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!

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!

Editor’s note: Here at UMBC, our students are the heartbeat of campus, and we are committed to providing them the best possible education. So, for the month of March, we will be 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 Economics Department is proud to announce that professor Scott Farrow was named economics coordinator for the Department of Homeland Security’s National Center on the Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE). The department would also like to announce that professor Dennis Coates was chosen as editor of the Journal of Sports Economics, effective summer of 2015.

With your help, the Economics department can provide scholarships for economics and financial economics majors and supply new computers with the latest version of Stata, an econometric software.

Click here to donate.

The Media and Communication Studies Department is excited to share that last year the department awarded student scholarships and provided state-of-the-art equipment for classrooms.

With your help, the Media and Communication Studies Department can continue supporting these worthwhile initiatives and continue providing students a top-rate education.

To donate, click here.

The Political Science Department is thrilled to share that in the past year, the department funded student trips to national conferences and supported undergraduate and graduate research.

With your help, the Political Science department can continue supporting these worthwhile initiatives and providing students a top-rate education.

Click here to donate.

Here in the Office of Alumni Relations, we spend a lot of time telling stories about and talking with our wonderfully supportive alums. However, we’ve decided to turn the tables and take time to get to know the people behind the scenes – the advancement and alumni relations staff members who are hard at work on behalf of our alumni. Today we’ll be hearing from Leslie Waters, the Executive Administrative Assistant for the Development Staff.

Name: Leslie Waters
Job Title: Executive Administrative Assistant
Focus Area: I assist in the Corporate Relations and Alumni Relations areas. Additionally, I assist at events such as the Alumni Awards and A Look Ahead.

Years at UMBC: 2 years

Q: Where are you from originally?
Cincinnati, Ohio

Q: What do you love most about UMBC?
I like the collaborative environment in which the staff members work together toward common goals.

Q: What is your favorite thing about your job?
I like communicating with staff, faculty, alumni, and corporate guests. I also appreciate the teamwork among the colleagues and the sense of community on campus.

Q: Why do you think it’s important to support UMBC?
It is important to support UMBC because scholarships help UMBC students meet their financial needs. I enjoyed hearing a UMBC student during her senior year describe how helpful her scholarship from the Alumni Association was in reducing her parents’ financial burden.

Q: When you were a child, what/who did you aspire to be?
As a young child, I aspired to become a teacher.

Q: If you could be a celebrity for a day, who would you choose?
If I could be a celebrity for a day, I would choose to be Diane Sawyer because she interviews interesting people who frequently inform and inspire us.

Here in the Office of Alumni Relations, we spend a lot of time telling stories about and talking with our wonderfully supportive alums. However, we’ve decided to turn the tables and take time to get to know the people behind the scenes – the advancement and alumni relations staff members who are hard at work on behalf of our alumni. Today we’ll be hearing from Leslie Waters, the Executive Administrative Assistant for the Development Staff.

Name: Leslie Waters
Job Title: Executive Administrative Assistant
Focus Area: I assist in the Corporate Relations and Alumni Relations areas. Additionally, I assist at events such as the Alumni Awards and A Look Ahead.

Years at UMBC: 2 years

Q: Where are you from originally?
Cincinnati, Ohio

Q: What do you love most about UMBC?
I like the collaborative environment in which the staff members work together toward common goals.

Q: What is your favorite thing about your job?
I like communicating with staff, faculty, alumni, and corporate guests. I also appreciate the teamwork among the colleagues and the sense of community on campus.

Q: Why do you think it’s important to support UMBC?
It is important to support UMBC because scholarships help UMBC students meet their financial needs. I enjoyed hearing a UMBC student during her senior year describe how helpful her scholarship from the Alumni Association was in reducing her parents’ financial burden.

Q: When you were a child, what/who did you aspire to be?
As a young child, I aspired to become a teacher.

Q: If you could be a celebrity for a day, who would you choose?
If I could be a celebrity for a day, I would choose to be Diane Sawyer because she interviews interesting people who frequently inform and inspire us.

Feeling a little nostalgic and generous? Check out these quick and easy tips for giving to UMBC. Don’t forget: the fiscal year ends on this year on June 30! We greatly appreciate your support.

ONLINE GIVING
To donate to UMBC, you may go to our traditional giving site and designate your gift any way you’d like. If you would prefer to donate directly to student scholarships or other student programs, you can continue online to our crowdfunding site.

CHECKS
If writing a check, please make them payable to the UMBC Foundation and mail to the UMBC Foundation at 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250. Use this printable form to make your contribution even easier.

GIFT OF SECURITIES
Giving appreciated stock can benefit both you and the school you came from. You may be eligible to take a charitable deduction for the market value of the securities, and could potentially benefit by avoiding capital gains tax and reducing your estate tax. You can request additional information about donating securities here.

PLANNED GIVING
Planned gifts, such as bequests, charitable gift annuities, and charitable remainder trusts, can benefit for you, your family, and UMBC and offer a wide variety of ways to donate to the university. For more information, visit our Planned Giving website. You can also contact Kim Robinson, Director of Capital Campaigns and Donor Relations, by phone at 410-455-3700 or by email at trowbrid@umbc.edu.

GIFTS IN KIND
Used to benefit the university, a gift of personal property includes equipment, inventory, books, works of art, or other tangible property. Gifts of personal property are gladly accepted by UMBC and greatly appreciated. Donors may designate their gift to be used in an academic department or program. If you are interested in pursuing this type of gift, please email Kim Robinson, director of capital campaigns and donor relations, at trowbrid@umbc.edu or give her a call at 410-455-3700.

Make a gift to UMBC today!

Your college experience is made up of many different things: eye-opening classes, talented professors, fun campus events, and amazing friends, just to name a few. But there’s one thing that has a unique and important impact on a student’s intellectual growth and future career aspirations – your department. Once you declare a major, your department often becomes a new family, the people you spend the most time with, the community that moves you through your college years.

The professors in your department help you shape and improve your work. They advise you as you build the foundation for your career. They become mentors you can count on for the rest of your life.

Your classmates become your team. You learn and grow side by side, developing a strong network of peers who you trust. You work on projects together, cram for finals together, and you launch your careers together.

The department is at the core of your college experience, and it’s one that is more than worthy of your support. When you donate to your department, you’re giving aid to the people on the ground. Your gift will ensure that future generations of Retrievers get to have the same wonderful experiences that you did. Your gift will help develop new and better courses, ensure that the best faculty are hired and retained, and give students unique, hands-on learning opportunities.

There are so many ways you can support UMBC. If you’re looking for something that you can connect to and that will have a real impact, please consider making a gift to your department today.