Fall 2023

Parting Shot

football team runs through "Go Terps" banner

Rewriting the Script

Popular Football Uniform Returns Full-Time This Fall

Post-Grad

Underexposed

Can You Make Sense of This Horseplay?

Post-Grad

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

Cheers to Safe Bars

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

Post-Grad

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

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

Burning Question for Babies’ Health

UMD Leads National Study on Long-Term Effects of Wildfires

Explorations

Building AI You Can Trust

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

Explorations

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

Better Together

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

Explorations

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

10s

Dr.

In November, the University of Massachusetts Press will publish the new book by Dr. Scott Kamen’s M.A. ’11, “From Union Halls to the Suburbs: Americans for Democratic Action and the Transformation of Postwar Liberalism,” on the most prominent liberal…

Passings

Jo Elaine Tucker ’89

Jo Elaine Tucker ’89 died on March 26, 2023, at her home in Naples, Fla., after a battle with cancer. She was 62. She grew up in Bel Air, Md., and earned a psychology degree at UMD. She was a massage therapist who had a passion for helping people to…

90s

Shana Cochrane Smith ’95

Shana Cochrane Smith ’95 was appointed senior executive vice president and chief legal officer of ScanSource, a leading hybrid distributor connecting devices to the cloud. Smith most recently served as vice president, general counsel and corporate…

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…

00s

Nikkee Porcaro ’07

Nikkee Porcaro ’07, founder of the educational consulting firm No Anxiety Prep, wrote the new book "Appliquirktion: How to Make Your College Application Step Up, Stand Out, and Shine." Drawing upon her experience in college admissions counseling, she…

90s

David Biespiel M.F.A. '91

David Biespiel M.F.A. '91 will release his 13th book and first novel, “A Self -Portrait in the Year of the High Commission on Love” (SFA Press) in October. It follows a charmed 18-year-old growing up in Meyerland, Houston’s historic Jewish section, who…

00s

Ethan Marchant ’04, M.Arch ’06

Ethan Marchant ’04, M.Arch ’06 was promoted to principal in Quinn Evans’ Baltimore office. He has led sustainable renovation and adaptive use projects that serve as engines for community vitality, including the renewal of the abandoned 19th-century Lion…

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…