At UMBC, restorative practices have grown from a promising idea into a campus-wide movement—one shaped by dedicated staff and reaching far beyond the university itself.

For Jeff Cullen, UMBC’s director of Student Conduct and Community Standards, this work has been years in the making. Now in his 18th year at the university, Cullen has helped guide the evolution of student conduct from a traditional, punitive model toward something more meaningful: a restorative approach that centers accountability, healing, and community.

“Each student I encounter is unique,” Cullen explains. “I enjoy working with them in a restorative way—offering high levels of support while also demanding high levels of accountability.”

Building a proactive framework

UMBC formally began integrating restorative practices in 2015, after adopting training models inspired by the International Institute for Restorative Practices. What started as an alternative way to resolve disputes has since expanded into a proactive framework for building relationships and fostering authentic communication across campus.

Instead of focusing solely on punishment, restorative practices ask deeper questions. Cullen describes a hypothetical situation: a student returns to their residence hall inebriated, damages a bulletin board, and creates a mess in a shared space. In a traditional system, the outcome might center on sanctions. But a restorative approach broadens the lens.

“It’s not just about the student,” Cullen says. “There are custodial staff, residential life staff, and other students who are impacted.”

Through restorative circles, those affected come together—the student, staff members, peers—and engage in guided dialogue. They reflect on what happened, who was harmed, and how to make things right. The result is not only accountability, but also understanding and, often, reintegration into the community.

While the process can feel challenging at first, Cullen notes that participants often leave with a sense of resolution and stronger conflict-resolution skills. Early data and broader research suggest that restorative approaches can reduce repeat offenses, increase satisfaction, and create healthier communities overall.

That impact is not limited to UMBC.

Restorative practices beyond the classroom

Toshiyasu Tsuruhara, an associate professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Japan, traveled across the globe to attend a 2-day restorative practices workshop at UMBC (combining his trip with another training in San Diego). With a background in conflict mediation—including accreditation as a community mediator in the U.K. and experience working with neighbor disputes and in family court—Tsuruhara was already familiar with restorative justice concepts.

But the workshop offered something new.

“I learned how these tools can be applied in real-life situations,” he explains. “I am interested in restorative practices because they offer tools to repair relationships and bring communities toward peace,” Tsuruhara says. “They are not just for education—they can be applied in work, family, and friendships.”

During his time at UMBC, Tsuruhara engaged closely with students and staff, participating in discussions, collaborative exercises, and even creative activities like short dramatic presentations to explore key concepts. What stood out most was not just the theory, but how actively it was practiced.

For Tsuruhara, the experience also highlighted the value of introducing restorative practices early in students’ lives. He observed how these approaches could help students navigate both academic and social challenges, while also preparing them for professional environments.

“They help maintain peaceful relationships with workmates,” he says. “And if conflict happens, they provide tools to resolve it.”

Inspired by what he learned, Tsuruhara plans to continue to integrate restorative practices into his own teaching. In his “Multicultural Cooperation Workshop,” students from diverse national and cultural backgrounds collaborate on long-term group projects—an environment where conflict can naturally arise. Rather than relying solely on mediation training, he sees restorative practices as a more holistic and educational approach.

One small effort turns into campus-wide movement

Back at UMBC, Cullen reflects on how far the initiative has come. What began over a decade ago as a small effort has grown into a campus-wide movement, with hundreds of students, faculty, and staff trained in restorative methods.

“At UMBC, if you have a good idea, you’re encouraged to implement it,” Cullen says. “We had no idea it would grow like this—but here we are.”

Supported by colleagues in Residential Life and Student Affairs leadership, and shaped through years of collaboration, restorative practices at UMBC continue to evolve—impacting not only the campus community, but also educators and practitioners around the world.

Click here for more resources on restorative practices at UMBC

Meet Ann Tropea, the assistant director for engaged media with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, and the full-time staff advisor for the Student Media Collective, which includes The Retriever, Bartleby, and WMBC. Ann’s academic background is in mass media communications studies and law. In her spare time, she (separately) hosts a podcast and acts as a doula, helping support families during birth.

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

A: I am the assistant director for engaged media with the Center for Democracy and Civic Life and the full time staff advisor for the Student Media Collective (SMC)—the newly chartered student organization for student-run media on campus. I bring many years of professional editorial, communications, and legal expertise to my position. I am a career editor, published author, and podcast producer/co-host.

I am also a licensed attorney in Louisiana and the District of Columbia, and I have represented a variety of individual and multinational clients in both federal and state court litigation. I hold a law degree from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and graduated magna cum laude in mass media communication studies from New York University. I am also a certified doula and enjoy supporting families in their birth and reproductive journeys.

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

A: I joined the UMBC community as a staff member in October 2023 with zero experience working in higher education. There are so many folks who have supported and inspired me from day one, but special thanks are due to Isabel Taylor (former Retriever editor-in-chief), David Hoffman (director, Center for Democracy and Civic Life), and Renique Kersh (VP for Division of Student Affairs) who all saw my potential during the interview process and allowed me to join this incredible campus community.

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: No matter who you are, or where you’re coming from, you belong at UMBC.

Q: What part of your job do you enjoy the most and why?

A: I absolutely love working with the students in all three media groups that form the SMC (The Retriever, WMBC, and Bartleby) that I advise as the primary focus of my work. They are smart, fearless, and creative—I am incredibly lucky to have such amazing student colleagues to work side-by-side with every day.

Q: What brought you to UMBC in the first place?

A: I care deeply about making the world a more just and equitable place, where everyone has the opportunity to thrive. I came to UMBC because this is a place where it was clear from day one that I share those values with each and every person on this campus.

Q: Since you’ve been a part of the UMBC community, how have you found support of your WHY?

A: I grew up in Southern California and feel like that gives me some leeway to lean a bit into the woo-woo…. UMBC is a magical place where community and collaboration are radical acts of love. It’s not just “a” why. It’s the only why.

Q: Are you involved in any campus organizations? Tell us about what you love about them!

A: I’m a new member of the Exempt Staff Senate and am thrilled to serve on the executive board as the incoming communications manager with such a dedicated (and fun!) group of folks from across the university who are dedicated to doing good work.

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.

Used to working in beautiful sunny weather, Giovanna Orfali, a visual arts senior from São Paulo, Brazil, spent this summer behind the camera as a digital content intern at the Maryland Center for History and Culture (MCHC). A seasoned filmmaker and photographer, this internship was an opportunity to expand her professional network and bring a fresh perspective to Maryland history by creating short-form social media content to share the center’s unique exhibits and events with audiences across the state.

Orfali is a recipient of the #YouAreWelcomeHere scholarship that offers tuition support for international students. She came to UMBC with experience as a television video editor and videographer and has used her skillset working on a wide range of projects. She produced and edited “Arthropod Biodiversity and Applications,” a full-length instructional video course for the Department of Biological Sciences, and works part-time as a photographer for UMBC athletics events. When Orfali is not at the MCHC, she produces digital media for UMBC’s event and conference services, her second summer internship site.

“When I began taking classes back home, no one was interested in editing audio, so I volunteered. I learned to say yes to all opportunities. At the TV station, I filmed interviews, exercise classes, and tourism commercials,” says Orfali. “I did the same when I came to UMBC. Being open to learning all aspects of audiovisual production has made me more confident and helped me make a lot of connections in and outside of the classroom.” Orfali’s short film “A Shared Story of Distance” was chosen to represent UMBC at the 2023 Maryland Film Festival Day: Student Shorts Showcase.

Hundreds of Retrievers like Orfali maximize their summer by putting their hard-earned skills to work in collaboration with campus and community partners. The 2025 arts, humanities, and social sciences summer interns are getting it done, one sunny day at a time.

Designing a career

No matter where a Retriever is in the world, they can search the online student job platform Handshake for thousands of summer internships, including on-campus opportunities. This was crucial for Humanities Scholar Kendal Howell, who stepped off the plane after studying business management abroad in France this past spring and into the office as an intern at UMBC’s Division of Student Affairs for their new academic partnerships and high-impact experiences (APHIE) unit. James DeVita, assistant vice president for APHIE, says his group needed materials and resources to help stakeholders understand the value of developing and engaging in high-impact experiences. So he turned to the experts in student experiences—the students themselves.

“We wanted to add to the number of on-campus internships. It was wonderful to have created a new professional experience for over 25 students, whose research will directly benefit their peers in a multitude of ways,” says DeVita. “By the end of the internship, the interns had collectively reviewed over 30 publications and drafted six resources in addition to completing the mapping research and related presentation.”

“The student-led research team studied high-impact practices for scholars programs, including UMBC’s, and synthesized academic research of these practices on student success in higher education,” says Howell, an Africana studies and sociology senior, with a minor in entrepreneurship. She focused on entrepreneurship, education abroad, work-based learning, and student leadership opportunities. “The information we gathered will help inform campus leaders in improving UMBC’s scholar programs. This was my first internship, and I loved it!”

Second-year gerontology doctoral student Claire McDonald also had the opportunity to conduct new research. Trained in quantitative research in psychology, McDonald gained qualitative methodology skills in her spring sociology class as part of her training to conduct research about aging in the LGBTQ+ community, a growing area of research. She is utilizing the mixed-methods LGBTQ+ Social Networks, Aging, and Policy Study, one of the few datasets on this topic, and hopes to add to her dissertation qualitative data from interviews with older LGBTQ+ adults in Baltimore for a mixed-methods project. Impressed with McDonald’s rigor, her professor recommended her to Rowena Winkler, the new assistant director for graduate student career development at the UMBC Career Center, who was seeking graduate students to conduct a 10-week qualitative research project. 

“I recruited over 100 students, conducted 11 individual interviews, and three focus groups to learn how and why graduate students use the Career Center and why they don’t,” says McDonald.  Winkler appreciated the partnership. They co-facilitated two of the focus groups together. “I watched Claire build rapport with the students. She was very open-ended and asked great prompts and follow-ups,” says Winkler. “I’m happy she had the opportunity to hone in on some of these skills that she learned in her class.”

From intern to staff

Professional growth and community building throughout the summer help students maintain ongoing growth at every stage of their learning process, leading to new jobs in other organizations, extending their internship to another semester, or a promotion from an intern to a staff member.

Like Howell, Handshake helped Orfali find both her summer internship at the MCHC as well as a spring internship in media production and audiovisual at the CATO Institute, a think tank in Washington, D.C. She impressed the MCHC team so much that they have extended her internship through the fall. “I learned a lot about working at a nonprofit that values the importance of history and culture, as well as collaborating with the external affairs team to create content for marketing purposes,” shared Orfali on LinkedIn. “This experience made me very interested in producing informative and educational videos and documentaries.”

As students advance in their academic careers, they can access paid, hands-on learning opportunities by serving as graduate assistants. Over the last eight years, Caleb Ruck, a language, literacy, and culture doctoral student and two-time alum, has climbed UMBC’s student worker ladder, including as a graphic designer and social media manager for UMBC’s Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion, and Belonging. He served as a special projects intern for the Center for Democracy and Civic Life and moved to the front of the classroom as a graduate teaching assistant for the modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication department. 

Ruck is now the first year-long graduate assistant for the Center for Social Justice Dialogue where he is helping develop and establish programming and procedures, such as co-facilitating a first-year seminar on the intricacies of dialogue around social identity, race, power, privilege, and oppression, and co-facilitating Building Bridges Across Difference: A Dialogue for Every Day for staff and faculty. 

This summer, Ruck focused on professional development by attending the National Intergroup Dialogue Institute, hosted by the University of Michigan’s program on intergroup relations, and preparing to welcome the first group of interns he helped interview.

“The skills I’ve acquired in this job make me feel more competent and prepared to co-facilitate dialogue, especially in student, staff, and faculty-facing contexts,” says Ruck ’22, modern languages, linguistics, and intercultural communication, and M.A. ’24, intercultural communication. “I want to be a faculty member, teach, and conduct research on social identity topics. Being able to navigate dialogue across differences is key.”

The UMBC Career Guide has templates and resources for students to help with internet and job search at every stage of their internship and job search. Listen to more tips on UMBC’s Careers Unleashed podcast.

Four UMBC faculty and staff members have received highly competitive Fulbright awards to conduct research and establish important connections around the world over the next year.  UMBC’s new recipients of Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards are Shimei Pan, associate professor of information systems, and Corrie Parks, assistant professor of visual arts, and Tiffany Thames Copeland, adjunct faculty in Africana studies. Nancy Young, vice president for student affairs, has received a Fulbright International Education Administrators Award. They will travel to Germany, Austria, Ghana, and France, respectively.

They follow on the heels of Helena Mentis, professor of information systems, who will soon return from a Fulbright experience in Denmark, working with the University of Copenhagen’s Human-Centered Computing research group.

“The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program sends up to 900 U.S. faculty members throughout the world to conduct research or teach their subject, as well as participate in cultural exchange during their time in their host countries,” explains Brian Souders, associate director of global engagement opportunities in UMBC’s Center for Global Engagement. 

“UMBC has a long tradition of faculty receiving this prestigious award, with 14 UMBC scholars earning this award over the past decade,” he notes. “Receiving three of these awards and an administrators award in a single year is quite exciting.”

Eliminating bias, increasing fairness 

Pan will spend six months at the Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies and Heidelberg University in Germany. There she will conduct research related to natural language processing, which is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI). Her research at UMBC focuses on developing natural language processing models trained on large amounts of text, including content from social media, and she is eager to collaborate with fellow researchers in Germany. 

“I’m excited about the project because it’s a continuation of my recent interests on responsible AI,” she says. “In the past we focused on making the technology more powerful and efficient, but for the last five years or so I’ve been working to address bias and increase fairness.” 

“AI algorithms impact people’s daily lives,” says Pan, in explaining the importance of making these algorithms as equitable as possible. Because artificial intelligence technology is created by people and trained on human-produced data, it will inherit people’s biases. Pan is working to identify, assess, and mitigate various social biases encoded in large natural language processing models trained on massive text collections.

Focusing on the details

Parks will spend two months as an artist in residence at the Q21/MuseumsQuartier in Vienna. She will partner with ASIFA Austria, the International Animated Film Association in Vienna, to create an installation. She uses sand animation and other specialized animation techniques to explore broader themes. “My work examines small details and asks questions about the role of the individual in the collective or big picture,” addressing climate change and social issues, Parks explains. 

This is not the first time that Parks has received a Fulbright award. She spent time in New Zealand when she was a student pursuing her master in fine arts degree. She sees these immersive artist residencies as unique opportunities to make significant “creative leaps,” focusing exclusively on her art.

During her time in Austria, Parks will create a work for a public installation space in the center of a building that is both old and contemporary. While she will create her installation independently, she will work with collaborators on coding interactive and visualization elements of the work. 

Cultural exchange, diaspora research

Thames Copeland will complete her Fulbright award in Ghana where she will study the experiences and impacts of people in the African Diaspora “returning” to Ghana in the last century. “I am humbled to receive this Fulbright U.S. Scholars award to Ghana for the 2022-2023 academic year,” she says. “I am looking forward to the cultural exchange experience and investigating the Back to Africa Movement of the 21st century, as I research how the African Diaspora ‘returnees’ to Ghana continue in the fight for liberation.”

She has been an adjunct faculty member in the Africana studies department at UMBC since January 2021.

Seeing the world differently 

Young is part of the first group selected for the Fulbright International Education Administrators program since the COVID-19 pandemic began. She was named a finalist before the pandemic and, now that the program has resumed, she will be one of twelve U.S. administrators from across the country to spend two weeks in France, connecting with contacts in French higher education, government, and administration.

“I am excited to engage in an experience that I think will challenge me to grow and see the world differently,” Young says. She looks forward to establishing relationships with new colleagues and developing a deeper understanding of other education systems, and she is eager to apply what she learns from the Fulbright experience to her work at UMBC.

Young has been interested in the Fulbright program since early in her career. She shares that support from colleagues at UMBC, including Souders and David Di Maria, associate vice provost for international education, was instrumental in making her goal a reality. 

In addition to this honor, Young was also recently recognized as one of the Maryland Daily Record’s Top 100 Women. She has also been featured by the Chronicle of Higher Education as a leading voice on the future of Student Affairs.

This week, UMBC announced plans to reopen the campus for the Fall 2021 semester, providing most courses and campus services face-to-face or in a hybrid format.

“I cannot wait to walk across campus and to again see it busy with students, faculty, and staff,” said President Freeman Hrabowski. “It will be very special to reclaim the vibrant campus community life that we have all missed.”

He and Provost Philip Rous have cited ongoing progress in COVID-19 vaccine access and updated public health guidance as key factors in the university’s planning.

This news comes just over a year after UMBC temporarily moved most teaching and learning, community building, research, and other operations online due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We know that our students really miss seeing their friends on campus. And they miss being able to go to in-person events and connect with their professors face-to-face,” says Nancy Young, vice president for Student Affairs. 

“We’ve discovered innovative ways to help Retrievers find community and stay connected online during the pandemic,” she shares. “At the same time, we know how meaningful it will be for returning students to connect in person once again, and for incoming students to have opportunities for in-person experiences.”

The COVID-19 Planning Coordinating Committee has been working with faculty, staff, and student leaders across the university to plan for a fall that offers opportunities to live, learn, and work on campus, with appropriate safety measures in place. Plans also take into account the diverse needs and individual health concerns of UMBC community members.

Classes, housing, and events

Course registration is now open for both undergraduate and graduate students. Most courses will be offered in-person or in a hybrid format. The university will continue to make additions to the Schedule of Classes over the coming months.

UMBC is preparing to reopen residence halls at up to 95 percent occupancy. More information about housing spaces, rates, and adjustments to meet public health guidance will be available soon.

The university is planning a full Fall 2021 calendar of on-campus events open to both residential and off-campus students.

Yvette Mozie-Ross. Image courtesy of Mozie-Ross.

“We are excited to be able to return to offering a fully immersive on-campus experience this fall,” says Yvette Mozie-Ross ’88, health science and policy. She serves as vice provost for enrollment management and planning.

“These experiences help to enrich the academic and social life at UMBC for many of our students,” says Mozie-Ross. “We are also excited to carry forward all that we learned during the pandemic about ways that online learning, support, and community-building resources can complement on-campus courses and services.”

Facilities for recreation, well-being, and learning

Brian Barrio, 2019

Over the past year, UMBC fully renovated the Retriever Activities Center (RAC). The updated space will offer expanded recreation facilities. These include a track, cardio-training, weight-training, spinning, group exercise space, and basketball courts.

The building really has been transformed,” says Brian Barrio, UMBC’s director of Athletics. “There will be something for everyone’s recreational or fitness needs. It is really exciting.”

A brand new student well-being facility is under construction next to Erickson Field. It will soon house UMBC’s health, counseling, restorative services, and spiritual resources.

The university continues to thoughtfully plan for the reopening of additional facilities and community spaces, including the Albin O. Kuhn Library & Gallery, The Commons, performance spaces, and other gathering spaces.

Ongoing focus on safety, flexibility

“We look forward to a much more active on-campus community this fall,” says President Hrabowski. “At the same time, we know the pandemic is not over. We must continue to be as flexible as possible.”

UMBC will continue to rigorously follow local, state, and federal public health guidance. This includes safety measures regarding testing, symptom tracking, mandatory mask wearing, hygiene, ventilation, physical distancing, and space occupancy, as required. 

The university strongly encourages all students, faculty, and staff to seek vaccination for COVID-19 once they are eligible. Campus leaders note that current public health guidance indicates increased vaccination will enable more expansion of in-person activities.

“We are constantly following the science and public health guidance,” says Young, “and the science says that the more vaccinated our community becomes, the more open we can be.”

“We have been thrilled to hear about expanding access to highly effective COVID-19 vaccines,” she shares. “It’s really been a game-changer for us, to be able to look ahead with optimism for seeing each other again soon, on campus.”

Knowing that individual community members have different situations and concerns, UMBC will continue to emphasize flexibility and responsiveness in meeting diverse student, faculty, and staff needs. 

Community members with questions about COVID-19 and the Fall 2021 semester can contact covid19@umbc.edu.

Featured image: UMBC Orientation Peer Advisors in 2018. Photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC unless otherwise noted.

Cover of the new Chronicle report.

A new report from the Chronicle of Higher Education features UMBC’s peer-based work to boost faculty diversity. For decades, UMBC’s strong reputation for inclusive excellence has focused on student diversity. The new UMBC case study in “Diversifying Our Campus: Key Insights and Models for Change” expands that conversation.

The article notes that UMBC received National Science Foundation support to “revamp hiring processes, write more-inclusive job postings, and craft diversity plans for hiring and recruiting” in 2003. This $3.2 million Institutional Transformation Grant sought to promote the recruitment and advancement of women in STEM, and UMBC saw a 70% increase in women tenure-track STEM faculty. At the same time, the university’s recruitment of scholars from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups lagged.

UMBC adopted a new model called STRIDE: Strategies and Tactics for Recruiting to Improve Diversity and Excellence, developed at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. A half-dozen faculty now serve as STRIDE fellows, working directly with search committees and departments to improve their processes. 

Frank conversations

As the article notes, “fellows have frank conversations with hiring committee members about how to retool their searches.” They bring in competing institutions’ job ads and have hiring committee members critique old UMBC job listings. They also help departments shift gears from recruiting for individual faculty openings to continuously recruiting by building relationships with emerging scholars in their fields.

STRIDE Fellow Nilanjan Banerjee, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, describes in the article how he shared data with his department on the connection between more diverse faculty and greater research funding and productivity. He then helped the department retool their process to advertise positions more widely and dig deeper into the CVs of candidates.

Seeing results

Autumn Reed, assistant vice provost for faculty affairs, directs the STRIDE program. She notes that initially, “there was a lot of resistance and a lot of skepticism” about STRIDE fellows connecting with hiring committees. But now that departments see other units successfully hiring candidates from underrepresented groups, they want to connect.

The article also highlights UMBC’s faculty diversity postdoc programs, through which 12 former fellows have been converted into tenure-track faculty members at UMBC.

Keisha McIntosh Allen is one of several scholars recruited to UMBC as a postdoctoral fellow for faculty diversity. She is now an assistant professor of education. Her research focuses on how race, culture, and identity influence the educational experiences of Black and Brown youth, including how teachers can engage students through asset-based and humanizing pedagogies.

Together, UMBC’s efforts to hire and retain more racially and ethnically diverse faculty have had an impact. In 2011-12, 9% of tenured and tenure-track faculty were Black, Latinx, or Native American. That increased to 15% in 2020-21.

Student Affairs leadership

Earlier this month, the Chronicle featured Nancy Young, vice president for student affairs, in a virtual roundtable on the Future of Student Affairs. The forum reached a national audience of more than 2,000 registrants. 

Viewers were eager to learn about how the COVID-19 pandemic has heightened or made more visible students’ needs for support, particularly students from disadvantaged, underrepresented, and vulnerable communities. The event was designed to “bring together student-affairs leaders to explore how the profession is adapting to new demands and the evolving campus landscape.”

Focus on connections

Young shared UMBC’s approach to campus safety during the pandemic and the transition back to more on-campus activities. Speaking more broadly about the future, she shared, “I think that what we’re seeing right now is an acceleration of many trends that were already underway,” whether in online learning, the kinds of careers students are preparing for, or the support they need.

At the same time, Young noted, “there are also many things that are going to stay the same, and that people can’t wait to get back to” post-COVID. In particular, she says, students just want to hang out with their friends. 

With this in mind, Young and her team have been working closely with student leaders and student groups. They’ve sought to better understand how the university can support students’ work to connect with each other, and to engage first-year students in particular. 

At a time when we are “no longer able to bump into people in the hallways,” she says, this means there is “more intentionality” and more active listening. And these thoughtful approaches have built lasting connections that will bolster the university community for years to come.

Banner image: Nilanjan Banerjee. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Jasmine A. Lee, director of inclusive excellence in UMBC’s Division of Student Affairs, is now also leading UMBC’s Initiatives for Identity, Inclusion and Belonging (i3B). The new i3B brings together UMBC’s Mosaic Center, Interfaith Center, and Pride Center to create “opportunities for students to build their awareness and knowledge of diverse people, cultures and belief systems.”

In a recent conversation with UMBC News, Lee discussed the intention and goals of i3B, and the support and guidance her team offers to students and staff across campus. As the featured speaker at UMBC’s recent Hill-Robinson McNair Lecture, she also shared the impact of her experience with the McNair Scholars Program. The national program, which has supported 392 students at UMBC since 1992, prepares talented college students who are first-generation, low-income, or from underrepresented minority groups, for doctoral study.

UMBC News: What was the intention in creating i3B?

Lee: The intention was to elevate and amplify diversity and inclusion work, focusing on students. The work has been happening, but i3B gives this work a distinct space within the Division of Student Affairs. 

In our work we are thinking about how to support students in their identity development, how to help them find belonging, while they also cultivate a sense of belonging for others, and how to see themselves and one another. We also do the same with faculty and staff. We support them in doing this work within the context of their social identities specifically as it relates race, ethnicity, gender and sexuality, spirituality, and religion.

i3B is equipping folks with the awareness, skills and knowledge—through dialogue, workshops, educational programming and training—to become the type of person who knows how to cultivate and create inclusive excellence at an institution. For me, what inclusive excellence means is a daily recommitment, a daily walk. I don’t think it is ever something we arrive at. I think it is something we have to be committed to and actively engage in. The work that we do in i3B is about how we get there. 

UMBC News: How can students engage in social justice work when they are juggling so many responsibilities?

Lee: For folks who want to be engaged and can’t see how, it is important to start with self. Critical self-reflection is required. How do I show up? It’s important to think about the identities you represent. Pay attention to what privileges these identities provide or take away. Be aware of the access you have. How do they intersect to create my unique lived story? How does that impact how I interact with others and how others interact with me? Starting with themselves leverages their most immediate sphere of influence.

I think sometimes it is easy to hop in a protest—to be engaged in an abstract vocalization of what needs to happen. I think that is easy. It is really hard to talk to your friends, parents, and co-workers about something that they did or said that was racist, homophobic, or problematic. Think of ways you can drop breadcrumbs. Plant seeds that create an environment. Even if it’s just at home. Talk about and question together. Critically reflect on the things that you are hearing. Pay attention to the way you are talking, and what you are seeing in the media. 

For people who have been doing it for far too long, it is OK to take a rest. I now recognize that rest and prioritizing you matters. Audre Lorde says, “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” If I don’t fight another day my existence is the resistance. The fact that I take up space in areas that are literally places that were not created for me—that is the resistance. 

This is why I believe dialogue is so important. It is asking us to love justice more than we hate oppression or the people that are enacting it. It is really predicated on radical love, humanity, and the inherent dignity we all have as humans.

UMBC News: You were the keynote speaker at this year’s annual Hill-Robinson McNair Lecture. How did your experience as a McNair Scholar shape your work in diversity, equity, and inclusion?

Lee: I am a first-generation college student. My parents went to college after my brother and I began college. We had to figure out the college process on our own. I was never a good high school student because traditional K-12 education did not fit me as a learner. I started at community college and then transferred a couple of times to different universities for family reasons. After exploring a variety of majors over the years, I found social work. It was about connecting with people through a dialogue process. It was me. I graduated from Eastern Michigan University with a bachelor’s degree in social work. 

Lee, in the middle, with her and mentor, Betty Brown-Chapell. Photo courtesy of Lee.

Before graduating, one of my professors, Betty Brown-Chapell, emerita professor of the School of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University, noted my research skills. She suggested I join the McNair Program and pursue a Ph.D. I didn’t want to do the work. After she asked for the fifth time, I agreed. She became my mentor and my entire life changed. As a McNair, I became a nationally certified dialogue facilitator. I also published and presented my research, and worked at a center similar to i3B. The McNair Program helped me realize that exactly the way that I think and the way that I view the world is valuable and it is missing. 

After completing a master’s in social work from the University of Michigan, I pursued a Ph.D. in higher, adult, and lifelong education at Michigan State University (MSU). The program shifted my understanding of what was possible for my future. Every single aspect of the life I have now is a direct result of the McNair Program.

At MSU, I also led development of the Madison Academic Diversity Initiative (MADI). It connected students with mentors and other supports to increase their sense of belonging and connection and boost student retention. What I learned in the development of the program and from the students themselves continues to show up in my work. 

UMBC News: What advice would you give other McNair Scholars, at UMBC or across the country?

Lee: I would want them to know that sometimes, and maybe most of the time, what might feel like a setback is a setup for something that is supposed to happen. I think it is important to understand that when things don’t happen the way you want them to, it is not inherently a “no” even if the door is shut. Perhaps that door shut so that another could open, even if it is a year later. It is also a reminder that no matter what happens—Ph.D. or E.D.D., or no terminal degree—you are still enough. 

I would also say to remain humble. Be aware that your terminal degree is privileged. People who have lived experiences beyond yours are often overlooked or their voices and stories and expertise are undervalued. Always, always, always accept the privilege and responsibility that comes with having a seat at the table. Create spaces for other people. Bring other chairs or drag that table to them.

To learn more about i3B events and services visit their website. For more information on the McNair Program fill out this form.

Banner image: Jasmine Lee. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11.

UMBC’s Division of Student Affairs has announced the launch of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, led by Director David Hoffman and Assistant Director Romy Hübler. In collaboration with on- and off-campus partners, the center will help students develop knowledge, skills, and approaches for deep and effective community work.

“The Center for Democracy and Civic Life’s launch comes at a critical time for our nation, when our divisions and challenges dominate the news and hope for democracy’s future can seem elusive,” said Nancy Young, vice president for Student Affairs, in a campus message earlier today. She described how the center “will generate, inspire, and share innovations in civic and democratic engagement, and support collaborative activity that helps to build thriving civic cultures at UMBC and in communities involved in the center’s work.”

“Our work builds from the idea that civic life is everywhere: not just in elections or community service opportunities, but in our everyday interactions in nearly every space in which we live and work,” explains Hübler ‘09, modern languages and linguistics, M.A. ‘11, intercultural communication, Ph.D. ‘15, language, literacy and culture.

“That’s a very empowering idea, because it suggests that meaningful social progress is within our reach,” adds Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, language, literacy, and culture.

Hoffman came to UMBC in 2003. In the past 15 years he has guided student leadership, engagement, and government work, and has led the development and implementation of UMBC’s BreakingGround initiative. Beyond UMBC, Hoffman serves as a national thought leader on democratic engagement and higher education. Hoffman was named an inaugural American Democracy Project Civic Fellow and is a member of the Steering Committee for the American Democracy Project and the National Advisory Board for Imagining America.

Hübler joined the UMBC staff in 2016 as coordinator of campus life for student organizations. She has focused on creating programs to support students’ development as leaders with a meaningful impact on their communities. She has also served as a key strategist for BreakingGround, and has held fellowships with Campus Compact, the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, and Imagining America.

The scholarship and strategies around civic engagement that Hoffman, Hübler, and their colleagues are developing are already impacting national conversations. Just a few days ago, Bennington College President Mariko Silver highlighted UMBC in Forbes as a model for how universities can align their practices with civic ideals, such as creating democratic classrooms, fostering humane relationships, welcoming dissent, and making engagement with external communities a campus priority.

Democracy scholar Harry Boyte also highlights UMBC as a national model in his new book Awakening Democracy Through Public Work: Pedagogies of Empowerment.

Through the new Center for Democracy and Civic Life, and the partnerships it will help grow, says Hoffman, “We can develop the knowledge, skills, and resourcefulness to work across differences and address challenges together, and to build thriving civic communities. UMBC is the perfect setting for that kind of learning, with so many people and programs already contributing to a vibrant civic culture.”

Featured image: Romy Hübler and David Hoffman in front of The Commons at UMBC. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.

Kaitlin Smith
B.A., Media and Communication Studies
Cum Laude
Hometown: Perryville, Maryland
Plans: M.A., Morgan State University

Finding my place in college is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me… My involvement in student life, admissions and orientation, and student affairs connected me to people who believed in my abilities, gave me the support and strength to pursue many different avenues…and gave me the opportunity to help others find their passions and place at UMBC.

As a freshman, Kaitlin Smith was performing well in her classes and making friends, but she had a nagging feeling that she wasn’t making the most of her college experience. That changed when a staff member encouraged her to get involved in the Orientation Peer Advisor program, which opened the door to her involvement and leadership in campus life.

Smith completed an internship focused on campus safety with the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, joined the service-focused Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority, became a coach for STRiVE (an intensive student leadership development program), served as a Woolie (a UMBC Welcome Week leader), and became a trainer with the Green Dot bystander intervention program.

In her senior year she has served as undergraduate fellow in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation, and as president of UMBC’s highly active Student Events Board (seb). On the academic side, she also served as president of the Media and Communications Studies Council of Majors.

Smith’s experiences have inspired her to pursue a master’s degree in higher education and student affairs administration at Morgan State University, to ensure future students have access to the same kinds of college experiences that brought so much meaning to her time at UMBC.

Just six years after its founding, the UMBC Mock Trial team is already taking the nation by storm.

Having outperformed hundreds of other college and university teams since September, these exceptional undergraduates are preparing for a historic trip to the American Mock Trial Association’s National Championship Tournament in Los Angeles later this month. The tournament includes a select group of only 48 teams from across the United States.

This year has been a heady one for the team, spending weekends on the road to compete in—and win—invitational tournaments up and down the east coast. After finishing the Baltimore Regional Championship with a record of 5–3, both the A and B Teams advanced to the Opening Round Championship Series, held March 25–26, where the A Team secured one of only six bids to the national competition and the B Team narrowly missed capturing a second.

Graduating seniors Dylan Rogers Elliott, history; Zuhair Riaz, political science; Brandon James, English; and Kayla Smith, interdisciplinary studies, have earned a collective 14 individual mock trial awards, reflecting hundreds of hours spent writing and memorizing materials, in addition to the intense collaboration and team planning required to overcome more established teams.

“From my perspective, this is especially rewarding because of how this program has grown and evolved,” reflects coach Ben Garmoe ’13, political science. “I was on UMBC’s first-ever Mock Trial team, just six years ago,” he says. “It’s hard to believe sometimes how quickly things have grown since then.”

Looking ahead to the national competition, Elliott reflects, “Undoubtedly we’re going to have difficult trials all weekend long against really good teams, but we earned our spot alongside them. As a senior, I can graduate happy knowing that I played a role, however small, in the team’s growth.”

While mock trial teams tend to attract students majoring in the humanities and social sciences, UMBC Mock Trial includes students from all three colleges, including a biochemistry major. Team members get experience honing their speaking, writing, and presentation skills, applicable to any career path.

For some, like Kayla Smith, the team has also inspired future graduate school and career plans. 

“Mock Trial has prepared me for a lifetime of experiences,” Smith says. “After my first round in a real courtroom I thought to myself ‘I wish I could do mock trial professionally’ and I realized that was just called being an attorney. I’m now headed to law school in New York and I wouldn’t have taken this path without Mock Trial.”

She’ll be following in the footsteps of UMBC Mock Trial alumni who have attended prestigious law programs at Georgetown University, UCLA, William & Mary, the University of Maryland, and the University of Baltimore.

As news of UMBC Mock Trial’s win at regionals spread during the height of the basketball postseason, the campus found itself cheering yet another UMBC team’s remarkable victory.

Some might be surprised at rapid rise of such a young team, but coach Ben Garmoe isn’t. “I told them at the beginning of this season that Nationals was possible,” he says. “They went out and did the work to make it happen.”

Retriever fans can help UMBC Mock Trial prepare for the 2017-18 season with a donation to support team travel and other expenses.

Header image: Kayla Smith, Dylan Rogers Elliott, and Zuhair Riaz. All photos by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.