Skip site navigation

Winter 2024

Testudo turtle mascot with open arms. Vintage mascot photos in background

Features

January 12, 2024
From Turtlenappings to TikTok Shenanigans, How an Unassuming Reptile Evolved to Represent Terp Spirit
rainbow turtle, turtle with pink and light blue pattern, "Support #TransTerps" pin. "Debilitating Queerness", "they" pin

Features

January 16, 2024
Twenty-five years ago, the LGBTQ+ Equity Center opened to support queer Terps who felt invisible, isolated and harassed. Some of the founders recount its humble start and hard-won victories.
View of low, tan buildings against a large sky. Dessert terrain.

Features

January 12, 2024
American Indians have long been denied fair access to homes, health care, schooling and jobs. For Joseph Kunkel M.Arch. ’09, the mission to change that is personal.
Gold star on red backgroud

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
The Alumni Excellence Awards
McKeldin Mall at sunrise

Parting Shot

January 12, 2024
Testudo Watches Over McKeldin Mall From Perch of Nearly 60 Years
"Testudo II" wheels near stands at football game

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
An ‘Underexposed’ Photo of UMD History
Alex Kin ’08 and Sarah Tostanoski ’09 on wedding day

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Alums Celebrate Wedding at Homecoming Tailgate
Cheese board with M in middle; Kara McGrath inset portrait

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
5 Tips for Making a Board Bursting With Flavor and Color
Zebrafish stamp

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Image Chosen by Postal Service Opened New Avenues to Treat Brain Diseases
Bonnie Bernstein portrait and "She Got Game: Inspiring Women, Inspired by Sports" illustration

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Sports Journalist’s Podcast Links Women’s Success in Careers to Experiences on the Field and Court
John Kelly at desk

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024
Departing Washington Post Columnist Shares 20 Years of Family Tales, Reader Favorites
three people sit on stage at PROGRESS launch

Explorations

January 12, 2024
Initiative to Offer Research, Solutions to National Crisis
group installs Mesonet tower

Explorations

January 12, 2024
Maryland Mesonet to Provide Early Weather Warning in a Changing Climate
adult and baby bald eagles in nest

Explorations

January 12, 2024
Bald Eagle Expert Joins Legendary Explorers Club Honorees
Arlington House perched atop Arlington National Cemetery

Explorations

January 12, 2024
At Robert E. Lee’s Former Residence, Researcher Opens Door to Overlooked Legacies

Class Notes

News on Friends and Classmates

See all Class Notes from this issue

Passings

Jenafred Juliet Shore M.L.S. ’77

Jenafred Juliet Shore M.L.S. ’77 of Annapolis, Md., died on Dec. 22, 2023. She was 72. Shore was employed by the Anne Arundel County Library System and served at the West Street Annapolis and Hillsmere branches. She was a devotee of the classical…

00s

Robyn Dixon ’00

Robyn Dixon ’00, one of the cast members of the Bravo reality show “The Real Housewives of Potomac,” opened a franchise of GLO30, a monthly membership facial business, in Columbia. She also created the company Embellished, which sells satin-lined hats and…
Donald Powell Sanderson Sr. headshot

Passings

Donald Powell Sanderson Sr. ’53

Donald Powell Sanderson Sr. ’53 died on Oct. 19, 2023, at age 94. He was a lifelong resident of Woodbury, N.J., where he graduated from Woodbury High School and played baseball and basketball and quarterbacked the 1945 championship football team. After…
Joseph B. Gildenhorn headshot

Passings

Joseph B. Gildenhorn ’51

Joseph B. Gildenhorn ’51, of Washington, D.C., a lawyer, real estate developer and former U.S. ambassador to Switzerland who supported the performing arts at the University of Maryland and established its Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute for Israel…
Donald H. MacDonald Jr. headshot

Passings

Donald H. MacDonald Jr. ’56

Donald H. MacDonald Jr. ’56 of Winchester, Va., died on Oct. 7, 2023, at age 93. A native of Baltimore, he majored in electrical engineering at UMD, then served in the U.S. Army as a first lieutenant from 1952 until 1963. He worked his entire career at…
Buffy Giddens headshot

00s

Buffy Giddens ’02

Buffy Giddens ’02 was appointed county attorney for St. Mary’s County. Giddens became St. Mary’s County deputy attorney in September 2022, after serving as an assistant state’s attorney for 16 years. She received her J.D. from the University of Maryland…

10s

Paul Plymouth ’10

Paul Plymouth ’10, director of state government and local engagement at Verizon, was named to the Baltimore Business Journal's “40 Under 40” for 2023. He earned an M.P.A. from the University of North Carolina.

90s

Michael “Nathan” Shashoua ’92

Michael “Nathan” Shashoua ’92 wrote “Snapshot of a Warped Man,” a memoir of personal dysfunction addressing awkwardness, social alienation and twisted sexual fantasizing. Shashoua has worked as a journalist covering a variety of topics, including finance,…