Clolita Vitale ’75, theatre, is truly a Retriever Believer. When she first walked onto UMBC’s campus in the late 1960s, she was struck by how new the university was. She even recalls walking around on plywood planks as construction was underway. But where some might have preferred an older, established school, Vitale found UMBC’s newness exciting–a promise of things to come.

Since then, Vitale has been involved with UMBC in just about every way possible. As a student, she decided to study theatre and dance. Though she would later pursue a career in law, she says her time in the performing arts program at UMBC was critically important to her. The tight-knit community and creative ingenuity of faculty and fellow students inspired and supported her, and it’s something she’ll always remember. “They helped me find my sense of self,” she says.

Later on, when she joined the staff at UMBC, she felt that Dr. Freeman Hrabowski and the other campus leaders were supportive. They encouraged her to get involved on campus and grow professionally. Eventually, she became an Assistant Vice President and University Counsel. “They allowed me to evolve,” Vitale says. “It didn’t seem like I was in the same place standing still for 30 years.”

Even after moving on to other career opportunities, Vitale has stayed deeply connected to the campus community. She’s taken UMBC students under her wing, helping them get their start in life. And she’s supported the university with gifts to the arts (including naming two seats in the new PAHB theatre) and now with the decision to make a planned gift to the university.

That pioneering spirit that is so prevalent in UMBC’s earliest faculty and alumni is clearly present in Vitale. She invested in the place that invested in her, and she’s been proud to watch UMBC grow into a nationally recognized research university. “I feel like someone who went from the horse and buggy to the space age,” she says.

Vitale says she felt it important to give early on, even when she could only make smaller donations. “I knew that even if I only had $100, it was important to contribute,” she says. “I knew it would go to something really needed.”

There’s no doubt that Vitale’s passion for UMBC is real–her voice is full of emotion as she reflects on everything she’s experienced at the university. And now, more than 40 years after she first came to campus, Vitale continues to support UMBC. In fact, as she looked forward to retirement, she knew there was no question that she would include UMBC in her will. “You can’t take a place you’ve been associated with for so long and just forget about it,” she explains. She sees her planned gift as an opportunity to leave a legacy at the place that has so deeply impacted her life. “It means something to me,” she says. “I want to be a piece of that.”

Learn more about making a planned gift to UMBC.

Psychology alumna Lynn Roberson ’73 will become the first woman president of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association this June, and will become the seventh woman president of the Atlanta Bar Association this May, her law firm reports.

According to a press release issued by Roberson’s firm, Swift, Currie, McGhee & Hiers, LLP, of Atlanta:

Ms. Roberson has held many positions over the years with the Atlanta Bar Association which include serving as an elected member of the Board of Directors for the Litigation Section from 1999-2006 and serving as its chair in 2004-2005, during which time the Litigation Section was awarded the bar’s Pro Bono award. Ms. Roberson served as Chair for the Atlanta Bar CLE Board of Trustees from 2005-2006. The Atlanta Bar Association presented its Pro Bono Award to Lynn M. Roberson, chair of the ACLE executive board, at its 2005-2006 Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon. She served as a member at large of the Atlanta Bar Board between 2005-2009, served on its Judicial Campaign Conduct Committee from 2005-2006 and was on the Executive Transition Committee in 2007-2009. She served as Treasurer from 2009-2010, secretary from 2010-2011 and is currently serving as President Elect to the largest voluntary bar association in Georgia.

Ms. Roberson is also a member of the Georgia Defense Lawyers Association. She currently holds the position of Executive Vice President and this summer will become the first female president of the organization which was established over 40 years ago.