Winter 2024

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

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

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.

Post-Grad

January 12, 2024

The Alumni Excellence Awards

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

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

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

Explorations

January 12, 2024

Maryland Mesonet to Provide Early Weather Warning in a Changing Climate

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

Patricia “Pat” Yeager ‘78

Patricia “Pat” Yeager ‘78 died on Sept. 12, 2023, at age 88. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Yeager and her husband, Richard “Dick” Yeager, moved to Bowie, Md., in 1963, where they raised their five children. Yeager later graduated from UMD with a…

Passings

Nelly Martha Osinga Branson B.L.A. ’07

Nelly Martha Osinga Branson B.L.A. ’07 died on July 5, 2023. She was born July 29, 1953, to Dutch immigrants Jan and Douwina Osinga and raised on Sweet Briar College's dairy farm in Virginia. She graduated from Amherst County High School and Sweet Briar…

Passings

Dagmar Renate “Reni” Henney Ph.D. ’65

Dagmar Renate “Reni” Henney Ph.D. ’65 died on Sept. 16, 2023, at Beebe Hospital in Lewes, Del., after a struggle with cancer. She was 92. Henney was born in the Spandau section of Berlin, Germany, to a Catholic father and Jewish mother, who was murdered…

Passings

Robert Kremer Howell ’59, M.S. ’61, Ph.D. ’65

Robert Kremer Howell ’59, M.S. ’61, Ph.D. ’65, of Beltsville, Md., died on Dec. 17, 2023. He was 92. Howell was born in Stuarts Draft, Va., and served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean conflict, He earned a doctorate in plant pathology at UMD and worked…

90s

Latanya Mapp Frett ’91, MPM ’95

Latanya Mapp Frett ’91, MPM ’95 was named president and CEO of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors. She was most recently president and CEO of Global Fund for Women, and before that was executive director of Planned Parenthood Global. Mapp Frett is also the…

Passings

Jackson Yeager ’52, ’59

Jackson Yeager ’52, ’59 died on Dec. 14, 2023, in Silver Spring, Md. He was 98. Yeager attended Montgomery Blair High School and earned degrees in German and electrical engineering at UMD. He served in the U.S. Navy and worked for McGraw Hill Publishing…

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…

00s

Ahmed Elyased-Ahmed ’06

Ahmed Elyased-Ahmed ’06, vice president of strategic analytics for the Maryland Hospital Association, was named to the Baltimore Business Journal's “40 Under 40.”