Dear Middle States Team,

Thank you for all of your hard work to support UMBC’s accreditation process by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). We deeply appreciate the work of our steering committee and working groups throughout the summer as we dive into planning for and writing the first draft of our Self-Study.

We are pleased to share with you changes to our Self-Study chairs. As Interim Provost David Dauwalder concludes his time at UMBC, we are thrilled to welcome our new Provost Manfred H.M. van Dulmen as a chair of this effort.

We are deeply grateful for the leadership provided by Interim Provost Dauwalder as the team created our self-study design, hosted Terence Peavy, vice president for institutional field relations at MSCHE on campus, received approval for our design, and began the process of gathering evidence and drafting our self-study. His extensive experience at other institutions and his strategic insights into UMBC’s strengths and growth opportunities were an invaluable part of this process.

We are excited to welcome Provost van Dulmen to our efforts and he has already shared a number of helpful ideas and feedback that will inform the work ahead of us. We plan to host an in person meeting in the fall so that all of the team members can connect and meet him in person. 

Most importantly, all of us wish to express our gratitude for the hard work of the steering committee, core team, and evidence inventory committee last semester and so far this summer. This effort would not be possible without you. Thank you!