The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences is home to high-tech scientific instrumentation alongside traditional infrastructure like water pipes and HVAC systems, all of which UMBC researchers and students rely on. That equipment also requires regular maintenance and occasional upgrades, and it’s the often-invisible work of UMBC’s skilled and experienced building managers that keeps things humming. Four CNMS building managers welcomed us into their world, sharing everything from what it takes to succeed in their roles to the hidden gems found in their buildings.

Meet the building managers:

• Erik Crowe, Physics Building
• Dennis Cuddy, Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building
• Brian Moravec, Meyerhoff Chemistry Building
• Sam Williams, Biological Sciences Building and Schwartz Hall

Erik Crowe
Building Manager, Physics Building

Erik Crowe brought five years of hands-on expertise as a laboratory specialist in the UMBC physics department and prior experience at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center to his current role as physics department building manager, which he assumed in 2019. Today he supports faculty, staff, and students in physics—including the Earth and Space Institute and Quantum Science Institute—overseeing everything from HVAC systems to lab renovations. Crowe thrives on the blend of technical innovation, educational support, and collaborative spirit he gets to practice in his role.

Q: What do you enjoy about your role?

A: I appreciate that every day presents new challenges to problem-solve and support occupants of the Physics Building. My position allows me to leverage my technical background in facilities management and in educating students, staff, and faculty about prototyping and precision machine operations in the machine shop. I also appreciate my collaboration with my colleagues. We have a wonderful staff team in physics, and I couldn’t be successful in my position without their support. The faculty, staff, and students are always finding new ways to push me to expand my skill set.

Q: What brought you to UMBC? 

A: I started my career as a process engineer developing and fabricating cryogenic detectors, devices that use ultra-low temperatures to very sensitively detect particles, for the Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. I thoroughly enjoyed the work, but working in a cleanroom is grueling, and I was looking for something new. Encouraged by my former college advisor, I applied for the lab specialist position at UMBC and was hired in December 2014. It was the change that I needed. I have grown both professionally and personally over the last decade, hitting career goals and growing my family. 

Q: What are some of your proudest moments?

A: I am particularly proud of collaborating with the structural maintenance department in facilities management (FM) to renovate approximately 40 spaces in the building over the course of a year and a half. These included research labs, office spaces, and our graduate student wing. It is a tremendous amount of work to plan, organize, and facilitate a project of that size, but we were able to do it with minimal interruption and impact to the building occupants.

I am also proud of the ongoing work to improve the HVAC system within the Physics Building. Over the last decade, we’ve gathered data and addressed the underlying issues, so completing the HVAC study last year was a huge milestone for me. We have a lot of work left to do, but we are moving in the right direction every day.

Q: What does it take to be a successful building manager?

A: It takes large doses of patience, persistence, organization, and communication skills to be a successful building manager. You have to prioritize different issues that arise on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. There are emergencies where a building system might go down or malfunction. In those situations, you have to stay calm, gather data, run through your contact list, formulate a plan, communicate the impact, and follow up to make sure all aspects of an issue are addressed. You also have to be prepared to pivot when things don’t go smoothly. 

I submit work orders every day to keep the building running. There are small maintenance and renovation projects where I meet with the FM shops to discuss our approach, there are large-scale projects that can significantly impact occupants and their academic and research activities, and everything in between. My day is never the same and the requests I receive ebb and flow. 

Q: What are some of your favorite spaces or hidden gems in the building?

A: The machine shop is my favorite space in the building. Over the last decade, I have built the shop to match the department’s needs. I am proud of the resource it has become and my interactions with students, staff, and faculty to help them develop their technical skills. I am excited about the future of the space, and how we can continue to grow its capabilities and educational programming. It’s a lean facility, but it packs a punch.

Not all of our research activities are performed inside the building. We installed a dedicated research platform on the roof in 2018, which gathers data for atmospheric physics and astrophysics research. But the roof doesn’t just house equipment—it also provides some of the best views on campus of the Baltimore skyline.

Dennis Cuddy
Senior Facilities Manager, Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building and beyond

Dennis Cuddy, administrator of the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building (ILSB) and senior facilities manager in the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, is in his 26th year at UMBC and his sixth in his current role. Cuddy’s career exemplifies innovative problem-solving and dedication to UMBC’s scientific ecosystem, from orchestrating the renovation of the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building to managing dozens of classrooms, labs, and core facilities that support hundreds of students and researchers. 

Q: What do you appreciate about your role?

A: UMBC has allowed me to use my strengths in organization, scheduling, and operations while exposing me to skills like web development, event planning, and major construction operations—above and beyond what I could offer when I was hired. Now, I handle building operations across colleges and consult for administrative departments I’ve worked with over the years. It’s fulfilling to be asked your opinion about how things can run better.

Q: What brought you to UMBC?

A: I answered an ad in the Baltimore Sun for a chemist, which listed managerial duties similar to what I was doing at the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center. I still have the ad somewhere at home.

Q: What are some of your proudest moments? 

A: I oversaw the renovation of the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building from 2002 to 2005. When we needed additional funds to finish the project, I wrote a construction grant to the National Center for Research Resources that was awarded. Being tasked with reporting the research activities going on in the renovated space for 20 years after the fact was the price I paid, but it was worth it. 

Q: What does it take to be a successful building manager?

A: It takes patience, good communication, organization, and being proactive when needed (and knowing when that is). You have to be a representative of the university and a good steward of state-appropriated funds. Helping colleagues when needed is essential, because even buildings with dedicated facility managers often lack backups.

Q: What are some of your favorite spaces or surprising facts about the building?

A: The lobby by the third floor elevators is pretty amazing, with the green roof and double helix staircase to the fourth floor, but I find that sitting in the main lobby, anonymously taking in the beauty of the space and the energy of the students, is the most rewarding. Most people don’t know that the ILSB sits on a redirected creek bed, and even during the driest times, the water table is only eight feet beneath the basement floor. 

Brian Moravec
Building Manager, Meyerhoff Chemistry Building

Brian Moravec honed his skills through two decades in USDA molecular biology labs. For the last six years, he has ensured that research and teaching go smoothly in the Meyerhoff Chemistry Building as its building manager. Moravec coordinates repairs and maintenance, manages inventories, and supervises the department’s glassblower and teaching lab manager—turning potential disruptions into opportunities for safety and efficiency.

Q: What do you enjoy about your role?

A: I like that my responsibilities change from day to day. One day I may spend most of my time in the office completing administrative tasks, and the next day I might respond to an urgent water leak. I also like that my colleagues in the department, college, and facilities management all have the same goal: Keep things running safely and smoothly to serve our community’s education and research needs.

Q: What brought you to UMBC? 

A: I worked in a molecular biology lab at the USDA in Beltsville, Maryland for 20 years. Near the end of that time, I was able to take temporary work as a facility operations specialist at the National Agricultural Library and the National Arboretum. These temporary jobs boosted my interest in the field of building management and operations. When I saw an opening at UMBC in a STEM field, I decided to make a switch.

Q: What are some of your proudest moments?

A: I am proud of the water damage mitigation I helped with during the 2022 Christmas flood. Our building was damaged, but we didn’t lose any scientific equipment because I had prepared some items in advance, just in case we needed to divert water around million-dollar instruments. I am also proud of the safety record in both the teaching and research labs in the building. Our building can be dangerous, with flammable and toxic materials, but the safety training and equipment we provide helps keep what can be a dangerous place very safe.

Q: What is something you want people to know about the building or your role?

A: People should know that sometimes the building smells—it’s old! There are a lot of different chemicals in use, but a strange odor by itself is not dangerous. Also, I consider myself a problem solver. People come to me with all sorts of difficulties and issues. I may not be able to fix them all, but I can almost certainly find someone that can help.

Sam Williams ’99
Building Manager, Biological Sciences Building and Schwartz Hall

Sam Williams ’99, history, has dedicated 24 years to UMBC, serving the last 11 as building manager for the Biological Sciences Building after 13 years as assistant athletics director for facilities and operations. His role spans routine maintenance, crisis response, vendor coordination, budget oversight, and safety compliance.

Q: What do you enjoy about your role?

A: I appreciate the fact that no day is ever the same. I feel like we have a great department, from the students to the faculty and staff, which makes coming to work a lot easier. 

Q: What are some of your proudest moments? 

A: I’ve been a part of two major events: COVID and the great flood in December of 2022. Both of these events brought their own set of challenges. However, the biggest goal for both was making sure that research continued and building occupants were able to work in a safe environment. I have a lot of memories from both.

Q: What does it take to be a successful building manager?

A: I feel like you need patience and the ability to adapt. Things can change by the minute, so being prepared and prioritizing is an essential skill. I would also say that problem-solving is one of the best skills I’ve learned. Having a good working relationship with building occupants and FM makes my life a lot easier, too.

ENGL 222: Introduction to Critical Disability Studies*

TuTh 10-11:15AM, Physics 107, Drew Holladay

This course introduces students to the field, core concepts, and methods that comprise critical disability studies, providing an interdisciplinary overview of the events, people, concepts, and issues at the center of the disability rights movement and its related academic communities. Following the slogan "Nothing About Us Without Us," course materials (whether academic or popular) have been written by people with disabilities who connect their creative work to education, politics, and everyday life. Students learn about disability justice frameworks that show how able-bodied supremacy has been formed in relation to other systems of domination and exploitation. The class works collaboratively and creatively to build understanding of disability experience and to challenge societal ableism and injustice.

GLBL 410: I'm a Cyborg but That's Ok**

M 4:30-7PM, Online, Tania Lizarazo

This class uses the figure of the cyborg to interrogate the ways in which cultured identity is constructed through media the role of technology in defining humanness in an increasingly digital world. It focuses on the processes of globalization and the connections between local and global contexts of struggle inform lived experiences of identity, including race, gender, sexuality, class and ability. Recommended Course Preparation: GLBL 100 or MLL 230

IS 303: Fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction***

Tu 1-2:15PM, Multiple Discussion Sections, Fine Arts 306, Yasmine Kotturi

This course provides a survey of human factors and human computer interaction relevant to the design and use of information systems. It describes the contributions of information systems, computer science, psychology, sociology and engineering to human-computer interaction. Emphasis is placed on human factors theories, human information processing concepts, interaction design approaches and usability evaluation methods. Application areas and current research are also reviewed. Prerequisite: IS 202, IS 300, or IS 300H with a grade of 'C' or better.

Electives:

ANCS 375: Ancient Medicine

MW 2:30-3:45PM, Sondheim 114, Molly Jones-Lewis

History of the development of medicine and medical theory in the ancient Mediterranean basin, focusing on the period spanning the 5th century BCE to 2nd century CE (Hippocratic Corpus to Galen). Course material covers how and why theories about the human body arose and vied for dominance; students will explore the ancient roots of professionalism, pharmacy, surgery, gynecology, ethics, public health, hygiene, and medical law. Recommended

Course Preparation : ANCS 201 or ANCS 202

ANTH 312: Medical Anthropology

Tu 4:30-7PM, Online, Dori Beeler

This course explores human health and illness in cultural and social context. This course will introduce a range of concerns and approaches within medical anthropology, introducing key concepts and methods. It will examine how people in different places and positions experience illness, suffering, healing, and their bodies more generally and the roles played by cultural, social, political, economic, legal, and technological factors. This course will also explore how research within this field is conducted, analyzed, written about, and translated into policy. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 and (ANTH 211 or SOCY 101) with a grade of 'C' or better.

AGNG 200: 

Multiple Lecture Sections

Based in the life-course perspective, this course blends academic analysis of human aging in social context with more experiential learning, including exposure to literature on older adults, awareness exercises about aging in the news and talking with older adults in and out of class to debunk common myths and stereotypes regarding aging and older adults. Academic content is broadly social, in terms of understanding family and community contexts of aging, the individual experience of aging including productivity, spirituality and typical engagement, normal changes and diseases common in physical and psychological health, and a focus on how society views aging. Finally, students will be encouraged to identify themselves as aging individuals, on a trajectory toward later life. Prerequisite: ENGL 100 with a grade of 'C' or better.

PBHL 350: Public Health Ethics

TuTh 11:30-12:45PM, Physics 201, Andrea Kalfoglou

This course serves to introduce central concepts and key issues in public health ethics. Students will learn various proposed frameworks for analyzing ethical issues in public health, and how public health ethics differs from traditional medical ethics. Students will use a case-based approach to analyze ethical issues in public health, and practice applying the frameworks to real and fictitious cases through class discussions and written assignments. Recommended Course Preparation: HAPP/SOCY 354; PHIL 350; PHIL/HAPP 355. Prerequisite: PBHL 100 with a grade of 'C' or better.

PBHL 355: Public Health Justice and Advocacy

TuTh 10-11:15AM, Physics 201, Andrea Kalfoglou

Skills related to advocacy for health justice can be applied in a variety of disciplines. This course covers contextual theories, U.S. social movement insights, and legal system drawbacks that impede health justice. Students will build an understanding of government limitations in public health, detrimental legal doctrines, and the absence of human rights focus. They will also discuss inequalities and health disparities among marginalized groups. The course analyzes a holistic health justice agenda and ongoing initiatives. Students will apply their knowledge to advocate for equitable health policies, synthesizing their understanding of health justice. Recommended Preparation: PBHL 354. Prerequisite: PBHL 100 with a grade of 'C' or better.

SOCY 351: Sociology of Health, Illness, and Medicine

W 7:10-9:40PM, ILSB 116A, Karon Phillips (Shady Grove Section Also Offered)

This course explores how health, illness, and the field of medicine are shaped by social and cultural forces. It examines the changing role of physicians and other providers; medicine as a social institution; the nature of healthcare organizations; and the experience of health and illness. Special attention is given to the doctor-patient relationship, and factors that shape individuals' interactions with their health providers, as well as analyzing the role of persistent sociocultural inequalities across health and health care. Recommended Preparation: SOCY 101 or ANTH 211.

SOCY 330: Deviance in Contemporary Society

MW 10-11:15AM, Sondheim 101, Hakim Zainiddinov

An analysis of deviant activities, including crime, sexual deviation and mental illness. Sociological explanations of these phenomena and the strengths and weaknesses of these explanations. Examinations of the legal system and other social control mechanisms. Recommended Preparation: SOCY 101, ANTH 211, or permission of the instructor.

PSYC 305: Children with Exceptionalities

M 4:30-7PM, Online, Julie Grossman

This course will examine development and behavior of various types of children with exceptionalities. Consideration is given to children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, attention deficit/hyperactive disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, communication, language, and speech disorders, children who have special gifts and talents, are deaf or hard of hearing, are visually impaired, and children with physical disabilities, health impairments, and multiple disabilities. Prerequisite: PSYC 100 and (PSYC 200 or PSYC 306) with a grade of 'C' or better.

*Intro class that is required for the minor**Required class for the minor***1 of 3 options for the other requirement for the minor