Dr. Griselda Flores, director of Retriever Essential Needs and Connections in the Dean of Students office, recently participated in NASPA’s Alice Manicur Symposium. The symposium is an engaging and supportive environment for student affairs professionals who identify as women or outside the gender binary and who are emerging senior- and senior-level professionals. Participants were selected through an application process.

In addition to in-depth discussions and small, faculty-led mentor group sessions, attendees met one-on-one with experienced VPSA faculty members and participated in content sessions on topics such as: strategic thinking, leading change, planning for career advancement, and personal and professional life balance.

"My experience at the Alice Manicur Symposium was genuinely transformative,” said Dr. Flores. “I gained as much insight from my fellow cohort group as I did from the esteemed faculty who presented on the critical aspects of what it takes to ascend to a VP role. The discussions on strategic partnership, change leadership, and other essential topics offered a profound opportunity to explore our unique paths to leadership. I left the symposium equipped with key skills and practical tips for navigating senior leadership roles in higher education. I am excited to apply the knowledge and connections I made at Alice Manicur to support my leadership efforts here at UMBC."

Center for Democracy and Civic Life Director David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, is serving on one of six new Imagining America (IA) regional Collaboratories. Collaboratories connect members across the IA consortium in the production of public knowledge and collective imagination through collaborative research and experimentation.

The B-More with Imagination Collaboratory will expand an ongoing IA Community of Practice at Towson University to the wider Baltimore region. It brings together members of higher education institutions and community organizations to imagine and enact an inter-institutional, place-based approach to work toward equity and justice. Dr. Hoffman and Dr. Michael Casiano, assistant professor of American Studies, are representing UMBC. They are joined by Towson’s Director of Civic Engagement and Social Responsibility Romy Hubler '09, M.A. '11, Ph.D. '15, and Dr. Morna McDermott McNulty, professor, College of Education. Representing MICA are Dr. Shannon Ingram, executive director, MOSAIC Center for Diversity, Equity and Community; Sara Kaltwasser, associate director, Community Art and Service; and Susan E. Tuberville, program manager, Center for Creative Citizenship.

Read the full announcement on the Imagining America website. 

In recognition of UMBC’s exceptional use of AI for Family Connection portal content creation, the university is "ESP MVP" for the fourth quarter of 2024. 

Fritzie Charné-Merriwether, Student Affairs’ associate vice president for administration and chief of staff, shares that Campus ESP’s new AI tool is helping to boost family engagement—and ultimately, student success—by increasing personalized content.

“The ability to quickly adjust a message to speak directly to families is a complete game changer,” Charné-Merriwether said. 

Since Student Affairs launched UMBC’s Family Connection portal in 2021, it has become the model platform for Campus ESP as they recruit and manage institutions, and Charné-Merriwether has been a speaker at their annual parent engagement conference. 

Portal engagement has also helped contribute to increased family donor participation during UMBC’s Giving Day. 

Read the full story on the Campus ESP blog.