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Maryland Today

Fall 2023

football team runs through "Go Terps" banner

Parting Shot

September 14, 2023
Popular Football Uniform Returns Full-Time This Fall
two gymnasts pose on horse

Post-Grad

September 14, 2023
Can You Make Sense of This Horseplay?
food in test tubes

Post-Grad

September 14, 2023
Food Scientist Melds Chemistry, Culinary Passion at McCormick
Lynde Washington poses in front of his artwork

Post-Grad

September 14, 2023
Former Cornerback Tackles Subjects’ Essences on Canvas
Amie Ward portrait

Post-Grad

September 14, 2023
Alum Serves Up Resources to Improve Health, Equity of Hospitality Industry
members of the Sugar Hill Sisterhood

Post-Grad

September 14, 2023
From College Park to the Caribbean, Sugar Hill Sisterhood Celebrates 50th Gathering
fans watch as Mighty Sound of Maryland marches by

Post-Grad

September 14, 2023
Meet the New Members; 3 Reasons to Return for UMD Homecoming
A white truck was driving down a country road

Features

September 14, 2023
In rural Maryland, a new “been-there-done- that” approach to the opioid crisis offers hope on four wheels.
Yellow taxi on the road

Features

September 14, 2023
Alum named NYC taxi commissioner navigates ridesharing’s rise, drivers’ economic woes—and plenty of midtown traffic.
two students sit on WMUC couch. Inset photos: students install radio tower; students review tally sheets

Features

September 14, 2023
How do you track 75 years of college radio at Maryland? Decades of deejays replay history, hijinks and the music that made WMUC.
fire burns down houses

Explorations

September 14, 2023
UMD Leads National Study on Long-Term Effects of Wildfires
Hal Daumé III behind projection of code

Explorations

September 14, 2023
Researcher Heading New $20M NSF-Backed Institute Says Systems Should Support Societal Good
Toucha11y rendering

Explorations

September 14, 2023
Palm-sized Robot Navigates Touchscreens for Visually Impaired Users
Jennifer Smallwood-Holmes talks to kids in classroom

Explorations

September 14, 2023
Ask an Expert: Advice for Real Life
holding hands

Explorations

September 14, 2023
We’ll Give Up a Lot to Share Experiences With Loved Ones, Study Shows
bus shelter with plant growing on top

Explorations

September 14, 2023
UMD-Grown, Plant-Packed Bus Shelters Debut Near Campus

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

10s

John Devlin M.M. ’11, D.M.A. ’15

John Devlin M.M. ’11, D.M.A. ’15 received a 2023 Georg Solti Career Assistance Award, given to 22 young conductors by the Solti Foundation U.S. His contract as music director of the Wheeling (Va.) Symphony has been renewed for four years, and he was…

Passings

James A. Dickerson ’70, Ph.D. ’75

James A. Dickerson ’70, Ph.D. ’75 died on Aug. 9, 2023, at Hutchinson (Kansas) Regional Medical Center. He was 77. Dickerson majored in history and psychology at UMD, then earned a master’s degree in rehabilitation counseling from the University of Iowa…

Passings

Lynald “Sils” E. Silsbee Ph.D. ’81

Lynald “Sils” E. Silsbee Ph.D. ’81 of Wescosville, Pa., died on May 19, 2023, at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest. He was 80. He was born in 1942 in Williamsport, and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees at Bloomsburg University, and eventually…
"Bad Questions" book cover

90s

Len Kruger M.F.A. ’95

Len Kruger M.F.A. ’95 will release his debut novel, “Bad Questions,” through the Washington Writers’ Publishing House in October. It tells the story of a Maryland boy in 1971 who comes to terms with the recent death of his father, a Hebrew school…

80s

Todd D. Brown ’84

Todd D. Brown ’84, an attorney with Shulman Rogers in Potomac, Md., was named to Best Lawyers 2024, a recognition based on peer review that he has earned every year since 2019. He practices in the area of land use and zoning law.

Passings

Peggy S. Ratcheson M.A. ’68

Peggy S. Ratcheson M.A. ’68 died on May 6, 2023, at her Hamilton, Mont., home after a 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer. She was 80. She was born in St. Louis and attended Miami University in Ohio, the University of California Berkeley and Washington…

70s

Douglas E. Rowe ’78

Douglas E. Rowe ’78, a partner with Certilman Balin Adler & Hyman on Long Island, N.Y., was named to the 2024 Best Lawyers list, a recognition based on peer review. He practices in the labor and employment group and is a seasoned litigator at the…

20s

Brandon Bennett Young ’22

Brandon Bennett Young ’22 (above) won the National Havoc Robot League’s August tournament and "Golden Dumpster" trophy in Norwalk, Conn., in the 30-pound category with his vertical spinner bot "Vorion.” This win qualified Young for the league’s…