Community and Extended Connection

Primary goals: 1) Build, nurture, and extend relationships among diverse internal and external communities and partners to enrich campus life, local neighborhoods, the State, and the surrounding region. 2) Foster innovative problem-solving and responsible entrepreneurship through strategic partnerships with alumni, government agencies, businesses, and community-based organizations to create a sustainable and prosperous future for all.

Research Questions

  • How can UMBC build upon and maximize our growing and evolving campus, community, and regional partnerships that foster economic and cultural growth? Specifically, how can UMBC build upon the success of campus centers and academic and co-curricular initiatives that have fostered relationships off campus with alumni, community partners, and cultural organizations? What are the weaknesses within these initiatives that could be strengthened?
  • How can UMBC develop research and educational partnerships with government agencies at the federal, State, and local levels to retain and expand existing businesses and to support the development of new ones that stimulate innovation and economic growth?
  • How can UMBC better encourage, motivate, build the capacity of, and reward faculty, staff, and students for their facilitation and leadership of extended connections and partnerships?
  • How can UMBC be a more effective partner with economically underserved communities to solve complex social and environmental problems?
  • How can UMBC more effectively communicate contributions, successes, and achievements that benefit the region to on-campus and off-campus audiences (e.g., alumni, current and future students, government officials, community partners, and businesses)?
  • What are the best practices for fostering, developing, and sustaining productive partnerships on and off campus that peer universities have employed, and from which we might learn?
  • What personnel, technology, and other resources are necessary to create a campus-wide system to record and track partnerships and engagement with the community, as well as evaluate their effectiveness and impact for diverse constituencies (e.g., faculty, students, community partners, surrounding neighborhoods, the state, and the region)?

Members

Co-Chairs

Stephen Bradley
Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Visual Arts
[Sabbatical June 30, 2014-January 3, 2015]

Mavis Sanders
Professor, Education

Greg Simmons
Vice President, Institutional Advancement
[Serving as interim co-chair while Dr. Bradley is on sabbatical]

Members

Terry Aylsworth
Vice President, Non-Exempt Staff Senate
Executive Administrative Assistant, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences

Dan Barnhart
Director for Commuter and Residential Life

Amy Froide
Associate Professor, History

Lori Hardesty
Assistant Director, Service-Learning, K-16 Partnerships, The Shriver Center

Ellen Hemmerly
President and Executive Director, bwtech@UMBC Research and Technology Park

Josh Massey
Undergraduate Student

Ken Pittman ’80
President, Alumni Association Board of Directors

Chris Steele
Senior Associate Vice Provost, Professional Studies

Chris Swan
Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Geography and Environmental Systems

Marc Zupan
Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Senior Advisors

John Martello
Vice Provost, Professional Studies and Chairman/CEO, UMBC Training Centers

Consultants

LaMar Davis
Director, Choice Program

Damian Doyle
Director of Enterprise Infrastructure and Support, Division of Information Technology

Jarrett Kealey
Assistant Director, Undergraduate Academic Affairs

Steve Levy
Associate Athletic Director, Communications

Stanyell Odom
Director, Alumni Relations

Sue Plitt
Associate Director, Recruitment and Marketing, Career Services Center

Arlene Wergin
Director, International Education Services