Join ASA Hot Topics: African Edition this Wednesday, Oct 8 at 7PM in ILSB 118! Send in some topics on our lg Story you would like to see us discuss at this meeting!

Commuter Connections is hiring for a Graduate Assistant!  This is a one-year position with consideration for renewal. The GA position (Master's or PhD eligible) starts Jan 12, 2026, working 20 hrs/week. Must be available Tuesdays 7:30–11:30 am. 

The ideal candidate for this Graduate Assistant position has experience supporting student events and/or is familiar with the commuter student programming experience at UMBC. They are creative, able to generate programming ideas, and proficient with design and communication tools such as Canva, and social media platforms. They possess strong interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to build meaningful relationships across diverse student populations. 

To review the job description, click here. To apply, click here.

Apply by Friday, Oct 17, 2025! Any questions, contact commuters@umbc.edu

Hi everyone, 

We invite you to the CAHSS College Senate Town Hall on Friday, October 24th, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM in Commons 331. This event is open to all CAHSS students, faculty, and staff, providing an opportunity for the college community to come together and discuss topics that matter to us.

The conversation will cover campus academic resources, access to research funding and scholarships, mental health and wellness, and academic accountability. Your input and questions will help us talk, and this is a space where we would like to hear directly from you.

We'll have pizza and beverages available, so come by with a friend, enjoy some food, and take part in the conversation.

We are excited to see you there.

CAHSS Senators

Calling out to my fellow writers, we'll be having our first Writing Workshop of the semester!

Come join us this Thursday, October 7th, at the Harbor Hall MPR from 5 to 6 PM.

Bring a piece (around 2 pages/600 words of prose works best, or your best estimate for other mediums), an idea you want to incorporate, and questions you want to ask your peers. This can be about the plot direction, development of characters, or themes, or style, or just about anything!

We hope to see y'all there!

Please note that this event is being rescheduled and we will send new information when it is available.

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Dear UMBC Community,

UMBC remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering an inclusive and equitable environment where every voice is heard and valued. The campus climate shapes the lives of us all, and understanding our community's diverse experiences is crucial to ensure we are upholding our core value of inclusive excellence.

Last spring, our community took part in a Community, Engagement, and Belonging survey, led by the Division of Institutional Equity and its vice president, Tanyka Barber. We hope you will join us and the Rankin Climate team to hear results from the survey—an important step in ensuring our university continues to be a place where all individuals feel supported and able to thrive. The presentation will highlight what we are doing well and where challenges remain, helping us better understand the perceptions of our learning, living, and working environments related to sense of community, engagement, and empowerment across faculty, staff, and student bodies.

Join in-person: The 7th floor of the library (space is limited), 12 – 1 p.m.
Join online: Livestream available for the full campus community—Registration is required. 

This is an opportunity to learn, reflect, and ensure your voice is part of our collective effort toward a more inclusive UMBC.

Best wishes,

Jasmine A. Lee
Associate Vice President, Division of Institutional Equity

Orianne Smith
Professor, English

Open Access Week is an annual opportunity to learn and raise awareness about Open Access (OA): free, immediate, online access to scholarly research and the right to use and re-use that research as needed. Indiana University's Open Access Week virtual events are open to all who are interested. To register, follow the links or visit  IU's Open Access Week 2025 Website.

Wednesday, October 22, 2025 | 12–1 p.m. (Eastern)

Panel: Who Owns Our Knowledge Infrastructures? Emerging Scholarly Publishing Platforms and Outputs

Leading scholars and publishing technologists discuss how new scholarly publishing platforms and models are challenging traditional modes of publication and research evaluation systems.

Thursday, October 23 | 1–2:30 p.m. (Eastern)

Panel: The Case for University-Based Publishing: Models, Missions, and Momentum

This panel will examine the promise and challenges of university-based publishing—from university presses to library publishing programs—and explores funding, sustainability, and opportunities for collaboration.

Friday, October 24, 2025 | 12:30–2 p.m. (Eastern)

Keynote: Who Owns Our Knowledge: Scholar-Led Infrastructures and the Future of Publishing

Dr. Juan Pablo Alperin explores how the global growth of open access journals is challenging dominant publishing models, reshaping access to knowledge, and redefining scholarly communication worldwide.

 For more information and to register for the events, see IU's Open Access Week 2025 Website.

Meet Meagan Wade ’13, psychology, the program coordinator for the Department of Information Systems. Part of Meagan’s job is planning professional development and social events for IS students. She’s organized standing-room-only talks with tech leaders, game nights with pizzas and snacks, resume workshops and job search training, and more. She’s loving it all—and shares why she’s so happy she returned to her alma mater as a staff member. 

Q: How did you start working in higher ed?

A: I graduated from UMBC in 2013 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in social welfare. I then graduated from Towson University with a M.A. in teaching for elementary education in 2016. I worked as an elementary teacher for four years before switching gears and finding a job in higher education.

Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has supported you, and how they did it.

A: Dwayne Butcher, assistant director of marketing for the IS department, has been an awesome supporter of me since I started back in October 2024. He has been a great mentor for the marketing aspects of my job, and an amazing supporter of my career growth, for example, by encouraging me to attend conferences.

I love that the department has essentially given me free reign to plan whatever events for IS students that I think will get them engaged in the community and help to prepare them for their careers post-graduation from UMBC.

Q: What part of your job do you enjoy the most and why?

A: My favorite part of my job has been planning events that students enjoy attending—such as our game night events; and planning events that will help students in their career journeys—such as the Career Talk series I planned this fall. Each week we host a different panel of tech industry professionals, with themes such as women in tech and the gaming industry, and company-specific events with Oracle, The Trevor Project, and more.

Wade organizes student events for the IS department throughout the year, including a Women in Tech Career Talk (left) and the IS department’s Welcome Week (right), complete with a visit from Spot, a robotic dog. (Images courtesy of Wade)

Q: What brought you to UMBC in the first place? 

A: I originally came to UMBC as a starry-eyed 18-year-old, hoping to figure out what I wanted to do with my life and to make great friends along the way. I chose UMBC for a few different reasons: I’m originally from Towson, so UMBC was just the right distance away from home so that I could still easily visit. Also, my dad is a UMBC alum, and my best friend also ended up going to UMBC, so it felt like a “home away from home” for me, which my anxious freshman self needed at the time. 

I’m happy to say that UMBC brought so many amazing people into my life, many of whom I am still friends with to this day. I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere other than UMBC because of all the happy memories I made here.

Years later, when I ended up working in higher education, I remembered the awesome culture of UMBC that I experienced as a student, and hoped to “come back home” as a staff member. I applied for a number of jobs at UMBC and am so grateful that the information systems department was willing to give me the opportunity to return to UMBC. Now that I am back, I’m so glad that the welcoming culture I experienced as a student is still here, and I hope to now give current students the opportunity to find their way in the world, just like I did years ago.

Q: Are you involved in any campus organizations?

A: Back when I was a student, I was involved with WMBC, UMBC’s radio station. My friend and I had a radio show called “Cuddlecore,” where we would chat and play our favorite music. I remember loving the seemingly infinite amount of CDs back in the WMBC studio that we were encouraged to listen to and write reviews for.

I was also a Resident Assistant, so I was pretty involved with ResLife. I loved the apartment RA family that we created after spending so many hours together, and all the events that we would do together as RAs, including bowling, dinner parties, and late night trips to Double T Diner.

Since returning as a staff member, I’ve resurrected Cuddlecore. It’s on Wednesdays at 5pm! I’ve also attended UMBC Homecoming and participated in the Puppy Parade with my dog Baxter, which was very fun!

Q: How have you found support and community here? 

A: As a UMBC student, the main way that I met amazing people was making connections with classmates in my courses, becoming close with roommates and suitemates in the dorms/apartments, and bonding with my fellow Resident Assistants and other ResLife staff when I worked as an RA.

As a UMBC staff member, I’ve been able to help students find their way in the world by planning awesome events for them to meet other people with similar interests. (I had no idea there’d be so many people interested in Super Smash Brothers, specifically!) I’ve also been able to collaborate with other organizations on campus, such as the Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) student chapter and the Career Center, to plan even more meaningful events for IS students. Because UMBC’s culture is so welcoming, it has been surprisingly easy to reach out to other organizations on campus and plan things together to help UMBC students as a whole.

Wade and fellow apartment RAs bowling (left) and at the end-of-year ResLife banquet (right). (Images courtesy of Wade)

Q: What would you tell someone who is considering a career at UMBC?

A: DO IT! I am so happy that I made the switch to UMBC from my prior higher education institution (although I might be a little biased as a UMBC alum).

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UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.