Applications for the 2026 Culture Builders @ UMBC Cohort close this Thursday, April 30, 2026.

Culture Builders is a year-long cohort experience for staff and faculty interested in deepening their capacity to foster more inclusive, equitable, and connected campus environments. Through dialogue, reflection, and practice, participants engage in meaningful conversations about identity, community, and belonging while developing a context-specific action plan to support culture change within their department, unit, or sphere of influence.

This is not a traditional training or a space for quick fixes—it is an opportunity to engage thoughtfully, build community across roles, and take meaningful steps toward inclusive excellence over time.

Participants will:

• Engage in critical, practice-based conversations about identity, community, and belonging

• Reflect on their own role in shaping culture within their department, unit, or sphere of influence

• Learn alongside colleagues across staff and faculty roles

• Develop a strategic action plan to support meaningful and sustainable culture change

This year’s cohort will also engage Valarie Kaur’s See No Stranger as a shared text to support reflection and dialogue around building a more just and connected campus community.

Important Dates

• Application Deadline: Thursday, April 30, 2026

• Supervisor Support Form Deadline: Friday, May 1, 2026

If you are already engaged in equity-focused work—or looking for a meaningful way to begin—this is your invitation to join a thoughtful and engaged cohort committed to shaping the culture we want to see at UMBC.

Apply Here

Supervisor Support Form

For questions, please contact culture@umbc.edu.