Here’s just a sampling of how UMBC made the news this week:

• UMBC has been listed alongside Cal Tech, Princeton, and MIT in this year’s edition of The Princeton Review’s “Colleges That Pay You Back,” a ranking of institutions that “give you the best bang for your tuition buck.”
• Chris Geddes, chemistry and biochemistry, is developing a faster, cheaper, and more accurate test to detect STDs by targeting DNA sequences with microwave technology and fluorescence.
• Ramon Goings, Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program, was quoted in a recent Ebony article discussing the importance of black male educators in K-12 settings.
• Men’s lacrosse coach Don Zimmerman is entering his 23rd year as head coach and reminisced about his time as a coach over the past two decades for the Baltimore Sun.

For more campus community updates, head to UMBC News!

Here in the Office of Alumni Relations, we spend a lot of time telling stories about and talking with our wonderfully supportive alums. However, we’ve decided to turn the tables and take time to get to know the people behind the scenes – the advancement and alumni relations staff members who are hard at work on behalf of our alumni. Today we’ll be hearing from Greg Simmons ’04, M.P.P., the Vice President for Institutional Advancement.

Name: Greg Simmons
Job Title: Vice President for Institutional Advancement
Focus Area: Building relationships and secure investments that help UMBC faculty, staff and students be successful
Years at UMBC: 20

Q: Where are you from originally?

A: I grew up in Southington, CT, and came to Baltimore in 1988 to attend Loyola College in MD.

Q: What do you love most about UMBC?

A: The generosity, drive and commitment of the people here.

Q: What’s your favorite thing about your job?

A: I get to tell stories about the wonderful work students and faculty do at UMBC every day, and use those stories to help people understand what is unique and special about this community.

Q: What’s the most recent book you’ve read?

A: I am half way through The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers. Recently read Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow.

Q: If you could be another staff member for a day, who would it be and why?  

A: Dr. Mike Summers or Don Zimmerman. Both are nationally renowned experts in their field. And their fields are so different from the work I do on a day-to-day basis. I would love to know how it feels to be a world-class scientist and teacher, or a coach who has vision and understanding of a game and uses it to help prepare young people for success in real life.

Q: If you could be a superhero, who would you pick and why?

A: …Six words say it all…”With great power comes great responsibility.”