Editor’s note: This is part 1 of 2 in a series on the Jakubik Family Endowment Award.

The UMBC community is full of compassionate, caring people who love to give back to UMBC. Stan Jakubik and Justine Johnson are two of those people. Jakubik, a former Assistant Provost at UMBC and now the Assistant Vice Chancellor of the University System of Maryland, along with his family, established the Jakubik Family Endowment in the early 2000s. Their goal was to acknowledge the role that the staff plays in the success of students at UMBC.

Along with the Office of Institutional Advancement, Jakubik created an award that would recognize a staff member who went beyond the norm in helping UMBC students achieve their goals. While the award does include a monetary component, it was designed to highlight the contributions made by all staff to the overall academic and social environment at UMBC.

Today we’re meeting Stan Jakubik, the founder and namesake of the Jakubik Family Endowment, to find out why he’s such a big supporter of UMBC.

Q: What is your relationship to UMBC? How did you become involved with UMBC?

A: I was a member of the UMBC staff from 1980 through most of 1997.  I originally was hired as Registrar, later became Registrar and Director of Academic Advising, finally moving to Assistant Provost in the early 1990s. I reluctantly left UMBC in 1997 to head up a project for the University System of Maryland, where I am currently Assistant Vice Chancellor.

Q: Could you share a favorite memory from your time here?

A: My most fond memories of UMBC involve the growth of team spirit among the staff over the years. In the mid 1980s, Michael Hooker became President and started the transition toward the academic powerhouse that is now UMBC, with Freeman later moving UMBC to the national acclaim it enjoys today. The staff supporting all of the changes became a critical part of UMBC’s success story by joining together to constantly try to find better ways to support students and faculty. There was a strong identity among the staff with the goals of UMBC, pushing bureaucracy aside and finding new ways to “make it happen.”

I must say my other fond memory is my daughter Stephanie’s graduation from UMBC and her first career steps, joining the UMBC staff in both the Shriver Center and Institutional Advancement.

Q: How do you hope your support will make UMBC a better place?

A: My daughter and I wanted to find a way to thank UMBC for the exceptional experiences we both had as staff members. We could think of no better way than to build a program to acknowledge the continuing efforts of UMBC people who want to make the experience of being a member of the UMBC community an exceptional positive period in the lives of our students. We wanted to publicize the achievements of those whose commitment to UMBC – and to the success of its students – set a very high bar for others to follow. I believe the award does that.

Q: Why do you think it’s important to give back to UMBC?

A: I think we all know that financial support from individuals is more critical today than it has ever been. What is most important, however, is that people associated with UMBC have an opportunity to give back in so many different ways. Financial support clearly is one, but volunteerism is another. Becoming involved in recruiting efforts, telling the story of UMBC in social media, mentoring students, and working the legislative issues that impact UMBC all provide the kind of support that UMBC needs. Supporting UMBC in whatever manner is appropriate to you will help UMBC to continue to be the incredible success story it is today.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this series tomorrow.
In the meantime, you can support UMBC, too!

National History Day is set to take place next month at the University of Maryland, College Park. The competition is an exciting experience for students in grades six through twelve to learn about ideas, events and people in history and apply what they learn through original projects.

Nathan Rehr ’13, political science, participated in National History Day as a high school student. For his project, he decided to research Sargent Shriver and as part of his research he interviewed Joby Taylor, Director of the Shriver Peaceworker Program. He credits Taylor with helping him guide his choice of where to go for college and recently shared his story on WYPR’s Humanities Connection.

“For me, History Day helped me determine a few of the next steps in my life,” Rehr said. By interviewing Taylor, Rehr said, “I learned more about UMBC’s social and academic atmosphere, and I decided to start college there the following fall.”

Rehr is currently serving with the U.S. Peace Corps in Senegal working as a Preventive Health Educator to help improve the health and well-being of the community he is serving. To listen to the full segment on Humanities Connection, click here.

Devin Hagerty, professor of political science and founding director of the global studies program, has been named the Lipitz Professor of the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences for 2014-2015. This professorship is supported by an endowment created by Roger C. Lipitz and the Lipitz Family Foundation “to recognize and support innovative and distinguished teaching and research in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.”

An internationally recognized scholar of South Asian international relations (India-Pakistan and South Asia-US), Hagerty came to UMBC from the University of Sydney in 2001. Since then he has published two books, five articles, and 13 book chapters. He founded the journal Asian Security in 2003 and has served as its managing editor or co-editor ever since. He teaches courses in international relations and has won the Political Science Teacher of the Year award three times. He has served as chair of the political science department, currently chairs one of the working groups for the university’s strategic planning, and now directs our new, fast-growing global studies program—among a long list of service to UMBC. In November 2013, Hagerty wrote an op-ed published in Inside Higher Ed in which he introduced UMBC’s global studies program and argued that a liberal arts education is essential in developing a “global competence” among students.

During his year as the Lipitz Professor, Dr. Hagerty will work on a book project entitled “Fear, Ambition, and the Sturdy Child of Terror: South Asia’s Triangular Nuclear Dilemma.”

One of the things that makes UMBC great is how wonderful our alumni, students, faculty, and staff are. Because of these amazing people, UMBC often finds itself “in the news,” so each week, we’ll be sharing with you a round-up of the most newsworthy achievements from our community.

• Rebecca Adelman, Media and Communication Studies, on WYPR’s Maryland Morning
• Kimberly Moffitt, American Studies, on The Marc Steiner Show

Check out all the other great campus news on Insights Weekly.