Meet Anita Das ’83, M.S. ’87. Anita is a mostly-retired medical researcher specializing in infectious diseases and a UMBC planned giving donor. She still consults with biotech companies as a statistician to stay current with industry trends, and, in her spare time, Anita volunteers for environmental and educational causes, practices (and learns more about) permaculture, and goes on hiking adventures. In 2024, Anita established the Das Endowed Scholarship, and included UMBC in her estate plan to make sure she could help even more students in the future. Take it away, Anita!

Q: What is your WHY? What brought you to UMBC?

A: I went to UMBC because I wanted to study biology. At the time, I thought I wanted to go to medical school, and UMBC was known for having a strong pre-med program. I also received a small scholarship and played on the tennis team. I graduated with my B.S. in biological sciences in 1983, but decided that medical school was not for me. Since I had taken a lot of math classes (and done well), I got a job doing clinical research.

My boss told me I should pursue a master’s degree in statistics. So, I went back to UMBC. At the time, the statistics program was new, and I liked that it had a small number of students and that all of the professors were very interactive with the students. I earned my M.S. in statistics in 1987.

Q: What’s a memory of the UMBC community you have that helped shape your path?

A: I worked (or volunteered—I can’t remember which) at the math lab, which was a place that students came for tutoring. We provided support to students who needed extra help on their math assignments, but were more comfortable working with a peer than going to their professor. I remember this as a wonderful, supportive place that assisted many students and helped me gain and practice my teaching skills.

Q: Who in the UMBC community has inspired you or supported you?

A: While I was working on my master’s in statistics, Dr. Bimal Sinha was so supportive. On some of my homework assignments, instead of a grade, he would write “Please see me.” At first, I thought, “Oh no!” But in his office, he would help me through the work and encourage me. Dr. Sinha’s primary interest was to build my confidence and ensure I was learning. Really, all of the professors in my master’s program were student-oriented. They provided encouragement and instilled confidence, which enabled me to continue my education and get my Ph.D. in Epidemiology at George Washington University.

Q: Can you tell us more about your career?

A: My career has been in medical research, working on clinical trials in both the public and private sectors. I spent the first part of my career working in maternal/fetal medicine on National Institutes of Health grants and then moved to the pharmaceutical industry, specializing in the development of anti-infectives. Today, I am mostly retired and do some consulting with biotech companies as a statistician.

This allows me to stay current on new developments in infectious disease (my area of expertise) and work with experts in this field. I spend my non-work time volunteering for environmental and educational causes, learning and practicing permaculture, and going on hiking adventures.

Q: Can you elaborate on your volunteer work and what inspired you to establish a scholarship and become a planned giving donor?

A: I am on the Board of Directors of Sonoma Land Trust (SLT). We work to protect nature in my home county of Sonoma, California, helping to reduce climate impact, restoring habitats, and engaging young people in conservation. Our science-based approach allows me to use my education and experience for a good cause. SLT also mentors the next generation of scientists, and it was this program that inspired me to donate to UMBC to help educate those who will steward the future of our planet.

As part of my involvement with SLT, I had a chance to listen to high school students present conservation research they conducted on one of our land preserves. These kids were so excited about science and their joy was infectious. They inspired me to start a scholarship fund at UMBC so that anyone who wants to study science would not be limited by a lack of resources.

In 2024, I established the Das Endowed Scholarship to support students in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences. Around the same time, I also established a planned gift, naming UMBC in my estate plan to ensure my scholarship can support even more students in the future.

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UMBC’s greatest strength is its people. When people meet Retrievers and hear about the passion they bring, the relationships they create, the ways they support each other, and the commitment they have to inclusive excellence, they truly get a sense of our community. That’s what “Meet a Retriever” is all about.

Learn more about how UMBC can help you achieve your goals.

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.

Each year at UMBC, a faculty member is chosen to receive the Carl Weber Excellence in Science and Mathematics Teaching Award. It honors a faculty member from the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for exceptional dedication to teaching as demonstrated by his or her enthusiasm, up-to-date teaching materials, effective mentoring, community service in the teaching area, approachability, rigorous learning requirements, coherent teaching philosophy and inspirational teaching style.

The award was established in 2006 by his family in memory of Dr. Weber, Assistant Professor Emeritus and founding faculty member in the UMBC Department of Biological Sciences, as a tribute to his passion for teaching.

“Carl’s enthusiasm for his teaching was infectious,” says Mrs. Weber. She adds that it’s plain to see why each award winner has been chosen throughout the years. “They’re very inspiring enthusiastic teachers. Each one has been doing something innovative as teachers.”

The award has now been given for eight years. In addition to the endowment, a number of people, including Mrs. Weber, have continued to provide annual support for the award. It has successfully created a lasting legacy for Dr. Weber, and it has also given Mrs. Weber an ongoing connection to the UMBC community.

Each year, she has a chance to meet the award recipients. “That has been very nice for me,” she explained. “It keeps his memory fresh, and it’s very gratifying to see the wonderful people who are being honored.”

Now, Mrs. Weber has taken another step to continue support for the award through a trust she created in her estate plans. It’s a contribution that will play an important role in ensuring that Dr. Weber’s passion for teaching continues at UMBC, as the award encourages and honors new and innovative approaches in the classroom for years to come.

For Mrs. Weber, it’s not only another measure of support in memory of her husband, it’s also a very practical matter of planning ahead. “I established the trust to support the ongoing recognition enabled by the award,” says Weber.

Learn more about planned giving.

When she began her college search, the Honorable Wanda Keyes Heard ‘79, political science, knew very little about UMBC. But when she and her family — then living in Long Island, New York — returned from a visit to schools in the DC area, they decided to stop by the new university in Catonsville. That chance decision would change Wanda’s life.

“I fell in love with UMBC,” she says. That means a lot coming from Wanda, whose father Sterling Keyes, was a veteran educator and civil rights activist who impressed upon her from an early age the importance of education. And so she came to UMBC, where she would study political science and launch her career as a lawyer and then Baltimore Circuit Court judge.

When Wanda lost her father a year ago, she found herself making another decision about her future–the decision of what to do with her estate. In honor of her father’s legacy and her own experience at UMBC, she decided to establish a planned gift to the university.  “When you leave the earth, you can’t take it [money] with you,” she explains. “What better way is there to honor your life than to give back? I know UMBC will make good use of the money.”

Wanda’s decision isn’t surprising. Throughout her career as a judge for the Baltimore City Circuit Court, she has been paying it forward. She’s an avid supporter of UMBC’s Second Generation scholarship, and she’s also given students–many of them from her alma mater–the opportunity to gain invaluable career experience as interns in her office. It’s that kind of experience that rounds out an education and launches careers.

As Wanda is quick to tell you, UMBC was truly where her life and career got started. “I received an excellent education there, and that set me on the road to law school and being a judge,” she says. “Once UMBC has put its print on you, you can do anything you want to.”

In Wanda’s case, that print was indelible, and was made by her experiences both in and out of the classroom. Wanda was active in the Student Government Association, joined the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority and worked as a Resident Assistant. Each and every one of those activities left a distinct mark on her, she says, and showed her the importance of getting involved with and contributing to her community. In fact, for Wanda, education, service and giving back are inextricably intertwined.

“If you went to UMBC, giving back comes naturally,” she says. And that dedication to service and giving will now come full circle. Through her planned gift to UMBC, Wanda is ensuring future generations will have the same amazing educational and career opportunities that she did.

Learn more about making a planned gift like Wanda’s.