Jim Milani, right, with his wife Liz, center, and his sister Patrice, left.

Jim Milani ’73, political science, says that when he was first approached by Gary Rupert about naming a locker room for the women’s lacrosse team, he thought the late former athletic director and development officer was out of his mind. “Usually, it’s millionaires who get the opportunity to name a building,” says Milani, who’s worked for UMBC since his graduation over four decades ago and currently serves as Director of Administrative Affairs for the College of Engineering and Information Technology (CoEIT), “and I’m not a millionaire.”

But when Rupert reminded him of his family’s consistent presence on campus, and their devotion to the lacrosse program, Milani eventually came around. “We’ve had a long affiliation,” he says, and it was only right to commemorate the family’s commitment to UMBC Athletics in a lasting way.

On April 1, right before the women’s lacrosse team faced off with the UMass Lowell River Hawks, their locker room in the UMBC fieldhouse was dedicated in honor of the Milani Family Endowment. The fund was established in 2009 by Jim Milani, his wife Liz, and his sister Patrice, to support the team, which is currently enjoying a winning season.

Amy Slade, the head coach of the women’s lacrosse team, says the Milanis’ support of the program has been “incredible,” and attributes the relationship to their shared values. “We preach growing as a family, giving to a greater cause, playing for the name on the front and not the back,” she says. “[The Milanis] have set the bar high for others to follow.”

Jim Milani is one of nine siblings, and one of two to graduate from UMBC, the other being his brother Mark Milani ’80, political science. His daughter, Beth Milani Brundage ’02, history, his sister-in-law Jacqueline Abendschoen Milani ’88, psychology, and his niece Meghan Milani ’16, psychology, are all women’s lacrosse alumnae, as well. But while Jim Milani’s parents, Jim and Pat, never played lacrosse themselves, they encouraged all of their children to stay active in sports, leading to an athletic legacy that continues today.

Jim Milani, for his part, wants that legacy to continue: in his remarks shortly before the plaque was unveiled, he told his family to let any future children and grandchildren know they’d be going to UMBC.

The Milani Family smiles for the camera after the April 1 dedication ceremony.

It’s easy to give to your favorite cause on campus. Donate to UMBC today!

The UMBC community is full of compassionate, caring people who love to give back to UMBC. Today we’re meeting one of those people, Justine Johnson, Associate Director of the Meyerhoff Graduate Program at UMBC. She was this year’s lucky – and deserving! – recipient of the Jakubik Family Endowment Award. This award was created to recognize a staff member who went beyond the norm in helping UMBC students achieve their goals. Learn more about the award and Stan Jakubik in part 1 of this series.

Q: What is your relationship to UMBC? How did you become involved with UMBC?

A: I love UMBC and I hope to retire from this wonderful place! I am currently the Associate Director of the Meyerhoff Graduate Fellows Program and I became involved with UMBC in 1999 when I was hired as an Accounting Associate in the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. I worked in the department during the transition from FAS to PeopleSoft and was later promoted to Business Manager. It was a very rewarding experience and I learned a great deal about higher education. But I learned my biggest lesson from the amazing students in the program. In 2004, I wasn’t looking to make any career changes, however I was working closely with MaryEllen Jackson, my predecessor who was leaving the position with the Meyerhoff Graduate Program. In casual conversation I said, “Your job looks like fun! What do you think about me doing it?” With excitement she said, “You would leave the Meyerhoff Program? I think you would be great for this position!” She immediately shared our conversation with Dr. Summers and the rest is history!

Q: Could you share a favorite memory from your time here?

A: There are so many! When I began working in the Meyerhoff Scholars Program I participated in Summer Bridge with the M11’s. As part of a trust-building field trip, we had to participate in a trust-fall where the students and staff had to catch you as you fell from a 10-foot-tall tree post. Later we had to climb a rock wall and I am afraid of heights. Those incoming M11 Meyerhoff Scholars and the staff rooted and cheered me on like I was an Olympian and I was determined to reach the top. Looking down at them and hearing them root me on was priceless! I knew I was going to love working here.

Q: How did it feel to receive the Jakubik Family Endowment Award?

A: I felt really honored to receive the Jakubik award, and it was especially nice to receive an email from Mr. Jakubik congratulating me on the award. It was also an honor to get nominated by Dr. Summers and the letters of recommendation from Dr. LaCourse, Greg Simmons, and Dr. Hrabowski. It is nice to be acknowledged for the work that you do with students every day. You never know how you are influencing their lives and decisions.  I enjoy working with students and seeing their growth and watching them accomplish their goals.

Q: What would you want to say to the Stan and the Jakubik Family?

A: I would tell them thank you for establishing such an award that acknowledges contributions to students by faculty and staff at UMBC. The acknowledgement itself is an honor and the monetary award is the icing on the cake! It encourages me to continue to do better.

Q: Why do you think it’s important to give back to UMBC and its students?

A: It’s important to give back to UMBC because this institution does so much for its students, staff, and the community at-large. When I think about what working at UMBC has done for me, I’m not sure what my life or my family would be like if I didn’t work here.  Giving back to the students is important because every person needs to feel connected. They also need encouragement along the way! When I think about all that I have gained from working here, giving back to students comes easy.

Read part 1 of this series.

Editor’s note: This is part 1 of 2 in a series on the Jakubik Family Endowment Award.

The UMBC community is full of compassionate, caring people who love to give back to UMBC. Stan Jakubik and Justine Johnson are two of those people. Jakubik, a former Assistant Provost at UMBC and now the Assistant Vice Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, along with his family, established the Jakubik Family Endowment in the early 2000s. Their goal was to acknowledge the role that the staff plays in the success of students at UMBC.

Along with the Office of Institutional Advancement, Jakubik created an award that would recognize a staff member who went beyond the norm in helping UMBC students achieve their goals. While the award does include a monetary component, it was designed to highlight the contributions made by all staff to the overall academic and social environment at UMBC.

Today we’re meeting Stan Jakubik, the founder and namesake of the Jakubik Family Endowment, to find out why he’s such a big supporter of UMBC.

Q: What is your relationship to UMBC? How did you become involved with UMBC?

A: I was a member of the UMBC staff from 1980 through most of 1997.  I originally was hired as Registrar, later became Registrar and Director of Academic Advising, finally moving to Assistant Provost in the early 1990s. I reluctantly left UMBC in 1997 to head up a project for the University System of Maryland, where I am currently Assistant Vice Chancellor.

Q: Could you share a favorite memory from your time here?

A: My most fond memories of UMBC involve the growth of team spirit among the staff over the years. In the mid 1980s, Michael Hooker became President and started the transition toward the academic powerhouse that is now UMBC, with Freeman later moving UMBC to the national acclaim it enjoys today. The staff supporting all of the changes became a critical part of UMBC’s success story by joining together to constantly try to find better ways to support students and faculty. There was a strong identity among the staff with the goals of UMBC, pushing bureaucracy aside and finding new ways to “make it happen.”

I must say my other fond memory is my daughter Stephanie’s graduation from UMBC and her first career steps, joining the UMBC staff in both the Shriver Center and Institutional Advancement.

Q: How do you hope your support will make UMBC a better place?

A: My daughter and I wanted to find a way to thank UMBC for the exceptional experiences we both had as staff members. We could think of no better way than to build a program to acknowledge the continuing efforts of UMBC people who want to make the experience of being a member of the UMBC community an exceptional positive period in the lives of our students. We wanted to publicize the achievements of those whose commitment to UMBC – and to the success of its students – set a very high bar for others to follow. I believe the award does that.

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

A: I think we all know that financial support from individuals is more critical today than it has ever been. What is most important, however, is that people associated with UMBC have an opportunity to give back in so many different ways. Financial support clearly is one, but volunteerism is another. Becoming involved in recruiting efforts, telling the story of UMBC in social media, mentoring students, and working the legislative issues that impact UMBC all provide the kind of support that UMBC needs. Supporting UMBC in whatever manner is appropriate to you will help UMBC to continue to be the incredible success story it is today.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this series tomorrow.
In the meantime, you can support UMBC, too!

Every so often, we like to ask our donors why they chose to support UMBC, and what makes their connection the University special. Recently, we spoke with Professor Bimal Sinha, who founded the statistics graduate program at UMBC. Dr. Sinha also created an
endowment fund for both undergraduate and graduate statistics students entitled the Dr. Bimal and Mrs. Suchandra Sinha Endowment for Excellence in Statistics.