Alumni Association News

University of Maryland graduates are among the best and brightest in their fields. From scholars and innovators to entrepreneurs, teachers and researchers, our alums are leaving their mark in our state, nation and the world. The Alumni Excellence Awards recognize the accomplishments of select Terps and honor these recipients with distinction. Careful consideration was made in selecting the following standout alums, our 2023 recipients of the Alumni Excellence Awards.

Learn more at alumni.umd.edu/excellence.

The following alums are an inspiration to the next generation of Terp leaders. All under the age of 30, they have already made significant professional accomplishments.

KHALIL PETTUS ’15
Vice President, Ardea Partners
Pettus has harnessed his expertise in finance and global investments to help students at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, serving on the Young Alumni Council and establishing a scholarship fund.

ONEYDA HERNANDEZ ’23
Operations Director, Audelia Community Response Team
Hernandez co-created the Latinx-centered nonprofit with the mission “El pueblo takes care of el pueblo,” delivering food and services to the most marginalized families and individuals in Prince George’s and Montgomery counties.

PARINAZ FATHI ’15
Independent Research Scholar, National Institutes of Health
Fathi builds tools to understand why immune systems sometimes attack healthy tissues, which can then help to develop therapies that treat autoimmune diseases and cancer, with a particular focus on the thyroid.

These Terps are fearlessly disrupting their industries as successful entrepreneurs who have notably contributed to their respective fields.

STEVE KREIN ’92
Cofounder and CEO, StartUp Health
A health care entrepreneur, Krein has created a worldwide network of 200,000 innovators, industry leaders and investors who are committed to reinventing the future of health.

PALLAVI AGARWAL ’05
CEO and Founder, Kander
As founder of an award-winning woman- and minority-founded Salesforce global consulting firm, Agarwal has brought customer-centric approaches to some of the nation’s largest firms.

RICHARD “RICK” RUDMAN ’84
President AND CEO, Curbio
Under Rudman, Curbio helps Realtors market and sell homes quickly by offering sellers “pay-at-closing” home improvements that result in a 28% average increase in price.

The University of Maryland is one of the world’s premier research institutions. This award recognizes four alums for their transformational research and its impact.

CHARLES L. FEFFERMAN ’66
Herbert Jones Professor of Math, Princeton University
Considered one of the world’s most versatile mathematicians, Fefferman has brought new insights into fluid dynamics and quantum mechanics while working to solve long-standing math problems.

JONATHAN W. WHITE M.A. ’03, PH.D. ’08
Professor of American Studies, Christopher Newport University
White is a nationally recognized historian who has written or edited 13 books and more than 100 articles, essays and reviews about the Civil War, slavery and emancipation, African American history, Abraham Lincoln and the U.S. Constitution.

BRYAN DICKINSON ’05
Professor, University of Chicago
Dickinson has made high-impact contributions to chemical biology by combining small molecule chemistry with protein and RNA design and evolution. His work helps us better understand human disease.

SIMON A. LEVIN PH.D. ’64
James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University
Levin is one of the most influential ecologists and evolutionary biologists of our time, an expert in ecosystems, the dynamics of disease, and the coupling of ecological and socioeconomic systems.

This distinguished award honors alums who left a positive legacy in their community, celebrating their personal and professional lifetime achievements.

CHIP SOLLINS ’82
President and CEO, Gardens Home Management Services
A former president of the Alumni Association Board of Governors and trustee of the University of Maryland, College Park Foundation, Sollins provides home management services to Florida residents.

MARGARET MOOSE SWALLOW ’75
Cofounder, International Women’s Coffee Alliance
The former Folgers Coffee brand assistant for Procter & Gamble has worked with farmers around the world to improve and receive higher prices for their product.

MAURICE DORSEY ’70, PH.D. ’83
National Program Leader for Public Policy, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture (Retired)
The author of five books, Dorsey has been a leader in promoting diversity and social justice while promoting the competitiveness of U.S. agriculture through policy analysis, education and support for state university-operated economic ventures.