By Charles "Tot" Woolston, Vice Provost, Retired

Maxine Marie Cote, former director of advisement at UMBC, died on June 29. Maxine -- universally known as "Max" -- came to UMBC as an older student in a very young university. She had a wry sense of humor, a sharp intellect, and an extraordinary amount of common sense which made her a respected counselor to students and faculty alike. She majored in philosophy, and when her department started a self-paced logic program, she was the natural head tutor, for she was a patient and gifted teacher.

After graduating in 1982, she was appointed to the position of assistant to the dean of humanities. She eventually became director of advisement until her retirement in 1993. In the position of director, she devised a centralized advisement system, many elements of which are still in use today.

Her knowledge of UMBC's rules and regulations and especially of the general requirements (through several iterations) was legendary. If there was ever any doubt about a regulation or when it took effect, there was only one solution -- call Max. Faculty, staff, and students deferred to her personal knowledge of past and present regulations. Her answers often included the effective date of the rule and why it was passed. She left a codified rule book when she retired, but it wasn't the same as getting her detailed explanation.

She was a caring and careful advisor. She believed that student success was directly tied to preparation and planning. She developed advisement manuals and conducted training sessions for advisors. She hired and trained faculty to be summer orientation advisors and assisted many academic departments in developing their advising systems. Additionally, she was instrumental in implementing a program with Baltimore City to bring strong seniors from Walbrook and Edmondson High Schools to UMBC to take courses.

Maxine Cote was one of the building blocks on which the foundation of UMBC rests. She was a proud alumnus and an important person in the growth and development of this campus. Two of her three children, Patricia and Glenn, are UMBC alumni. She is also survived by her husband Henry, son John and 7 grandchildren.