Dear UMBC Community,

We'd like to remind our campus community to sign up for UMBC's emergency text alert system. We use this system to provide timely alerts for emergency conditions that may impact our campus.

If you are not already registered for emergency text alerts, please login to your myUMBC account and register here. You can also download the Alertus application for your Mac or PC. Alertus will deliver emergency desktop alerts to your computer. You can find more information about emergency preparedness here.

Actions you can take if an emergency occurs:

• Police Emergencies: If you are the victim of or a witness to criminal activity on campus, or if you observe suspicious activity or behavior, please contact UMBC Police immediately at 410-455-5555.

• Active Threats: In the event of an active threat to the campus community, UMBC Police will provide instructions through the emergency text alert system and Alertus. These instructions will include areas to avoid and/or shelter in place. More detailed information will follow by email.

• Emergency Conditions on Campus: UMBC receives real-time warnings about critical weather events in our area from a national monitoring service. If emergency conditions impact campus, UMBC Police will provide instructions through the emergency text alert system and Alertus. If you receive an alert, follow instructions and wait for the all-clear before resuming normal activities. 

• Facility Emergencies: If a fire alarm activates in your classroom, workspace, or living area, evacuate your building immediately and go to your primary designated assembly area. If you see or smell smoke or see fire in your facility, pull the fire alarm and evacuate immediately. Call UMBC Police at 410-455-5555 when it is safe to do so. UMBC Police will respond and will contact 911 for emergency services support. Do not re-enter the building during an alarm until you receive the all-clear with instructions to return.

Safety Escorts
If you are concerned about your safety as you walk on campus, call 410-455-5555 to request a safety escort. A uniformed police officer or student police aide will be dispatched to escort you to your destination. If you observe suspicious activity or behavior, ensure your personal safety first and then contact UMBC Police at 410-455-5555.

Available Support

Retriever Integrated Health provides free confidential services for UMBC students. If you are in need of counseling services or would like to learn more about available services, please call 410-455-2472 or visit the Retriever Integrated Health website. Faculty and staff can access support through the Employee Assistance Program.

The UMBC Police wish all members of our community a safe and productive semester.

Bruce Perry '97, UMBC Chief of Police

Name:  Dhruvi Patel (She/her/hers)

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Co-op

Position Title: IT Corporate Intern (DBA/BA)

Major or Program: B.S. Information Systems 

Current Class Level: Senior

Work Term:  Summer 2022 and Fall 2022

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities. 

My day to day responsibilities includes investigating goals and issues, analyzing information, evaluating solutions, documenting and identifying business issues.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I got the internship at Erickson through UMBC Works. There were a total of three round of interviews including the initial phone call.

What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?  

Everyday a business analyst is faced with new challenges and new problems to solve, and this encourages me to learn more about the challenging work environment, and allows me to continuously develop problem solving and critical thinking skills.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

I have gained a good amount of knowledge from this internship. And I believe that I have implemented it correctly in generating reports and projects. 

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience? 

Try to meet new people and be open minded to learn new things everyday. 

Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.

The learning process continues until the day you die.

Check out this post on our social media platforms!

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram andLinkedIn 

#UMBCintern 

Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!

Dear Colleagues,

I am delighted to announce the appointment of Orianne Smith as Special Assistant to the Provost for Special Faculty Initiatives, effective September 1, 2022.

As Special Assistant to the Provost, Professor Smith will work with departments and programs to support their ongoing efforts to fully recognize faculty Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) activities in Promotion and Tenure (P&T) reviews, and work to recommend revisions to Digital Measures reporting that could assist faculty in better capturing their DEIA activities on a periodic basis. She will also engage in best practice research to better understand the impacts of the pandemic on the long-term career trajectory of junior faculty, and provide resources to assist the university in the on-boarding of new faculty and in their mentorship. Professor Smith will share resulting research, recommendations, and best practices with the Provost, the Council of Deans, shared governance, college deans, and department chairs.

These responsibilities build upon, and are an extension of, the impressive work in which Professor Smith has previously engaged to support faculty. She recently served two terms as Faculty Senate President, and in that position, and as a member of the COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee (CPCC), worked closely with senior leadership, and the faculty, staff, and student senates, to help the university and our faculty navigate the many challenges of the pandemic. During this time, Professor Smith also created and led the Faculty Caregiving Advisory Committee. Under her leadership, the Caregiving Committee facilitated a series of listening sessions and surveys to better understand the experiences of faculty caregivers. Recommendations from the Caregiving Committee that have been implemented include offering tenure-clock and start-up extensions to junior faculty members, and the development of a caregiver supportive toolkit and brochure for new chairs and administrators. Professor Smith also worked with the Office of Institutional Advancement, Human Resources, and staff shared governance leaders to establish the UMBC Cares Faculty & Staff Emergency Fund.

Professor Smith has extensive experience working collaboratively across the university to initiate and successfully shepherd significant policy changes through the shared governance process. These include the evaluation and improvement of teaching effectiveness in faculty reviews, and a proposed name change for Lecturer-rank faculty to better reflect the roles and duties of non-tenure track faculty. Most recently, Professor Smith worked with stakeholders across campus to develop and implement significant changes to UMBC's P&T policy to recognize and reward faculty DEIA efforts.

Professor Smith completed her Ph.D. in British Romantic literature at Loyola University Chicago and joined the UMBC faculty in 2005. Her book, Romantic Women Writers, Revolution and Prophecy: Rebellious Daughters, 1786 -- 1826, was published with Cambridge University Press (2013; paperback 2015). This book received the First Book Award from the British Association of Romantic Studies in 2015. Professor Smith served as the Chair of the English Department from 2012 -- 2018. She has also served in numerous other leadership roles across the university. 

Professor Smith looks forward to continuing to find meaningful ways to support our faculty and warmly invites members of the university to contact her at osmith@umbc.edu with suggestions or feedback.

Please join me in congratulating Professor Smith on her new appointment and supporting her in this important endeavor.

Provost Philip Rous