The Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) has been made aware of content posted by a number of UMBC students on social media that has impacted members of our community, especially members of our LGBTQ+ and Muslim communities.

UMBC is an institution that is committed to equity, inclusion, and social justice. The diversity of UMBC’s community and our commitment to inclusive excellence are among our greatest strengths. As a public university, we also acknowledge our community members’ right to free speech.

OEI’s responsibility is to respond to incidents that may violate UMBC’sDiscrimintion and Equal Opportunity Policy or our Policy on Sexual Misconduct, Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination. While our office handles matters confidentially, be assured that OEI staff are addressing matters reported to us. You can learn more about our discrimination complaint process here, and here.

Our response may include: 

• Outreach to involved students, faculty, and/or staff to learn more 

• Support and resources for those who report or are the subject of a report

• Intervention to address the issue

• Formal investigation through Title IX, Discrimination, student conduct, or other relevant policies and processes

Thank you to everyone who has shared their concerns. Please know that you are welcome to complete the Office of Equity and Inclusion’s Confidential Online Reporting/Referral Form if you have experienced hate, bias, or discrimination. 

If you or someone you know is in need of confidential support, please contact the UMBC Counseling Center by calling (410) 455-2472 on weekdays, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m or the after-hours support line at (410) 455-3230. Employees can access confidential support through the Employee Assistance Program.

We were deeply saddened this weekend to hear of the passing of William Rothstein, a beloved founding faculty member of UMBC. He was 83. We will remember him as one of the most exemplary professors we have known—a caring colleague, teacher, social scientist, and friend.

Bill was an emeritus professor of sociology at UMBC who devoted his career to our students. After earning his Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1965, he joined the UMBC faculty in 1966, when classes first began at the university. He was promoted to associate professor in 1969 and to professor in 1988. He continued to teach as an adjunct faculty member following his retirement, and he was a strong advocate for adjunct faculty during his career.

He touched the lives of countless students through the courses he taught, as the director of the master’s program in applied sociology, and in other ways. He was known as a thoughtful and compassionate mentor, and he remained connected with many of his students for years after graduation as they progressed in their careers. 

UMBC alumni have shared wonderful memories with us. Bill was a season ticket holder for men’s and women’s basketball and was often cheering in the stands or eating pizza with graduate students while watching a game. One former student shared gratitude that Bill was able to attend her wedding, and another remarked that what he learned from Bill continues to shape his own teaching today.

Service also played a large role in Bill’s work and life. In addition to serving as graduate program director and acting chair, he served on nearly every standing committee in his department. His tenure at UMBC saw astounding growth for UMBC’s Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health.

As a researcher, Bill published widely on the history of medicine in the United States from a sociological perspective, including four books. He explored topics related to medical policy and public health, and mentored student researchers in developing new scholarship on these topics. He also published several articles in the Baltimore Sun and other outlets to increase public awareness of important health-related topics. 

He continued to write during his retirement, publishing a new book in 2018 on coronary heart disease in the 20th-century United States, and more recently researching the COVID-19 pandemic. He was fascinated by the role of UMBC alumni in developing a COVID vaccine and encouraged us to stay positive about the future, even in challenging times.

A virtual funeral service will be held this Thursday, December 10, at 12 p.m., available through this link, with a number of UMBC colleagues and students speaking about his life. A virtual shiva gathering at 7 p.m., through this link, is another opportunity for friends and students to remember Bill.

Honoring his commitment to students, Bill’s family asks that contributions in his memory be made to the Graduate Student Emergency Fund that he established at UMBC. Donations can be submitted online or by check (payable to the UMBC Foundation, with Graduate Student Emergency Fund in the memo line, mailed to the UMBC Foundation, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250) to continue Bill’s legacy.

President Freeman Hrabowski

Provost Philip Rous

Name:Syed Naqi Hussain

Internship, Co-op or Research Site:KBR Incorporated

Position Title:Software Developer Intern

Major(s)/Minor(s):Computer Science

Current Class Level:Master’s Student

Work Term:Summer 2020

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

KBR Inc provides interns the opportunity to work on latest technologies like Edge Computing, Explainable AI and Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality. I was assigned a project in Explainable AI. The project followed Agile Methodology with daily scrum calls. Tickets were assigned to me by my mentors on a weekly basis coinciding with my sprint. My day to day responsibilities included attending the scrum calls and writing code to accomplish the sprint tasks.

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

I applied to this position through the Fall 2019 UMBC Career Fair. The company listed their requirements on the job description, which perfectly aligned with my skill sets. 

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

The company gave its interns all the required knowledge about the tools it uses through scheduled sessions, which were designed to have proper balance of theory and practicals. I was given ample time to get comfortable with those tools. The Agile project set up made my job easier; breaking down the project into sprints with each sprint consisting of simpler tasks helped me achieve the final goal smoothly.

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

The research and implementation of the Explainable Machine Learning model I created helped the  vegetation scientist understand the data set and the underlying model in a better way. They could make informed decisions based on it.  

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

Your internship process really starts with you realizing your skills and preparing a resume would be your next step. Reach out to advisors at the UMBC Career Center who could help you organize your resume and make it more effective. Before applying to any job make sure you read the job description to assess your chances of getting an interview call. Your interview is usually based on the skills you mention in your resume and on the job role the company is offering, so make sure you read up the job role and know the contents of your resume.

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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!