When summer renovations run into unforeseen delays, the push to prepare campus for the Fall semester becomes a high-stakes race against the clock. That was precisely the challenge facing DoIT’s own AV Design & Engineering, including the Student Installation Team, as they prepared to transform the classroom technology systems in three registrar classrooms in Math/Psychology (MP) 008, 010, and 012.

The scope of the project was massive, calling for a complete overhaul including new flooring, walls, ceilings, and electrical infrastructure. To configure, mount, and rigorously test the new audiovisual systems, the AV team originally requested a standard two-week window following completion of the general construction. The student team was responsible for installing displays, mounting projectors, video cameras, ceiling microphones, pulling cable in the ceiling and walls, and wiring and configuring all devices in the rack - while still allowing the AV Design team enough time to complete programming and system commissioning. However, contractor scheduling issues threw a curveball into the plan: just two weeks before the start of classes, the rooms remained significantly unfinished. The team was met with unpainted walls, open ceilings, uninstalled lighting, and incomplete flooring. With back-to-back classes already booked in all three spaces for the first day of the semester, delaying the installation was not an option.

Enter the amazing student AV Installation Team:  Ethan Au, Matt Christensen, Ethan Grefe, and Isaac De Silva.

Rising to the challenge, the student installation team adapted immediately. They worked tirelessly beside, over, and under various construction trades, installing critical AV infrastructure and technology concurrently with active building tasks. Operating in an environment far outside their normal working conditions, the team navigated a gauntlet of obstacles—from thick drywall dust, wet paint, low lighting, and even the occasional tornado warning.

Through it all, Ethan, Matt, Ethan, and Isaac prioritized safety and flexibility without compromising on quality or efficiency. Thanks to their resilience and extraordinary work ethic, all three classrooms were fully operational and ready for instruction on the first day of classes, ensuring a smooth start to the semester for faculty and students. 

Please join us in recognizing and celebrating the AV Student Installation Team for going above and beyond expectations to keep our campus running smoothly!

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 are proud to announce that Christopher (Chris) Moss has been awarded the DoIT Gritty Award for his tireless, high-stakes coordination of UMBC’s Commencement ceremonies and his incredible adaptability under pressure.

Mastering a Zero-Failure Environment

Managing technical operations for six Commencement ceremonies every year is a high-pressure, zero-failure mission. Chris coordinates the team managing the Tassel system (formerly Marching Order), which scans Grad Passes moments before students walk across the stage. This key process triggers the recording of each student's name and displays lower-third graphics on the live stream. Over several years, Chris has continually improved and expanded this system, introducing innovative solutions and vital fail-safes to ensure every graduate gets their well-deserved moment in the spotlight.

Leadership and Clutch Adaptability

While Chris’s technical improvements keep the background running smoothly, his true grit shines through his leadership and cool composure:

• Empowering Staff: This year, Chris successfully empowered staff member Colin Corcoran to lead preparation and on-site coordination duties, remaining available as a steadfast safety net.

• Becoming the "Voice of UMBC": When veteran announcer Tom Moore had a sudden emergency right before a Thursday ceremony, Chris stepped in with zero notice—flawlessly pivoting from technical backup to becoming the literal voice of the afternoon event.

• Unseen Dedication: Behind the spectacle of Commencement, Chris handles intense backstage pressure with absolute professionalism, jumping in to assist with any task, big or small.

For his quiet leadership, constant innovation, and willingness to step up whenever needed, we present Chris Moss with the DoIT Gritty Award. Congratulations, Chris!

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. 

This recognition celebrates Victor’s exceptional problem-solving, attention to detail, and unwavering dedication to delivering flawless audiovisual installations.

Going Above and Beyond

As a vital anchor of the Classroom Technology team, Victor is a key component in the majority of the Division of Information Technology's (DoIT) installations. His specialized focus allows DoIT to maintain a highly capable in-house installation team, a luxury that saves the University both significant time and money.

Victor's "gritty" determination was recently on full display during a high-profile installation in the President’s conference room. The project required mounting a large TV angled in a corner section of the office, integrated with a Cisco Room Bar. However, the team hit a series of technical roadblocks:

• Complex Hardware: The newly ordered, ADA-approved TV was ultra-thin at the top, resulting in an unusual mounting pattern.

• Missing Equipment: The articulating mount required to angle the TV did not come with the proper hardware to accommodate this unique design.

• Integration Hurdles: The Cisco Room Bar still needed to be securely attached to the setup, compounding the hardware mismatch.

Faced with a standstill, Victor took charge. He strategically split the install team to search different areas of campus for solutions while he personally rummaged through an endless box of spare installation materials. Thanks to his persistence, Victor located the exact, precisely measured screws and extra washers needed to securely marry the TV to the mount.

He then engineered a custom combination of hardware to perfectly integrate the Room Bar.

"Even when the install was finished, Victor made sure that the forward tilt and position of the TV were at the perfect angle for the customer. He stayed until he was completely confident that the job was done right—a small detail that many would overlook after dealing with such a frustrating hardware issue." - Khalil Alston

A Proven Track Record of Excellence

This isn’t the first high-profile success Victor has driven this year. A few months prior, Victor worked diligently alongside Sydney Kumordzie to overhaul the AV equipment in Commons 328 and 332 just in time for the critical Middle States re-accreditation meetings. Because of the immense importance of these impending meetings, the installations had to be completed with haste, yet also to perfection. Thanks to Victor's thoroughness, the equipment functioned flawlessly.

It is because of Victor’s incredible attention to detail and dedicated focus that he and the Student Install team are able to continuously produce excellent work that leaves clients thrilled.

Congratulations to Victor for 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 like Victor? Don't let their hard work go unnoticed; complete the Gritty Nomination Form today!

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

Welcome to July's edition of USM Accessibility in Action! This month, we're celebrating USM excellence and helping you strengthen one of the most fundamental accessibility skills: writing meaningful alt text.

Celebrating USM Excellence: Two Blackboard Catalyst Awards

We're excited to celebrate two University System of Maryland institutions recognized with 2026 Blackboard Catalyst Awards for their outstanding leadership in accessibility and professional development.

Coppin State University won the Innovation in Accessibility Award for the Innovation, Development, Education, and Assessment (IDEA) Team. Coppin's IDEA Team exemplifies institutional leadership in accessibility by transforming inclusive design into a sustained campus practice through strategic use of Blackboard Ultra and Ally. Rather than approaching accessibility as a compliance obligation, the team embedded it into everyday teaching and learning, equipping faculty to create accessible, engaging learning environments as a standard expectation. Through sustained professional development and cross-campus collaboration, the team built a proactive and durable culture of accessibility. By extending this work into ADA Title II readiness, the IDEA Team has established a scalable, high-impact model that removes barriers, strengthens student success, and sets a compelling benchmark for accessibility leadership in higher education.

UMBC received the Training and Professional Development Award for the Course Roadmap to Equity (CoRE) initiative. This phased digital accessibility program builds lasting faculty competency through live professional development and a structured self-paced microcredential in Blackboard. Recognizing accessibility as both a legal obligation and an equity imperative, UMBC designed CoRE to meet faculty where they are, offering flexible pathways for varying schedules and expertise levels. In Fall 2025, 350+ faculty and staff attended live workshops and used Blackboard Ally to generate accessibility reports. Institutional Ally accessibility scores rose from 66.5% to 78.7%—a 12.2 point gain. Results directly informed the CoRE microcredential program with multiple pathways and achievements, recognizing faculty commitment to equitable course design.

These awards reflect the innovative, equity-centered work happening across USM and they show what’s possible when accessibility becomes a shared institutional priority. Congratulations to both teams!

Register Now: Ready, Set, Accessible Fall Course Prep Day

Monday, August 3, 2026 | 9:30 AM-12:30 PM ET | Zoom

Start the fall semester with course materials that are more accessible, usable, and inclusive for all learners. This half-day virtual event is designed to help faculty take practical, manageable steps to improve the accessibility of their courses before classes begin.

Across three focused sessions, participants will learn how to:

• Evaluate course resources for accessibility

• Redesign assignments with accessibility in mind

• Design learning experiences that support students with a range of sensory, cognitive, technological, and learning needs

Whether you're updating an existing course, preparing new materials, or looking for a realistic place to begin, this day will offer concrete strategies, examples, and tools you can apply right away. Faculty are invited to attend one session or participate in the full half-day event.

Register Now 

July Challenge: Alt Text in Action

This month, practice writing meaningful alternative text for images in your materials. To help you master this skill, we recommend exploring this comprehensive Guide to Writing Meaningful Alt Text from Section508.gov.

Quick Tips for Success:

• Focus on Meaning, Not Appearance: Instead of describing what an image looks like (e.g., "A person in a suit"), describe the information it conveys (e.g., "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.").

• Include Text Word-for-Word: If an image contains text (like an event flyer), that text must be included in the alt text so screen reader users don't miss vital details.

• Context is Key: A photo of a building might need different alt text in a History course than it does in an Architecture course. Ask yourself: What would a user miss if this image didn't load?

• Don't Repeat Yourself: If the surrounding paragraph already explains the chart's data, your alt text can be brief. Just ensure it still identifies the image’s purpose so screen reader users know what the object is.

The Challenge: Choose 3–5 images in your own materials and update their alt text using these principles. You’ll likely find that clarifying your images for accessibility actually makes your core concepts clearer for everyone! Post your insights on LinkedIn using #USMAccessibility so we can all learn from each other.

Get Involved

Whether you’re ready to lead, want to share an accessibility success story, or are looking for practical guidance, we want to hear from you.

Register for Ready, Set, Accessible Fall Course Prep Day

Share or Nominate an Accessibility Win

Visit the USM Digital Accessibility Hub

Repost from the USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation and the USM Digital Accessibility Work Group.

We are proud to announce that the New Media Studio Team: Dustin Roddy, Matt Baker, Mary Arsenault, and Lenny Frieson have been awarded the DoIT Gritty Award for their critical support of the campus-wide events from convocation to athletic events. Since the beginning of the Fall semester, the New Media Studio team has completed 163 videos, productions, and live events, in addition to onboarding and training a new student team!

Below are a few examples of the incredible work that was completed by the New Media Studio Team since the start of the semester:

• Maryland Technology Internship Program (MTIP) promotional videos about the program and digital stories of alumni. 
• HR Service Awards Digital stories - Since 2009, the Studio has highlighted staff with at least 15 years of service.
• Women's and Men's Soccer on ESPN+ with a student-based crew, 17 total games.
• Fall Opening Meeting - Live streaming, production, and camera operations.  
• 2025 UMBC Convocation -Live streaming and production management.

The Gritty Award is in recognition of outstanding work within the Division and beyond. Full-time DoIT employees, DoIT student employees, and teams are eligible to be nominated for going above and beyond! Anyone in DoIT can nominate someone for the Gritty by completing this short Gritty Nomination Form. 

For their exceptional efforts and commitment to excellence, we are proud to present the New Media Studio team with the DoIT Gritty Award. Congratulations!

Thank you for your outstanding teamwork, strategic planning, and commitment to high-quality production!

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
Susan Biro