Planning a campus event, party, or craft project? We have a variety of event decor, lights, paint supplies, and party items ready for a new home. Help us upcycle these supplies for your next activity!

Items Available:

• Candle Holders – Qty: 10

• Unpainted Pumpkins (Bunches) – Qty: 4

• Paint Brush Pack – Qty: 2

• Mason Jar pitcher – Qty: 1

• Mason Jar holder – Qty: 1

• Balloon Lights – Qty: 1

• Gold Utensils – Qty: 1

• Gold Cups – Qty: 1

• Gold Tea Lights – Qty: 1

• Pink Awareness Bracelets – Qty: 1

• Red Paint Bottle – Qty: 1

• White Paint Bottle – Qty: 1

• Pink Paint Jug – Qty: 1

• Inspirational Mini Notebooks – Qty: Multiple

• Mini notebooks – Qty: Multiple

• Disco Balls – Qty: Multiple

• Miscellaneous Party Supplies – Qty: Multiple

📍 Pickup Location: Commons 308

Comment below or stop by to grab these for your next event!

Hosting a campus gathering or need extra serving supplies? We are giving away serving tools, trays, pans, and basic cleanup supplies. Everything is free to grab!

Items Available:

• Small Foil Pans – Qty: 13

• Tongs – Qty: 9

• Trash Bags – Qty: 9

• White tray with plastic lid – Qty: 3

• Old Tea Kettle – Qty: 1

📍 Pickup Location: Commons 308

Need to stock up on everyday office essentials or organizing tools? We are cleaning out our office inventory! All items are free to a good home on a first-come, first-served basis.

Items Available:

• Binders – Qty: 15

• Paper clips (100ct) – Qty: 14

• Eraser (3pk) – Qty: 1

• Binder clips (MULTIPLE)

• Call Bell – Qty: 1

• Cord Hider – Qty: 1

• Security Chest – Qty: 1

• Timers ziploc – Qty: 1

• Conference recording device – Qty: 1

📍 Pickup Location: Commons 308

Comment below or swing by to claim what you need!

All,

The Millipore unit on the 4th floor is currently inoperable. It requires a new computer board, UV bulb, cartridges and .22 micron filter. I am waiting on a quote to have the work done. 

Luckily, the Millipore unit on the 3rd floor is currently working after a painfully complicated process where we learned that a different computer board and UV lamp was required along with software updates for the board to get it operational.

There is also a hydro polishing unit in room 221C available which is not as sleek as the millipore units but has by far a greater capacity for producing 18 Meg-Ohm water. 

Thank you all for your patience as millipore worked through the "upgrade". 

The USM Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation is pleased to announce a call for applications for the Boosting Course Accessibility Faculty Fellows program. This initiative will support up to 12 USM faculty members in engaging in digital accessibility-related course redesign to reduce barriers and support access for all students, including students with disabilities. Each selected faculty member will receive a $1,500 stipend and participate in a collaborative professional development program, culminating in a redesigned course for Spring 2027. 

Program Goals

This program aims to:

1. Promote inclusive teaching practices by equipping faculty with tools, strategies, and frameworks grounded in accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
2. Support the redesign of existing courses to reduce digital barriers for students with disabilities and increase access for all learners.
3. Build a faculty-led culture of access and accountability across the USM through shared learning, peer exchange, and cross-campus collaboration.
4. Establish models of accessible course design that can be shared, celebrated, and potentially scaled across departments, disciplines, and institutions. 

Eligibility

Applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Updated: USM faculty of any rank whose primary role on their campus is faculty. 

• Available to participate fully in all synchronous and asynchronous program components. 

• Applicants should propose a course they are scheduled or likely to teach in Spring 2027. 

Applicants should submit all required materials by Friday, September 11, 2026.  

NOTE: All institutional and faculty grants awarded to UMBC must be routed to the Office of Sponsored Programs prior to submission. Contact your unit's business manager or proposal development staff to discuss your application. CAHSS faculty can request assistance from CARAT (Creative Achievement and Research Administration Team).   

Timeline 

• August 1, 2026 – Call for applications opens 

• September 11, 2026 – Application deadline 

• September 17, 2026 – Notification of selected fellows 

• October 1, 2026–December 10, 2026 – Program participation 

• January 15, 2027 –Virtual Launch of Participants’ Projects 

Download a Word doc of this announcement. For more information, please contact Dr. Jennifer Potter, Associate Director, Kirwan Center for Academic Innovation, at jpotter@usmd.edu. 

Dear Faculty and Staff,

As summer begins to wind down, we are excited to prepare for one of the most meaningful times of the year: the return of our students to campus!

Faculty and staff are invited to help support Welcome, Retrievers, UMBC’s campus-wide initiative to create a welcoming and memorable start to the academic year, through event support roles taking place before the start of the fall semester.  We especially encourage members of our community to consider supporting Convocation as part of this year’s Welcome, Retrievers experience.

Explore available opportunities and sign up by August 14.

From Convocation and move-in to new student programs and weeks of welcome activities, these events help students build connections, navigate campus, and feel that they truly belong from the moment they arrive.

Whether you have been part of Welcome, Retrievers for years or are considering getting involved for the first time, we invite you to join us in welcoming our Retrievers home.

Support opportunities include:

• Helping welcome the incoming class at Sunday’s Convocation

• Welcoming students and families during residential move-in

• Assisting with programs and events

• Helping students navigate campus and connect with resources

• Creating a positive first impression through friendly conversations and encouragement

The registration form includes details about each opportunity, including dates, times, responsibilities, short training requirements, and remaining openings.

We hope you will find an opportunity, or several, that fits your schedule and allows you to be part of this exciting campus tradition. Even a few hours of your time can have a lasting impact on a student’s transition to UMBC.

For questions, please contact welcomeretrievers@umbc.edu.Thank you for helping us create an inclusive, welcoming, and memorable start to the semester. We look forward to welcoming our Retrievers home, together!

Warm regards,

New Student Experience Engagement Subcommittee

MCS / MLL 495  Video Ethnography

MLL 695 Intercultural Video Production FA26

Mondays 4:00pm - 6:30pm

This hands-on course explores how documentary video can be used to understand and represent the social world. Working in collaboration with community members, students produce short documentaries that amplify local voices, experiences, and histories.
The course emphasizes participatory and reflexive documentary practices, treating video as both a creative medium and a qualitative research tool. Students gain practical experience in every stage of production, including camera operation, lighting, location sound, interviewing, editing, and post-production.

Capstone Option for MCS Majors

MCS majors who have completed MCS 399 and have prior production experience may be eligible to take this course in place of MCS 499, allowing them to complete a production-based capstone project as part of their coursework.

Public Humanities Minor

For students pursuing the Public Humanities Minor, this course fulfills one of the two required elective courses.

MCS / MLL 495  Video Ethnography

MLL 695 Intercultural Video Production FA26

Mondays 4:00pm - 6:30pm

This hands-on course explores how documentary video can be used to understand and represent the social world. Working in collaboration with community members, students produce short documentaries that amplify local voices, experiences, and histories.
The course emphasizes participatory and reflexive documentary practices, treating video as both a creative medium and a qualitative research tool. Students gain practical experience in every stage of production, including camera operation, lighting, location sound, interviewing, editing, and post-production.

Capstone Option for MCS Majors

MCS majors who have completed MCS 399 and have prior production experience may be eligible to take this course in place of MCS 499, allowing them to complete a production-based capstone project as part of their coursework.

Public Humanities Minor

For students pursuing the Public Humanities Minor, this course fulfills one of the two required elective courses.

The Wi-Fi Issue

Affected Service: eduroam Wireless Network

Time of Status Update: Beginning Thursday 7/30

Due to a recent update from an external security provider, some laptops and mobile devices may show an "authentication failure" message when trying to connect to the eduroam Wi-Fi network. 

Don’t worry, the eduroam network itself is working fine! Affected devices just need a quick profile update to reconnect securely.

How to Fix It in 2 Easy Steps

If your device is getting an authentication error, follow these steps to restore your connection: 

1. Forget the Network: Go to your device’s Wi-Fi settings and select “Forget” or “Remove” the eduroam network.

2. Reconfigure: Access the eduroam setup tool available via the Eduroam FAQs to reestablish a secure network connection to all of your devices (macOS, Windows, iPhone, iPad, Android, Chromebook, and Linux). 

Need Help?

If you need assistance, please contact the Technology Support Center at UMBC Help or  410-455-3838.

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Hi everyone,

DoIT staff are aware of an issue regarding SLURM job scheduling on the chip cluster, where jobs are indefinitely stuck in the pending state with a reason of “(None)”. This boiled down to the SLURM scheduler being overwhelmed with over 9000 concurrent job submissions this weekend.

As a temporary work around, we have intervened to get all submitted jobs scheduled. We will be monitoring the queue to ensure future job submissions run smoothly. Finally, we are developing a more permanent fix to increase the job-handling capacity of SLURM, and to make it more resilient when handling many jobs.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused by this issue. To be clear, no jobs were lost as a result of the underlying issue or our intervention. However, some users may see that their jobs are in an “administratively held” state as we wrap up our intervention.

As always, please submit a descriptive support ticket via the link below if you have any questions or notice other issues: https://rtforms.umbc.edu/rt_authenticated/doit/DoIT-support.php?auto=Research%20Computing 

Gregory Ballantine
HPC System Administrator

See also: Over 9000 in “popular” media (YouTube)