Fall 2023

Explorations

water from air absorbing into black cube

Water Out of Thin Air

Invention Offers Trickle of Hope for Climate-Driven Crisis

Explorations

‘Mallpark’ Figure

How MLB Stadiums Scored With Fans by Adding Shopping, Theme Park Elements

Campus Life

five Team USA lacrosse players pose with gold medals

Sports Briefs

5 Terps Win Gold in Lacrosse Championship; Shortstop Becomes UMD’s Highest MLB Draft Pick

Campus Life

‘Tau-ring’ Over Maryland’s Record Books

After Setting Nearly Every Terps Passing Mark, Star Quarterback ‘Not Done Yet’

Campus Life

‘Rising’ Awareness

Libraries Exhibit Looks at Century of Student Activism

Campus Life

Blast From the Past—and Into the Future

75 Years After Its Groundbreaking, Revived UMD Wind Tunnel Revs Up

Campus Life

Summ-AR Immersion

Using Emerging Tech, Students Create Innovative Art, Interactive Games in Incubator Program

Campus Life

UMD’s Stumble Bees

Gardens Host Pollen-Fueled Rager, Earning National Recognition

Campus Life

A Commencement Speech Fit for a King

News Anchor Gayle King ’76 Recalls Life, Love and Ledo on First Return to Campus

News

electric Shuttle-UM bus at charging station

Electrifying!

$40M Grant to Fund Climate-Friendly Shuttle-UM Buses

News

Rendering of new basketball performance center

Basketball Performance Center Breaks Ground

Facility Will House Practice Court, Locker Rooms, Strength and Conditioning Areas, and More

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

Passings

Herbert LeRoy Strawsburg Jr. ’56

Herbert LeRoy Strawsburg Jr. ’56 died on June 5, 2023, at Frederick (Md.) Health Hospital at age 89. He graduated from Frederick High School and earned an accounting degree at UMD. He served as vice president of Farmers and Mechanics National Bank until…

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…

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…

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…

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.

Passings

Jean Marie Bir ’84

Jean Marie Bir ’84 of New Market, Md., died on July 5, 2023, at Frederick (Md.) Health Hospital. She was 62. Bir completed degrees in special education from UMD and Hood College and was employed as a special education teacher in Rockville for 40 years,…

Passings

Glenn Grant ’71

Glenn Grant ’71 of Blackwood, N.J., died on May 18, 2023, at age 74. Grant took pride in being an educator, spending the entirety of his career as a history teacher at Williamstown High School. He enjoyed the beach, basketball and tending to his lawn.…

Passings

Albert James Klavon ’68, M.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’75

Albert James Klavon ’68, M.S. ’73, Ph.D. ’75 of Silver Spring, Md., died on May 26, 2023, at age 87. He earned three degrees at UMD in agriculture and agricultural and extension education, then worked there for 38 years, including 23 as an assistant dean…