Erickson Hall, a dormitory that opened in 1998, was named by the Erickson Foundation; due to a unique ownership agreement with the State of Maryland, the Erickson Foundation funded the construction of the building and manages the building. UMBC leases the land to Erickson, and at the end of the 40 year lease the building will be donated to the University of Maryland Foundation.]]>

The first annual Lavender Celebration, honoring LGBTQ graduates and campus allies, was held on May 1, 2014 and was coordinated by the Office of Student Life's Mosaic: Center for Culture and Diversity. The Mosaic works within the Office of Student Life to promote and foster a community of diversity and acceptance on campus. In addition to honoring graduating students, honors are also awarded to departments and faculty/staff allies; the 2014 recipients were The Women’s Center, the department of Gender & Women’s Studies, and GWST professor Dr. Kate Drabinski. The Queer Camping & Leadership Retreat (Student Life) and the Spoken Word Comes Alive with Andrea Gibson (Freedom Alliance) were also recognized.]]>

Diversity in the faculty communities at UMBC has continued to be a struggle. Faculty and staff at UMBC that self identify as white routinely make up about 70% of respondents. The administration and campus leaders have repeatedly tried to recruit a more diverse faculty, and most recently put in place several programs and initiatives to address this issue, including the Executive Committee for the Recruitment, Retention and Advancement of Underrepresented Minority Faculty, the UMBC OutList, and the UMBC Postdoctoral Fellows Program for Faculty Diversity which began in 2011.]]>