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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

80s

Aaron Ghais ’89

Aaron Ghais ’89, an attorney with Shulman Rogers in Potomac, Md., was named to Best Lawyers 2024, a recognition based on peer review that he also earned last year. He practices in the areas of corporate law and mergers and acquisitions law.

10s

Letam Duson ’10

Letam Duson ’10 was named to The Daily Record’s 2023 list of Leading Women Under 40. Duson is senior assistant state prosecutor in Maryland’s Office of State Prosecutor. She is responsible for investigating and litigating political corruption and public…

00s

Amit Singh M.S. ’03

Amit Singh M.S. ’03 was appointed chief financial officer of Despegar.com Corp, a Latin American online travel company. Singh most recently was CFO of Nasdaq-listed AgileThought, a global provider of digital transformation services and custom software…
Jo Elaine Tucker headshot

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…

Passings

Ursula H.K. McAuley M.A. ’78

Ursula H.K. McAuley M.A. ’78 of Odenton, Md., died on June 17, 2022, from congestive heart failure. She was 95 and had lived independently until April 2022, when she broke her kneecap in a fall. Born in Sprendlingen, Germany, Ursula Neubecker grew up…

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…

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…

90s

Alka Bhave ’96, M.S. ’98

Alka Bhave ’96, M.S. ’98 was hired as president of Fearless Digital, Baltimore’s largest software development company and one of its largest minority-owned businesses. Prior to joining Fearless, Bhave was chief operations officer for the nonprofit…