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Fall 2023

Parting Shot football team runs through "Go Terps" banner

Rewriting the Script

Popular Football Uniform Returns Full-Time This Fall

Post-Grad two gymnasts pose on horse

Underexposed

Can You Make Sense of This Horseplay?

Post-Grad food in test tubes

Lessons in Flavoring

Food Scientist Melds Chemistry, Culinary Passion at McCormick

Post-Grad Lynde Washington poses in front of his artwork

Brush With Greatness

Former Cornerback Tackles Subjects’ Essences on Canvas

Post-Grad Amie Ward portrait

Cheers to Safe Bars

Alum Serves Up Resources to Improve Health, Equity of Hospitality Industry

Post-Grad members of the Sugar Hill Sisterhood

The Sweetest Connection

From College Park to the Caribbean, Sugar Hill Sisterhood Celebrates 50th Gathering

Post-Grad fans watch as Mighty Sound of Maryland marches by

Alumni Association News

Meet the New Members; 3 Reasons to Return for UMD Homecoming

Features A white truck was driving down a country road

Roads to Recovery

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

Features Yellow taxi on the road

All Hail David Do

Alum named NYC taxi commissioner navigates ridesharing’s rise, drivers’ economic woes—and plenty of midtown traffic.

Features two students sit on WMUC couch. Inset photos: students install radio tower; students review tally sheets

‘Get Listening, Kids’

How do you track 75 years of college radio at Maryland? Decades of deejays replay history, hijinks and the music that made WMUC.

Explorations fire burns down houses

Burning Question for Babies’ Health

UMD Leads National Study on Long-Term Effects of Wildfires

Explorations Hal Daumé III behind projection of code

Building AI You Can Trust

Researcher Heading New $20M NSF-Backed Institute Says Systems Should Support Societal Good

Explorations Toucha11y rendering

An Ally for Access

Palm-sized Robot Navigates Touchscreens for Visually Impaired Users

Explorations Jennifer Smallwood-Holmes talks to kids in classroom

Preschool Director Explains How to Turn Tots’ Chatter Into Conversation

Ask an Expert: Advice for Real Life

Explorations holding hands

Better Together

We’ll Give Up a Lot to Share Experiences With Loved Ones, Study Shows

Explorations bus shelter with plant growing on top

Gimme (Green) Shelter

UMD-Grown, Plant-Packed Bus Shelters Debut Near Campus

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue
George J. Lavery headshot

Passings

George J. Lavery M.A. ’70

George J. Lavery M.A. ’70 died on July 18, 2023, at his home in Shrewsbury, Pa. He was 79. Lavery was a graduate of Geneseo (N.Y.) Central School and the State University of New York Geneseo. He went on to earn a master's degree from the University of…

Passings

Cheryl Patricia Hiller ’68, M.A. ’88

Cheryl Patricia Hiller ’68, M.A. ’88, a former counselor and teacher at the University of Maryland, died at her Marana, Ariz., home on July 16, 2023. Hiller spent most of her life and career in the Washington, D.C., area. She enjoyed sailing the waters of…

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…

90s

Nick Tressler ’96

Nick Tressler ’96 was named chief financial officer at Addimmune/American Gene Technologies. He brings more than 20 years of experience as a strategic financial executive, enterprise leader and operational business partner in the life sciences,…
Jack Lee Holcomb headshot

Passings

Jack Lee Holcomb ’62

Jack Lee Holcomb ’62 died on July 18, 2023, at his home in Melbourne, Fla. He was 87. He was born in Monroe County, Tenn., where he was raised until age 13. He then lived with his family on naval bases in California, Hawaii and Maryland. He graduated from…

00s

Aaron Szabo ’06

Aaron Szabo ’06, an authority on energy and environmental policy and regulatory issues, joined Faegre Drinker Consulting as senior director in the Washington, D.C. office. Szabo most recently served as a partner at a D.C.-based advocacy and strategic…
Brett Zeitlin headshot

00s

Brett Zeitlin

Brett Zeitlin ’04, an attorney with Pennsylvania labor, employment and workers’ compensation law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson, was selected by peers for inclusion in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, one of the legal profession’s…

00s

L.S. McKee M.F.A. ’05

“Creature, Wing, Heart, Machine,” the debut collection of alter-ego poems by L.S. McKee M.F.A. ’05, confronts the surveillance gaze of online desire. Her work has appeared in Narrative, The Massachusetts Review, Best New Poets, Cincinnati Review, The…