Kick off Graduate Student Appreciation Week by actually putting yourself first. Whether you’re looking for wellness hacks or want to get your hands a little messy with a creative project, we’ve cleared the schedule for you.

THE BEST PART: We’re giving away wellness goodies all afternoon! Snag some face masks, hydrating hand lotions, and more to keep the spa vibes going at home.

Join us for a full afternoon of slowing down and recharging:

• 1–3 PM | Wellness Tabling: All the resources you actually need. (Main Street)

• 3–5 PM | Candle Making: Pour some light into your week. (Room 329)

• 4–6 PM | Break the Mold: Pottery, networking, and zero talk about your thesis. (Fireside Lounge)

Winter And Spring Break Faculty-Led Study Abroad Programs Announced!

The Education Abroad Office has announced 9 new and returning faculty-led programs for Winter and Spring Break 2027! Whether you are interested in Computer Science, Photography, or Storytelling, there is something for you! Check out our website to learn more. Applications will be opening soon and will all be due on September 21, 2026. 

Upcoming Events and Deadlines

• [TOMORROW] April 7th, 2026: Freeman Awards for Study in Asia Application due 

• Study Abroad Orientations
  Have you confirmed your participation in a Study Abroad program for Summer 2026, Fall 2026, or Academic Year 2026-2027? If so, please make sure that you have marked your calendar for your Orientation!

  • Summer 2026 Faculty-Led Program Orientation: April 10th, 1:00-5:00pm, ILSB116

  • General Program Orientation: May 1st, 1:30-4-30pm, ILSB118

If you are unable to make it to your assigned orientation, please contact our office by emailing educationabroad@umbc.edu.

• Advising for Spring 2027 and Winter 2027 study abroad programs is now available! After you have attended a Study Abroad 101 session, email educationabroad@umbc.edu to schedule your meeting!

• Study Abroad 101 Sessions
  Monday | 2pm-3pm | Virtual
  Tuesday | 1pm-2pm | Virtual
  Friday | 11am-12pm | Virtual

Good afternoon Investors + Traders,

This is a reminder that the Investing and Trading club will be hosting its Majors and Minors event TONIGHT from 7pm to 9pm in  ILSB 237. The Majors and Minors event is specifically designed to help those who are interested or fulfilling their degree in Economics learn more about the Economics department at UMBC. Including its faculty, the majors and minors offered, and more! If you are interested in learning more about the Econ department or want more information on available classes to fulfill your Econ degree requirements, make sure to attend the M&M!!! Food and drink will be provided! We hope to see you there! 

Join UMBC Best Buddies for a fun indoor field day filled with games (ping pong, cornhole, darts, etc.) and lots of yummy food (charcuterie board, pizza, cake, and fruit)!

Date and Time: Sunday, April 12 @ 1-3 PM

Location: Harbor Hall MPR

Join UMBC Best Buddies for a fun DIY sensory craft session: make your own slime, stress balls, and kinetic sand!

Wednesday, April 8 @ 4–5 PM in COMM 332

Bring your buddies, and come relax, create, and have fun!

Hi working group members!

We're really ramping up advertising for BookFest '26 and I wanted to share a folder with our advertising materials so that you can post in your own departments, areas, and circles. We will be papering campus with print materials soon and we are also continously updating the website for BookFest, which has descriptions of each event. The only thing missing at the moment is the library advocacy workshop, slated for Thursday, April 23 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. Details on that should roll out in the next 48 hours. 

Here is a link to the website: https://english.umbc.edu/english-events/umbc-bookfest-26/

Here is a link to a shared folder of advertising materials: BookFest Advertising 

Thanks for your willingness to help make this event series a success!

As part of UMBC’s ongoing commitment to fostering equitable and inclusive learning and working environments, we are pleased to share training opportunities designed to strengthen inclusive practices and support meaningful engagement across our campus community. These offerings include virtual courses available through Vector Solutions, along with in-person sessions facilitated by partners in the Division of Institutional Equity (DOIE).

Faculty, staff, supervisors, and campus partners are encouraged to participate. For questions or enrollment support, please submit a request form here or email culture@umbc.edu.

Virtual Training Options 

Becoming an Ally: Part 1

This course introduces the foundations of allyship and provides participants with tools to begin practicing allyship in personal and professional settings. Topics include defining allyship, approaches to becoming an ally, strategies for self-education, and ways to recognize unfairness and advantage. 

Becoming an Ally: Part 2

This course builds on Part 1 by focusing on translating values into action. Participants will examine effective and ineffective allyship and explore strategies for sustaining ongoing allyship efforts.

Diversity Competent Mentoring: Developmental Networks 

This course helps mentors understand how developmental networks support mentees in navigating workplace expectations while honoring their identities. Participants will explore boundary-setting, goal development, and the importance of valuing unheard perspectives and distinctive skills.

Diversity Competent Mentoring: Relational Mentoring 

This course focuses on building authentic mentoring relationships that support mentee success without requiring identity compromise. Participants will explore relational mentoring strategies and approaches for fostering inclusion through connection. 

Diversity Competent Mentoring: Combating Bias as a Mentor 

This course examines common harmful behaviors and preconceptions experienced by individuals from underrepresented groups. Participants will learn practical strategies for addressing bias and reducing its impact in academic and professional environments. 

In-Person Training Options

Building Inclusive Departmental Cultures

Available Facilitators: Jasmine A. Lee, Associate Vice President for Community & Culture/Co-Director of Social Justice Dialogue, Ciara R. Christian, Co-Director of the Center for Social Justice Dialogue, and Sy Simms, Learning and Development Specialist.

Building Inclusive Departmental Cultures is a general workshop and tailored in-person training session designed to equip participants with the knowledge, language, and practical tools needed to cultivate environments where every member of a department can thrive. Drawing from theory, lived experience, and real-world scenarios, the training explores how identity, systemic dynamics, and everyday practices shape the culture, climate, and relational health of academic and professional departments. Grounded in frameworks for equity-centered organizational change, this training integrates education and storytelling to encourage participants to examine the cultures already present in their departments. Additionally, it invites participants to recognize how unexamined assumptions, exclusionary norms, and gaps in awareness can influence team dynamics, decision-making, hiring and retention, policies, and the overall sense of belonging within a unit. The session emphasizes accountability, courageous self-reflection, and the importance of intentional, sustained action in building cultures where all people feel valued and included. 

During this session, participants will:

• Learn and define key terms connected to inclusion, equity, organizational culture, and belonging in higher education contexts.
• Explore how departmental culture is shaped, reinforced, and changed through daily interactions, norms, structures, and leadership practices.
• Examine the role that identity and positionality play in how individuals experience departmental culture differently.
• Reflect on personal assumptions, blind spots, and areas of growth related to their own contributions to departmental climate.
• Identify common barriers to inclusion that emerge in academic departments, including microaggressions, gatekeeping, and cultural homogeneity.
• Engage in interactive activities and dialogue to practice inclusive communication and collaborative problem-solving.
• Discuss concrete strategies for building and sustaining departmental cultures that center equity, access, and belonging.

Example Learning Outcomes: By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Demonstrate increased awareness of how departmental culture is constructed and how it differentially impacts members across identities and roles.
• Interrogate their own positionality and assumptions, including how their behaviors and decisions contribute to or detract from an inclusive departmental climate.
• Apply practical strategies and best practices for fostering equitable norms, policies, and relational practices within their department.
• Commit to continued learning and action in order to build and sustain departmental cultures where all members experience genuine inclusion and belonging. 

Dialogue Practices for Building Departmental Belonging 

Available Facilitators: Jasmine A. Lee, Associate Vice President for Community & Culture/Co-Director of the Center for Social Justice Dialogue, Ciara R. Christian, Co-Director of the Center for Social Justice Dialogue, Wendy Low, Coordinator, Center for Social Justice Dialogue

Dialogue Practices for Building Departmental Belonging is a hands-on workshop designed to equip participants with concrete skills for engaging across differences and fostering genuine belonging within their departments. Through a blend of facilitated practice, real-world scenarios, and reflective exercises, participants will develop practical fluency in the dialogue behaviors that most directly shape whether colleagues feel seen, heard, and valued, including active listening, naming assumptions, navigating difficult conversations, and communicating with intentional vulnerability. Grounded in established dialogue facilitation and relational practice frameworks, the session moves participants from awareness to action: identifying specific habits that undermine trust and connection, and replacing them with practiced, repeatable skills for more authentic engagement. Participants leave with a personal toolkit of dialogue strategies they can apply immediately in departmental interactions in one-on-one conversations, team meetings, or moments of conflict and repair.

During this session, participants will:

• Learn and define key terms connected to dialogue, relational communication, active listening, and belonging in organizational and academic settings.
• Explore the distinction between dialogue and debate, and examine how different communication habits shape the culture and relational health of a department.
• Engage in personal reflection and storytelling to examine their own experiences of belonging and exclusion in professional communities.
• Reflect on personal communication patterns, biases, and tendencies that may either open or close space for authentic connection across difference.
• Examine common communication breakdowns and relational ruptures that occur in departmental settings and how they impact belonging.
• Practice core dialogue skills—including deep listening, inquiry, and perspective-taking—through structured interactive activities.
• Discuss strategies for facilitating and sustaining dialogue practices that foster trust, psychological safety, and a culture of belonging within their department.

Example Learning Outcomes: By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Demonstrate increased knowledge and skill in the use of dialogue practices that support authentic connection, trust-building, and belonging across differences in departmental settings.
• Interrogate their own communication patterns and relational habits, including the ways in which they may unintentionally close space for others to feel heard and valued.
• Apply practical dialogue strategies and facilitation tools to navigate difficult conversations, bridge differences, and strengthen departmental relationships.
• Commit to continued learning and practice in order to cultivate departmental communities grounded in genuine belonging, mutual respect, and relational accountability.

Learn More & Get Involved

We encourage all campus partners to take advantage of these opportunities to strengthen our shared culture of equity and belonging.

For questions about registering, scheduling, or determining the best session for your role, please visit culture.umbc.edu or contact the Community & Culture team at culture@umbc.edu.

The Global Asias Initiative was well-represented at this year's Association for Asian American Studies (AAAS) Conference in Honolulu, Hawai'i! While there, we were also hosted by colleagues at University of Hawai'i Manoa for our Global Asias Site Visit to learn about the incredible work they're cultivating in Ethnic Studies, Native Hawaiian Studies, Asian Studies & Student Services. Read about our presentations to colleagues across the country below!

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Dr. Tamara Bhalla, Associate Professor, American Studies, & Co-PI of the Global Asias Initiative organized and facilitated a roundtable discussion Power and Privilege in South Asian American Studies

Dr. Emily Yoon, Assistant Professor, English & Global Asias Advisory Board Member, was supported by a Global Asias faculty Conference Grant to present Little Plastic Intimacies: Offshore Solidarity Against Empire

Dr. Mika Thornburg, Global Asias Postdoctoral Fellow, was supported by a Global Asias faculty Conference Grant to present Oceanic Orbits: The Colonial Circuits of Transpacific Tourism

Priya Bhayana, Global Asias Project Manager, and Angelina Jenkins, Global Asias Advisory Board Member & Assistant Director of the Mosaic Center, were supported by the Dresher Center for Humanities (Priya) and the Division of Student Affairs (Angelina) to co-host a roundtable discussion Cultivating Connections: Asian American Studies & Student Affairs at AANAPISIs

We had so many rich conversations and look forward to next year's conference happening March 2027 right here in Baltimore!

Share your thoughts, concerns, and ideas with your peers and leadership. Your input can help shape the future of CNMS. Stop by on Monday, April 6, from 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM in Meyerhoff 120.  There will be pizza provided for all attendees. 

Please join us for the 2026 COEIT Celebration!

Date: Sunday, May 3rd
Time: 2:00 - 4:00 pm
Location: RAC

Join us in celebrating all the COEIT graduation candidates and award winners! Award winners will be notified in mid-April. 

All graduation candidates will receive a gift and have a chance to walk across the stage!

We hope to see you there!
Please RSVP here.

You can contact COEITAdvising at coeitadvising@umbc.edu with any questions.