Here in the Office of Institutional Advancement, we are always working hard to support the university and connect our donors with causes they care most about. We would like to introduce our donors — to whom we are so grateful — to the people who help make those things happen. Today, we’ll be hearing from Marie Lilly, the Associate Director of Foundation Relations.

Name: Marie Lilly

Job Title: Associate Director of Foundation Relations

Focus Area: My job is to help build relationships with foundations, with goal of raising money to benefit UMBC students and programs. I work with faculty and staff to identify projects and potential funding sources as well as preparing and submitting proposals.  I work with deans, VPs, and other members of the OIA team to cultivate new foundations with missions that align with UMBC’s work and I help manage relationships with foundations that currently support the university.

Years at UMBC: 1 year

Q: Where are you from originally?

A: I am originally from a farm about 20 minutes outside of Frederick, MD

Q: What do you love most about UMBC?

A: I love how much everyone here embraces diversity. I love that the students embrace their geekiness; the staff make it a mission to do things in innovative ways; and the administration prioritizes attracting and retaining diverse students. This is what originally attracted me to UMBC, having done social justice work for almost 10 years.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about your job?

A: I really appreciate how many different projects I get to work on and the bird’s-eye view I get of the incredible work happening across campus. I get to work with faculty to find funding for their research, ask foundations to support students scholarships, and work with corporations to build partnerships with the university – in fact, I often work on all of these things and more in one day!

Q: Why do you think it’s important to support UMBC?

A: I am first and foremost a huge proponent of public universities. A college education is one of the most important paths out of poverty for disadvantaged families and public universities make that education affordable and accessible. In addition to accessibility, UMBC is helping students from all background succeed in careers with tremendous potential for growth and innovation, like cybersecurity and other STEM fields.  I think this is a winning combination that can truly change the lives of our students and their families. Philanthropic support helps make UMBC more accessible and allows us to help even more students!

Q: What is your favorite food?

A: OMG – Pho. I love Pho. AND there are at least three amazing Pho places in Catonsville!

Q: When you were a child, what/who did you aspire to be?

A: I wanted to be a rock star. Or a movie star. And a spy.

Shari Waldstein, professor of psychology, has been named the Lipitz Professor for 2015-2016. This professorship is supported by an endowment created by Roger C. Lipitz and the Lipitz Family Foundation “to recognize and support innovative and distinguished teaching and research in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.”

A clinical psychologist who specializes in cardiovascular behavioral medicine and medical neuropsychology, Dr. Waldstein is known internationally for fundamental contributions to the understanding of the links among early, multi-level risk factors for cardiovascular disease, sub-clinical brain pathology, neurocognitive performance, and their development across the lifespan. In recent years she has increasingly focused on identifying the multi-level mechanisms underlying race and socioeconomic status-related disparities in cardiovascular and brain health.

Since coming to UMBC, she has been awarded more than $6,000,000 in grants and contracts. Dr. Waldstein’s contributions to the profession of psychology are numerous. She has served for 18 years as director of the behavioral medicine track in our human services psychology Ph.D. program and has mentored 22 Ph.D. students. She also works closely with colleagues at UMB, where she holds a secondary faculty appointment as professor of medicine.

Read more about Dr. Waldstein’s work. 

On behalf of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni, we’d like to say thank you to all those who supported us in throughout the last fiscal year! Your contribution goes a long way in funding the #1 up-and-coming national university in the United States.

Last year’s contributions made a big difference in funding some new and exciting developments on campus, including the grand opening of the Performing Arts and Humanities Building and the men’s soccer team’s journey to the NCAA tournament. Your gifts also provided support for student scholarship funds, new equipment and curricula to academic departments, grants for undergraduate research…the list goes on.

We are very lucky to have a network of donors so committed to UMBC’s message of innovation and engagement. Thank you again for your continued support!

The countdown has begun. You only have 3 days left to make a difference! June 30th marks the end of our fiscal year; it’s the day we close the books and start planning and allocating funds for the next year. UMBC’s talented students and world-class faculty and staff need your support. Your gift can provide funding for scholarships, technology upgrades, research initiatives, library resources, athletics, student activities, and so much more. Your gift will change lives.

Be the difference in the lives of so many future innovators.

If you’ve already made your gift, thank you!

Suzanne Schlenger poses with a few volumes from her collection.

If a university and its people are dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, there is perhaps nowhere on campus that more embodies that mission than the library. That is surely true here on UMBC’s campus. Much more than books on shelves, the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery is an engine for discovery, providing our students and faculty with the resources and support they need on their academic journey.

This year, those resources grew thanks to Suzanne Schlenger. A member of the Friends of the Library since 2001, she recently established the Suzanne Schlenger Endowment for a Collection of American Women in Literature and donated a substantial set of books that will form the basis for this new collection.

The volumes, which now reside in UMBC’s Special Collections, include many works by Willa Cather and Edith Wharton, as well as a limited edition of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind. The collection was built over many years, as Mrs. Schlenger and her late husband, Jack Schlenger, a lawyer and friend of Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, travelled the world looking for works by their favorite authors.

“My husband was a book collector and a reader,” she says. “I read everything he collected, and I wanted to collect books, too.” Mrs. Schlenger and her husband thoroughly enjoyed their search, which took them as far away as Europe. “I have a collector’s mind,” says Mrs. Schlenger. “This satisfies my love of books, my love of reading, and my love of collecting.”

Although Mrs. Schlenger could have opted to sell her books, she says that donating them to the library and establishing the endowment just felt right to her.  She sees this as an opportunity to ensure that the books are well used, and she is eager to see what research and scholarship comes out of her collection. “I wanted to pass [the collection] on to scholars,” she says. “I hope people come and read it.”

Left to right: Tom Beck, chief curator of AOK Library; Suzanne Schlenger; and Larry Wilt, former director of the AOK Library.

Her love for books and reading is clear. When asked about her favorite book in the collection, Mrs. Schlenger answers without pause: it’s Willa Cather’s My Antonia. She cites Antonia’s resilience as a key factor in her appreciation for the book. “[Cather] is an outstanding stylist,” says Mrs. Schlenger. “She writes sparely with such style, and she digs at your heart.”

And while Mrs. Schlenger’s books provide a critical base for the new collection of American women writers, the library staff will also be able to use the endowment she’s created to enrich and expand that collection in consultation with faculty from the English and Theatre Departments. This, Mrs. Schlenger hopes, will fill a void in the library and ensure a rich collection in years to come.

“I’ve seen UMBC grow, and through my husband’s enthusiasm for UMBC, I joined him in that,” says Mrs. Schlenger of her choice to invest her time, treasure, and talent in the university.

It’s that time of year again…the fiscal year, that is! And we’d like your help in meeting our giving goals for the end of it. For just $10 each month, you can help us maintain UMBC’s status as a hub for research, innovation, and undergraduate teaching:

• For the cost of a movie ticket, you could help send a student to an out-of-state research conference.
• For the cost of two soy lattes, you could contribute to one of our many need- and merit-based scholarship funds for undergraduates.
• For the cost of half a tank of gas, you could help update our classrooms with state-of-the-art equipment.
• For the cost of a dozen donuts, you could help fund undergraduate research grants and student initiatives.

Please consider donating by June 30, because even the smallest gift can be so powerful. Here’s how you can give today:

• ONLINE: You can either visit our crowd funding site to give to individual departments and initiatives, or our traditional giving site. Setting up a recurring gift is convenient, customizable, and environmentally friendly.

• BY CHECK: Please make checks payable to the UMBC Foundation and mail to UMBC Foundation, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250

Thank you in advance for your contribution!

Editor’s note: Here at UMBC, our students are the heartbeat of campus, and we are committed to providing them the best possible education. We’re highlighting our amazing academic departments, some of their recent achievements, and ways that you can help fund their continued excellence.

Your gift is extremely important and many of our students are depending on you. Please show your support and make an impact today. With you we can make a difference.

The Department of Biological Sciences is proud to announce that they were able to continue to impact students last year by providing an exceptional education. This year the department hopes to continue with their impact on students.

Your financial support will help award scholarships, sponsor internships, and provide state-of-the-art equipment for our students.

Support the Department of Biological Sciences!

Our donors are the heartbeat of UMBC. When you give to the university, you are making real change in the world. Your gift could fund a scholarship for the student who goes on to become a leader in the cybersecurity field. Your support could enable a professor to innovate in the classroom and help students succeed. You could make a difference that changes lives and impacts our community and our world.

To all the donors who’ve given in the past, we say thank you! We appreciate you and everything you do to support our students, and we hope you’ll continue to make an impact now.

WELCOME BACK

Editor’s note: Here at UMBC, our students are the heartbeat of campus, and we are committed to providing them the best possible education. We’re highlighting our amazing academic departments, some of their recent achievements, and ways that you can help fund their continued excellence.

Your gift is extremely important and many of our students are depending on you. Please show your support and make an impact today. With you we can make a difference.

The Interdisciplinary Studies Program (INDS) is proud to have celebrated its 45th Anniversary this past year with over 1,200 students to have graduated with INDS degrees. The department hopes to continue their success and impact on future students by providing more and more opportunities.

Your gift to the Interdisciplinary Studies Program will help us continue to support student research and travel, sending students to present their research at national conferences, and develop new courses and curricula for our students.

Together, alumni of INDS can make a big difference in the future of UMBC. Please show your Retriever pride today by making a gift.

Support INDS today!

Our UMBC Phonathon student callers are a vital part of our organization. We recently asked a few of our graduating seniors–who are now some of our newest alumni–to tell us what they loved most about UMBC and where they’re going next!

 “I have grown to appreciate UMBC because of its small size. Here at UMBC I have made many personal and professional connections that I attribute to the close-knit community.” ~Bernadette Amihere ’15

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“There are some awesome professors at this university who educate like it’s their passion, not their job.” ~Dan Armstrong

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“I hope to find a great-paying job that I enjoy doing and that involves solving environmental issues.” ~Kara Lopez

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“I plan on going to graduate school to obtain a Masters in Public Health and a focus on Epidemiology.” ~Jessica Aname