Planning the Research Park
Although the bwtech@UMBC Research & Technology Park opened in 2002, it was a project more than a decade in the making. After discovering an illegal garbage dump in 1990, the university decided to publicly make plans for the construction of a research park the following year. This announcement was met with skepticism from the community, who were concerned about another large-scale building in the area, traffic, and possible chemical leaks despite possible job opportunities and the economic benefits. Zoning conflicts between UMBC, Arbutus, and Catonsville lasted for years, ultimately resulting in the university agreeing to scale back the size of the project. Today, the 71-acre park's north and south campuses house more than 120 tech companies and research institutions.
UMBC Creative Services
University Photographs
ca. 1990-1998
gelatin silver prints; black-and-white photographs; 5.25 x 7 in.
UARC 2013-013-17-1135
Photographs of Quadmania for The Retriever Weekly, Two contact sheets, April 25, 1998, 8 x 10. University Photographs, UARC 2004-03-02-1690 to 1725
Quadmania in 1998 was almost Quad"-less. The festival was originally scheduled to be held in Parking Lot 16 due to construction in the area of the RAC and Commons; only a few weeks prior were the students informed that Quadmania would be held on the eponymous Quad. Quadmania did eventually leave the Quad for several years and was held instead at the parking lots at the top of the hill (near the police station) and at the bottom (in the Stadium Lot). The festival and music concerts returned to the Quad in 2011.
The Retriever Weekly
University Photographs
4/25/1998
color photographs; contact sheets; 8 x 10 in.
UARC 2004-03-02-1821 to 1855
Out With The Old... …In With The New, The Retriever, Vol. 28, no. 1
During the summer of 1992, President Michael Hooker left UMBC to take the helm of the five-school University of Massachusetts System. Freeman Hrabowski, who had first served as Vice Provost and then as Vice President, was selected as the interim president. A search for a new president would not begin until a final decision had been made about the possible unification of UMBC and UMAB, as only one president would be needed if the two schools merged.
Drenning, Jim; Hawley, Pam
University Publications
9/9/1992
newspapers; articles; 14.75 x 23.75 in.
UPUB R4-001_19920909
Name Change Questionnaire distributed to Faculty Senate Documents
In September 1987, President Michael Hooker informally proposed three new names for UMBC: 1) Maryland State University; 2) Maryland State University and Technical Institute; and 3) Maryland Institute of Technology. The topic was later taken up by the Faculty Senate Committee on Statewide Reorganization and they distributed a name change questionnaire. The committee reported that of the 431 respondents, 96% thought another name was preferable, or at least acceptable. 90% thought another name was preferable. University of Maryland, Baltimore and the University of Maryland, Baltimore Campus received the majority of the votes, although the committee recommended University of Maryland Baltimore Campus of Arts, Sciences, and Technology (still shortened to UMBC). Ultimately, Chancellor Donald Langenberg decided to set aside the name change issue to focus on UMBC's fit and distinction within the University System of Maryland before defining the campus through a new name.
The name change debate arose again in 2010 in a Baltimore Sun editorial, which suggested some of President Hooker's original ideas such as Maryland State University and Maryland Institute of Technology, among others.
Hooker, Michael
President's office records, Collection 50
10/19/1990
questionnaires; 8.5 x 11 in.
50UMBC-034
Meyerhoff Scholarship Program Graduating Class of 1994
The creation of the Meyerhoff Scholars Program was made possible at UMBC in 1988 through a grant from the Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Foundation. The nationally-renowned program funded students pursuing doctoral studies in the sciences and engineering with an interest in the advancement of minorities in related fields. Emphasizing mentoring, scholars were encouraged to cooperate and collaborate with their peers and the Meyerhoff staff. Scholars also completed research early on during their time at the university. Since the implementation of the program, U.S. News & World Report has highlighted the Meyerhoff Scholars Program as a successful model for supporting black students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and increasing minority employment and education in these fields. According to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges, UMBC is the top university in graduating African American scholars who go on to enroll in MD/PhD programs.
Meyerhoff Scholars advance through the program together as part of a closely knit cohort. The graduating class of 1994 was the second cohort to graduate, known as Cohort M2, and included sixteen students representing Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Information Systems, Interdisciplinary Studies, Mechanical Engineering, Physics, and Psychology. Graduates were accepted into Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Duke, Northwestern, and Yale among other top graduate and medical schools.
University Publications
5/11/1994
programs (documents); 8.5 x 5.5 in.
UPUB M8-002
Lighting the Alumni Bonfire
Alumni prepare to light the bonfire that was part of MindFest in 1995.
UMBC Creative Services
University Photographs
1995
gelatin silver prints; black-and-white photographs; 5 x 7 in.
UARC 2013-013-18-0335
Letter of congratulations on the occasion of UMBC's 25th anniversary from Baltimore City Mayor Kurt Schmoke
The President's Convocation on September 19, 1991 celebrated the university's 25th anniversary. The gathering featured speeches from special guests such as former chancellors Albin O. Kuhn and John Dorsey. Maryland State Comptroller Louis Goldstein was on hand to speak about his role in finding UMBC's current site. A special Gallery exhibition was on display for the anniversary. Curator William Dunlop arranged for photographer Tim Ford to capture the portraits of 60 individuals who had attended or contributed to the university.
Kurt L. Schmoke was Baltimore's first elected African American mayor. He served from 1987 to 1999, then made a career as an academic administrator. He is currently serving as University of Baltimore's President.
Schmoke, Kurt L.
Institutional Advancement records, Collection 97
9/19/1991
correspondence; 8.5 x 11 in.
50UMBC-035
Letter from USM Chancellor Donald Langenberg to UMB President Errol Reese and UMBC President Michael Hooker
In 1991, the Maryland Higher Education Commission recommended that the Board of Regents consider merging UMAB and UMBC in order to create one larger research university. In response, Chancellor Donald Langenberg created the UMAB/UMBC Task Force on Unification; in fall 1991 the task force announced its recommendation that the two schools combine into one institution called the University of Maryland Baltimore. The co-chairs of the task force, UMAB President Errol Reese and UMBC President Michael Hooker, explained that this would create a single, more prestigious university in Baltimore while saving money that could be reinvested back into the campus. The merger would also eliminate duplications and competition for federal resources. Perhaps most enticingly, unifying the schools would qualify the institution to become a Carnegie I research university, the highest national academic classification a university can achieve. The proposal was passed to the governor and State Legislature. Although it passed the House of Delegates by a wide margin, the unification plans were rejected in Spring 1992 by the Senate's Budget and Taxation Committee and never came to a floor vote.
Langenberg, D. N., 1932-
University Senates records, Collection 52
8/5/1991
correspondence; 8.5 x 11 in.
50UMBC-037
Installation of the Eta Chapter of Maryland at UMBC
On May 26, 1998, the first class of UMBC's Phi Beta Kappa members were inducted into the honor society during an early afternoon ceremony in the University Center Ballroom. Qualifications included a minimum 3.5 GPA, 90 credits in both liberal arts and sciences (36 of which must have been received at UMBC), and no more than ten percent of the eligible pool of students could be offered membership to the society.
University Publications
5/26/1998
programs (documents); 5 x 7 in.
UPUB S7-008_2
Installation of the Eta Chapter of Maryland at UMBC
Founded in 1776 at the College of William and Mary, Phi Beta Kappa is the nation's oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. In 1998, UMBC was among only seven colleges and universities in the United states to be offered Phi Beta Kappa chartership (selected from 47 that applied). The installation of the Eta Chapter of Maryland of the Phi Beta Kappa Society took place on March 16, 1998 in the University Center Ballroom. Honorary memberships were given to Jo Ann E. Argersinger, Provost of UMBC; Robert P. Burchard, Professor of Biological Sciences; Daphne D. Harrison; Director of the Center for the Humanities; Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, President of UMBC; Albin O. Kuhn; the first chancellor of UMBC; Jane B. Meyerhoff and Robert E. Meyerhoff, philanthropists; Angela Moorjani; chair of Modern Languages and Linguistics; and Richard F. Neville, former Dean of Arts and Sciences at UMBC. Dr. Jay M. Freyman, director of the Honors College, was named president of the Eta Chapter.
Phi Beta Kappa
University Publications
3/16/1998
programs (documents); 5.5 x 8.5 in.
UPUB S7-008_1