As the city's executive vice president of the Baltimore Community Development Financing
Corporation, Gary M. Brooks, history '79, is devoted to helping Baltimore area youth and
is a recognized expert in neighborhood and community development. For these and numerous
other volunteer efforts, Brooks was recognized with this year's UMBC Community Leadership
Award.
"What I value the most in community service is interacting with youth," says Brooks.
This passion led to his work with the Madison Square Buccanneers Inner-City Program, which
he cofounded in 1996. Serving as vice president and a coach of several teams, Brooks guides
urban youth, ages 6 to 14, in academics and basketball, teaching them to "use basketball as
a tool to succeed in life and not let basketball use them." He credits UMBC for furthering
his interest in these activities, saying that it "played a critical role in preparing me
for community service, both from a professional and volunteer standpoint."
Today, Brooks is clearly impressed with the campus and its current students. As an active
alumnus, he regularly returns to his alma mater and has witnessed some major changes
since his undergraduate days. "The growth has been phenomenal," says Brooks. "When
I was here, I lived on campus, and there were only three dormitories. I think this
physical development is unparalleled by probably any other university in the state."
Brooks credits much of this success to President Freeman Hrabowski's leadership,
but there's no denying that he, too, has assumed a substantial leadership role in
the community. Brooks passion for energizing the youth of Baltimore to seek out and
find the value in higher education is what drives him.
"I see a very strong value and correlation between UMBC's strategy and students being
successful in business and community service," says Brooks. "UMBC's strategy of developing
an entrepreneurial approach early in students' careers is what helps them not only to
succeed but to excel." It is a connection that he is eager to help facilitate. "I'd
like to act as a bridge and share the resources of UMBC with the youth of Baltimore City,
to introduce them to higher education before they become college age and help them to
recognize the value of education in practical day-to-day involvement." For Brooks, UMBC's
role in providing this support and guidance is exemplary. "UMBC is something of a flagship
institution. It's second to none as far as I'm concerned."
Arnold T. Blumberg is a freelance writer, book designer and columnist. He currently
teaches at UMBC and is president of the English Alumni Society.
