Welcome to a new academic year

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 17:22:06 -0400
provost

Dear Faculty,

Welcome to a new academic year! As we begin this journey together, I want to extend my sincere gratitude for your continued dedication to inclusive excellence and student success. Whether you are returning to campus or joining us for the first time, your passion and expertise are the foundation of UMBC.

As faculty, you play a central role in supporting our students. This is particularly important while our students continue to face a complex mix of academic, personal, and societal challenges. Your engagement, empathy, and mentorship can have a profound impact. In addition to supporting our students, I urge you to be proactive in recognizing when they may need support and to refer them to appropriate campus resources when necessary.

While lifting up our students is critical, I also know we need to support you in the classroom. At UMBC, we are committed to assisting you on your professional journey and helping you thrive in the classroom. I encourage you to explore the resources available through the Faculty Development Center, which provides services and resources to aid you in teaching at UMBC.

I also want to remind you that starting this year, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving is officially part of the holiday break. That means there will be one fewer Wednesday class session in the fall 2025 semester, something to keep in mind if you teach that day.

At UMBC, we are poised to transform higher education. This coming year we will do so in a variety of ways, but for now I want to highlight one in particular: Artificial Intelligence. AI is enabling universities to make transformational changes, and generative AI tools in particular are becoming increasingly integrated into academic work and student learning.

The faculty senate produced a report that surveyed faculty on the use of AI last semester. I have heard directly from that group, and have tapped Vice Provost Anupam Joshi, a leader in the field of artificial intelligence, to lead UMBC’s AI strategy. Anupam will head a taskforce this fall that will explore the use and integration of AI across university operations, including academics.

As that taskforce deliberates, we are moving forward. Based on the report from the Faculty Senate, we will support efforts spearheaded by Professor John Schumacher to deliver consistent, high quality faculty professional development experiences on generative AI. This will include direct instruction on using generative AI tools in teaching, and seminars with internal and external speakers who have expertise on this topic. We will also invite proposals from faculty to support graduate and undergraduate students as fellows to support their research in AI-related areas.

Additional news and details concerning this effort will be shared in the coming weeks and months.

I hope to see you at the campus events this month, including the Fall Opening Meeting on Thursday and Convocation on August 26. Following the Convocation ceremony, we will gather as a community for a cookout on The Quad. This is an opportunity to meet new students and catch up with colleagues. Please bring your campus ID.

Thank you for the work you do every day to inspire curiosity, foster critical thinking, and prepare our students to go out in the world and make a meaningful difference and be the best version of themselves. I look forward to a rewarding and successful academic year ahead.

Warm regards,

Manfred H.M. van Dulmen

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs