The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) is excited to announce that Billy Schneider has been awarded the February 2026 DoIT Gritty Award! This award recognizes Billy's technical leadership, his knack for solving problems before they even start, and his deep commitment to making our digital spaces accessible for everyone.

Billy's work is often behind the scenes, but his influence is everywhere you look online at the university. As the original architect of the Sites platform, Billy didn't just build it, he scaled it to support over 500 websites. He was also instrumental in keeping things stable during our major redesign partnership with University Communication & Marketing.

What sets Billy apart is a rare "tech-sense", an ability to anticipate downstream issues before they even materialize. By proactively shaping solutions and stepping into lead roles with minimal direction, he has saved the university countless hours of troubleshooting.

Making Accessibility Possible

Most recently, Billy has served as the engine behind the Sites Digital Accessibility Project. Beyond his day-to-day responsiveness, he developed a substantial suite of custom WordPress tools specifically for this initiative. While many of these tools function "under the hood" to help the project team track and manage remediations, their impact is university-wide. Thanks to Billy's code, they are able to make sites more inclusive with minimal disruption to the users.

"Billy has been an essential, key part of the Sites Digital Accessibility Project rollout and has gone way above and beyond in doing so."

 ~ Darcie Adams, Website Digital Accessibility Lead

Beyond Technology

Beyond his technical contributions, Billy is the kind of teammate every organization needs but rarely recognizes. He brings a calm, collaborative presence to every discussion, generously sharing his knowledge and helping others think through complex problems. His development skills rank among the best on campus, yet he wears this expertise lightly, focusing instead on mentorship and team success. While his work rarely receives visible recognition, it forms the backbone of a platform that hundreds of clients depend on daily. Billy delivers exceptional results with professionalism and a positive attitude that makes everyone around him better.

Congratulations, Billy, on a well-deserved Gritty Award!

About the DoIT Gritty Award

The Gritty Award recognizes outstanding work within the Division and beyond. Full-time employees, student employees, and teams are all eligible. Do you know someone going above and beyond? Complete the Gritty Nomination Form today!

The first draft of this article was generated by GenAI and edited by the Communications Team. 

We sincerely apologize for the service issues many of you experienced in myUMBC this morning starting around 7:30 AM.

We made infrastructure improvements over the weekend that performed well during testing. However, when Monday morning's full user load hit the system, errors began occurring that prevented content from loading properly.

We understand how disruptive this was, especially at the start of your week when many of you rely on myUMBC for essential activities. Our team responded quickly to restore full service.

We're taking steps to strengthen our testing procedures to better simulate peak usage conditions and prevent similar issues in the future.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

The digital landscape of government is changing rapidly, and the State of Maryland is taking proactive steps to ensure it has the talent to keep pace. At the heart of this effort is the Maryland Institute for Innovative Computing (MIIC) program, a vital initiative administered by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County's (UMBC) Career Center and supported by state funding.

The MIIC concept was spearheaded by Jack Suess, UMBC's Vice President and Chief Information Officer, who recognized the critical need to create a dedicated pipeline for technical talent within state agencies. His vision has been instrumental in making this program a reality.

More than just an internship program, MIIC is a comprehensive strategy to recruit, compensate, mentor, and ultimately retain top college students in impactful technical careers right here in Maryland.

Between the summer of 2024 and the summer of 2025, MIIC successfully funded 34 technical internships across eight Maryland state agencies, representing an investment of nearly $174,000 in the state's emerging workforce. In total 178 interns have been supported by the program since its inception in 2022, totaling over $805,000 in state funds. 

This commitment to fostering a local talent pipeline has yielded significant results. Every single participating agency—including the Maryland Department of Information Technology (MD DoIT), the Comptroller of Maryland, and the Maryland State Archives—reported that their intern contributed directly to organizational improvement.

Agencies are quick to highlight the dual benefit. Not only does the program allow them to "discover and retain new talent," but it also provides crucial financial relief. One agency head noted the program provides "extra dollars saved" that can be redirected toward "other strategic security goals." Another supervisor praised the added efficiency, stating the intern helped them "tackle some administrative burdens."

The 34 students who participated came from a diverse mix of backgrounds, boasting a strong average GPA of 3.59 and representing seven in-state and two out-of-state institutions. Their majors read like a blueprint for the modern technical workforce: Cybersecurity, Data Science, Computer Science, Information Systems, and Software Engineering.

For these students, the internships were a critical bridge between academic theory and real-world application.

"This internship has been an extremely valuable experience for me as an Information Systems major. It has allowed me to gain hands-on experience in a field that I am passionate about and has helped me to develop both professionally and personally."
- MIIC Intern

In short, MIIC is not just finding great students; it's actively helping agencies become more secure, efficient, and productive.

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Have you ever wanted to promote your club, group, or organization's event or announcement on the front page of myUMBC? Well, here is a quick guide on what you need to know. 

The promotion feature allows you to share content from your myUMBC group to all myUMBC users on the front page, reaching a much wider audience than if it were just posted to a group's page. This is a free feature for departments and official student organizations to use that operates on a first-come, first-served basis. 

Before you are able to promote content to the front page of myUMBC, there are a few requirements that must be met. 

• The post or content you wish to promote must be published in an official and public myUMBC group run by a UMBC department or student organization

• To have the option to promote content, you must be an admin of the group from which the content originates. This does not mean you have to be the creator of the post. 

• There must be an approved thumbnail image to go along with the post

• The content should be appropriate for all UMBC audiences

• Content can be promoted by a group once every 3 days, and only 10 promotions can be scheduled in advance

If these requirements are met, you should have no trouble promoting your content.  

To start, you will need to create a post as normal on myUMBC, including your text, thumbnails, alt-text, and any relevant tags. After you hit publish on your post, you may have to refresh the page or navigate to the main page of your group to find the post. 

Here you should see a box on the right side with the posts analytics as well as buttons to "Edit", "Copy", "Mark Important", and "Pin". If you are an admin for this group and it qualifies as a department or official student organization, then you should see a purple button labeled "Promote".

While many of us have been busy digging out from the snow and trying to stay warm, this week, January 26–30, is Data Privacy Week. This international effort empowers individuals and organizations to respect privacy, safeguard data, and enable trust. For me, the timing prompted an important moment of reflection on the work I have been fortunate to be part of over the past two years, and on where UMBC is headed as we continue to build a mature, thoughtful, and values-driven approach to privacy.

From Research to Implementation

My name is Dr. Laura Mateczun, and my privacy work at UMBC began as a Ph.D. graduate assistant working with Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Jack Suess, on the implementation of Maryland's Higher Education Data Privacy Law during FY24, while I was completing my doctoral research. In April 2025, I successfully defended my dissertation and was conferred my Ph.D., and shortly thereafter, joined UMBC full-time in a hybrid role.

Today, I serve in two key roles: 

• Assistant Director of Digital Trust: Within the Division of IT's Cybersecurity Assurance & Digital Trust team, led by CISO Stacy Cahill, I focus primarily on privacy strategy.
• Assistant Director of the UMBC Cybersecurity Institute: I develop partnerships to expand cybersecurity initiatives and research. In this role, I also direct the UMBC Cybersecurity Clinic, an experiential learning program where students help public-sector organizations—such as water systems and electrical grids—strengthen their cyber defenses.

Milestones in Transparency

One of our most significant privacy milestones has been the launch of privacy.umbc.edu. We intentionally designed this site to be more than just a compliance requirement. It is a living resource for our community. It explains how data is used, protected, and governed at UMBC in clear, accessible language. While we drew inspiration from peer institutions, including the University of Michigan, the content is uniquely tailored to reflect UMBC's culture, values, and operational realities.

The Path Ahead

Looking forward, our vision extends far beyond a single website or law. Alongside Stacy Cahill and partners across campus, we are working to embed privacy into everyday decision-making. This will impact how we procure new systems and how we share and eventually retire data.

Our goals include:

• Strengthening privacy governance and transparency.
• Supporting responsible research and innovation.
• Helping students and staff understand their vital role in protecting data.

We also launched UMBC's new cybersecurity newsletter, which highlights important developments in cybersecurity and privacy, shares timely tips and resources, and spotlights work across campus that helps us all protect data and manage risk. If you're interested in staying informed about privacy and cybersecurity efforts at UMBC, I encourage you to subscribe.

A Commitment to Stewardship

Data Privacy Week is a reminder that privacy is not a one-time project. It is an ongoing commitment to trust, stewardship, and accountability. I am grateful to be part of a community that takes this work seriously, and I am excited about where UMBC is headed as we continue to grow our privacy program in the years ahead.

For more information about UMBC's privacy efforts, I encourage you to visit privacy.umbc.edu, and to follow the work of the UMBC Cybersecurity Institute as we continue to advance security and privacy in service of our campus and the broader public.

Dr. Laura Mateczun

Associate Director of Digital Trust

Assistant Director of UMBC Cybersecurity Institute

Director of UMBC Cybersecurity Clinic

lam6@umbc.edu

Hello UMBC,

Cybersecurity isn't just a task for IT, it's a 24/7 commitment for our entire community. To help you navigate the ever-changing digital landscape, we are excited to launch the first edition of our cybersecurity newsletter.

In this inaugural issue, we dive into:

• Phishing Defense: How to spot "too good to be true" offers and urgent scams.
• Travel Safety: Keeping your data secure while researching or vacationing abroad.
• Latest Threats: Why you should be wary of TikTok scams and "Quishing" (QR code phishing).
• Policy Updates: Key changes to UMBC's Acceptable Use and Data Protection policies.

Read the newsletter attached!

Remember: If an email feels "off," it probably is. Forward suspicious messages to security@umbc.edu and help keep our campus secure.

Stay smart and stay safe!

 - Stacy Cahill

Chief Information Security Officer

University of Maryland, Baltimore County

The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) is thrilled to announce that the Client Services and Networking Student​​​​ Teams have been awarded the Fall 2025 DoIT Gritty Award! This recognition celebrates their exceptional teamwork, adaptability, and commitment to ensuring seamless technology transitions across campus during ongoing renovations to Sherman Hall. 

A Seamless Transition

Over the course of only two months, these teams successfully supported the relocation of 17 departments to new work locations across UMBC's campus. These moves were driven by the reopening of Sherman Hall's west wing, coinciding with Phase 1 of Renovations being completed after 18 months, and the preparation for the closure of Phase 2, requiring precise coordination and flexibility.

Departments were relocated to 900 Walker, Biology, Fine Arts, Sondheim, and Sherman Hall, with each move presenting its own logistical obstacles. Through careful planning and hands-on execution, the teams ensured that faculty and staff experienced minimal disruption and could continue their work without interruption.

In addition to their support of these extensive relocations, the teams also commissioned the newly renovated portion of Sherman Hall. Their efforts ensured that all incoming departments were operating at full capacity on day one, the moment doors opened. Learn more about the Sherman Hall Phase 1 completion on the "Sherman Hall's Phase 1 renovation is complete, creating space for creative collaboration" post. 

This level of readiness reflects not only technical skill, but exceptional coordination and responsibility that were needed to successfully execute such a massive undertaking.

All of these achievements would not have been possible without the dedication and collaboration of these talented student employees:

Networking Team:
Alina Aler, Wardan Kazzalbach, Joshua Garofalo, Kidus Solomon, Daeun Oh, Jake Thompson, Alexis Garcia, Ryan Cather, Kellee Palmer, Yazlin Moujalled, Abir Samad, Erin Shields

Client Services Team:
Aakriti Roka, Courtney Pelkey, Dongthi Nguyen, Jayven Quedit, Joshua Nguyen, Luke Ngo, Michael Marti, Timi Olayinka, Ryan Walton, Steven Zhang, Sean Adeyemo 

We are proud to recognize the Client Services and Networking student teams with the Fall 2025 DoIT Gritty Award. Congratulations to all of you, and thank you for the critical role you play! 

About the DoIT Gritty Award

The DoIT Community & The DoIT Gritty Committee

Erica D'Eramo
Ada Crutchfield
Andrew Shebest
Anthony Finneran
Carlos McKinney
Daniel Loftus
Dave Souder
David Toothe
Debbie Michaels
Dondre Hatef
Josh Abrams
Khalil Alston
Matt Baker
Nick Beech
Peter Ariev