As UMBC prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2016, the university is creating a grassroots effort to spur alumni engagement and pride. A bold motto – “We Need Hundreds of You to Reach Thousands of Us” – sums up the aims of the initiative: Recruit a dedicated band of Retrievers to spread word of the celebration to almost 70,000 fellow UMBC alumni.

UMBC Magazine asked three alumni leaders involved in the “Hundreds” campaign – UMBC Alumni Board of Directors member Zozscha Bomhardt ’93, mechanical engineering, Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Planning Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, health science and policy, and Vice President of Institutional Advancement Greg Simmons ’04, MPP – to talk about their commitment to the effort.

What’s got you most excited about UMBC’s 50th anniversary in 2016?

Greg Simmons: For me what’s exciting is that the anniversary represents a moment in time for us to showcase – and more fully recognize – the contributions that the UMBC community makes to Maryland and to the nation. It’s the chance to articulate not just how that community has been an important part of our past, but how it’s a part of what we are going to do next. UMBC is going to be a vital part of how we are going to solve problems, change lives, address urgent social issues, and improve our communities. We prepare people for meaningful, well-led lives. It’s a moment when we are going to be able to celebrate all that we have accomplished together in a way that we’ve not been able to do before. We’ll also help everybody look together with a common vision toward a really exciting future.

Yvette Mozie-Ross: What’s exciting me most is how we are going to be able to feature the transformation that has taken place at UMBC. It’s an opportunity to highlight the change and the progress that has happened over the years. Not so much change in terms of who we are as a university, but the changes on the campus itself. We’re still the intimate and personable campus that we’ve always been, but in terms of the infrastructure and the course offerings there has been a lot of change. We’ve done so much in such a short period of time, and when people come back they are surprised – and totally amazed.

Zozscha Bomhardt: What I’m most excited about are the events. There is a common thread of our connection to UMBC as alumni, students, faculty, and staff, and events will be the thing that takes that thread and brings us all together to celebrate. I’m especially excited that we will be celebrating the common thread of the diversity of the students who have studied on our campus. That diversity is definitely what first attracted me to the school and part of why I stay involved.

How are alumni going to make this anniversary a success?

Bomhardt: By being involved! Be involved with the events that you’re excited about. That’s really the driving force behind this. I’m also really excited by the face time I’m going to have with fellow alumni. You’ll have that time if you’re hosting an event, or even taking tickets.

Mozie-Ross: Alumni can really help us tell the story. Each one of our alumni has a unique story. Experiences they had along the way. And those stories are treasured moments. I know that others will find those stories interesting – and learn a lot from those stories.

Simmons: There are so many different ways that alumni can see themselves in this work. For some people, it will be roll up your sleeves and participate in event development or community building. Getting involved in alumni volunteer board activity. Making major substantive gifts to the campus to help us achieve our goals. For some people it will be hiring UMBC students as interns or mentoring. It can also be as easy as changing your resume so it says “UMBC” and not “University of Maryland,” or putting that UMBC mug on your desk. Showing that you’re a UMBC grad in ways large and small to let people know we’re everywhere and we’re making a difference.

(Read more about the “Hundreds” campaign and how you can get involved in Gathering the Pack)

Know If the Junk in Your Attic is a Valuable Antique
—With Robert Harrison ’80, history

Robert Harrison ’80, history, is fascinated by material culture. He was happily pursuing an academic career in history, he recalls, until “life intervened”
and forced a change in course.

“People were so much more intrigued by the material aspect over the cultural,” he explains. “Everyone kept asking me what things were worth. So I decided I better learn how to appraise.”

Harrison studied American decorative arts at the Museum for Early Southern Decorative Arts in North Carolina, and at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware. He underwent the International Society of Appraisers’ rigorous professional certification process.

He says he became “hooked on furniture forensics” – identifying and evaluating unsigned objects to determine their financial value. For the past 20 years, he has worked from his Westminster office, appraising items, providing expert witness testimony, and even appearing on television as a professional appraiser.

In short, Harrison knows if those items in your attic are run-of-the-mill or one-in-a-million. How can you tell?

Step 1: Decide Why You Want To Know

Assessing an object’s value can be a quick, easy, and even enjoyable, bit of sleuthing. It can also be arduous and time-consuming. What you want to do with the item determines the type of evaluation required. If it’s “keep” or “toss,” Google might do the trick. If a more official value is needed for insurance purposes, or dividing an estate fairly among heirs, more legwork is usually required.

Step 2: Take a Long, Slow Look

Stand in front of the object. In good light, if possible. Take in its overall appearance. Note any manufacturer’s marks or stamps – usually on the back, the underside or the interior of an item. Take photos and measurements. Handle the object and observe its condition. Better condition equals higher value, but normal signs of “honest” wear are acceptable.

Careful observation also identifies reproduction pieces made new to “look” old. These objects have “manufactured” wear that is out of sync with natural functionality, sometime even down to faux wormholes drilled into wood. For instance, single-slot screws are a good sign of authentic age. Uneven dovetail joints, too. Modern manufacture will have perfect joints cut by a machine. And, finally, take a good whiff. A reproduction smells newer.

Step 3: Consider the Source

Harrison says accurately appraising an object’s value is akin to telling its story. It is the detective work of finding where and when it was made, and hopefully by whom, as well as its history of ownership.
Anecdotal information is a good place to start. How did the object come into your possession? “If a client tells me, ‘My grandmother owned this and she was 100 when she died,’ I know we are looking at a potentially authentic and valuable piece,” says Harrison.

Step 4: Research, Research, Research

Appraising is more art than science, but it does need to be based on data. Harrison says that’s true even on antiques appraisal programs on public television. “On the TV shows,” he observes, “you don’t see the part where we are backstage on the computers, feverishly pulling comparables.”

Completed auctions on eBay can reveal the value of similar items. Auction house websites, such as Sotheby’s, are places where “recent sales will be well documented.” Books like Price it Yourself by Joe Rosson and Helaine Fendelman, or the popular Kovels’ Collectors Guides can also help. And don’t forget the proprietors of local antique shops and decorative arts galleries.

Step 5: Call in the Experts

If preliminary research shows that the block-front corner cabinet you inherited from Great Aunt Harriet has potential value, it’s time to call a professional like Harrison.

Formal appraisals also are essential when making a charitable donation or insuring very valuable objects.

Professional appraisers provide a written report that includes a full description of your item and the procedure used to estimate its current value. The American Society of Appraisers has a website, searchable by both location and specialty, to find certified professionals.

“People think an object’s great age automatically confers value, but sometimes old is just old, and there isn’t much there money-wise,” Harrison explains. “But worth is relative. If a piece came down through your family and stirs memories every time you look at it, that means it is valuable – to you.”

— Michelle Gienow

By the Numbers

Number of years in business: 23
Largest number of objects appraised on a single assignment: 9,000
Largest number of hours devoted to a single appraisal: 800
Most valuable object appraised in the last 6 months:
$5 million
Number of times we’ve heard “This was owned by my grandmother who was more than 90 years old when she died”: Too many.