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

10s

Tiffany Casey ’14

Tiffany Casey ’14 was selected for the American Public Transportation Association’s Leadership Class of 2024. Casey is the director of performance improvement at the Memphis Area Transit Authority in Tennessee.

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…

70s

Pia Marie Winters Jordan ’78

Pia Marie Winters Jordan ’78 wrote the book “Memories of a Tuskegee Airmen Nurse and Her Military Sisters,” focusing on the years during World War II when up to 28 Black women from the Army Nurse Corps—including her mother—staffed the station hospital on…

Passings

Daniel A. Williams ’64

Daniel A. Williams ’64 of Westminster, Md., died on Dec. 27, 2023, at Carroll Hospital Center after a brief illness. He was 81. Willams grew up in Baltimore and majored in Spanish at UMD. He earned master's and doctoral degrees from Johns Hopkins…

Passings

Steven Mark Rochon ’90, M.S. ’97

Steven Mark Rochon ’90, M.S. ’97 died on Oct. 17, 2023, at the age of 56. Born at Ft. Huachuca, Ariz., he earned two engineering degrees at UMD and began a long career as a civil engineer with the Maryland State Highway Administration. Upon retiring,…

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…

00s

Jigar Shah MBA ’01

Jigar Shah MBA ’01 was named to the “Time 100” climate list of the world’s most influential leaders driving business to climate action. He leads the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan programs office, which is responsible for the public investment of…

Passings

Roy Eades ’69

Roy Eades ’69 died on Nov. 9, 2023, at the age of 77. Roy was born on Aug. 14, 1946, in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Riverdale, Md. He worked for Safeway for 42 years, working his way up from night stocker to store manager. Eades served as the…