UMBC to honor faculty and staff at presidential awards ceremony

UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby will host the 2026 Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 13, in the University Center Ballroom. The event will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. and will include an awards ceremony and reception recognizing faculty, staff, and university honorees for excellence in teaching, research, mentorship, service, and creative achievement.

Several UMBC community members have received the University System of Maryland Board of Regents awards, including Tara Carpenter for Excellence in Teaching, Michael Summers for Excellence in Mentoring, Curtis Menyuk for Excellence in Scholarship or Research, Brian Kaufman for Excellence in Creative Activity, and Laura Schraven for Outstanding Service for Students.

Other featured honorees include Lindsay DiCuirci, named 2026 – 2029 Presidential Teaching Professor, and Weidong Zhu, selected as 2026 – 2029 Presidential Research Professor. Joby Taylor, Ph.D. ’05, will receive the 2026 Presidential Distinguished Exempt Staff award, while Michele Kimery will be recognized as the 2026 Presidential Distinguished Non-Exempt Staff honoree.

Additional university honors will be presented to David Clurman and Michael Canale, recipients of the 2026 Diane M. Lee Teaching Award; Keith Harmon, recipient of the 2026 Jakubik Family Endowment Staff Award; Maisha Cron, recipient of the 2026 Karen L. Wensch Endowment Award for Outstanding Non-Exempt Staff; Ramana Vinjamuri, recipient of the 2026 Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement; David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, recipient of the 2026 Teresa Lupinek Endowment Award; and Mehdi Benna, recipient of the 2026 UMBC Research Faculty Excellence Award.

]]> UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby will host the 2026 Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards Ceremony on Wednesday, May 13, in the University Center Ballroom. The event will take place from 3 to... https://umbc.edu/quick-posts/2026-presidential-faculty-and-staff-awards/ https://my3.my.umbc.edu/api/v0/pixel/news/159935/guest@my.umbc.edu/5c1925dc90cc5d97cadfc90bcb1ef532/api/pixel awards community faculty-and-staff quick-post UMBC News & Magazine https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/umbc-news-magazine https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/xsmall.png?1748556657 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/original.png?1748556657 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/xxlarge.png?1748556657 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/xlarge.png?1748556657 https://assets3-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/large.png?1748556657 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/medium.png?1748556657 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/small.png?1748556657 https://assets1-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/xsmall.png?1748556657 https://assets2-my.umbc.edu/system/shared/avatars/groups/000/001/943/24435aa6207c452e7bc15cc74b42c7bb/xxsmall.png?1748556657 UMBC News & Magazine 0 0 false Mon, 11 May 2026 10:51:53 -0400 Congratulations to the 2014 Alumni Award Winners!

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Each year, the UMBC Alumni Association presents awards to honor alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University. Throughout the coming weeks, we’ll be introducing you to each award winner individually, but for now, we would like to congratulate them all on their wonderful achievements. 

The UMBC Alumni Association proudly honors these distinguished alumni and faculty for their accomplishments and dedication to the University:

Engineering and Information Technology
Dr. Claudia Pearce ’89 M.S., ’94 Ph.D., Computer Science
Senior Computer Science Authority, NSA

Humanities
 Donna Lewis ’86, English
Unit Chief, Office of Professional Responsibility, Transportation Security Administration, Department of Homeland Security;
Cartoonist, Washington Post News Service and Syndicate

Natural and Mathematical Sciences
Michael Adelstein ’96, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
CEO, Potomac Photonics, Inc.

Social and Behavioral Sciences
Kaliope Parthemos ’93, Psychology
Chief of Staff, Office of Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

Visual and Performing Arts
Hadieh Shafie ’04 M.F.A., Imaging and Digital Arts
Independent Artist

Distinguished Service
Gib Mason ’95, Economics
Chief Operating Officer & Director of the Center for Leadership and Innovation, UMBC Training Centers

Rising Star
Isaac Kinde ’05, Biological Sciences
M.D./Ph.D. Candidate, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

In addition to our alumni honorees, the Alumni Association has established an Outstanding Faculty Award and the inaugural recipient is Dr. Anne Spence, Professor of the Practice, Department of Mechanical Engineering.

The 2014 awards will be presented during Homecoming on Thursday, October 9, 2014 at a ceremony in the Albin O. Kuhn Library at 6:30 p.m. Register now.

Join us as we acknowledge these outstanding UMBC community members.

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