The first step to joining any group is to complete an Initial Consultation appointment. Please call us at 410-455-2542 or visit the RetrieverCare portal to schedule.
For general group questions, or if you need accommodations for a disability, please send a secure message to our Group Coordinator, Lauren Mirzakhalili, LCSW-C, via the patient portal at least one week prior to the start of group and RIH will arrange for services.
All RIH services are LGBTQIA2S+ friendly and are welcoming to all diverse populations.
It is open enrollment time for the university health insurance plan: Aetna Student Health.
It is easy to enroll. All you need to do is contact Retriever Integrated Health's email at: rih@umbc.edu or contact the Insurance Office for RIH at: 410-455-8091.
RIH will become your primary doctor and the copay for an office visit is only $10.00. Aetna Student Health will pay your full balance due. Also, if you have the university health plan you can add a dental plan to your coverage. All you have to do once you are enrolled in Aetna Student Health you can go to the UMBC page on the Aetna Student Health website, go to the benefits link and click on the link for the dental plan to enroll.
Plus, one of the great benefits is that students who have Aetna Student Health can receive a discount on acupuncture and massage. The copay for these services is $20.00 for an hour appointment.
Open enrollment starts now and ends on October 1. However, any students who lose their insurance or turn 26 after that date can still contact the Insurance Office to be enrolled.
The Insurance Office at Retriever Integrated Health is here to answer any questions you may have about the university health insurance plan! You can contact the Insurance Office at: 410-455-8091 or 410-455-1557.
We are thrilled to name that the Pride Center renovations are well underway and will be completed this fall. While our physical location is temporarily closed, we’re buzzing with excitement about the incredible upgrades and innovative design that will soon be available.
Our programming and support services are still in full swing, and we’re eager to keep connecting with you through activities held across the campus. In the meantime, feel free to visit the Mosaic Center, The Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being, and the Women’s Center for support and engagement. Be sure to stay up-to-date with all our events by subscribing to the myUMBC Pride Center group, where you'll find all the latest updates, announcements, and ways to get involved.
We’re also looking for passionate individuals to join the search committee for the new Assistant Director of the Pride Center. This is a fantastic opportunity to have a direct impact on our future, engage with our community, and help drive our mission forward. If you’re enthusiastic about advocacy and community-building, we encourage you to fill out this formand contribute to making the Pride Center an even better place for everyone.
Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. We’re excited about what’s to come and can’t wait to welcome you back into our newly enhanced space!
If you have any questions or concerns, please share your comments here.
See you soon!
With UMBC Pride,
Jennifer Artis
Senior Director, Student Belonging
]]>We are thrilled to name that the Pride Center renovations are well underway and will be completed this fall. While our physical location is temporarily closed, we’re buzzing with excitement about the incredible upgrades and innovative design that will soon be available.
Our programming and support services are still in full swing, and we’re eager to keep connecting with you through activities held across the campus. In the meantime, feel free to visit the Mosaic Center, The Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being, and the Women’s Center for support and engagement. Be sure to stay up-to-date with all our events by subscribing to the myUMBC Pride Center group, where you'll find all the latest updates, announcements, and ways to get involved.
We’re also looking for passionate individuals to join the search committee for the new Assistant Director of the Pride Center. This is a fantastic opportunity to have a direct impact on our future, engage with our community, and help drive our mission forward. If you’re enthusiastic about advocacy and community-building, we encourage you to fill out this formand contribute to making the Pride Center an even better place for everyone.
Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. We’re excited about what’s to come and can’t wait to welcome you back into our newly enhanced space!
If you have any questions or concerns, please share your comments here.
See you soon!
With UMBC Pride,
Jennifer Artis
Senior Director, Student Belonging
Center for Democracy and Civic Life director, Dr. David Hoffman, Ph.D. '13, and Musa Jafri '24, former SGA president, wrote, “UMBC students learn hopeful civics lessons from empowering experiences,” published on June 19 in Maryland Matters.
Hoffman and Musa share, “The civics lessons implicit in news coverage and social media posts relating to the 2024 election, the conflict in Israel and Gaza, crime and safety, and other pressing issues are clear. They suggest that the role of a good citizen is to choose sides and speak out, knowing that an election might empower one’s enemies, and that silence might mean complicity. The civic environment driven by our feeds is full of fury and alarm. Yet it is helpful to remember that there can be more to civic life than raised voices. If we are to build a thriving democratic society, it is especially important for young people to discover that in addition to voting and speaking out, they can work across differences in perspectives and roles to make meaningful changes in their communities.”
They describe how the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, “works with UMBC students to establish that experience: the authentic connections, mutual power, and individual and collective agency achieved in the process of promoting and enacting change on campus and beyond.” Through the Center, students have participated in leadership development programs and learned how to build long-term collective civic action to address disparities, while helping to create opportunities and spaces for dialogue on campus and leading educational programming and events around civic engagement, among other initiatives. Many of those who participated in the Center’s, and other UMBC programs, are now alumni leading community centers at area colleges and universities, as well as organizations and initiatives in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors.
Career Center Director Christine Routzahn, Off-Campus Student Services Assistant Director Amery Thompson, and Retriever Essentials Program Coordinator Ariel Barbosa are the recipients of the inaugural Vice President for Student Affairs Staff Awards. The three new, internal awards—supported by the Vice President for Student Affairs, Dr. Renique Kersh—are a way to celebrate the leadership and dedication of student affairs staff. Student affairs staff nominated colleagues for the awards, and winners were announced at the division’s annual end-of-year cookout in June.
“Student affairs staff are committed to students’ well-being, success, and growth,” says Dr. Renique Kersh, vice president for student affairs. “They create events, programs, and supportive resources to help students thrive. The inaugural VPSA awards highlight the exceptional work that happens in the division, along with the important role our staff play in the UMBC community every day.”
Routzahn is the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Leadership Award. Nominators described her as someone who exemplifies what it means to lead with inclusivity. Routzahn ensures services and events meet the needs of all student populations, and prioritizes the use of data to validate the importance of inclusion and equity. She has created a positive team by being open and transparent, helping staff to utilize their strengths, and creating authentic relationships. Routzahn is an advocate for all staff, including student staff. Routzahn brings compassion to every interaction, and staff say she is a servant leader who is always thinking about what is best for students and for UMBC.
Thompson is the recipient of the 2024 Outstanding Collaborator or Campus Partner Award. Nominators shared that he creates an inclusive environment to help students express themselves, get engaged, and find a sense of belonging at UMBC. Thompson is known for his passion and commitment, and his enthusiasm and energy. Through collaboration and individual effort, he has created programs and initiatives that have moved the needle forward in a division focused on student well-being and success. Thompson works with offices outside of student affairs, from academic programs to athletics, to partners at Shady Grove. He is well known by students who trust they can count on him for support.
Barbosa is the recipient of the 2024 Change Maker Award. Nominators explained that she has a passion for meeting challenges with innovative solutions that improve the lives of our diverse student population. That passion is evident in the tremendous growth of the programs and resources under her thoughtful care. Barbosa is an inclusive leader, volunteer coordinator, and bridge builder. She works with internal and external constituencies and communicates positively about their collective impact. She mentors student staff in playing leadership and advocacy roles in their work. Barbosa’s dedication and advocacy has helped to increase visibility for Retriever Essentials both on and off campus, while helping to change the lives of students and supporting their well-being and ability to succeed.
In addition, the Division of Student Affairs (DoSA) is proud of its staff who received UMBC awards this academic year: Acting Associate Vice President for Student Engagement and Diversity Fritzie Charne-Merriweather, Presidential Staff Award; Director of Campus Life Engagement Jen Dress, Employee of the Quarter; and Executive Administrative Assistant Ebony Brown, Employee of the Quarter.
Center for Democracy and Civic Life staff, Dr. David Hoffman, Ph.D. ‘13, and Tess McRae ‘22 led UMBC’s delegation at the June 2024 Civic Learning and Democratic Engagement (CLDE) Meeting hosted by AASCU’s American Democracy Project and NASPA in Detroit. Dr. Hoffman, director, and McRae, coordinator for civic design, were involved in leading three sessions:
“Building Community for Civic Engagement: Networking for CLDE”: This was the conference’s first session, designed to welcome everyone and provide information especially helpful for less experienced participants. McRae developed and led the session with Charis Lawson ‘20, English, a former Center for Democracy and Civic Life program specialist who is now Coordinator for Civic Engagement in Towson University’s Office of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility. This was McRae’s sixth CLDE meeting, and her second time co-designing and co-hosting this introductory session.
“Pedagogy for Thriving Democracy: ‘Stories are Everything’ and other Civic Maxims”: McRae and Dr. Hoffman led this session in which they introduced the Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s Civic Life Maxims and demonstrated how they use them as teaching tools in the Center’s programs and courses.
“Institutionally Articulating the Higher Purpose: Framing Civic Learning and Community Engagement.” Dr. Hoffman served as the discussant for this panel presentation about how to describe higher education’s civic purposes, responding to ideas shared by faculty and staff leaders from Middle Tennessee State University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Central Arkansas University.
McRae served on the 2024 CLDE Meeting planning committee (her second stint as a planning committee member). She is UMBC’s campus liaison to the American Democracy Project, and Dr. Hoffman is a member of the American Democracy Project Steering Committee.