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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

Passings

Robert Scherr ’66, M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’83

Robert Scherr ’66, M.A. ’70, Ph.D. ’83 of Salisbury, Md., died on May 16, 2023, from cancer. He graduated from Baltimore City College before earning three degrees at UMD. He became a speech therapist in 1970 at the Educational Service Center in Salisbury,…
"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…

10s

Patrice Kingsley MBA ’15

Patrice Kingsley MBA ’15 was named to The Daily Record’s 2023 list of Leading Women Under 40. She is manager of the CareFirst Engagement Center for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from North Carolina…
Shana Cochrane Smith headshot

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

Alicia Dyanne Dacey ’01, M.S. ’04

Alicia Dyanne Dacey ’01, M.S. ’04 of Frederick, Md., died on May 24, 2023. She was 44. Dacey graduated from Quince Orchard High School in Gaithersburg, Md., and earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in marriage and family therapy…

80s

Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs ’89

Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs ’89 was named executive director and CEO of the National School Boards Association. She is a former lieutenant colonel with the Prince George's County Department of Corrections and a county school board member and served as chair…

60s

David M. Kochanski ’69

David M. Kochanski ’69, 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 2007. He practices in the areas of real estate litigation and real estate law.
Steffi Thomas headshot

10s

Dr. Steffi Thomas ’11

Dr. Steffi Thomas ’11 joined the Methodist Medical Group-Rheumatology practice in the Memphis Medical District. She is a board-certified physician who completed a residency in internal medicine and fellowship in rheumatology at the University of…