Dialogue connects. Dialogue transforms. Join educators and practitioners across Maryland for an interactive symposium on advancing dialogue for belonging, community, and shared action.

We're pleased to invite students, faculty, staff, and community partners to the Dialogue Symposium: Bringing Campuses and Communities Together, hosted at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). This symposium is collaboratively planned by USM partner institutions - University of Maryland-Baltimore, University of Maryland-Baltimore County, University of Maryland Global Campus, Towson University, and The Universities at Shady Grove. 

SAVE THE DATE: January 29, 2026 | 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. 
Location: University Center Ballroom, UMBC, 1000 Hilltop Circle, Baltimore, MD 21250 

Join us for Thrive Fest 2025, a celebration of mindfulness, wellness, and community! Thrive Fest offers opportunities to relax, connect, and recharge through creative activities, discussions, and self-care sessions.

Click the links below to learn more about each event and add them to your calendar. 

Wednesday, November 12 – Chai Chats: Look to the Future

Chai Chats @ The Mosaic (Commons 2B23) | 12–1 PM

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/themosaic/events/148129

Thursday, November 13 – ThriveFest 

Restore @ Lower Flat Tuesdays, 9:00 - 11:30: 

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/thegatheringspace/events/148248

Nourish @ Lower Flat Tuesdays, 12:00 - 2:00: 

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/thegatheringspace/events/148249

QT Hangout @ UC 101, 1:00-3:00: 

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/thepridecenter/posts/154303

Free Farmers Market @ ACC, 2:00 - 2:45:

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/retrieveressentials/events/146009

Explore @ Lower Flat Tuesdays, 2:30 - 4:30: 

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/thegatheringspace/events/148250

Queer Connect Cafe @ The Commons 318, 3:00 - 5:00: 

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/thepridecenter/events/148246 

Stop by our Mainstreet table from 10 AM – 4 PM for giveaways and info!

Thursday, November 20 – Thrive On

Dinner with the Center for Democracy & Civic Life @ UC 312, 5:30 - 7:30 (RSVP REQUIRED)

https://my3.my.umbc.edu/groups/civiclife/events/148274

Overall Series Description

This fall's culture conversations is a three-part series that explores how a values-driven approach can deepen understanding and support for religious diversity. The series will address antisemitism, Islamophobia, and biases related to non-western religious and spiritual traditions, which can encompass a wide range of global traditions present at UMBC, including those common in South Asia such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism. Together, we will explore the intersections of faith and culture, building the skills to create communities where all beliefs are respected and valued.

A mix of in-person and virtual sessions will be provided this semester.

RSVP here: https://umbc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_09DlqMyjcC3YlBI

Session Descriptions

Hey, Retrievers!  

The Gathering Space is open for the fall semester! 

Please come visit any day Sunday-Friday during our open hours:

Sunday: 12:00 noon - 10:00 PM

Monday - Friday: 8:00 AM - 10:00 PM

Have questions? Ideas for programming? Feel like something's missing? Email thegatheringspace@umbc.edu. 

The Gathering Space is the hub for religious, secular, and spirituality identities (RSSI) at UMBC. This space serves as home base for 28+ religious and belief student organizations and 20+ Religious Council members, interesting dialogue and interfaith work, and as a lounge and hangout space for campus community members. A core part of Student Belonging at UMBC, The Gathering Space was created by UMBC community members who saw the need to honor religious and spiritual diversity as a core part of holistic well-being and success.

Graduate Assistantship Announcement

Division of Student Affairs 

Research Assistantship: Graduate assistantship (Master’s or PhD level) will be available starting as early as July 1, 2025 (dependent on student availability) to work with Student Belonging & the Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being in the Division of Student Affairs at UMBC. With the support of the Director of the Center for Religion, Spirituality, & Pluralism who oversees the Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being, the Graduate Assistant will help design systems to collect and interpret data, co-manage marketing and social media, provide logistical support for the Center, and help supervise student interns.

As one of the identity-based centers within Student Belonging, The Gathering Space for Spiritual Well-Being serves as a spiritually-centered space where students and UMBC community members can gather at the intersection of religion, faith, spirituality, and other lived experiences. The Gathering Space prioritizes individual religious practice, opportunities to explore holistic well-being connected to religion and spirituality, and creating spaces to engage across differences, by centering the importance of interfaith work and dialogue. Within the Gathering Space, three core themes are emphasized: radical love & belonging, spiritual well-being, and energetic pluralism.

The duties of the assistantship will fall into the following areas:

• Data Collection & Assessment: The GA will co-lead Gathering Space assessment efforts within the center, including the design of pre- and post-assessment measures, data analysis, and outcome sharing with the Division of Student Affairs, the UMBC campus broadly, and community stakeholders.
• Co-Manage Marketing & Social Media: The GA will design and implement varied systems to help manage usage and student engagement with The Gathering Space, which hosts 350+ visitors per week. These systems will help communicate upcoming events and programs as well as create a narrative to share about the role of religious and spiritual life at UMBC.
• Logistical Support: The GA will provide logistical support for some center events, intern hiring, and space management, seeking to be a welcoming and positive presence in the space.
• Co-Management of Student Staff: The GA will help manage the student intern team by providing direct supervision, attend weekly operations meetings, and facilitate trainings and practice opportunities for student staff to develop skills connected to interfaith dialogue, leadership development, customer service and space management, and/or program facilitation.

Potential Opportunities:

• Create systems to collect and interpret data
• Program management and assessment
• Student supervision skills
• Deepening skills connected to interfaith work, dialogue, and engaging across difference

Required Qualifications:

• Experience with interfaith dialogue and/or work with religious diversity
• Experience with data collection and assessment
• Experience with marketing and social media/online communications
• Previous experience in creating and implementing programming for students, preferably in higher education; supervision of student interns and programmatic design
• Interest and passion for equity, inclusion and diversity efforts, preferably experience in a higher education context (student organizations, student government, volunteering, internships, etc)
• Required skills: detail-oriented; self-managed; reliable; creative problem solver; critical thinker

Preferred Qualifications:

• Strong systems thinker, particularly around data collection and assessment
• Experience with marketing and social media and ability to connect a marketing/social media plan back to systems and data collection/assessment
• Proven commitment to supporting equity, inclusion, and diversity efforts within higher education
• Professional interest in working in higher education administration or spiritual/religious life

Stipend: The graduate assistantship comes with a competitive stipend and is designed for up to 20 hours weekly. For more information regarding assistantships visit https://gradschool.umbc.edu/funding/assistantships/

Application: Please apply via Handshake (https://app.joinhandshake.com/stu/jobs/9798066?ref=preview-header-click&search_id=8d0cc551-049f-40af-ac5a-64f1bf2639dd) You will need to provide a cover letter about your interest, CV/Resume, and a list of three references with contact information via Handshake (at least one faculty member).