Maurice Sendak (1928-2012) was born on June 10, 1928, in Brooklyn, New York, to Jewish immigrant parents from Poland. A largely self-taught artist, Sendak illustrated over one hundred books during his sixty-year career.

The books he wrote as well as illustrated include Kenny’s Window, Very Far Away, The Sign on Rosie’s Door, Nutshell Library (consisting of Chicken Soup with Rice, Alligators All Around, One Was Johnny, and Pierre), Higglety Pigglety Pop!, Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen, Outside Over There, We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy, Bumble-Ardy, My Brother’s Book, and Presto and Zesto in Limboland (co-authored by Arthur Yorinks). He has collaborated with such celebrated authors as Meindert DeJong, Tony Kushner, Randall Jarrell, Ruth Krauss, Else Holmelund Minarik, and Isaac Bashevis Singer. And he has illustrated classics by Mother Goose, the Brothers Grimm, Herman Melville, and Leo Tolstoy.

Sendak began a second career as a costume and stage designer in the late 1970s, designing operas that included Krása’s Brundibar, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Prokofiev’s The Love for Three Oranges, and Engelbert Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, as well as Tchaikovsky’s ballet, The Nutcracker. He also designed the sets and costumes, as well as wrote the book and lyrics for the musical production of Really Rosie.

Maurice Sendak remains the most honored children’s book artist in history. He was the recipient of the 1964 Caldecott Medal, the 1970 Hans Christian Andersen Award, the 1983 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the 2003 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. In 1996 President Bill Clinton presented him with the National Medal of Arts in recognition of his contribution to the arts in America.

In 1972 Sendak moved to Ridgefield, Connecticut with his partner of fifty years, the psychiatrist Dr. Eugene Glynn (1926-2007). Since Sendak’s death in 2012, The Maurice Sendak Foundation has overseen the publication of virtually all of his picture books in new and faithfully rendered editions.

Today is the last day to shop for donated items at the Retriever ReStore in Upper Flat Tuesdays! We were able to collect over 2200 lbs of donations with  the help of staff and student volunteers in just over a week! Thank you to all who helped us give these items a new home.

Hi Everyone,

 I'm looking for an accommodation close to campus, or campus shuttle. If you have any room available, please let me know. I'm quiet, and easy going , and I would also prefer a female accommodation.

Thank you.

Hi

I'm looking for accommodation close to the school. If you have an empty room to rent, or know somebody who's looking to split their place, reach out to me at fiyinfo1@umbc.edu

I am a very quiet and introverted person, and I am not picky about what accommodation you have. 

Thank you. 

Join us throughout the summer months for a faculty writing group. Faculty from all disciplines are welcome! Our theme this summer is collaboration and innovation, emphasizing our shared commitment to fostering a community of friendship, the pursuit of new research agendas, and ways to move forward our important work. 

At the start of each writing session we will share our session goals, provide updates on work in progress, and then write in silence for the remainder of our time. Upon completion of the session we will share our successes, challenges, and detours from the session, and then set our agenda for the upcoming week.

Please respond to let us know if you are interested in an in-person or virtual writing group.  

Questions?  Please contact Kerri Evans, Associate Professor, Department of Social Work (kerrieva@umbc.edu)

To all chip users, 

The slurm outage has been resolved. New jobs can now be submitted for scheduling and running jobs were unaffected. We appreciate you patience.

Max Breitmeyer,

HPC Specialist

To all chip users,

We are aware of a temporary outage to slurm that is preventing new jobs from being submitted, as well as viewing the status of the cluster and the running jobs. Please be aware that any currently running jobs should be unaffected. We will notify when the cluster is fully operational again. 

Max Breitmeyer

HPC Specialist

Happy first day of Summer Session 1! Are you taking a summer course? We're sure you know this by now, but as a reminder, summer courses go by twice as fast as fall/spring courses! While the speed can feel stressful, we have put together a video of success strategies to help you out. 

Don't forget: you can alwaysschedule a meeting with Student Success Coach Emma to talk one-on-one about personalized tips, like how to manage a course around a work schedule, keep track of your progress, or create a system to stay consistent so that you don't fall behind. 

We are excited to share a growing collection of SAP Concur dashboards and reporting tools designed to give departments greater visibility into travel activity, approvals, compliance, and system adoption trends.

These dashboards are intended to help campus users:
• Monitor outstanding approvals and aging items
• Track travel requests and expense report activity
• Support departmental oversight and planning

Our goal is to provide meaningful, actionable data that helps departments better manage their travel operations while increasing transparency across the university.

You can access the dashboards here:
https://forms.gle/EqEo6sypboxAPMuq5

Additional dashboards and enhancements will continue to be added as we expand reporting capabilities and gather campus feedback.

For questions regarding dashboard data or reporting, please contact travel@umbc.edu.

With full hearts and eyes fixed on the future, the UMBC Class of 2026 stepped across the stage last week, crossing the threshold into life’s next chapter. Surrounded by family, friends, and mentors, UMBC’s newest alumni embody the university’s spirit of curiosity, resilience, and community.

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Jonathon Heyward, who addressed graduates from the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, captured the moment: “You are standing in a very unusual place today,” he told the graduates. “You are simultaneously at the end of one journey, and at the very beginning of another.”

Heyward shared his own winding path—from a disastrous childhood solo performance to his unexpected choice of the cello—and encouraged graduates to embrace life’s detours. “Opportunity rarely arrives when you feel fully prepared for it. It arrives unexpectedly,” he said. “Sometimes disguised as inconvenience. Sometimes disguised as failure. … But perspective and resilience allow you to recognize opportunity when it finally appears.”

Holden Thorp, editor-in-chief of the Science family of academic journals, brought candor and optimism to graduates in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences and the College of Engineering and Information Technology. Celebrating the Retrievers’ perseverance through the pandemic, divisive politics, and more, Thorp reminded graduates that “nobody’s normal,” openly sharing his own autism diagnosis and affirming that mental health challenges do not limit potential. His core messages—“Do the work” and “You’re right on schedule”—resonated with graduates from UMBC, which he described as “the original place where grit translates to achievement.”

A strong and supportive community

The personal stories of the Class of 2026 reflect these same themes of resilience, community, and bold possibility.

Graduates like Katie King’26, a biology and dance double major, Linehan Artist Scholar, and Dance Team co-captain, discovered at UMBC that they needn’t choose between seemingly disparate passions. “When looking at colleges, a lot of them told me I had to choose, but UMBC allowed me to do both,” King says. She leaves prepared to become a physician assistant while continuing to integrate science and the arts.

Others found a supportive community that helped them see new possibilities. Maia Turman Cooke ’26, an English and political science double major and McNair Scholar, reflected, “I never knew what a strong and supportive academic community could look like”—until she arrived at UMBC. That environment propelled her forward, and she will begin a Ph.D. in English while continuing her advocacy work.

Still other graduates overcame self-doubt in demanding technical fields. Carter Gerhardt ’26 switched into computer engineering mid-journey and gained confidence through faculty and peer support. “I’m getting a degree that I originally thought that I couldn’t do,” he said, as he graduates ready for a career in cybersecurity.

Equipped to lead and serve

UMBC awarded nearly 500 master’s and Ph.D. degrees this spring, along with nearly 1,400 bachelor’s degrees across its three colleges, the School of Social Work, and the Erickson School of Aging Studies. Across disciplines—from the humanities and social sciences to natural sciences, engineering, and the arts—UMBC graduates are positioned “to lead and to serve—to strengthen workforces and economies, families and communities, and ultimately, to bring a brighter future for our state, our nation, and our world,” as Maryland Governor Wes Moore said in a Commencement video message.

Zareen Taj, Ph.D. ’26, who earned her doctorate in language, literacy, and culture after fleeing oppression in Afghanistan and Pakistan, described how UMBC empowered her voice and work, epitomizing the university’s commitment to inclusive excellence. “I learned from this journey that I am different. I look different. I work differently. I see things differently, but my difference is not a problem,” she said. “My experience is an asset. It’s my wealth. The UMBC community…supported me at each stage of my life.”

As Heyward told the Class of 2026—just as Taj and so many others have realized through their experiences at UMBC—“The world does not need you to be flawless. It needs you to be bold enough to contribute your voice.”

Any graduates who plan to continue their academic journey at UMBC should take advantage of Free Graduate Application Week May 27 – June 3.

Read more about this year’s inspiring Class of 2026.