A bright yellow bead slides over a red pipe cleaner, then a blue bead followed by green. Soon, the rainbow of beads and wire is twisted this way and that until it resembles the Big Dipper. This same activity is happening throughout PHYS 401, a seminar room in the UMBC Physics building, as 20 Baltimore City middle and high school students and their parents recreate the constellations.

These students are part of their local Sigma Beta Club, a youth auxiliary of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., founded nationally in 1950 to help mentor young men and develop their leadership skills. “When we go out to UMBC, it’s always something special,” says Gary Brooks ’79, history, who played a large part in bringing these young people to Hilltop Circle. “UMBC does things second to none.”

The students came to campus in February with members of the Nu Sigma Sigma Alumni Chapter, which includes Phi Beta Sigma alumni—including Brooks—to tour the UMBC Observatory and attend a men’s basketball game.

Nu Sigma Sigma partners with local universities like UMBC to offer Baltimore City youth interested in STEM the chance to experience college life. Most of these visits involve some sort of athletics event, and that’s about it—but not at UMBC. 

Another Sigma Beta Club visit to UMBC involved a FIRST LEGO League competition, and another saw the students observe a robotics event. Brooks also makes sure that each visit includes a member of UMBC senior leadership. Recently, the students had the chance to speak with UMBC President Valerie Sheares Ashby and Athletics Director Tiffany Tucker.

Brooks wants each visit to UMBC to be as meaningful as possible for these young men because he knows how UMBC can change lives.

Staying connected

Even though Brooks graduated 45 years ago, he never really left UMBC. He remains closely involved with Phi Beta Sigma at UMBC, helping mentor students, and he is an active member of Nu Sigma Sigma, working closely with the university to bring Sigma Beta Club members to campus. 

“The fraternity got me involved in community service,” says Brooks—a personal mission he carries on to this day.

“​Since I met Gary almost 20 years ago, he has been a dedicated champion of UMBC,” says Stanyell Bruce, director of alumni engagement at UMBC.

Brooks also serves on the UMBC Second Generation Scholarship Fund committee. The Second Generation Scholarship is awarded annually to outstanding undergraduate students who intend to pursue study at UMBC, are enrolled in or have completed a course in Africana studies, and demonstrate a commitment to improving the lives of racial/ethnic minorities through community service, extracurricular activities, or other community involvement. Brooks has served on the committee since 1986, when the scholarship was established.

Brooks is also the chairperson for the Historic St. James Episcopal Church Scholarship Fund—a position he has held since 2010—and helped establish the Dr. Lamont Smith, M.D. Scholarship through Sigma R.E.A.C.H., Inc. Brooks has served on that committee since its inception as well.

“Education is dear to my heart,” says Brooks, who went on to earn his M.P.A. from the University of Baltimore and his J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law—an impressive resume for someone who initially struggled in college.

“My first semester at UMBC wasn’t the best,” admits Brooks. “I didn’t do well at all.”

Photo left: Gary Brooks ‘79 and Larry Wiggins ‘75 with the 2024 Second Generation Scholarship recipients.

Finding place and purpose

Instead of giving up, Brooks decided to lean into his weaknesses—reading and writing—by taking courses in Africana studies, a subject that interested him a great deal. These courses involved a lot of reading and writing, but Brooks found himself more immersed in the work. It was still difficult, but he enjoyed the subject matter, and the faculty was incredibly supportive. As a result, his grades began to improve.

“I saw that success, and I got more and more serious about school,” says Brooks.

After graduation, Brooks remained close to the Africana studies department. He spearheaded a committee tasked with hosting the annual “Party with a Purpose,” whose proceeds supported Africana studies and the Second Generation Scholarship. Brooks also continued to correspond with several Africana studies faculty members who mentored Brooks throughout graduate school, law school, and his career.

After Brooks graduated from law school, one of those professors, Willie Lamousé-Smith, former chair of Africana studies, asked Brooks to step out of his comfort zone and step into the classroom to teach a course on the impact of the criminal justice system on the Black community. Despite some hesitancy—“I do estate planning and bankruptcy,” says Brooks. “I am not a criminal justice attorney.”—the young lawyer decided to take the leap into teaching after more than a little encouragement from Lamousé-Smith.

“Dr. Lamousé-Smith said, ‘Mr. Brooks, you are smart enough,’ and that was enough,” says Brooks. “He believed in me.”

Brooks taught this class for six years, connecting UMBC students with impactful, African American leaders, including the Baltimore City police commissioner and the Baltimore City state’s attorney. Brooks eventually handed the class over to his good friend and former law partner, Larry Wiggins ’75, political science, who played a large role in helping Brooks study for and pass the bar exam.

When the giving goes both ways

Brooks was honored at the 2001 UMBC Alumni Awards with an Alumni Community Leadership Award. He also received a special Visionary Leadership Award in 2006, recognizing members of the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture Event Planning Committee for their outstanding contributions to advancing the mission of the UMBC Alumni Association. He’d like to thank his wife, Karen B. Brooks, their four children, Aja, Ashlea, Morgan, and Geron, and their three grandkids, Ryder, Ari, and Amari.

Over the years, Brooks has continued to give back to the UMBC community because of how much the UMBC community has given him.

“Gary’s commitment to UMBC never wavers,” says Bruce. “He’s someone I seek out for advice and guidance, and he embodies what it means to be Retriever Proud.”

Each year, the UMBC Alumni Association presents awards to honor alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University.  Learn more about our past award winners.

Outstanding Alumna
Natural & Mathematical Sciences
Diane Auer Jones ’88, M.S. Applied Molecular Biology
In addition to a successful career as an entrepreneur, government policy maker and administrator at Princeton University, in November Jones was appointed Deputy Associate Director for the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. She also has served as an active member of the UMBC Research Park Corporation’s board of directors for the past eleven years.
Outstanding Alumnus
Humanities
Steven Eidelman ’73, American Studies
After serving for three decades as an advocate for people with disabilities – most recently as national executive director of The Arc of the United States – Eidelman last fall was named the University of Delaware’s first Robert Edelsohn Chair in Disabilities Studies, as well as a Senior Fellow at the university’s Center for Disabilities Studies. In his new position, Eidelman also develops leadership training programs for government and not-for-profit managers who support people with disabilities.
Outstanding Alumnus
Visual & Performing Arts
Billy Kemp ’95, Visual and Performing Arts – Music
An accomplished multi-instrumentalist and producer, Kemp received three nominations from the Washington Area Music Association (WAMA) in 2004 including best producer. In 2003 Kemp produced Grammy-nominated and Wammy award-winning singer Debi Smith. He has been the composer for the regional Emmy award-winning Maryland Public Television series, “Outdoors Maryland,” since 1997. He has been adjunct faculty at UMBC since 1996.
Outstanding Alumna
Social & Behavioral Sciences
Lisa L. Dickerson ’78, Political Science
Prior to her appointment as the first African-American female Administrator for the Maryland Transit Administration in 2005, Dickerson served as Assistant Secretary for Equity and Economic Empowerment at the Maryland Department of Transportation, and before that garnered successes working as a congressional fellow in Washington and serving as vice president of a national telecommunications firm. During his time in office, President George H.W. Bush also appointed Dickerson to the prestigious Committee for Small Business and the Republican Council of 100.
Outstanding Alumna
Engineering and Information Technology
Donna Stevenson ’87, Information Systems
As head of Early Morning Software, Stevenson is one of only a few minority women CEOs of an IT company in Maryland and the rest of the United States. She remains an active volunteer at UMBC, most notably as a member of the Center for Women and Information Technology advisory board and a mentor-in-residence for the ACTiVATE program, which promotes entrepreneurship among women.
Distinguished Service Award
Michael L. Oster ’74, Economics
As chairman of the UMBC Economics Advisory Board since its inception in 2001, Oster has helped shape the council’s objectives, facilitate scholarships and internships for students and created many valuable connections for the University. An accomplished banking executive, Oster joined BB&T in 1999 as a regional president and became Maryland Group President in 2001. His time and talents also benefit the boards of a number of worthy organizations, many of them in his home, Carroll County.
Visionary Leadership Award
The Alumni Association Executive Board will present this special award to the Reginald F. Lewis Event Committee in recognition of their achievement in advancing the mission of the Alumni Association. The committee members are:
Kisha Matthews ’03
Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88
Devin Walker ’89
James Wiggins ’75
Gary Brooks ’79
Michael Sterling ’85
Juan Holcomb ’81
Crystal Watkins ’95