UMBC has again been named one of the top universities in the world for 2019-2020. Rankings released this week by the Center for World University Rankings (CWUR) place UMBC in the top 3.3% of universities worldwide, as well as among the top 170 U.S. universities.

“As this ranking shows, UMBC is truly a world-class university. Our researchers not only make a positive impact within our state and nation, but around the globe as well,” says David Di Maria, associate vice provost for international education.

The CWUR evaluated twenty thousand universities based on four distinct areas. These include: quality of education (number of alumni who have won major international awards), alumni employment (number of alumni who have held CEO positions at top companies), quality of faculty (number of faculty who have won major international awards), and research performance (research output, high-quality publications, influence, and citations). In a change from previous years, the measures of learning environment and research are now given equal weight.

“I am pleased that the impact of our faculty research continues to be recognized on the national and global scale. As one of the top 170 U.S. institutions in this CWUR review, we find ourselves in good company with many other well-known institutions,” says Karl Steiner, vice president of research.

Steiner notes, “With the opening of our new Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building, we will be able to significantly enhance our footprint and impact in interdisciplinary life sciences, while continuing to expand our other programs in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and environmental sciences. This is complemented by impactful UMBC scholarship in the public humanities and public policy.”

UMBC’s ranking also speaks to the achievements of alumni, and the strong foundation they developed and opportunities they accessed during their time at UMBC.

“UMBC continues to produce alumni who are leaders in all facets of society, including civic leaders and CEOs of some of the world’s top companies,” says Stanyell Odom, director of alumni engagement. “We are proud of our alumni. The grit—hard work, courage, and commitment—they exude in their work across different fields has such a powerful impact on our nation and the world.”

All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

WEBINAR IS ONLINE, SEPTEMBER 16, NOON TO 1 PM

Learn to make your course materials accessible in Blackboard.

During the SP2019 semester, Ally was deployed to courses using Ultra. Ally is available in all courses regardless of course interface starting in SU2019.

Learn about Ally, a new tool to help improve the accessibility of course content in Blackboard. Attend this orientation and demonstration session to see Ally’s powerful file conversion tools for alternative formats. Review the accessibility of your own course materials using the Ally indicator.

Workshop Objectives

Upon completion of the workshop, participants should be able to:

• Review accessibility guidelines.

• Create alternative, more accessible versions of course content.

• Review key barriers that hinder the accessibility of content.

• Apply changes to content based on recommendations from the Ally accessibility plan.

• Understand and interpret results based on recommended remediation approaches.

• Identify and utilize accessibility tools to create more accessible content.

For more information about Ally at UMBC, please see this announcement and the FAQ collection.

Seeking excellent driver to shuttle 20-something woman to classes, workouts, and doctor’s appointments in Columbia area. Part-time.  Must be funny, patient, reliable and kind.  If interested please email mcbev1@icloud.com.

The Kuhn Library now provides access to course reserves through Ares from Atlas Systems; this new software seamlessly integrates with Blackboard (Bb) for streamlined availability and processing. Instructors who wish to submit course reserves requests and students who want to access their faculty reserves listings can now do so directly from their course site in Bb. 

Questions? Email reserves-group@umbc.edu, visit our Course Reserves Information page, or stop by the Check-Out desk at the Library.

Information on submitting materials for course reserve can be found on our instructor’s guide page (download PDF)