A strong sense of belonging is one of the key predictors of student success and employee satisfaction. On the other hand, loneliness (not to be confused with solitude) is linked to a number of detrimental psychological and physical health outcomes.
As a faculty member I published widely on the course and outcomes of loneliness in middle childhood and adolescence. It was very meaningful work to me as I wanted to do my part to inform how we create a world where everyone feels they belong and are included.
These days as a provost, I feel deeply responsible that everyone in our campus community feels welcome and that they belong. It saddens me deeply when I learn that someone in our community does not feel they belong or even worse has been harmed or feels unsafe.
I ask you to be kind and welcoming to others around you. As an institute of higher education we also have an opportunity to educate the future of Maryland, the U.S., and the world. What do we want that world to look like? I have asked the re-envisioning general education committee what we want all UMBC students to learn and leave with to go into our community. I don't see how being kind and caring is not part of that equation.
Thank You for the Feedback
Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback this semester. The Provost's Perspective is a work in progress and will continue to evolve to more fully serve you, UMBC's faculty and academic staff. If there is a subject or topic that you feel should be covered (or have general feedback on the content), drop me a note here. Your feedback and input matters!
Mark your calendar
2026 Office of the Provost Strategic Initiatives Meeting
March 5, 3:30-5 p.m., Fine Arts 118 and online
Mark your calendars and plan to join Provost Manfred van Dulmen and the provost leadership team either in person or online to learn about the 2026 strategic initiatives for the Office of the Provost. We will present information on current strategic initiatives including re-envisioning general education, student success strategy, graduate student recruitment and enrollment strategy, fostering curricular innovation, strengthening global education, AI strategy, infrastructure needs, refining and enhancing budget models, expanding and strengthening K-12 partnerships.
During this meeting you will learn about (a) goals, (b) leads, (c) who is involved, (d) timeline, and (e) how you can get involved/provide feedback. After the session there also will be an opportunity for informal conversation with leads of initiatives and the Office of the Provost team.
Advancing Social Science Research: A Workshop Series on AI, LLMs, and Computational Methods
Registration open for the February workshops
Join the Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3) for a faculty-led and faculty-driven series to learn how best to transform your research using AI and generative AI tools. Through seven workshops and trainings, participants will explore how researchers use social network analysis to understand crime; how to make sense of, evaluate, and use new Large Language Models (LLMs) in their own research; and how advances in machine learning models can even help us infer causality. Finally, the sessions will consider the equity implications of these generative AI tools. The training will be conducted in the R and Python environments, but we will work with participants who are new to these programming languages. Participants in the series will also have the opportunity to earn UMBC experiential and proficiency badges.
This series, which is supported through the Elkins Professorship, features several new speakers this spring.
Social Network Analysis: Building Web-Based Applications for Experiential Learning
February 20, noon to 1:30 p.m., PUP 438
Led by: Dr. Steve McDonald, Professor of Sociology, NC State University
A City in Motion: How Everyday Routines Channel and Control Crime in Baltimore
February 27, noon to 1:30 p.m., PUP 438
Led by: Dr. Brian Soller, Associate Professor of Sociology (SAPH), UMBC
Arts+
Lynda Barry — What It Is: A Talk on Creativity
Thursday, February 19, 7 p.m.
Fine Arts Recital Hall
Join us for a talk on creativity by award-winning author, artist, and cartoonist Lynda Barry. Author of 21 books, Barry was the creator of the seminal comic strip Ernie Pook's Comeek, and in 2019 received a MacArthur "genius" grant.
absolute alternatives
2026 Arts+ UMBC Faculty Exhibition
Through February 28
Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture
The Center for Art, Design, and Visual Culture presents "absolute alternatives," the 2026 Arts+ UMBC Faculty Exhibition. Organized by guest curator Maleke Glee, "absolute alternatives" presents faculty from across UMBC whose interdisciplinary research is a form of creative practice. Inspired by the boundary-pushing spirit of the Arts+ initiative, the exhibition proposes alternatives to defining research through absolute disciplinary categories.
Public Programs
On Saturday, February 28, at 2 p.m., conductor Philip Mann and curator Maleke Glee will be featured in Creative Convergence: A Conversation with a Conductor and Curator.
Visitor Information
Admission to the exhibition and all public programs is free. The CADVC is open Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 5 p.m., and on Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Help Make this Newsletter Better
The goal each week of this message is to deepen our connection to UMBC, whether that is learning about an upcoming event, a divisional accomplishment, an innovative program, or an update from the Office of the Provost. If you know of a program or event that should be highlighted, please share it here.
Until next week,
Manfred van Dulmen