Happy Friday and welcome to a special spooky and scary edition of the Provost's Perspective. (On second thought, it's probably not going to be spooky or scary. Maybe more of a Goosebumps vibe. I guess you'll have to continue reading to find out.)

Fog slowly wafts from the dark woods surrounding the large, dimly lit home. A single bare bulb glows from a chain in the ceiling as a man sits typing intently when a large crack jolts him to attention…

Halloween was not a holiday that we celebrated growing up in the Netherlands, but as a parent of three emerging adults and after several decades living in the United States I have grown to embrace the revelry that is on full display every October 31st (or at least the mini candy bars). 

With my kids past the trick-or-treating stage and my neighborhood on the less-visited end of the spectrum, the candy level in the house this All Hallows Eve is comically low. This led me down a rabbit (candy) hole to determine how the house should be stocked. 

My non-exhaustive search has produced more questions than answers. According to a 2024 study, Maryland joins Utah as one of only two states in which candy corn is the most popular treat. I'm not certain what candy corn is, but I have been assured by a trusted colleague that it is definitely not corn and can barely be classified as candy. On a brighter note (and one that I can support), Hershey's mini bars and kisses round out the Free State's top three. 

Leave me a comment here about your favorite Halloween candy and I'll list the top three submissions next week. 

CAHSS Dean Search Deadline Quickly Approaching

The preferred submission deadline for the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences dean search is quickly approaching. If you have a nomination or intend to apply, please do so by November 7. More information about the position and the process can be found here. 

Call for Faculty Proposals: IDEA Initiative & CAP Fellowship

I announced last week the IDEA Initiative & CAP Fellowship as part of my goal to foster innovative and interdisciplinary curricular efforts and provide faculty with the resources to create and innovate. Applications for the programs close November 20. 

Learn more and apply today!

Coffee with the Provost: Thursday, Nov. 6

Come join me for a cup of coffee or tea Thursday, Nov. 6, from 10-11 in the Fireside Lounge in The Commons (third floor near the Skylight Lounge). This come-and-go hour is a great opportunity to connect in a casual, non-programmed setting. I look forward to seeing many of you there and our conversation together.  

Fireside Lounge, The Commons

10-11 a.m., Thursday, Nov. 6

First-generation Week On Tap

National First-generation Day, a day that is particularly close to my heart as I am the first member of my family to earn a college degree, is November 8. Leading up to next Saturday, there will be several events across campus celebrating our community's first-generation students. Discover how you can support and celebrate our first-gen Retrievers here.  

New Faculty/AOK Library Lunch and Learn a Success 

On Friday, September 26, the A.O.K. Library and Gallery hosted the inaugural Lunch and Learn for New Faculty in collaboration with the Office of the Provost, RCAC, DoIt, and the CNMS, CAHSS, and COEIT grant administrators. The event covered open access, special collections, reference services, research computing, teaching and learning technology, and more. The next event will be held in Spring 2026. For more information, contact Michelle Flinchbaugh.  

New Faculty Spotlights

Each week we feature the newest faculty members of our community.

Daniel G. Suarez-Forero, Assistant Professor, Physics

Areas of Research/Interest: Condensed matter

Fun Fact About Daniel: I love sports and music.

Chris L. Terry, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, English

Areas of Research/Interest: Author of the novels Black Card and Zero Fade, and co-editor with James Spooner of the literary anthology Black Punk Now.

Fun Fact About Chris: By the time I turned 25, I'd played music in 10 countries.

Are you a new faculty member? Please take two minutes to fill out the form and submit your bio if you have not already done so.

New Staff Spotlights (Coming Soon)

Are you a staff member who joined UMBC in the last year? Email Aaron Burnett, director of provost communications, to be featured in an upcoming edition of the Provost's Perspective. 

Help Make this Newsletter Better

The goal each week of this message is to deepen our connection to UMBC, whether that is learning about an upcoming event, a divisional accomplishment, an innovative program, or an  update from the Office of the Provost. If you know of a program or event that should be highlighted, please share it here.

Change Your Clocks, Check Your Batteries

It's fall back weekend. Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour on Sunday. While I applaud promptness, being a full hour early can be overkill. I like to follow the American Red Cross's suggestion to use the biannual time change to also check my home's smoke detectors. Enjoy the extra hour of sleep this weekend.   

Until next week, 

Manfred van Dulmen

This year, UMBC earned the Campus Prevention Network (CPN) Seal of Prevention™ from Vector Solutions. The CPN Seal of Prevention™ is awarded to schools who have gone above and beyond to create a safer, more supportive learning environment through the use of digital prevention programming. 

One key initiative contributing to this recognition is UMBC's mandatory student training, managed by the Office of Equity and Civil Rights. This annual training helps students build healthy relationships, intervene when they're worried about a peer's safety, and respond effectively to sexual violence when it occurs.

This Seal honors UMBC's commitment to sexual violence prevention, student success, and community well-being. Awardees are statistically more likely to keep students enrolled and graduating on time. 

Read more about the Campus Seal of Prevention™  and the 2025 honorees in Vector Solutions' national press release.

Caltech recognizes that differences of perspective, experience, and thought is essential to achieving and maintaining scientific excellence. The WAVE Fellows program supports this goal by increasing visibility and accessibility to our PhD programs to undergraduates in STEM fields who are seriously considering attending graduate school. . 

WAVE Fellows is a 10-week undergraduate research program that provides robust programming in the areas of academic and professional development.

Eligibility: Students must be current sophomores through non-graduating seniors and must be U.S. citizens, U.S. permanent residents, or students with DACA status. A minimum GPA of 3.4 is required.

Competitive applicants will have completed sophomore-level courses in desired research field, have demonstrated through academic and/or co-curricular activities a passion for research, and can articulate how their interests align with Caltech's research areas. The most competitive applicants will have prior research experience.

The WAVE Fellows program is open to anyone regardless of race, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual identity, and/or any other protected characteristic.

Support: WAVE Fellows will receive a $6,000 award for the 10-week period, plus campus housing, and a dining and travel supplement of ~$1,000.

Application: Online applications are due January 9, 2026.

Program information sessions will be held throughout November. Register now!

Click here for more information or reach out to Carol Casey, casey@caltech.edu, with questions.

FIRST GENERATION WEEK | NOVEMBER 2025 

Hosted by Academic Opportunity Programs and Student Affairs Success Initiatives.

Celebrate First-Generation College Student Week at UMBC! Join us November 3–7 for a series of events that honor the experiences, achievements, and resilience of our First-Gen Retrievers. From conversations and networking to celebration and community, there's something for everyone—students, faculty, and staff alike.

Hi everyone,

We wanted to share an exciting opportunity for anyone interested in law school or trial advocacy!

This weekend, Saturday, November 1, and Sunday, November 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., a law school–level mock trial scrimmage will be happening right here on campus!

The event is hosted by Maggie Taylan, a UMBC Graduate Assistant with Residential Life and current law student at the University of Baltimore School of Law. Her team will be scrimmaging against:

• Catholic University's Law School team on Saturday

• University of Maryland Carey School of Law on Sunday

Why Attend?

• Watch how law students prepare and argue at the national level

• See courtroom presentations and evidentiary arguments up close

• Ask questions and connect with current law students afterward

• Even have the chance to serve as a juror and provide feedback!

Location: Harbor MultiPurpose Room

Even if you can only stop by for part of the day, this is an amazing chance to see law school in action and get a feel for what mock trial looks like beyond undergrad.

If you're interested, please reach out to us via email,groupme or myUMBC so we can keep you in the loop with final details.

Pete Fitzpatrick ’96 completed his paramedic training in a speeding ambulance in West Baltimore over 30 years ago. It wasn’t the career he had envisioned, but after a friend gave him a textbook for an elective Emergency Medical Technician class, he switched his major to emergency and disaster health systems. “I kind of fell in love with it. As a kid, I never saw it as a profession for me,” says Fitzpatrick. “There are no firefighters or paramedics in my family.”

His ability to communicate clearly and calmly under pressure, foresee medical or technical issues, and notice the tiniest details led him to return to school for nursing. He first worked in an adult neuroscience unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital before returning to ambulance and helicopter transport, including pediatric transport. 

Fitzpatrick has spent the last 12 years at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. As a transport team shift coordinator, he meets the needs and addresses the challenges of flight crews, medics, receiving hospitals, and families before, during, and after helicopter or ambulance transport. “I remember my surprise the first time somebody referred to me as a pediatric nurse,” says Fitzpatrick. “I guess I am.”

Addressing the opioid crisis

In light of Fitzpatrick’s background and relevant training, in May 2025, he was appointed as one of 12 members on Maryland’s Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council. Established in 2022, the council makes recommendations for the allocation of financial settlements from prescription opioid-related lawsuits to help fund programs and initiatives that address the opioid crisis. Fitzpatrick, who is married to Kim Fitzpatrick and father of Sam, Mikey, and Danny, a first-year chemical and environmental engineering student, serves as the council member representing those who have lost a family member to an opioid overdose.

“It’s really a sad story. My oldest child, Sam, died of a fentanyl overdose in May of 2020. He was 22,” says Fitzpatrick. Fentanyl is a highly addictive synthetic opioid used in hospitals to treat severe and chronic pain from cancer and surgery. The Maryland Department of Health reported that between September 2024 and August 2025, there were 631 opioid-related deaths in Baltimore City and County combined, 575 of which were fentanyl-related deaths.

“I tell my colleagues, in emergency pediatric transport, we deal with children in sometimes very tragic circumstances,” says Fitzpatrick. “I say to them, ‘When you lose a child in transport, there’s only one thing you can do—you have to go and try to save the next one.'” 

Broadening access to life-saving treatment

Coming from an emergency medical services (EMS) system approach, Fitzpatrick hopes the opioid crisis will be solved through similar measures. “The 1973 EMS Systems Act came about because of the rise in deaths due to a lack of emergency care,” he says. “The act created grants and programs to fund EMS training, equipment, and infrastructure.” UMBC established its emergency health services (EHS) baccalaureate program in 1980 to develop highly skilled emergency healthcare leaders, managers, and providers. In 1984, UMBC launched the first EHS graduate program in the U.S., and it remains a national leader in EMS education. Both programs are now part of UMBC’s emergency and disaster health systems department.

Broadening access to life-saving treatment for opioid use disorder is always on Fitzpatrick’s mind. Having access to good healthcare, a supportive family, education, and intervention resources helps, but he notes that not all families have that. For example, there were times when Sam was in crisis, and the family needed access to the police department. 

“Baltimore County has a great crisis response,” Fitzpatrick says, “but what if we had not felt comfortable accessing the police department when we needed that help?” He now serves on the Police Accountability Board for Baltimore County to help strengthen the relationship between police and the community and fundraises for the American Society for Addiction Medicine.

“Sam had a lot of things going for him, and it still didn’t work. That’s sad. There’s only one thing I can do at this point,” says Fitzpatrick, “and that’s to try to make a difference.”

Learn more about UMBC’s Department of Emergency and Disaster Health Systems.