Dear Faculty and Staff,

As we prepare to begin the fall semester, we invite you to join us for two important campus events that celebrate the start of a new academic year.

Fall Opening Meeting
Tuesday, August 18 | 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Retriever Activities Center (RAC)

Reconnect with colleagues over lunch, hear about campus initiatives for the year ahead, meet new senior university leaders, and welcome our newest students to the UMBC community.

Please RSVP here.

Convocation
Sunday, August 23 | 3 – 4 p.m.
Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena

Convocation officially welcomes our incoming students and is one of UMBC's longstanding traditions. Faculty and staff are invited to participate by processing in the ceremony (academic regalia required) or serving as event staff. Following the ceremony, all faculty and staff are invited to join the new students for a campus cookout and soccer game.

• Register to process: Procession Registration

• Register to serve as event staff: Event Staff Registration

If you need academic regalia, please order through Herff Jones by July 28 to avoid expedited shipping fees. UMBC will subsidize the rental of academic regalia. The final ordering deadline (with expedited shipping) is August 6, with delivery to the UMBC Bookstore expected by August 17. Additional information about regalia pickup and return will be shared with participants.

We hope you'll join us as we kick off the fall semester and welcome our newest Retrievers to campus.

Best, 

UMBC Events Team

I'm a senior undergraduate looking for a female roommate to share a 2BR apartment, close to UMBC main campus(about 12 min drive) and bus shuttle. Rental available to move in immediately or from early August till December or later if needed.

• Fully furnished living room and kitchen
• Private room and bathroom included
• Washer and dryer included, cable ready
• Rent will about $900/month (Wifi included)
• Flexible move in around August/ early August preferred 
• Security deposit: one month rent
• Pet friendly (but no big dogs)

Please contact me if interested: noellad1@umbc.edu

Phone #: 2404959832

thereserveatstonegateapts.com

As the summer weeks drift by, your professional network might be the last thing on your mind. You had great conversations with professors last spring, or maybe you built a strong relationship with a boss at a previous internship, but now there is silence. It is easy to let these connections fade, but a sudden message in September asking for a job recommendation can feel too transactional — and recruiters and mentors can spot that from a mile away.

The solution? A summer check-in, which is a low-pressure, thoughtful update that keeps you top-of-mind and transforms a one-time contact into a lifelong advocate. To turn a brief introduction into career momentum, you need to master the art of the casual update.

Shift the Focus from "Ask" to "Update"
The golden rule of the summer check-in is simple: do not ask for a favor. The moment you ask for a job, a referral, or a recommendation in your first email, the conversation feels more loaded. Instead, focus entirely on sharing progress and showing appreciation. A simple message detailing an article you read this summer that reminded you of a prior conversation shifts the dynamic from a transaction to a relationship.

Connect Your Progress to Their Advice
The most flattering update you can send a mentor or professor is showing that you actually listened to them. Did a professor suggest you read a specific book or learn a new tool? Did a past supervisor advise you to work on your presentation skills? Send a quick note like: "I wanted to let you know I took your advice and spent this summer learning Python. It has already made a huge difference in my projects. Thank you for that suggestion!"

Keep It Brief and Scannable
Your contact is likely just as busy during the summer as they are during the academic year. Keep your email or LinkedIn message short — under 150 words. State why you are reaching out, give a brief 1–2 sentence update on your summer, and close with a supportive, forward-looking question about how their summer is going. This keeps the barrier to reply incredibly low and easy to manage.

Normalize the Follow-Up
Many students hesitate to reach out because they fear being annoying. But professionals love hearing from proactive students who are motivated to grow. When you regularly check in without wanting anything in return, you build a foundation of trust. That way, when a position does open up in the fall, you are already the first candidate they think of.

Ready to Get Started?
Unsure how to draft your outreach messages, or want to make sure your LinkedIn profile is ready before you hit "send"? The UMBC Career Center is here to help you polish your strategy and build a professional brand that stands out. Schedule a one-on-one Networking & LinkedIn Strategy appointment on Handshake to map out your outreach strategy and optimize your digital presence today.

Ben Olson, co-founder of LSAT Demon, is hosting a free Logical Reasoning (LR) class today at 1:00 PM.

Ben taught LR to thousands of students. This class is a chance to watch him work through real questions live. 

Free Logical Reasining (LR Class) with Ben Olson, Co-Founder of LSAT Demon

Date: Monday, July 20

Time: 1:00 pm ET 

Location: Online

Register (or get the recording)

Note: UMBC does not endorse any specific LSAT preparation program.

For a list of all commercial test prep companies that have licensed official LSAT content, please click here.  

Recently I had a conversation with someone in our division regarding assessment and research projects. It was clear through our conversation the combination of those words were conjuring images of a rigorous, research-informed process on the level of a thesis or dissertation! While that is certainly one type of project you could initiate, often the types of assessment projects I see in Student Affairs are scaled down initiatives that are trying to understand satisfaction with a program, learning that has happened through participation in a project, or something to understand the needs or behaviors of a population. This type of analysis often takes the form of administering a survey, conducting a focus group/interview, or having students respond to a reflective prompt.

These are the types of things that should be captured in the ongoing Assessment and Research Project Completion form, the last step of any project where you have collected data or information about the student, staff, alumni, or family experience at UMBC.

This form is important because it:

• helps us capture the results of assessment and research projects from around the division;
• create a repository that will help us be more organized for program reviews, Middle States, etc.; and is
• open throughout the year- you do not need to wait until Annual Report timeline to track progress.

You will be asked to input information about your project, key takeaways, and how you are using the results. In addition to completing this form, you will be asked to upload a copy of the instrument as well as a results report. There is no standard template for your results so a PowerPoint presentation you delivered about the results, a dashboard, a Qualtrics report, or another format is fine.

Any and all assessment and research projects from 25-26 must be submitted in the form by July 25th. Thank you!

Questions about the form can be directed to Mary Ellen Wade, Director of Assessment and Planning, via either email or Webex message.

After a year-long redesign with faculty feedback sessions – including on-site at UMBC – Blackboard will launch a new gradebook starting August 7, 2026. The redesigned gradebook grid view will provide a visual and workflow overhaul to the instructor experience, but will not impact the management of grades, calculations, or course settings. This is strictly an interface update, not a data migration.

Watch a short video overview of the gradebook redesign.

Gradebook Changes

• A Grade Details panel that stays open. Click any cell and see the student's grade, submission status, feedback, grader notes, and posting status together, without the grid disappearing behind a menu.

• A To Do panel instead of a full-page Overview tab. See what needs grading and posting without losing your place in the gradebook.

• Accommodations, front and center. If a student has a course-level accommodation, it now shows up automatically in the Grade Details panel, no more clicking away to check.

• A safer delete. Removing a column now requires confirming the exact item by name, with a clear warning banner, so an accidental click can't erase grades.

• Easier sorting and IDs. Student ID moves into its own sortable column, and accommodation flags are easier to spot next to student names.

What Stays the Same

Your grades, grade calculations, and course settings are untouched. Only the interface was redesigned. The List View of gradable items hasn’t changed, and you can still toggle between the two views anytime. View individual student details by clicking on the individual name.

Image 1: Example of redesigned Blackboard gradebook featuring streamlined grid view

Because the change lands right as summer session is ending, most instructors will see it for the first time while preparing for fall courses. Instructional Technology will offer two sessions to walk through the redesigned gradebook and answer questions before the semester starts:

• Friday, August 14 (12 pm)

• Wednesday, August 19 (12 pm)

For more information about the redesigned gradebook, please visit our redesigned gradebook FAQ with video walkthroughs, or request support at help.umbc.edu. To share feedback about the new gradebook, please complete our survey.

Connect with Instructional Technology

As always, if you have any questions about teaching, learning, and technology at UMBC, please consider the following options:

• Check our extensive FAQ collection

  • What's new in Ultra? |Known Issues

• Open a ticket via RT

• Follow the Instructional Technology & DoIT myUMBC groups

• Request a consult with instructional technology staff

Summer can be a great time to work on the skills that support your academic work. AOK Library’s spring workshop recordings are available for students who want to learn more about research strategies, writing, citation management, AI tools, and related topics.

We will not be offering live workshops this summer, but you can still access the recordings anytime.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/@umbclibrary/videos 

Need one-on-one research help this summer? Make a research appointment with a subject librarian. 

Welcome Incoming COEIT Students!

COEIT Advising will be hosting the first of two online town halls for incoming students today from noon to one. You can sign up and join online here!

Our second Town Hall will be Tuesday, August 11th at noon. 

You can see a list of Summer COEIT Connection events on the COIET Advising Website. 

We hope to connect with you this summer and look forwad to seeing you on campus in the Fall!

In 2022, when Pam Offutt ’82, computer science, visited campus 40 years after graduating, she was taken aback by two things: how much the university had changed and how much it had stayed the same.

“While I can still see the bones of what we knew, it is almost unrecognizable,” says Pam, who loved seeing the new buildings and how much the campus had physically grown since she and her husband, Jay Offutt ’82, computer science, graduated. However, Pam was shocked to see that the percentage of women majoring in computer science had not changed much since 1982.

“We were part of the first graduating class in computer science at UMBC. It was brand new,” says Pam. “Back then, 18 percent of the computer science population was women. When I came back to campus and looked it up, the percentage was around 20 percent. And that just doesn’t sit right after 40 years.”

Determined to be part of the solution, Pam and Jay established the Pam and Jay Offutt Graduate Student Endowment in May 2026 with a transformational $1,040,000 gift. This significant investment will expand the Center for Women in Technology (CWIT) model at the graduate level, helping CWIT Scholars pursue advanced degrees at UMBC—a primary driver for moving into senior management and executive leadership roles after graduation.

While Pam’s personal experience has centered on gender equity, the Offutt endowment is designed to support any CWIT Scholar as they pursue graduate education in computing or technology, reflecting CWIT’s broader mission of inclusive excellence.

“We are tremendously grateful for Pam and Jay’s vision, which supports our commitment to inclusive excellence,” says Jeanne van Briesen, dean of the College of Engineering and Information Technology. “The endowment will help strengthen the pipeline of talent prepared for leadership in computing and technology careers.”

UMBC’s CWIT program is committed to developing community members who are prepared and empowered to be change agents in creating technology workplaces that are diverse, equitable, and inclusive. The program encourages the participation and success of all students, especially those from underrepresented groups, with a nurturing and challenging community, transformative leadership experiences, and professional development opportunities. 

“The CWIT office is buzzing with happy plans for recruiting and supporting the first cohort of Offutt Scholars this fall,” says Carolyn Seaman, director of CWIT. “We are grateful for this opportunity to support so many more of our students in taking the next step toward being the tech leaders we know they can be.”

Going beyond the gift

Pam and Jay knew the problem they wanted to solve, but they took time to discuss the issue with Seaman, van Briesen, and Kim Robinson, director of major gifts in the Office of Institutional Advancement, to come up with a plan that felt like it could make a difference.

Simply funding scholarships wasn’t enough. Pam and Jay realized that in order to truly make a difference, they needed to find a way to support students throughout their academic journey. To the Offutts, the solution was simple—mentoring and leadership development.

Offutt Scholars will receive a financial award for two years to defray school expenses, participate in leadership development, mentor undergraduate CWIT Scholars, and be mentored by more senior alumni with similar professional interests. The endowment will also support staff and programming for Offutt Scholars through the CWIT Program. This investment extends beyond financial support to build a connected community across undergraduate students, graduate students, and professional mentors.

“What stands out to me about Pam and Jay’s vision is that they are not just investing in financial support for students—they are investing in a model that builds community, mentorship, and leadership that will shape how our students persist, succeed, and lead,” says van Briesen. “They asked us to think beyond access and to focus on what it takes for students to grow into leaders in the computing field.”

Pam believes deeply in mentorship. She served on the UMBC Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1998 to 2004, and, most recently, served as a CWIT industry mentor. 

“What makes this gift so meaningful is the journey behind it,” says Robinson, who assisted in cultivating the relationship with the Offutts throughout their engagement with UMBC. “Pam has been engaged with UMBC in so many ways—through the Alumni Association Board, as a CWIT industry mentor, at career fairs—and that connection is exactly what led her and Jay to see this gap and want to help close it.” 

For Pam and Jay, it comes back to the experiences they had as undergraduate students at UMBC and how their careers unfolded after graduation.

Computer science pioneers

Pam and Jay both started UMBC as math majors—computer science was not yet an option—and met in Calculus 101. Boy meets girl. Boy and girl both become teaching assistants. Boy and girl form a close bond by terrorizing professors. 

“As TAs, Jay and I both had keys to the same office and we used to torture the same professors that were right across the hall from us, flipping bottle caps and stuff into their room while they were teaching,” says Pam. “So, that got the door slammed on us at least a couple of times.”

It’s the classic UMBC love story.

One semester before Pam and Jay were set to graduate, UMBC launched the B.S. in computer science. Knowing what it could mean for their job prospects and earning potential, both switched majors.

“I took a couple of extra classes and finished the B.S.,” says Pam. 

After UMBC, Pam and Jay went on to Loyola University and earned master’s degrees.

In 1988, Jay founded Offutt Associates, which later folded into Interface and Control Systems, Inc. (ICS). Serving public and private sectors, ICS provided end-to-end autonomous command and control software for satellites, operational centers, testing setups, and digital business systems. Notably, ICS technology was integrated into major aerospace and defense initiatives, including NASA’s Constellation project and the Department of Defense’s TAC-SAT tactical satellite program. Jay and his partners sold ICS to SRA International in 2008, and Jay retired a few years later.

Meanwhile, Pam took on management and leadership roles in various companies, including COO at Edaptive Systems, LLC (acquired by ManTech) and CEO at MDMeta. In 2009, Pam and fellow UMBC alumnus John duClos ’90, information systems, founded Bellese Technologies, which engineers large-scale, human-centered digital products and data solutions that improve the quality, equity, and efficiency of public health systems. As CEO, Pam made a concerted effort to hire and promote women—successfully building a workforce that was 25 to 30 percent female. It was a stark contrast to the male-dominated workspaces she had experienced throughout her career, though still not the parity she envisioned. The problem, however, was not in the motivation, but in the small pool of potential female hires.

“You can’t find women to hire because women aren’t going into tech,” says Pam. “So it’s a difficult thing.”

Pam sold the company in 2022, and now serves on its Board of Directors. Around the same time, she had that inspirational visit to UMBC where she realized that she and Jay could be part of the solution, leading to the establishment of the Pam and Jay Offutt Graduate Student Endowment.

“I want to see that needle move,” says Pam.

Name: Shruti Dharmani 

Pronouns: she/her

Semester of Internship: Fall 2025

Major: MS in Cybersecurity

Current Class Level: Master's Student

This semester I completed a(n)...: Internship

Internship, Co-op, or Research Site (Company/Organization Name): Technuf LLC.

Location of the Organization (City, State): Rockville, Maryland

Title of position: Cybersecurity Intern

Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities:

• Performing cybersecurity analysis and threat monitoring using Technuf's proprietary product , including triaging security alerts, investigating incidents, and assisting in the detection, analysis, and response to potential threats across client environments. 

• Supporting internal research and development for company's product by maintaining 

accurate technical documentation, understanding platform integration points, assisting with 

system maintenance activities, and contributing to planning and evaluation of future 

security features and enhancements.

Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?

I first learned about Technuf through my mentor, Dr. Faisal Quader, who is also the President of the company. As someone interested in cybersecurity and research, I was excited to learn more about the organization and the work they were doing. I applied through Technuf's careers page and was selected as a cybersecurity intern. Throughout my internship, I had the opportunity to work on a variety of challenging projects, and my internship was extended multiple times as I continued to grow and contribute to the team. After graduating from UMBC, I was grateful to receive a full-time offer, allowing me to continue the journey I started as an intern.

What resources did you use to find your current experience?

Faculty Connections

What have you enjoyed the most about your position and organization?

What I've enjoyed the most is the opportunity to continuously learn and work with a wide range of cybersecurity tools and technologies. One of the most exciting experiences was being part of the team that built CyberSafe, a cybersecurity platform that has now been launched and is being used in the market. I had the chance to work with more than six different security tools, evaluate their strengths, and help identify the best capabilities to incorporate into our product. Beyond learning how to operate cybersecurity platforms, I also gained valuable insight into how these tools are designed, integrated, and built behind the scenes. That experience gave me a much deeper understanding of cybersecurity than I ever expected from an internship.

How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?

One of the things I'm most proud of is being involved in almost every stage of the product's development. My work included research, documentation, product development, testing, and using the platform for threat intelligence and cybersecurity operations. Seeing CyberSafe evolve from the research and development phase into a live product being used by customers has been incredibly rewarding. The trust my team placed in me, along with the fact that my internship was extended multiple times before I ultimately received a full-time offer, gives me confidence that my contributions made a meaningful impact on both the team and the product.

What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?

Don't be afraid to step outside your comfort zone or explore opportunities beyond your core area of expertise. You don't have to abandon the field you're passionate about—instead, look for ways to build complementary skills that make you more versatile. Being open to learning new technologies, taking on unfamiliar challenges, and saying "yes" to opportunities helped me grow far beyond what I expected. Every new skill you develop adds to your capabilities and prepares you for opportunities you may not have imagined when you first started.