn best practices.”
Those who attended the conference are below:
Chris Ambrose, Acting Associate Director
Grace Collins, Residential Education & Leadership Coordinator
Derek Webber, Community Director
Miracle McKinon, Community Director
Charlito Iwuagwu, Community Director
The presentation abstract notes: "Clarifying staff roles is essential to the successful execution of the curricular approach. Our recent stop on our curriculum journey led us to further explore utilization of facilitation guides. Our phased approach gathered assessment data directly from students to capture the learning that occurred. The data displayed statistical significance reinforcing the value of our curriculum and the meaningful impact it had on their experience. After this, we introduced facilitation guides developed by professional staff that were piloted sequentially by student staff in creative ways. This presentation will bring you along our journey following the ‘Gold Brick Road’ of where we’ve been, where we are, and where we are headed with the successful implementation of facilitation guides at UMBC."
Ambrose shared, “Residential Life recently named and branded their curriculum the ‘ResCore4’ with input from our student staff and creative assistance from our partners in Student Affairs Communications and Marketing. We got stickers of our new logo made at commonvision and passed them out at the conference and everyone LOVED them! Finally, we couldn't have done this without our graduate assistants and other members of the Curriculum Committee that weren't in attendance at the conference but definitely contributed to building the presentation and the success of our curriculum overall.”