Hello Everyone!

Due to our delivery and restocking, Retriever Essentials will have a delyaed opening until 1:00pm today.

Please plan your trip accordingly, and we apologize for any inconviences.

Dear UMBC Faculty and Staff,

This week, UMBC celebrates the Class of 2026 and the close of another academic year shaped by the work, care, creativity, and dedication of our campus community.

As we celebrate students crossing the Commencement stage, the university is also looking ahead through continued strategic planning efforts, research and innovation, community engagement, and the many ways faculty and staff continue to shape UMBC’s future.

In this edition of The UMBC Connection, you’ll find Commencement information, university milestones, campus updates, and opportunities to stay connected across the UMBC community.

Thank you to everyone who shared feedback following our first edition. We appreciate your input as this continues to evolve and grow alongside the campus community.

Opportunities & Events

Opportunities to attend, participate in, or engage with across the UMBC community.

• Watch UMBC’s Spring 2026 Commencement ceremonies live (May 20–21)
  The UMBC community is invited to join virtually for this year’s Commencement ceremonies through the official livestreams. Recordings will also be available following the events.

• Learn more about UMBC’s Alternative Work Arrangements program (May 27 & 29)
  Faculty and staff are invited to attend upcoming sessions on UMBC’s Alternative Work Arrangements (AWA) program, including guidance on eligibility, approval processes, best practices, and supporting flexibility across teams. 

• Retrievers Read 2026
  Retrievers Read, presented by the UMBC Hilltop Society, is a summer reading challenge designed to help faculty, staff, students, and alumni explore new genres, engage with the UMBC community, and make reading fun.

Campus Updates

Important updates, planning efforts, operational information, and community news affecting UMBC.

• Strategic planning process moves into final drafting phase
  UMBC’s strategic planning steering committee shared a final academic year update outlining progress toward the university’s next strategic plan, with a full launch anticipated in fall 2026 alongside UMBC’s 60th anniversary celebration. 

• University shares FY27 budget planning and salary guidance updates
  Faculty and staff are encouraged to review recent communications from President Valerie Sheares Ashby and Human Resources & Strategic Talent Management regarding FY27 budget planning efforts, the 1.5 percent cost of living adjustment (COLA), and salary guidance effective July 1.

• High school graduation ceremonies expected to impact campus traffic and parking
  Beginning May 28 and continuing through early June, Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena will host multiple high school graduation ceremonies that are expected to increase traffic and parking activity on campus, particularly before and after ceremony start times. 

University Milestones

Major achievements, recognitions, funding, and institutional accomplishments across UMBC.

• Celebrating the Class of 2026
  As UMBC celebrates Commencement, explore stories from graduating students and learn more about the experiences, achievements, and impact of the Class of 2026.

• UMBC launches Center for Precision Aquaculture
  UMBC researchers are leading a new federally funded initiative focused on sustainable fish farming, advancing innovation in aquaculture and environmental resilience. 

• UMBC Baseball clinches No. 2 seed and tournament bye
  After being picked to finish last in the preseason conference poll, UMBC Baseball secured the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the America East Tournament.

• Former UMBC soccer standouts face off as MLS starters
  Former Retrievers Jon Bell and Taylor Calheira became the first pair of UMBC alumni to start against each other in a Major League Soccer match, highlighting the program’s continued success developing professional talent.

More from across UMBC

Additional updates, resources, and community opportunities from across the university.

• UMBC opens a new chapter with inaugural BookFest — new campus event celebrating books, reading, and literary community at UMBC

• Make your plan to vote in the 2026 Maryland primary — information on voter registration deadlines, mail-in ballot drop boxes on campus, election judge opportunities, and additional civic engagement resources

Help Shape The UMBC Connection

As this effort continues to take shape, your feedback will help guide how we strengthen internal communications across the university. We welcome your input and invite you to share your feedback on The UMBC Connection.

If you would prefer, you are also welcome to reach out directly to Jessica McGroarty, Director of Internal Communications, at jmcgro@umbc.edu.

University Communications and Marketing

From late May through mid June, UMBC will host multiple high school graduation ceremonies at the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. During this time, the campus community should expect increased traffic volume and parking demand, particularly around the Arena and Campus Loop.

The busiest traffic periods are expected approximately 60 minutes before and after each ceremony. During ceremonies themselves, traffic movement is generally lighter.

Guests attending ceremonies will primarily park in the lots surrounding the Arena, though additional impacts may be felt across nearby parking areas and roadways.

Faculty, staff, students, and visitors are encouraged to plan ahead, allow additional travel time, and use caution around increased pedestrian and vehicle activity on campus during these dates.

View the full graduation schedule and guest information here: Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena Graduation Schedule

Thank you to UMBC Police and Auxiliary Services for helping support campus operations during this busy event period.

June marks National LGBTQ+ Pride Month and offers the nation the opportunity to reflect on the incredible contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. Our nation is at its best when it welcomes, represents and includes people of all backgrounds. This includes people with disabilities and the intersections shared with the LGBTQ+ community. According to a study published in 2012, fully 36 percent of women in the LGBTQ+ community and 30 percent of men in the community also self-identify as people with disabilities. Learn more about the intersection via RespectAbility here, especially with Leah Ilana's essay on the need for safe refuge.  More  Disabled LBGTQ+ Profiles, in their own voices, are profiled here.
We celebrate with you! You matter! UMBC Resources include:

• UMBC Queer and Trans People of Color (QPOC) oSTEM Group for LGBTQ+ Students working in STEM fields
• Spectra UMBC for LGBTQ+ Mathematicians
• LGBTQ+ FSA - Faculty and Staff group
• The Pride Center is centrally located on the first floor of the UC (and an entrance with better accessibility is in the works
• LGBTQIA+ Resource Page via the Office of Equity and Civil Rights

For question about disability or accessibility at UMBC, undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities connect with Student Disability Services online (link) or via disability@umbc.edu.

Accessibility & Disability Services (link) administers employee (faculty, staff, graduate assistant and student worker) accommodations.  

UMBC's most recent Accessible Route map is linked here. 

Campus Accessibility Concerns may be reported via this online form

Thumbnail Photo Credit: Erik Mclean via Unsplash.com.

The RAC will close at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 21, 2026. We will be closed until Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at 8 a.m. 

RAC hours

In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, we’re proud to share a reflection from Michaela Wilson, a young adult living in Charles Village, about her family’s connection to Julius Rosenwald.

Working in partnership with Booker T. Washington, Rosenwald helped fund and build thousands of schools that expanded educational opportunities for Black communities across the South.

Michaela’s reflection highlights the lasting impact of philanthropy, partnership, and community investment, and the ways those values continue to inspire future generations.

Julius Rosenwald, Education and Jewish American Philanthropy

By Michaela Wilson, Marketing Manager, The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore

During Jewish American Heritage Month, I’ve been reflecting on my family history, particularly my great-grandfather’s cousin, Julius Rosenwald. Rosenwald is best known for his partnership with Booker T. Washington to help fund what became known as Rosenwald Schools, an effort that shaped access to education for Black communities across the segregated South.

Rosenwald Schools

Rosenwald’s partnership with Washington led to the creation of nearly 5,000 schools and educational buildings across the South, at a time when public investment in Black education was both inadequate and deliberately limited. The Rosenwald Schools helped expand educational access for generations of students and became one of the largest school‑building efforts in American history. Notable Rosenwald alumni include Maya Angelou, Medgar Evers, members of the Little Rock Nine and Congressman John Lewis.

What makes the Rosenwald Schools particularly notable is how they were built. Funding required contributions from local Black communities and public‑school systems, alongside Rosenwald’s support. That structure emphasized partnership rather than charity, and shared investment rather than top‑down philanthropy. The goal wasn’t just to build schools, but to create sustainable access to education.

Rosenwald did not seek public attention for this work and often preferred to remain in the background, focusing on outcomes rather than recognition. The schools themselves—and the communities that sustained them—were meant to stand at the center of the effort.

Read more on Rosenwald schools and view images here.

Business Success and Philanthropic Purpose

Julius Rosenwald’s ability to support this work came from his success as a businessman. After building a career in the clothing industry, he became a part‑owner and later president and chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Company, helping grow it into a national retail enterprise. He directed much of the wealth generated through Sears toward philanthropic efforts during his lifetime.

Rosenwald’s work was shaped in part by his background as the child of Jewish immigrants from Germany. Like many Jewish Americans of his era, he understood how structural barriers could limit opportunity, and his philanthropy reflected a practical response—focused on removing obstacles rather than offering symbolic gestures.

Rosenwald’s philanthropy also extended to individuals through fellowships from the Julius Rosenwald Fund. Writers, artists and scholars such as Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, W.E.B. Du Bois, Marian Anderson and Augusta Savage received direct support that helped sustain their work in a period when institutional backing was often unavailable to Black professionals.

Documenting Family History

Members of our family fled Germany in the 1930s as antisemitism intensified, and assistance from relatives in the United States, including Julius Rosenwald, helped make their escape possible. In 2017, my family donated a collection of family materials documenting that period to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The collection includes correspondence, immigration documents, financial records and family photographs.

The materials offer a window into how access—to money, to paperwork, to people willing and able to help—can be decisive. The collection is publicly available and can be explored through the Holocaust Museum’s online archives here.

A Legacy Within Jewish American Heritage

For me, Jewish American Heritage Month is a time to reflect on this history. Julius Rosenwald’s philanthropy extended across many areas, reflecting a broad commitment to widening access and opportunity during a period of entrenched exclusion. Taken together, his work points to a strain of Jewish American philanthropy grounded less in recognition than in action, and shaped by the belief that material support, applied practically, could have a lasting impact.

~ Thank you to the Louise D. and Morton J. Macks Jewish Connection Network - an agency of The Associated - for sharing this with us.

I am currently looking for clean and respectful roommate for this quiet single family home. 
It is walking distant to UMBC, (about 17 minute walk) or 3 minute drive.
It includes water and internet, Electric and gas.
Must have no pets, smoking or drugs.

Large Room - $835 - Starting June 1st
Small Room - $725 - Starting June 1st

Term -1 year
If you are interested, please email tsunhon1@umbc.edu

Looking for a quiet, affordable place to focus on school? This private bedroom in a welcoming family home might be just what you need.

💰 $750/month — everything included:

• Water, utilities & internet
• Washer/dryer access
• Shared kitchen space
• Driveway parking (optional)

📍 Perfect for UMBC students The Route 40 UMBC shuttle stops right at the end of the block — no car needed to get to campus!

🏠 About the space: Quiet residential street in Catonsville. You'll have a private bedroom and shared access to kitchen and laundry in a clean, well-kept family home. Great environment for studying and recharging.

House guidelines:

• Non-smoking home
• No overnight guests (family residence)

📞 Interested? Get in touch:

• Call/text: 443-535-7077
• Email: moutome1@umbc.edu

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for an accommodation close to campus, or campus shuttle. If you're graduating (and moving out) of your current accommodation, or have an empty room available for rent, please reach out to me at ot38859@umbc.edu . 

I am a very quiet person, love to bake, and easy-going. I also prefer a female accommodation.

Thank you.