Eli Eisenberg came into the world of Retriever sports not as a recruited athlete or a walk-on but from a completely different angle—broadcasting. Capturing the energy of the fans, the maneuvers on the court or field, and the cheers and camaraderie of UMBC Athletics hooked Eisenberg early on.

When Eisenberg enrolled at UMBC in the 1980s, he used his interdisciplinary studies (INDS) major to develop a curriculum that primarily focused on broadcasting, American culture, and business and economics. To this day, he credits UMBC for his success and it’s something he’s been adamant about returning tenfold to the Retriever community.

“I knew at a young age that I wanted to be a television producer and director,” says Eisenberg ’86, INDS, who is now the CEO of VPC, an award-winning, full-service boutique production and broadcasting agency. VPC provided production services for UMBC Commencements as early as 1996 and was instrumental in the university’s momentous 50th anniversary celebration in 2016.

Through VPC, Eisenberg has created a successful working model where real-world training and education intersect. In 2016, America East signed a deal with ESPN to have conference basketball games on ESPN+.

And in the past seven broadcast seasons, VPC has partnered with UMBC—training more than 100 Retriever interns along the way—to put UMBC Athletics on television. Alumni from the program have gone on to work for the Baltimore Ravens, Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Eagles, CBS Sports, and many other freelance video and sports productions.

“Although the university doesn’t have a broadcasting major,” says Eisenberg, “through our ESPN initiative, students are trained to televise sporting events and are placed on the path to broadcasting careers.” 

In 2022 Eisenberg sought to address another perennial need among student-athletes—he and his wife Patricia M. Vitale made a gift to support students’ mental health amid the pressures of navigating academic and athletic performances.

“We want to ensure that we always have a safety net and strong system in place for our athletes,” says Brian Barrio, UMBC’s director of Athletics. “Which is why Eli’s endowment is so generous and so important.”

The intersection of sports and mental health

While sports and journalism are at the heart of Eisenberg’s endowment, the real root of his generosity is his desire to see mental health be nurtured and prioritized for students, particularly athletes.

When the pandemic hit, the sports world experienced a great shift in how games were played and consumed by the audience (or lack thereof), and that extended to college sports. VPC began to experience firsthand the challenges of athletes playing in front of empty seats; it not only changed the dynamic of how athletes performed, but it also affected physical—and mental—endurance. 

“It’s difficult enough for students to balance their athletic career with their academic one both pre- and post-pandemic. It’s very rigorous,” says Eisenberg. “It’s that much easier to become unmotivated when adding the challenge of playing in an empty arena or stadium after long bus trips.”

To expand on the other ways he supports UMBC students, Eisenberg established the Retriever Athletic Wellness Endowment, dedicated to supporting UMBC’s Division I athletes. The anticipated initiatives include nutrition, mental health programming, and sports medicine, among others.

Students reap the benefits

Austin Hood, a media and communication studies senior, who has interned with VPC since last semester, says the experience has provided him with mentors “who want to see me learn and step into different roles like hand-on camera work, replay, audio, director, technical director, utility, and much more.”

The internship has been invaluable, says Hood. “Eli has been transparent about what it took for him to get where he is. Working alongside him and others has shown me just how much work goes into what you see when you turn on a live sporting event. These experiences, to say the least, have me feeling eager and confident to take on a position anywhere in the production/broadcasting industry.”

The America East Conference, which UMBC is a part of, together with its ESPN partnership, is required to broadcast 300 or more events annually. On average, a conference school broadcasts 30 to 40 games annually and the number is expected to increase to 50—so, having students trained and available to help has been and will continue to be crucial.

“Since the onset of both broadcasting relationships—the conference and UMBC, as well as UMBC with VPC—the Retriever broadcasts have set the bar in production value, execution, and storytelling,” says Eisenberg.

A significant impact

Much like how Eisenberg developed his own hybrid curriculum as a UMBC student, he hopes that the school uses the money to establish whatever programs the student-athletes would need, ranging from nutrition to mental health services.

As a result of their gift, the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena backstage production corridor and loading dock will be named in recognition and honor of Eisenberg and his wife. The significance of the space is not lost on him.

“It’s where VPC trains students to be in sports broadcast,” he says with a smile.

By Nikoletta Gjoni ’09

Ellicott City, founded 250 years ago this year, holds more than its share of history. The lore of the old mill town is dense with pioneers, millers, astronomers, abolitionists, fires, floods, and firsts, including the nation’s first national road and railroad.

Writer Ellen Nibali ’90, English, wanted to tell the history of the town. But how could she condense all those years into something that would both enlighten and entertain? Then she thought of the magic of the musical.

“The underlying thing is that I love stories,” Nibali said. “And I always enjoyed music. Then I realized that a musical was a great medium for storytelling.”

As a girl, Nibali played piano in her family’s chilly basement, finishing up practice when the timer dinged, then making up ditties. But she never imagined herself writing a musical, despite a life of putting pen to paper. After two years of college, Nibali took time off to get married and have children. But she continued writing—novels, children’s books, poems, even a bicentennial history of a Baltimore County community.

In her 30s, Nibali went back to college, attending UMBC. Nibali remembered writing a poem for class, and UMBC senior lecturer Michael Fallon telling her, “You’re on fire.” “That meant a huge amount to me,” Nibali said.

Ellen Nibali (Marlayna Demond ’11/UMBC)

“I loved every second of it, the intellectual stimulation,” she said. This year, she endowed a scholarship for students transferring from community college. “I’m impressed with how UMBC has built its reputation and excellence,” Nibali said. “I’m proud to be an alum and want to give that opportunity to others of modest backgrounds. What UMBC does is transforming on so many levels, and it keeps on giving for generations.”

Back to the town’s roots

After graduation, Nibali wrote the weekly horticulture column in the Baltimore Sun. The column was part of her job at the University of Maryland’s Extension Service, answering hometowner’s garden questions.

She began writing the musical more than 25 years ago, for her son’s school history project. She composed songs for him and his classmates to perform, about the National Road, about the revolutionary tea party in Annapolis, and about the Underground Railroad.

Over the years, she wrote more songs, about the B&O Railroad, then one about astronomer, mathematician, and surveyor Benjamin Banneker.

Over the years, Nibali ended up with 15 songs and took the idea for her musical “On National Road” to EC250, the nonprofit formed to spearhead celebration of Ellicott City’s sestercentennial.

“Being a lover of history and especially Ellicott City history, I was immediately taken with the concept and the songs,” said Ed Lilley, president of EC250 and fondly known as the city’s informal mayor. “The finale song, ‘Sing Me a Memory,’ immediately brought tears to my eyes, reminding me of what a special place Ellicott City is.”

The board agreed to put on the show. Nibali wrote a libretto and four new songs at their request, then worked with Wilde Lake High School choir teacher Kevin Crouch, who composed and recorded the songs, from marches, folk, and rock to classical and ragtime.

The thrill of songs come to life

Nibali attends every rehearsal of “On National Road,” which opens at Howard Community College December 8.

“This is my baby,” Nibali said. “I want to watch it be born. It’s just been a fun adventure. The first time I heard them do the songs, each one was thrilling.”

“On National Road” spans, of course, 250 years. It starts with the three Quaker Ellicott brothers who first saw the Patapsco River’s potential as a force to power their mills through the race of the horse and the Tom Thumb train, to more recent history, including when 19-year-old Babe Ruth was married in Ellicott City because it had lax laws about youngsters marrying.

“I wish I could convey even better how revolutionary and earth-shaking and exciting these things are,” Nibali said of the history. “The theme is freedom, about being free to be who you are in the time you are in.”

One Saturday this autumn, Nibali and 50 other audience members gathered at the Museum of Howard County History to watch a preview song, a ragtime tune about Babe Ruth’s marriage at St. Paul Catholic Church, less than a half a mile away.

An actor playing Babe, in a baseball uniform, sang out Nibali’s rhyme of “Ruth” and “uncouth,” and then warbled the song’s final line, “I’m gonna take a swing at, gotta take a swing at, get to take a swing at life,” and Nibali clapped enthusiastically as the last note faded into the rafters.

— Susan Thornton Hobby

Meet Evangeline Kirigua ’21, political science, who transferred from Montgomery College and is now working as an intake officer with the Maryland Department of Transportation. Evangeline, who returned to school in her 50s, recently created a scholarship in honor of her parents to give assistance to students studying political science at UMBC at The Universities at Shady Grove. Thanks for sharing your story, Evangeline!

Q: What’s one essential thing you’d want another Retriever to know about you?

A: Procrastination is a dream killer. Don’t do tomorrow what you can do today. As long as there is a minute in your day, use it. Tomorrow is not promised.

Q: What brought you to UMBC at The Universities at Shady Grove and what you love about the political science department, in particular?

A: I came to UMBC because when I was taking a class in International Studies at Montgomery College, the professor spoke highly about UMBC’s Political Science program. Political Science just speaks my language. I am passionate about civic engagement. I do not get it when people tell me that they do not vote: at the same time complaining about things in their community that are going wrong or not done. This led me to start a forum called Diaspora Initiative for Civic Engagement, to encourage voter registration.

Q: Tell us about someone in the community who has inspired you or supported you, and how they did it.

A: My forever guardian angel is Dr. Brigid Starkey, Head of Global Studies. I thoroughly enjoyed her class, American Foreign Policy. Dr. Starkey believed in me and encouraged me to do an independent study. Her support unleashed in me a tenacity that I never knew I had.

Q: We understand you’re a donor. What do you support and why?

A: I have founded a scholarship in honor of my parents: the Ernest & Adelina Kirigua Scholarship. It is to benefit minority students pursuing Political Science at UMBC/USG.

Q: What’s the one thing you’d want someone who hasn’t joined the UMBC community to know about the support you find here?

A: The Retriever spirit is real. I chose UMBC over other schools that had promised me almost 100 percent free tuition. I have never doubted my decision. Bring your dream: UMBC will help you build it, or help you dream.

It all starts with a seed—a source of hope.

Or in this particular case, a handful of seeds in the form of alumna Tamera Davis’ second grade students at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School. The class is fidgety but tuned in. As they jump into a rhyming exercise, Betsy Sherman joins them in a game of call and response at the front of the classroom.

A former teacher herself, Sherman feels right at home at Lakeland. In a hallway with cut-out paper letters reading “Education = Opportunity,” she smiles and waves to a line of students in puffy winter coats. As she sees kids studying in an alcove, she can’t help but peek over their shoulders in curiosity.

Earlier this winter, the Sherman Family Foundation donated $21 million to create the Betsy & George Sherman Center, which will expand and integrate UMBC’s work in teacher preparation, school partnerships, and applied research focused on early childhood education and improving learning outcomes for Baltimore students. 

The gift—the largest in UMBC’s history—has the potential to transform both UMBC and generations of local students. The Lakeland partnership has clearly already transformed Sherman.

“You just never know how that one moment you spend with a child impacts their lives. You may never know,” says Sherman, who with her late husband, George, began partnering with UMBC in 2006 to create the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars Program and other related initiatives. “And so you really need to be aware that your influence can be long lasting.”

Philanthropy of this sort is not about flash or money. It’s about the long game, driven by love and hope. UMBC has, for years, stood as a fertile planting ground for very personal, values-driven giving. It’s a vision shared by Freeman and Jackie Hrabowski and close UMBC partners who have connected over the idea that change is possible—and a belief in the promise one seed can hold.

Driven By Love

For Freeman and Jackie Hrabowski, the seeds of philanthropy were planted very early in childhood. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama, the son of two teachers; she in rural Virginia, the daughter of two first-generation college students. Both recount stories of how their families helped their communities through work in schools and churches, and how that example stuck with them throughout their lives and careers.

“I think that my foundation for fundraising and philanthropy comes from the strong belief in the power of education to transform lives,” says Freeman, who has been known to sit on the floor with elementary school children to talk excitedly about math. “Jackie and I both understand, as the children of teachers, how important teachers were in our own development.”

Later in life, as Hrabowski matured into his role as president of UMBC, he and his wife became friends with George and Betsy Sherman—folks with similar interests and hopes. As their friendship grew, so did their vision of how they might change the face of education in Baltimore. 

“As you build relationships, you build trust,” says Mrs. Hrabowski, who thinks of Betsy Sherman and her late husband as family. “You share lots of time together talking about your differences, your perspectives, and how to make it all work. It’s all about the realities of where we are and what we can do together to make a difference.”

Because “people tend to give to people,” as both Hrabowskis say, it’s not surprising that so many major philanthropic endeavors at UMBC have felt so personal in nature. Dr. Hrabowski’s relationship with Robert Meyerhoff—and a shared vision for making science more accessible to students of color—turned into a more than 30-year endeavor that has since changed the face of science and technology through the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. 

“I threw the ball, but he ran for the touchdown,” Meyerhoff said of Hrabowski recently. “He made the most of it. He is a wonderful man.” 

Similarly, a relationship with Earl and Darielle Linehan that began with Mr. Linehan’s serving on and chairing UMBC’s Board of Visitors revealed a deep desire to provide talented artists with an interdisciplinary approach to learning. Today, more than 300 Linehan Artists Scholar alumni are out in the world influencing dance, music, theatre, and other creative disciplines. 

At the core of these partnerships—like so many others nurtured by Hrabowski—is a shared desire to help others thrive. 

“When my parents and Jackie and Freeman get together, they talk about changing the world,” says Dave Sherman, noting his parents’ great love of Baltimore. “My mom and dad…not only would they provide resources, but they would provide passion. They would provide involvement…but it really all goes back to the people. And my parents wouldn’t support something that they didn’t believe would have the ability to grow.”

Watching It Grow

From her vantage point as a UMBC alumna, a mentee of Jackie Hrabowski, and vice president for economic development at Johns Hopkins University and Health System, Alicia Wilson ’04, political science, knows a good long-term investment when she sees it.

Wilson has felt the personal investment the Hrabowskis have made in her ever since she was a student. Recently, when she was sick, the pair brought Wilson a homemade pot of chicken soup, she says. At night. During a snowstorm.

Beyond her own experiences, Wilson understands how personal philanthropic commitment shows up in the community—and what a lasting effect it can make, both structurally and emotionally, for all involved. A program like the Sherman STEM Teacher Scholars is able to put enthusiastic and well-equipped teachers in front of underserved students who will thrive with the extra attention. The effort adds up over time, creating a pipeline of opportunity for kids all over Baltimore.

“If you think about the ripple effect of your impact, it’s really through people and it’s through what we invest in,” says Wilson. “And so, as you think about the impact of the philanthropy that takes place at UMBC, you can point to so many scientific advances, public health, social advances that really started at a school in Catonsville. And really the testimony is in the people.”

For Sandra Evers-Manly, president of the Northrop Grumman Foundation and a partner in the work at Lakeland Elementary/Middle School, what sets these projects apart is the way UMBC engages at all levels, looking at the long-term potential of collaborative effort. “When we first began the discussion with Freeman about his vision for Lakeland and all of our UMBC partnerships, it was never about one element, it was always about the whole picture—the impact and results. In Lakeland’s case, what did the partnership mean to the school, students, teachers, parents, and the surrounding community,” says Evers-Manly. 

“UMBC is a great neighbor,” she continues. “Some people will pick just one thing, like scholarships, and that’s it. But UMBC will say, ‘We’re going to work with families. We’re going to work with teachers. And, oh, by the way, we’re coming to you. You don’t have to come up the hill to UMBC. And we’ll find strategic partners to be a part of this.’ UMBC has the magnetism to help bring those key players into the room. What is equally impressive, is that you have both Freeman and Jackie who are so committed to the university, the greater community, and our nation. They do this in so many ways, both professionally and personally.” 

The success of a partnership can be measured in many ways—and UMBC loves to measure and study regularly to make sure their programs are working. The Sherman Scholars program now partners with 10 schools to promote academic achievement through professional development for teachers and intensive tutoring for students. For example, more than 90 UMBC students, including Sherman Scholars and others, provide evidence-based math tutoring for over 350 elementary and middle school students in several schools across Baltimore. Early data show this approach is working.

But much of what drives these programs goes beyond data.

“This isn’t academic. . . It is a heart move,” says Wilson. “And thank God their hearts are pure and good and filled with love for young people. . . and the belief in the fact that young people, regardless of their background, can achieve.”

A Seed Sustained

When Hrabowski was still interim president of UMBC, then Maryland Governor William Donald Schaefer asked what he might do to support him and UMBC. Looking out over campus from the roof of the Administration Building, Hrabowski made what was probably an unexpected request.

“He…asked what he could do, noting that he didn’t have a lot of money to throw around. I said ‘Give me trees!’” Hrabowski writes in The Empowered University, noting that Schaefer quickly followed up by calling the Department of Natural Resources and having trees planted all over the young campus grounds.

Overnight, the campus was visually changed. Thirty years later, stands of mature trees provide sanctuary for wildlife and green space for all. 

Thinking back on his years at UMBC, Hrabowski reminds us: “It’s not about me. It’s about us.” None of UMBC’s successes happen without the community, he emphasizes. UMBC is strong because we have put in the work, grown our endowment from practically nothing to more than $125 million, and proven ourselves year after year. UMBC will remain strong because of our shared commitment to inclusive excellence.

In his final months as president, Hrabowski has sealed his legacy yet again with the founding of a named scholarship that will increase access and affordability for undergraduate students with financial need and a commitment to community service. And while he has promised never to stop planting for UMBC, it’s up to the rest of us to nurture the trees he’s so faithfully tended.

“The seeds that he planted so long ago are now mighty trees,” says Wilson. “But, the goal isn’t that we just get to sit under the shade of the trees. We also have to go and plant some trees and build upon that legacy.”

Helm, Roswell, and Izat in an undated photo.

Louise Goodrich Izat ’70 and Donna Helm ’70 met their first week of classes in 1966. As French majors, they enjoyed many classes together with May Roswell, a professor of French and German and a founder of UMBC’s modern languages department. “May Roswell was a wonderful professor,” remembers Izat. They remember her as a dedicated and inspiring teacher. Now, more than half a century later, the two friends who share a love of words, have come together to create the Childhood Literacy Scholarship Endowment in honor of Roswell.

Izat has been a volunteer at a reading camp in her community for six years. Her experience has made her aware of how many children need additional reading support to move beyond decoding to comprehension and develop a lifelong love of reading. Helm has always been proud that she comes from a family of avid readers and has seen the positive impact strong reading skills can have on a career. After learning what work UMBC faculty and students are doing in the work of childhood literacy, Izat and Helm decided to combine their love of the written word to support early literacy work. 

The scholarship is awarded through The Sherman Center for Early Learning in Urban Communities (the Sherman Center). “With this Childhood Literacy Scholarship, our goal is to provide financial aid to promising undergraduate students committed to early childhood literacy development,” says Izat. Izat and Helm’s $25,000 endowment will support a different UMBC student each year with a scholarship of $1,000 or more for educational and research expenses. 

Supporting the next generation of educators

By focusing on childhood literacy, Helm and Izat’s endowment will help a burgeoning education professional continue to focus on their research and community-engaged work.

Ayodélé La Veau ’21, psychology and theatre, the first recipient of the scholarship, has been an active volunteer in the Sherman Center’s Literacy Fellows Program at Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City. The program pairs college students with a Baltimore City elementary school. Fellows visit a classroom and work with a teacher throughout the semester, helping students develop reading and writing skills. 

Headshot courtesy of La Veau.

La Veau was able to be a part of a transition period with Bay-Brook Elementary/Middle School when they opened their new building. She saw how the combination of entering into a new building and having a more equipped teacher in their new learning environment made students more willing to learn and excitement to improve their literacy skills. “I believe in the impact of showing children the possibility and importance of their growth and development,” shares La Veau. “Not only through verbal affirmation but through proper guidance and access to resources.”

In 2020, La Veau earned a UMBC Undergraduate Research Award to study the use of the creative process as a means to teach and explore social-emotional learning using data from public secondary schools and creative arts programs within Baltimore City. The pandemic did not permit her to begin the research. Instead, she shifted her attention to supporting local communities digitally.

In addition to the academic and mental health needs of young people, La Veau is equally adamant about food equity and its impact on both. She currently serves as the vice president of the board of directors for The Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm which grows healthy food to help feed people facing food insecurity in Baltimore.

“My work allows me to witness the effects of investing in children’s lives through healthy and safe learning environments,” shared La Veau. “The Childhood Literacy Scholarship is so wonderful and has been a major blessing for me.” La Veau’s zeal is not an exception but an example of the various committed students the Sherman Center supports. 

Part of the solution

Izat and Helm are excited that the scholarship will help La Veau continue her work with young children and her research. “We want to support students who will become part of the solution to the childhood literacy problem in our country,” share the two donors. “We are delighted that Ayodélé La Veau is our first recipient. She has a lot of energy, is an amazing young woman, and her work will have a positive impact on the lives of children.”

Sherman Center Director Mavis Sanders, in yellow, at the 2018 Teacher Summer Institute, which provides early childhood educators with information, resources, and collaborative planning time. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

Izat and Helm’s endowment supports the mission of the Sherman Center “to build a strong foundation for lifelong learning among young children in Baltimore City and develop best early childhood education practices for urban schools.” Now in its third year, the Sherman Center has become the hub of early childhood education, research, and practices, not only for Baltimore City but also for Maryland. 

“There is something special about UMBC students, past and present, and it is great when they meet around shared commitments,” says Mavis Sanders, professor of education and the inaugural director of the Sherman Center. “I am grateful to be a part of the Childhood Literacy Scholarship and assist alumni, like Louise Izat and Donna Helm, to support Retrievers who share their passion for helping children discover the joy and power of reading.”

*****

Header image provided by Donna Helm and Louise Izat.

In the late 1960s, Bob Bolton ’70, mathematics, caught glimpses of his mother around UMBC’s new relatively small campus. While he was heading to or from class, he’d spot her in the French Department, where Elinora Bolton ’70, French, was getting her undergraduate degree, or in the library, studying.

“It was quieter than at home,” Bolton says, laughing. He had nine brothers and sisters, and most of them still lived in their Elkridge home at the time.

In spring of 1970, Bob in his cap and gown followed his 52-year-old mother, in her own commencement regalia, across the stage. Mother and son were awarded their undergraduate degrees in the same first graduating class of UMBC.

• Elinora Bolton in 1944.
• Elinora Bolton in 2004.

“I was so proud of her,” said Bolton, the second son in the family and now the chief executive officer of an actuarial firm. “I didn’t really appreciate then how hard it was for her.”

A tribute to the matriarch

In 2018, Bolton wanted to honor his mother, and all his family. So he endowed the Bolton Family Scholarship, to support two students annually in UMBC’s Individualized Studies Program (INDS), with stipends of $1,000 a semester. “Education was the most important thing” to his parents, Bolton says, though they were agnostic about their fields of study. “They gave us no particular direction, they just made sure we were well educated.”

Bolton explains that he chose to give the scholarship to INDS majors to reflect the breadth of interests of the Bolton family members who attended UMBC, studying everything from math and music to French, sociology, and geography.

“The INDS program is grateful for the generosity of the Bolton family,” says Carrie Sauter ’96, psychology, INDS assistant director. “Their commitment to support the INDS student community offers a wonderful family tribute of hard work and success.”

An international childhood

Born into Baltimore society in the elegant townhouse that is now the Brewer’s Art restaurant, Elinora Bowdoin moved to France at age 7 with her mother and sister after her parents’ divorce, according to Steve Bolton, her son and family historian. At 18, Elinora was presented in a flowing white dress to King George VI, Steve says. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris for 18 months, but the onset of World War II and her mother’s death interrupted her education.

Elinora and her sister returned to Baltimore in 1939. “Feeling foreign” and a bit at sea, Steve says. The sisters kept themselves busy with becoming nationally ranked as tennis doubles champions, and attending balls at elegant locations, such as the Alcazar Hotel (now the Baltimore School for the Arts), where Elinora met her future husband in 1940.

Elinora and Robert Bolton in an undated photo.

Robert Harrison Bolton was a pilot in the Army Air Corps and married Elinora on a three-day pass. Their first child was born in 1944, and for more than 20 years, Elinora stayed home to raise her children. The family remembers her as an energetic mother, an indifferent cook, and an avid reader.

“She did have the life of the mind,” Steve says.

A family tradition

The same year her tenth and final child entered kindergarten, Elinora started at UMBC. Her records from the Sorbonne were lost in the war, so she began again at the beginning. Almost tripped up by having to kill and dissect a frog in a biology course, Elinora persevered for four years while her “well-trained” children looked after one another when she was on campus, Bob says.

After her graduation from UMBC, she remained close friends with May Roswell, a UMBC founder who established the modern languages department. Elinora went on to earn her master’s degree in French literature at the University of Maryland, College Park, and teach for decades at UMBC, College Park, and Catholic University. She died in 2012 at the age of 92.

Following mother and son’s trailblazing graduation, the family has established a legacy at UMBC. In 1975, Chris, another of Elinora’s sons graduated with a degree in sociology, and in 1986 her two youngests, Andy and Jim, graduated together with degrees in music and sociology, respectively. Her granddaughter Erin Bolton, geography, graduated from UMBC in 1999.

Education is a family tradition. At their childhood home, complete with a family goat and all those siblings, the brothers remember their mother’s books and papers spread out on the dining room table, evidence of her life of the mind. But mostly Elinora studied outside her house. It was quieter.

— Susan Thornton Hobby

*****

Header image of Elinora Bolton with her husband Robert and their 10 children in 2002. All photos courtesy of the Bolton family.

At 43-years-old Renny DiPentima had two decades of experience at the Social Security Administration (SSA) when he enrolled in UMBC’s new public policy doctoral program in the late 1970s. He had just earned a master’s degree in public policy from George Washington University, 16 years after graduating from NYU. DiPentima commuted to UMBC two nights a week for five years, and in 1984, DiPentima became the first graduate of UMBC’s public policy doctoral program. 

“I have a great deal of gratitude for UMBC,” shares DiPentima. “I felt a real connection to the school before and after graduating.”

DiPentima rose to deputy commissioner of systems and chief information officer during his 32-year career at SSA before transitioning to the private sector where he currently dedicates his time. In 2019, he pledged $100,000 to create the Renny DiPentima Fund for Advancement in Public Policy.

In addition to making annual payments on his pledge, DiPentima is providing current use gifts so that students can benefit from the award now—including much needed assistance for projects that have required to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions. The Renny DiPentima Fund supports doctoral student success at UMBC through grants of up to $1,500 for educational and research expenses related to their dissertation.

Rudy de Leon Dinglas ’23, Stephanie Blaher ’22, Nate Pritchard ’21, and Jeevan Raj Lohani ’25 are the first recipients of the fund. As current Ph.D. students in the public policy program, these awardees—like DiPentima—are using their public policy careers to develop the framework necessary to inform transformative, inclusive, just, and sustainable policies that will engage communities and policy makers. 

There is a story behind every number 

“In my first job as an analyst for Domino Sugar,” remembers Rudy de Leon Dinglas, “I learned the power of data to understand a greater story.” These skills prepared him to manage and analyze data for Baltimore City. His work advised the implementation of the Baltimore City Bike Share; the Safe Route to Schools; and the Mobile Integrated Health—Community Paramedicine programs.

As an immigrant from the Philippines, de Leon Dinglas is proud to give back to the city where he grew up and is now excited to be part of the next generation of public policy leaders. UMBC’s new diverse faculty excites him. “It’s refreshing to have more representation and be able to finally experience diversity, in an academic setting, for myself,” he explains.  

Rudy de Leon Dinglas, center, at a February 2019 event with the late Congressman Cummings and the Baltimore City Fire Department and UMMS partnership on Community Paramedicine Program. Photo courtesy of de Leon Dinglas.

The DiPentima Scholarship helped with tuition costs allowing de Leon Dinglas to focus on his research and his work at the Johns Hopkins Center for Government Excellence where he supports mayors and local and state administrators utilize data. “Becoming a subject matter expert in public management will extend the reach and quality of my work,” he shares. 

Why women leave STEM majors

Headshot courtesy of Blaher.

Stephanie Blaherearned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in history but she began her education as a STEM major. Now, as a third year doctoral student, Blaher is researching the factors that contribute to women leaving STEM fields. 

“Sometimes women realize a career in STEM is not for them or it doesn’t meet their expectations,” Blaher says. Structural, organizational, and social hurdles can also influence their decision. Sexism and lack of mentoring matter, she notes.

Blaher was expecting to begin in-person interviews for her research in fall 2020. Due to COVID, her interviews became virtual and she had to submit an IRB amendment. “My timeline shifted, access to students changed, and my questions altered,” explains Blaher. 

The DiPentima Scholarship helped to fund additional participants. “Broadening my participant pool will increase the depth and quality of my research and improve the outcomes,” explains Blaher, who is a collegiate associate professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus. After graduation, she wants to continue teaching first-year courses to ensure all students succeed in a major of their choice.

Understanding affordable housing today 

When Nate Pritchard visited UMBC for a doctoral program interview in urban policy, he felt welcomed as an older and non-traditional disabled student. “It’s that intangible feeling that makes you feel at home,” shares Pritchard. That feeling continues.

Headshot courtesy of Pritchard.

One notable class discussion would become the driving force behind Pritchard’s research. Pritchard was struck that affordable housing “is not just a function of money but more building materials, labor, and building units available.” He decided to research the long term self-sufficiency of rental assistance recipients. However, the present data was 12 to 15 years old. Pritchard needed to evaluate current data to identify the barriers limiting the program from helping more people faster. 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) granted Pritchard access to highly restricted data on the condition that he have a secure location to view it from. His dissertation chair, Pamela Bennett, associate professor of public policy, helped him find a private room on campus. “I felt honored for the opportunity and to have Dr. Bennett’s support,” shares Pritchard.

Unfortunately, COVID restrictions denied him access to campus. With Bennett’s guidance, Pritchard used publicly available HUD data. The new data lacked specificity so he had to focus on general questions.These unforeseeable changes extended his research and graduation date for another year, so the additional funding was invaluable, he says. 

“Dr. DiPentima’s generous assistance helped me in my present circumstances, more than he can ever know,” shares Pritchard. He plans to teach in academia and return to his original research when restrictions are lifted.

A purpose-driven life

Jeevan Raj Lohani had spent a decade as a freelance global development consultant in East Africa and South Asia before joining UMBC’s public policy doctoral program. UMBC presented Lohani with the opportunity to combine program evaluation with his background in economics. 

“Coming to UMBC was a calculative decision for my career,” says Lohani. He hopes his research will contribute to improving economic policies that address human needs, like labor migration, worldwide. Nepal is one of the poorest developing countries in the world, Lohani, who is Nepali, explains. Jobs are scarce, forcing Nepali workers to migrate to neighboring countries for work. “I want to investigate if migrant laborers, upon their return to Nepal, contribute to the economy by engaging in entrepreneurship,” says Lohani. 

But for Lohani, informing policy makers with the resources to implement long term economic policy is one part of a greater whole. His end goal isn’t the expertise per se, but to use what he learns as one part of a much larger life mission to impact people with needs all over the world.

The DiPentima Scholarship provided the financial support Lohani needed between the end of his assistantship and the beginning of a job with the Maryland Department of Health. 

The privilege of giving 

DiPentima remembers that after graduating from NYU, he planned to gain some experience before moving on to the private sector. What he found in the public sector was a rewarding career with great responsibility to develop policy that would improve the lives of Americans on a daily basis. DiPentima saw the need to help broaden the research and the researchers in the field to meet the rapidly evolving needs of the United States and the world at large. 

DiPentima and his wife Pat DiPentima with JD Kathuria, founder and CEO of WashingtonExec.com. Photo courtesy of DiPentima.

However, he knew that there were barriers to graduation. Sacrifices had to be made in time away from family; balancing a job and research; as well as the financial investments that have to be made to earn a Ph.D. 

As the first alum of UMBC’s public policy doctoral program, DiPentima feels privileged to give a boost to students so they can complete their research and graduate. He encourages his fellow alums to do the same through scholarship and mentorship.  

“Public service is a way to contribute to your country,” shares DiPentima. “It’s about being part of something bigger than yourself.”

*****

Header imager: Students walk down the staircase inside the Public Policy building in 2017. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

Last July, UMBC senior Karina Martinez’s world crashed down around her when an auto accident left her with two broken arms and a totaled car.

In a matter of moments, reality set in. Surgery and recovery would take at least three weeks. And even after that, without a car, she couldn’t get to school or her part-time server job, much less the required field placement she needed to complete to graduate. Her manager gave her a less physically-taxing hostess position, but losing a month’s work and switching from tip wages to hourly left Martinez in a real bind.

“I had bills I had to pay, I had a balance with UMBC on a summer course I took that summer, and I was looking to see if I could somehow buy a car for my commutes,” says Martinez, a social work and psychology major set to graduate from UMBC’s Shady Grove campus this spring. 

“I thought about dropping some classes so I could work more to be able to pay off my UMBC balance but then my sister told me I should look into seeing if UMBC has an emergency fund for students.”

Addressing Emergency Needs

UMBC’s Stay Black and Gold Emergency Fund is an initiative of the Student Government Association that provides emergency funding in awards ranging from $1,000 to $8,000 depending on needs arising from unexpected crises ranging from accidents to house fires, deaths of parents, loss of jobs and other sudden losses of income that could prevent the continuation of classes. 

In the past year, five students have received funding, but as the world confronts the COVID-19 pandemic, this fund will become even more important for student success, explains Vice President for Institutional Advancement Greg Simmons, M.P.P. ’04, public policy.

“The Stay Black and Gold Emergency Fund acknowledges that sometimes we are faced with circumstances we could not have predicted and we need help from others,” he says. “Donors who give to this fund are committed to helping us do all we can to help students finish their degrees in the face of challenges they hadn’t expected, and in some cases hadn’t even imagined could be true.”

Last week, longtime UMBC supporters George and Betsy Sherman made a pledge of $25,000 to reinforce the fund, and other individual donations have been coming in steadily, including gifts from more than 40 new donors since a call went out for help yesterday.  

Supporters have also been making donations to support UMBC’s Retriever Essentials Food Pantry, which offers dry goods and toiletries to students with those ongoing needs. Going forward, both of these funds will be crucial in helping UMBC students affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Like many universities across the country creating similar support systems for their students, UMBC will continue to try to grow its resources to respond to its community’s needs.

A Much-Needed Helping Hand

“When the committee approved me for the scholarship it was a relief off my shoulders knowing that I would not have to drop my classes in order to work more to pay off my balance and that most importantly that I would be able to graduate this year,” said Martinez, who has been accepted into the University of Maryland Baltimore’s advanced standing master’s of social work program in the fall. 

As someone who hopes to eventually work in child welfare, she keenly appreciates what it means to be on the other end of the helping hand.

“Unfortunately, sometimes unexpected things happen not to just students but, to people in general, so having funds like this available to them really makes a difference,” she says. “For me it was allowing me to graduate on time with my class. So, thank you so much for donating, it is much appreciated.” 

Support UMBC’s Stay Black and Gold Emergency Fund here.

Each February, the UMBC community reaches together to support student success with gifts made during one 24-hour Giving Day extravaganza. And every year, our Retriever Nation comes through – sharing news of their gifts and reasons for supporting UMBC far and wide.

This year’s “Black and Gold Rush” on February 27 was no exception. Several hours before the midnight deadline, our Retrievers blew past the original goal of 1,800 donors to reach more than 2,600 donors and $188,500, with more donations still being tallied, that will support everything from academics to athletics to campus organizations. More than a hundred social media ambassadors also shared the love by encouraging friends and colleagues to contribute.

“I am always amazed but never surprised by the generosity of the UMBC community,” said Greg Simmons, MPP ’04, Vice President of Institutional Advancement. “So many students and programs will benefit from the amazing support that we received on Thursday. It makes me proud to be a Retriever.”

During free hour, students and others passing through The Commons wrote thank you notes to donors and celebrated as the donor count passed the halfway mark. And faculty and staff in offices and departments across campus took to social media energizing their networks to support the great work happening in all aspects of the community.

Here is a snapshot of the day, and a thank you to all who contributed!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

We surpassed our goal of 1,800 but that’s no reason to stop now! “We believe in you and clearly you believe in all of us. We are UMBC.” There’s still time to get your donations in! #BlackAndGoldRush Link in bio to donate!

A post shared by UMBC (@umbclife) on Feb 27, 2020 at 6:52pm PST

Who showed up big time for @umbc Giving Day? #RetrieverNation that’s who! Keep it up! Still have 4.5 hours to make a difference in the life of a student-athlete. @UMBCAthletics #BlackAndGoldRush pic.twitter.com/3QHa78Zyia

— Jessica Hammond-Graf (@jshamm04) February 28, 2020

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Our community is full of magical rock stars! We met our 2nd match challenge and released another $3000 to help the Women’s Center build home and community. Thank you to Dr. Kate Tracy for your generous match challenges and thank you to the 100+ donors who believe in us and our work! #blackandgoldrush

During their annual gathering on campus this week, members of The 1966 Society (individuals who have included UMBC in their estate plans) gathered for a private tour of the exhibition, A Designed Life, lead by curator Peggy Re, associate professor, graphic design.  Also joining the group were Symmes Gardner, director of the Center for Art Design and Visual Culture, and Selene LaMarca, an undergraduate student who helped design the exhibit.  Following the tour, guests gathered for dinner to continue conversations inspired by the exhibition, which is on view through December 8.

Learn more about joining the 1966 Society

Header image: Peggy Re starts the tour. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC Magazine.