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Fall 2023

Photo 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
Katherine Layne McCoy headshot

Passings

Katherine Layne McCoy ’53

Katherine Layne McCoy ’53 died on July 20, 2023 at the Terraces in Bonita Springs, Fla., where she resided since 2014. She was 93. McCoy graduated from Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Md., Centenary Junior College in New Jersey, and UMD, where she majored…

00s

Jennifer Covahey ’08

Jennifer Covahey ’08 was named to The Daily Record’s 2023 Leading Women Under 40 list. She is director of college success at the CollegeBound Foundation in Baltimore. Covahey earned a master’s degree in mental health counseling and school counseling from…

80s

Scott Van Pelt ’88

Scott Van Pelt ’88 joined the cast of ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown.” He will add this once-weekly assignment to his existing job as host of the 11 p.m. edition of "SportsCenter."

Passings

Charles F. Smyser Jr. ’50

Charles F. Smyser Jr. ’50 of Amherst, Mass., died on July 20, 2023, at age 98. Smyser attended high school at Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, followed by the University of Maryland and graduate school at the University of Connecticut. After graduation,…
Stephanie Damadio headshot

Passings

Stephanie Damadio ’72

Stephanie Damadio ’72 died on May 12, 2023, at age 74. She was born in Albuquerque, N.M., and earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from UMD, a master’s in forensic sciences from the George Washington University and a doctorate in biological…

90s

Myriam Yarbrough ’96, M.A.T. ’99, Ph.D. ’13

Myriam Yarbrough ’96, M.A.T. ’99, Ph.D. ’13 was named superintendent of Baltimore County Public Schools. She had been deputy superintendent since December 2021 after joining the system in 2020.

00s

Shirley M. Steinbach ’03

Shirley M. Steinbach ’03, an attorney with Shulman Rogers in Potomac, Md., was named to Best Lawyers 2024, a recognition based on peer review. She practices community association law.

00s

LieAnn Van-Tull ’06

LieAnn Van-Tull ’06, an associate with Keller and Heckman’s food and drug packaging and tobacco and e-vapor practice groups, was sworn in as president of the Washington Bar Association. She was also honored as a National Conference of Bar Presidents…