Center supports transformational education in the Baltimore community

Michael Sarbanes, a leading voice in educational transformation, has been appointed the inaugural executive director of the George and Betsy Sherman Center beginning June 23, 2025.

The George and Betsy Sherman Center furthers the University of Maryland, Baltimore County’s (UMBC) commitment to excellence in urban schools in Baltimore City and the region. Established by a visionary gift to UMBC from the Sherman Family Foundation, the center brings together initiatives to support transformational education in four connected areas:

Sherman Scholars: The Sherman Teacher Scholars Program develops STEM and early childhood educators who are skilled, passionate, and committed to an excellent education for all children.

School Community Partnerships: The Sherman School Partnerships program works with schools, families, and community groups to create innovative, responsive, and effective partnerships that help students thrive.

Early Childhood Learning: The Sherman Center engages parents, community groups, and schools to ensure that a child’s early years become the foundation for life-long learning.

Research: The Sherman Center supports applied research linking the insights of UMBC’s outstanding faculty with the daily educational experience of school communities.

“Michael Sarbanes’ experience as a visionary community leader and educator in Baltimore City and Maryland uniquely qualifies him to lead the transformational work of the Sherman Center,” said Manfred H.M. van Dulmen, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at UMBC. “I am excited to see the advancements that the Sherman Center and Michael will bring to education in the Baltimore community.”

The Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities served Baltimore City’s early childhood education field from 2017-2024. Several of the initiatives are being continued through the George and Betsy Sherman Center.

“Michael and I share a passion for the transformational power of education,” said Betsy Sherman. “He knows first-hand the importance of equipping future educators with the necessary skills to meet students’ unique needs, the value of forging innovative community partnerships, and the life-altering capacity of early childhood education. Michael’s passion and experience have prepared him to launch the George and Betsy Sherman Center as the inaugural director.”

As the inaugural executive director of the Sherman Center, Michael brings to UMBC a unique range of leadership experiences in education, partnerships, and community engagement. As executive director of engagement for Baltimore City Schools, he led the city’s efforts to mobilize Baltimore’s institutions and communities around educational excellence. He brings to the Sherman Center a decade of experience and passion for excellent classroom teaching, as a physics teacher at Green Street Academy in the same Baltimore City neighborhood where he lives. His work has also involved leadership roles in community safety as the head of the Governor’s Office of Crime Control and Prevention, and in transportation, and housing as executive director of the Citizens Planning and Housing Association.

• The SURE application process is aligned with the Federal Work Study (FWS) process. Both SURE and FWS are programs which can only be used to pay hourly undergraduate employees. SURE-eligible students are in their first four semesters at UMBC, while FWS eligibility is need-based.
• Faculty recipients may only receive one SURE award per academic year.
• Due to the migration of FWS to Handshake, the SURE application process now uses Handshake, as well. SURE applicants post the student job description to Handshake and include "(SURE)" or "(SURE eligible)" in the position title.
• Handshake postings can be used to recruit FWS-eligible and SURE-eligible students at the same time, although checking the "FWS" box is not required for SURE postings.
• Award Size: up to $1,500, paid as reimbursement to the faculty recipient's departmental account. 
• Deadline for SURE: Positions must be posted to Handshake by the start of the Fall semester (August 27, 2025).
• Contact Prof. Don Engel, Associate VP for Strategic Research Initiatives, at donengel@umbc.edu with any questions
  

We have the following courses that may be used by your students as electives:
• Ethics in Software Engineering | SENG 601: Software has entered into everyday objects and now the game has changed. Do you build software that's ethical first?
  
• Software Process Management | SENG 638: When do you use agile processes? Do rich processes still have a place? Can we use a process modeling language to create processes that are purpose-made?
  
• Advanced Software Engineering | SENG 645: Do you know how to engineer a software product? What does it take to create a high-fidelity prototype? Do you want to build a minimally viable product (MVP)?
  
• Special Topics in Software Engineering | SENG 691
•  NEW! AI Agent Computing: New course for Fall 2025 (section is being added and will be available on myUMBC Class Search soon). Do you need an AI agent? Do you want to use Agent Computing to build new applications, tools, and devices?
• Data Intensive Applications: Updated for Fall 2025. Do you want to build apps that serve millions of users with the potential to make lasting meaning and maybe money?
• Reading to Write Code: Updated for Fall 2025. Do you know how to read large open-source code baselines? What if we ask you to add a new feature to an existing code baseline that already has 2 million lines of code and has been in development for 6 years? What do you do?

Helloo I'm Arnob. an upcoming international student from Kuwait coming to UMBC this Fall 2025. I'm looking for an off-campus room (I don't mind sharing a room).

I'd prefer to live with another Muslim roommate, but I'm honestly open to anyone who's respectful and easy to live with :D

A little about me: I go to the gym and I love designing apps & websites + animating. Been doing that stuff since I was like 11 yrs old. I'm a 19 year old male and love playing cozy sandbox games like Stardew Valley, Tiny Glade, Cities Skylines, etc.

I'd honestly love to make new friends here since it'll be my first time in the US which is why I wouldn't mind a shared room with somebody chill that I can get along with.

If you or someone you know is looking for a roommate or has a spot open then feel free to hmu, I'm open to talk and figure things out early.

Email: mohd.ekram.uzmn@gmail.com