After participating in rigorous peer reviews of their online and hybrid courses, five UMBC faculty earned Quality Matters certification as part of the campus’ Quality Matters Impact (QMI) pilot. In partnership with the Provost’s Office, the QMI pilot launched in Fall 2021 as an extension of the award-winning PIVOT program to recognize exemplary course design. 

Faculty participants received feedback from certified Quality Matters peer reviewers at UMBC and other online learning experts in the QM community.

[read original story by UMBC's DOIT]

PRE-REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED - please register HERE

We're excited to share information about the upcoming Baltimore Collegetown Network (BCN) 2022 Industry Days. These networking events are chances for students to connect with industry leaders and like-minded individuals, explore job opportunities, and learn from professionals who have launched their careers in the region. The industries this year are: 

• Government & Policy - Thursday, March 3, 5:00 - 7:00pm 

• Emerging Tech - Thursday, March 31, 5:00 - 7:00pm 

• Creative Entrepreneurship - Thursday, April 7, 5:00 - 7:00 pm 

• Finance - Thursday, April 21, 5:00 - 7:00pm 

Students will later have the chance to mingle with panelists and other students with similar interests. They will also have the opportunity to have a professional headshot photo taken. BCN will be raffling off a 1:1 meeting for students to have their LinkedIn profile and resume reviewed.

All of the events are being held at Impact Hub and will be FREE for students. Please register as soon as possible since spots will be filling quickly as the capacity is limited due to COVID. All events will require COVID vaccinations - per CDC guidelines.

This post was curated by our Women’s Center Director, Jess Myers (she/her).

Jess Myers and Dr. Kate outside the Women’s Center

In honor of Giving Day, I reached out to Dr. Kate Tracy M.A. ’01, Ph.D. ’03 to ask her a few questions about the importance of giving and what the experience of giving has meant for her.

You may be familiar with Dr. Tracy’s name because for the past several years, Dr. Tracy has supported the Women’s Center on Giving Day by offering match challenges to our community. She also created the Maxine Tracy Endowment which provides the Women’s Center funding to support our Returning Women Students/Adult Learners Scholars + Affiliates program. It is also the namesake of our Wellness Room! Just recently she began the quest to fund a new endowment, the Kate Tracy Endowment, which will help provide scholarships to UMBC students in the future.

I’ve had the pleasure to get to know Dr. Tracy over the past several years and wanted to share a little bit more about this person who cares so much about the Women’s Center with our community. I had the chance to connect with her and ask her a few questions about the importance of giving and what’s she’s learned from the experience. I hope that learning a little bit more about Dr. Tracy will inspire you to find your “why” this Giving Day!

Jess: You’ve been supporting the Women’s Center for several years now – first to create the Maxine Tracy Endowment and now the Kate Tracy Endowment. What is your motivation behind your giving? And, what have you learned about yourself from the experience of giving? 

Dr. Tracy: My original motivation for giving to the Women’s Center at UMBC was to honor my grandmother, Maxine Tracy. She was my hero and a lifelong supporter of women’s professional development. Giving to the Women’s Center was a tangible way for me to honor her influence on my life and continue her legacy of supporting women’s professional development.

I’ve continued my giving to the Center out of gratitude. I feel very grateful for the many ways UMBC is woven into my own professional story. I want to continue to support the Center and be a champion for the work it does.

Jess: In some of our earlier conversations, it was clear to me that you found it important to carve out space for other women to see the possibilities in themselves being philanthropists. Can you share more about why this matters to you?

Dr. Tracy: Women’s philanthropy is often less visible. And I’d like to see that change. One way to foster that change is to share our stories of giving…what motivates us to give…how and what we give—whether it’s our time, talents, or our resources. Every gift—no matter the amount—will make a difference!

Jess: This is the third year you’ve offered a match challenge on behalf of the Women’s Center for Giving Day. What encouragement can you give to our potential donors to help us meet your challenge?

Dr. Tracy: One of the reasons I continue to offer the match challenge on behalf of the Women’s Center for Giving Day is to encourage others to join me in supporting the Center. The programming, support services, and advocacy the Center offers are so important to the UMBC community. I’m proud to be a supporter and want to do whatever I can to encourage others to support the Center and its mission.

You can learn more about Dr. Tracy and her grandmother, Maxine, by reading this UMBC Magazine article entailed Living Her Values that was published last fall (and is featured in the most recent hardcopy version of the UMBC Magazine).

We’re grateful for Dr. Tracy’s support… and for all of our generous donors who give of their talent, treasure, and time. Thank you for you!

And…

Our 2022 Giving Day Challenge!

We’re especially excited to share that any gift to the Women’s Center on Giving Day will help us unlock 2-part $5,000 Giving Day challenge set by Dr. Tracy!

Dr. Tracy will donate $2,500 to the Women’s Center once we reach 130 donors
AND an additional $2,500 once we achieve $5,000 raised for the Women’s Center!

Giving Day 2022 runs from February 16th at 9am until February 17th at 9pm!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, February 16 at 9am kicks off UMBC's #BlackAndGoldRush!!!

UMBC's goal is 3,000 donations to honor Dr. Hrabowski's 30 years at UMBC. Consider making a gift to The Shriver Center during the 36-hour drive to help support our transformational work bridging campus and community!

LIVE with The Shriver Center's Service-Learning & Community Engagement Team

https://facebook.com/theshrivercenter

Wednesday, February 16 from 10-11am

Faculty & Staff Celebration

Commons Gameroom

Wednesday, February 16 from 3-5 p.m.

Pickup a giveaway bag* and take a photo with Chip or President Hrabowski!

Student Celebration

Commons Gameroom

Thursday, February 17 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m.

PLEASE DONATE TO:

BEYA STEM Virtual Career Fair and Conference
Thursday, February 17– Saturday, February, 19, 2022

BEYA STEM Virtual Career Fair (FREE) - Friday, February 18 and Saturday, February 19, 2022

10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Open to ALL Students (undergraduate and graduate)

Jobs--full-time, part-time, internships and graduate admissions

This event is sponsored by Career Communications Group (CCG) and is part of their large annual conference. Representatives from several major corporations and universities will be available to meet virtually with students pursuing careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields as well as Business, Finance, and Marketing. Be sure to check the list of participating employers.

Why should you participate?

·       FREE Virtual Career Fair

·       Seminar Options

·       On the spot job offers

·       Networking with recruiters

·       Job readiness certification for college students

Registration is required. You can register up until the day of the event.  However it will take about 15-30 minutes for registrations to be activated and to gain access to the platform.

·       The Career Fair on Friday and Saturday is free! To participate in the Career Fair only, register as a “Job Seeker”.

·       The fee for attending the full conference is only $50 when you use the promotion code PCABZK4. To participate in the full conference (in addition to the career fair), register as a “Student”.

·      To register, please follow the instructions at: https://careers2.umbc.edu/calendar/fairs/beya2022.php

Please be sure to upload your resume to the V-fairs platform in advance.

Contact Diane Crump-Fogle (crump@umbc.edu) or Chrisi Giannakaris (chrisig@umbc.edu) of the UMBC Career Center for additional information.