Christine Routzahn, director of the Career Center, received the 2025 Teresa Lupinek Endowment Outstanding Exempt or Non-Exempt Staff Award at the Presidential Faculty and Staff Awards ceremony in April. The award honors a staff member whose work embodies the many outstanding qualities that Teresa Lupinek displayed during her more than 30 years at UMBC. Awardees are selected by a committee of their peers and have worked at UMBC for at least five years.

For over 25 years, Christine Routzahn has brought heart, commitment, and innovation to UMBC. As director of the Career Center, Routzahn finds her greatest joy in working with the UMBC community and partnering with students as they explore, grow, and achieve their career goals. 

A passionate champion of programs that expand access and opportunity, Routzahn has led the development of some of Maryland’s most impactful internship models, including the Walter Sondheim Nonprofit Leadership Program, MDOT Fellows Internship Program, Shattuck Family Internship Program for Entrepreneurship, the Sondheim Public Service Law Fellows Program, and the Maryland Technology Internship Program. These programs, all still thriving today, reflect her deep belief in applied learning and equitable access. 

Routzahn is known not only for her strategic leadership, but for her warmth, humility, and dedication to collaboration. Under her guidance, the Career Center has become a recognized model for student career readiness, employer engagement, and innovation in high impact experiences. 

She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Georgetown University and a master of education in human development and psychology from Harvard University.

Photos from the event are available online.