Eighteen Years of Grit: Ed Kelly Wins the October DoIT Gritty Award!

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 08:47:47 -0500
success

We are thrilled to announce that Ed Kelly has been awarded the October DoIT Gritty Award! This well-deserved recognition celebrates his outstanding contributions to the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) over his remarkable 18-year tenure at UMBC.

The Gritty Award is given to DoIT employees and teams who exemplify outstanding work and go above and beyond, and Ed has certainly done both. His dedication, expertise, and collaborative spirit have made a lasting, invaluable impact on critical university systems and student services.

Recognizing Exceptional Contributions

Throughout his career, Ed has been instrumental in numerous strategic projects, earning the admiration of his colleagues as a trusted team member. What truly sets him apart is his unselfish willingness and ability to share knowledge, mentoring countless individuals across UMBC, UMGC, and Io Consulting. Early in his career as an EPIC PeopleSoft Technical Trainer, he even achieved a kind of "celebrity" status, known and respected for his passion for teaching and practical tips.

His foundational and ongoing work is what keeps many of UMBC's most important systems compliant and functional.

Key Highlights of Ed's Impact

Ed's technical prowess and steady leadership have been critical to the success of several high-profile initiatives:

PeopleSoft Campus Solutions System Implementation: Ed was a pivotal figure during the challenging implementation of PeopleSoft. Serving as both a consultant and confidant, his expertise was essential in navigating difficult phases, ensuring that Student Administration (SA) continues to operate smoothly today.

Creation of UMBC's Advising Center: Soon after the PeopleSoft launch, Ed developed the UMBC Advising Center. This resource was ahead of its time, pre-dating the widespread "Student Success" movement. For over 15 years, it has centralized key advising information, creating significant efficiencies for the advising community. It remains a dynamic tool, recently enhanced with automated advising notes.

Personalized Student Experience via myUMBC: Ed designed the underlying data mechanics and logic that allows myUMBC to deliver a personalized student experience. His development of APIs also facilitated profile sharing, addressing long-standing access concerns. As Collier Jones from the myUMBC team puts it, "Ed is the bomb—without his expertise... we wouldn't be where we are today."

Transcript Ordering System: Ed engineered the transcript ordering process, allowing alumni, students, and former students to efficiently request, pay for, and receive transcripts. This system generates between $70,000 and $100,000 annually for UMBC.

Incomplete Grade Agreement: Ed created the functionality for the "Incomplete Grade Agreement," which helps students and faculty manage the process of converting an "I" (Incomplete) grade to a final grade. This resolved a long-standing issue caused by unclear communication or unavailable instructors.

Ongoing SA Framework and Maintenance: An often unseen but crucial contribution is the foundational framework Ed developed. This framework allows the SA team to seamlessly apply routine image and regulatory updates, keeping all systems compliant and functional.

For his eighteen years of Grit, dedication, and invaluable service to UMBC and DoIT, we are proud to present Ed Kelly with the DoIT Gritty Award. Congratulations, Ed!

The Gritty Award is in recognition of outstanding work within the Division and beyond. Full-time DoIT employees, DoIT student employees, and teams are eligible to be nominated for going above and beyond! Anyone in DoIT can nominate someone for the Gritty by completing this short Gritty Nomination Form.

The DoIT Community & The DoIT Gritty Committee

Erica D'Eramo

Ada Crutchfield

Andrew Shebest

Anthony Finneran

Carlos McKinney

Daniel Loftus

Dave Souder

David Toothe

Debbie Michaels

Dondre Hatef

Josh Abrams

Khalil Alston