celebrating exceptional examples
-
UMBC's campus walkways are lined with festive 40th anniversary commemorative signs, featuring some of UMBC's most exceptional students, faculty, staff and alumni. Read about their accomplishments and learn how they have proven themselves as "banner" members of the UMBC community.
1. Mauria Uhlik, a psychology major with a concentration in biopsychology, rode in Habitat for Humanity's Habitat Bike Challenge (HBC) to help end housing poverty, raising proceeds to finance the construction of five homes for the Greater New Haven affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. She is one of 90 college students from schools across the country who raised $4,000 each for Habitat before beginning the nine-week challenge.
2. Diane Auer Jones '88, M.S. applied molecular biology, is deputy associate director for the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy. She also has served as an active member of the UMBC Research Park Corporation's Board of Directors for the past 11 years.
3. Jack Suess '81 and '95, was recently promoted to vice president of information technology at UMBC. His promotion reflects his wide-ranging responsibilities in IT and especially the leadership role he played in guiding UMBC's PeopleSoft implementation.
4. Alex Szatmary '04, mechanical engineering, was one of five UMBC alumni to receive the 2006 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. This fellowship provides full support for up to three years of graduate study in the U.S. or broad. Winners attend the top universities in the U.S. and the world.
5. Danita Eichenlaub, assistant director of the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology (JCET), is known for best for her continuing leadership during the UMBC PeopleSoft implementation. Her responsibilities also include working with two UMBC NASA Centers, Goddard Earth Sciences and Technology Center (GEST) and the Center for Advanced Studies in Photonics Research (CASPR). Her outstanding work and dedication to these centers were recognized in September 2004, when she was named exempt employee of the quarter.
6. Peter Cailloux, a mechanical engineering major, participated in Push: America's Journey of Hope, a bicycle challenge that raises funds for and awareness on behalf of people with disabilities. Journey of Hope is a cross-country bicycle tour sponsored by Pi Kappa Phi, of which Cailloux is a member.
7. Daniel Ritschel, associate professor of history, is the director of the Center for History Education at UMBC. The Center's programs help to strengthen and invigorate the teaching of history in Maryland schools by providing innovative professional development programs and resources for K-12 educators.
8. Christine Routzahn, associate director for the Shriver Center was selected as the Exempt Employee of the Quarter, July 2006. Christine began her career at UMBC and the Shriver Center in 1999 working as a coordinator. She was promoted to assistant director in 2001 and then to associate director in 2004. Under her guidance and leadership, her staff continues to offer more applied learning opportunities to students, setting a record for the number of placements this past fall semester.
9. Jordan Hadfield, ancient studies and political science, is the Student Government Association (SGA) president. As a freshman, he was appointed to the Maryland Higher Education Commission's Student Advisory Council (MHEC-SAC), where he met with other students around the state to discuss solutions to tuition issues and the cost of higher education. He co-founded UMBC's first and only all-male A capella group "The UMBC Mama's Boys" and worked with freshmen to create the university's first student-run retention effort, the First-Year Council.
10. Delali Dzirasa '04, computer engineering, is an employee of RABA Technologies in Columbia, Maryland. An internship arranged through UMBC's Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship led him to a full-time position for the company, where he works closely with fellow alumnus and RABA founder and President Robert Baruch '89.
11. Dane Hanson, chemistry, completed an internship at Repliform, Inc., a company that specializes in electroforming applications with rapid prototype models to serve the industrial design and product development community. After graduation he plans to work in a research lab and earn a master's degree in analytical chemistry. His goal is to pursue a research position at a large university or work for a commercial research and manufacturing site.
12. Adjoa Smalls-Mantey was recently selected as a Goldwater Scholar, a prestigious scholarship program honoring outstanding students who are committed to pursuing careers as research scientists. She is one of several UMBC students conducting research at UMBC's Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research involves improving the mechanics of gene therapy by focusing on the Moloney Murine Leukemia Virus.
13. Yvette Mozie-Ross '88, vice provost for enrollment management, is dedicated to her role as a leader in the UMBC community. Mozie-Ross is a principal force in building student-alumni relations and currently serves on UMBC's Alumni Campaign Committee. She has previously served on the board of directors for the Alumni Association, and pioneered a new chapter in UMBC alumni relations as co-founder and first president of the On-Campus Alumni Chapter.
14. Erin Hundley, coordinator for involvement and leadership, is passionate about helping students make the most of their college experience. She believes that each of us has the power to create our own life experience and college is the perfect time to begin.
15. Harry S. Johnson '76, a partner in the Baltimore law firm of Whiteford, Taylor & Preston, was the first African-American president of the Maryland Bar Association.
