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.

Dear colleagues,

We are excited to invite you to partner with the Division of Institutional Equity in an ongoing, community-wide effort to foster a more loving, inclusive, and just campus: Culture Builders @ UMBC.

Culture building is the intentional practice of shaping the values, relationships, and everyday practices that define how we live, learn, and lead together. In a time marked by polarization and a loss of shared humanity, creating an inclusive culture requires all of us—each of us has a role to play.

Culture Builders @ UMBC is an academic-year cohort for staff and faculty who are interested in deepening their capacity to support meaningful culture change in their local contexts. This is not a traditional training or a space for quick fixes. Instead, the cohort invites participants into a process of reflection, dialogue, and practice that supports more sustained and thoughtful approaches to inclusive excellence.

As a Culture Builder, you will:

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

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

• Learn alongside colleagues across roles and disciplines

• Develop a context-specific action plan and implementation strategy to support culture change over time

Throughout the year, participants will be guided through a process of deepening awareness, grappling with complexity, and taking thoughtful action in their work.

This year’s cohort will engage Valarie Kaur’s See No Stranger as a shared text to support reflection and dialogue. The book will serve as a conversation partner as we explore what it means to build a more just and connected campus community. All participants will receive a copy.

What to Expect:

• Small cohort experience: 10 staff and faculty participants will be selected from across campus
• Monthly cohort sessions: 2-hour meetings for reflection, dialogue, and applied learning
• Small group connections: Opportunities for ongoing support and accountability
• Culture Change Project: Each participant will develop a strategic action plan, with the goal of piloting a program, initiative, or practice where appropriate
• Campus engagement: Participants will contribute to a shared kickoff event in the fall and a final showcase of learning

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

APPLY TODAY

Please complete the application form HERE by April 30, 2026.

Supervisor support is required and must be submitted by May 1, 2026 via the Supervisor Support Form. Applications will be reviewed after the deadline, and participants will be notified in mid-May.

We look forward to building a thoughtful and engaged cohort for the year ahead.