Funded Proposals

In Fall 2015 and Spring 2016, the Office of Institutional Advancement invited the UMBC community to apply for funds to support projects designed to engage alumni during the 50th Anniversary. Over two rounds, the following proposals were selected:

Residential Life Alumni Reunion
“There’s No Place like Home” will engage all past and present Residential Life staff and students.

Stoop Stories with the Fab 4
The first four graduating classes (1970-1973, known as the Fab 4) will host a “Stoop Stories” event and a dinner featuring stories from the Fab 4 and others centered around the theme of “My First UMBC experience.”

Lego Replica of UMBC
A Lego model will replicate UMBC’s campus, telling the story of the university’s past and showing future growth. A large UMBC sign will also be produced with Legos.

Beaux-Arts Ball
Many historically famous art schools have traditions of costume balls, the best known being the century-old celebration given by the students of the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The UMBC Beaux-Arts Ball we will use the “Metal Party” of 1929 as inspiration to create a “Golden Ball” featuring black and gold.

UMBC: A Visual History
This project will gather historic images from The Retriever, thereby enriching the holdings of Special Collections, and will provide artwork that will be used throughout the year at 50th events.

Welcome Tables at Social Work Conferences
A “Welcome Back” table at social work conferences will engage alumni of the School of Social Work.

A Look Ahead
The successful A Look Ahead program with be enhanced by a session entitled A Look Ahead – Exploring Research in STEM Teaching, designed to create an affinity group of alumni engaged in STEM teaching in local schools.

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab Luncheon
A luncheon at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL) campus will engage APL staff who are UMBC alumni.

EMS Today
A reception at the 2016 Emergency Medical Services TODAY conference will engage EMS alumni from throughout the United States.

Library Gallery Exhibition
The Library Gallery will present an exhibition drawn from the Library & Gallery’s University Archives and Special Collections highlighting the history and development of the campus. The exhibition will be accompanied by a printed catalogue.

Library & Gallery Alumni Reunion
Library & Gallery Alumni will be invited to a reception in the Library Gallery.

CWIT Family Reunion Campaign
The simultaneous celebration of the 15th CWIT Scholar cohort (fall 2016) and UMBC’s 50th Anniversary present an opportunity to have a CWIT Family Reunion Campaign and to launch a new annual event, CWIT Communi-TEA.

Graduate Association of Biological Sciences
The Graduate Association of Biological Sciences (GABS) will invite biology alumni, particularly those from the Master’s and PhD programs, to return and take part in the traditional GABS Symposium.

50 Years of Living the Life Sciences
The Department of Biology will create a timeline depicting its rich history of innovation and greatness over the past 50 years. The final product will be a 20 ft poster showcasing the strong history of UMBC Biology from its origins in 1966 to present day, as well as key milestones in the advancement of biology as a science.

VOICES, The Black Student Union’s Literary Magazine Reunion
The rich history of VOICES, the Literary Magazine of UMBC’s Black Student Union, will be celebrated through an exhibition during the anniversary weekend in September.

Early Childhood Education Alumni Gathering
Alumni from the past 45 years of the Early Childhood Teacher Education Program will gather in May 2016 for a reception and program.

Early Modern Women Investors in the Stock Market
This talk will showcase an example of some of the innovative research being done by the faculty in the Medieval and Early Modern Studies Minor. Amy Froide will discuss her new book, to be published in October 2016, entitled Silent Partners: Women as Public Investors during the Financial Revolution, 1690-1750, examining women’s participation in the first stock market, London’s Exchange Alley, in the last decade of the seventeenth century.

UMBC 50th Anniversary Celebration for Public Policy Alumni
This project will create a new event, a 50th anniversary celebration for UMBC Public Policy alumni in the Washington, D.C. area. The Public Policy Department hopes to build connections among participating alumni and to continue the celebration as an annual event after the 50th anniversary.

UMBC and AKA Celebrate 50 and 40
The Lambda Phi chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, was formed at UMBC in November 1977, and in 2017 will celebrate its 40th anniversary. A spring 2017 celebration will bring Lambda Phi alumni back to campus.

Public Policy Alumni Roundtable
The School of Public Policy will organize an alumni roundtable, with representatives from each decade sharing their stories about a public policy issue that is significant to them and to the region. Panelists will also address the “next big thing” in their public policy fields, which include health, education, urban policy, and public management.

Around the World in 50 Years
Modern Languages and the Study Abroad Office team up to bring home alumni from around the world for multinational music and a dynamic story sharing experience.

Women’s Center 25th Anniversary and Critical Social Justice: Home
This fall will mark the 25th anniversary of the Women’s Center. To celebrate, the Center will incorporate its anniversary programming into Critical Social Justice, a Women’s Center initiative that supports interdisciplinary engagement with social justice advocacy. This year’s theme will center on the idea of home: cultivating a sense of belonging at UMBC, strengthening connections to Baltimore, and bringing what we learn at UMBC back home to to our own communities.

UMBC Chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
The UMBC Chapters of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. (PBS), and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (ZPB), will held a formal gala/program/dinner and dance in June 2016.

UMBC/Erickson School Anniversary Celebration
Undergraduate and graduate program alumni are invited to participate in the Inaugural UMBC/Erickson School Anniversary Celebration in conjunction with the School’s 10th birthday.

Sociology, Anthropology, & Health Administration and Policy: Friends of the Fiftieth Gala
This reception, hosted in the Public Policy Building, will bring together alumni (from both undergraduate and graduate programs), current undergraduate and graduate students (all department undergraduate majors, master’s and doctoral students), faculty (current and emeritus), staff, affiliates and friends to celebrate the many accomplishments of the department over the past 50 years.

50 Paw Prints for 50 Years
During the 50th weekend, 50 different “paw prints” will be set up in various locations around campus, designed to encourage photography, and interaction on social media.

Sherman Scholars 10th Anniversary Celebration
This event will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Sherman Scholars, and will: 1) look back at and forward to the future of the Sherman Program; 2) initiate an annual celebration of excellence in K-12 STEM teaching through creating a “Betsy and George Sherman Model Teacher” award; 3) provide a forum for alumni teachers to share best practices with one another; and 4) celebrate teachers broadly.

ANCS Week Keynote Lecture and Reunion
Ancient Studies will celebrate its 50th anniversary by presenting two events: an expanded version of its Ancient Studies Week Keynote Lecture and a reunion for alumni, students, and friends of the department as the culmination of Ancient Studies Week in Fall 2016.

English Department 50th Birthday Celebration
The Department of English will host a series of events designed to provide an interactive reunion and a forum, including a poetry reading by three of the department’s current faculty, a series of mini-TED talks by faculty members with eclectic backgrounds and interests, and a gathering of emeritus faculty members – many of whose careers are linked to the very founding of the institution.

Second Annual David W. Smith Memorial and Benefit Concert
The Department of Music will present the Second Annual David W. Smith Memorial and Benefit Concert. This event will follow a very successful inaugural concert in 2015 that celebrated the memory and creative genius of David W. Smith, an accomplished Wagnerian tenor and beloved UMBC professor.

Smart Fun with CNMS – Celebrate Science!
The College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences will present four showcase “Celebrate Science!” demonstrations on the “main stage” (at the “Retriever Zone” on the library patio or “House of Grit” Administrative tents) – and then provide smaller hands-on activities, tours, and social events within four departments: Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physics.

Legends of Excellence: Through the Decades
Members of the UMBC Chapter of Black and Latino Alumni committee will hold a Legends of Excellence Brunch, in acknowledgement of the extraordinary contribution faculty and staff have made to the lives of African-American and Latino students during their tenure at UMBC.

Really, Really Big Breakfast and Bingo
A UMBC Student Events Board staple, the Breakfast & Bingo, will be super-sized into the Really, Really Big Breakfast & Bingo. The event take place on the Anniversary weekend in the RAC Arena.

50th Anniversary Grit and Greekness Alumni Celebration
More than five thousand Greek alumni will be invited to a major celebration in October 2016 in downtown Baltimore.

For questions about the RFP process or the awards, please contact Tom Moore in Institutional Advancement at tmoore@umbc.edu.