The Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Public Health announces that after 35 years of distinguished research, teaching, and service J. Kevin Eckert, professor, will be retiring in June 2022. 

Kevin joined UMBC in 1987 as the founding Associate Vice President for Graduate Studies in the University of Maryland Graduate School, serving in this position until 1992; he also was appointed professor with tenure in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology (now the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health).  Kevin subsequently held numerous positions in the administration, including serving as Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences (1993-1994); founding Director of the Center for Health Program Development and Management, now the Hilltop Institute (1993-1995); Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (1994-1995); and founding Dean of the Erickson School of Aging Studies (2005-2009).  Kevin additionally served as department chair from 2010-2020, overseeing the department's name change from Sociology and Anthropology to Sociology, Anthropology, and Public Health.  Kevin also established the department's Center for Aging Studies in 2001, serving as director from 2001-2010.  The Center for Aging Studies received over $23 million in external funding under his leadership. 

In addition to playing a significant role in the development of schools and research institutions on UMBC's campus, Kevin worked with collaborators across UMBC and University of Maryland, Baltimore to create the UMB-UMBC Joint Doctoral Program in Gerontology in 2001.  Kevin served five years as co-director of the program, which remains a strong example of inter-campus collaboration. 

Kevin has maintained an active research portfolio throughout his career, ultimately completing over 43 years of continuous, externally funded research.   This includes 35 years of funding from federal agencies, most frequently the National Institute on Aging.  Kevin's research broadly focused on the experience of aging within and across diverse socio-ecological contexts, from urban, single room occupancy units in San Diego to large, assisted living (AL) communities across the Mid-Atlantic.  His publications include five books with major academic presses and over 60 peer reviewed articles.  A distinguishing characteristic of these scholarly works is the co-authorship with many students and tenure-track faculty. 

Over the years, Kevin has contributed numerous courses to Anthropology, Applied Sociology, and Gerontology.  His most recent teaching efforts included graduate courses in qualitative methods and the non-profit sector, both representing core passions. These courses served the MA in Applied Sociology, the Certificate in the Non-Profit sector, and the doctoral programs in Gerontology, LLC, and Public Policy.  He also has continuously mentored students, serving on over 40 doctoral dissertation committees. 

Throughout his career, Kevin's expertise and contributions have been recognized. In 2003 he received a Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship to work in the U.S. Senate on health care reform during the Clinton administration. He has been named a fellow in the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.  Kevin received the Board of Regents' Faculty Award for Excellence in Collaboration in 2000.  In 2003, he was named UMBC Presidential Research Professor.  Kevin received the Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement in recognition of his support of tenure track faculty in 2016. 

Please join us in honoring Kevin's achievements and contributions to UMBC at a reception in the Public Policy Building Atrium and the adjoining terrace on Wednesday, May 18, 4-6 pm.

Courtney Coppersmith

Degree: B.S., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Minors: Philosophy and Emergency Health Services
Hometown: York, PA
Plans: Graduate degree in chemistry

“I still talk to professors I had in my freshman year, which I think is really cool and speaks to the fact that this really is a community among faculty, staff, and students.”

Courtney Coppersmith, ‘22, biochemistry and molecular biology, experienced UMBC as a welcoming community on her first visit, and she has devoted her time on campus to paying that welcoming spirit forward.

She is one of the top softball pitchers in the nation. She has set several university records through the championship-winning UMBC softball team, including for strikeouts in a single game. But behind the stardom, her early success and involvement in nearly a dozen campus and community organizations created pressures that felt overwhelming at times.

Coppersmith responded by writing an essay about her experiences with depression, which won the Jackie Robinson Breaking Barriers national essay contest. Soon, teammates and competitors were reaching out to her to say how her story had resonated with them and helped them recognize that they were not alone. 

Coppersmith has continued to support fellow UMBC student-athletes and the broader UMBC community, particularly through mental health and food security initiatives. She has also served as a chemistry tutor and active volunteer in Baltimore. 

Coppersmith looks forward to pursuing a graduate degree in chemistry. She aspires to help develop medications to fight cancer.

Learn more about Coppersmith’s experience and advocacy in a new feature story in The Baltimore Sun.

Story written by David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13, language, literacy, and culture (LLC), director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life, and Romy Hübler ’09, modern languages and linguistics, M.A. ’11, intercultural communication, Ph.D. ’15, LLC, assistant director of the Center for Democracy and Civic Life.

What are the chances that Putin actually could be overthrown?

Profs and Pints DC presents: "Regime Change in Russia?" a look at Vladimir Putin's prospects of being removed from power, with Brian K. Grodsky, professor of political science at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, scholar of democratization, and author of The Democratization Disconnect.

Professor Grodsky will give us a firm grounding in what's known about the feasibility of democratization in various non-democratic regime types, from competitive authoritarian regimes to single party and personalistic ones. He'll look at the various revolutions that have long caused Putin so much worry, including those in Ukraine, Georgia and the former Yugoslavia, discussing what drove them and their essential ingredients.

Focusing on Russia, he'll examine whether similar movements have ever gained steam there, and how Putin has dealt with various challenges to his own power over the past two decades.

(Advance tickets: $12. Doors: $15, or $13 with a student ID. Listed time is for doors. Talk starts 30 minutes later. Please allow yourself time to place any orders and get seated and settled in. Please bring proof of vaccination as it may be required in response to local infection rates.)

Church Hall 1070 Wisconsin Ave, NW Washington, DC 20007

Tickets