- Mailing Address
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1000 Hilltop Cir
Baltimore, Maryland 21250 - Phone
- (410) 455-1000
- Website
- https://www.umbc.edu/
- School Information
- The University of Maryland, Baltimore County was born amid the turbulent swirl of the 1960s, and we had to cut our own path in a field of older, established institutions. From the beginning, we believed that a university could be innovative, interdisciplinary, inclusive – and great. We believed that ground-breaking research and a relentless focus on undergraduate success could go hand-in-hand. To this day, our faculty, staff and students work and create outside traditional structures. We re-imagine and build. It’s not happenstance that UMBC had the first university research park in Maryland, dedicated to growing ideas into thriving businesses. And it’s not happenstance that we are consistently cited as one of the best universities for undergraduate teaching and a leading innovator in higher education.
- General Information
- The University of Maryland, Baltimore County has undertaken a university-wide promotion of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism. UMBC’s Office of Equity and Inclusion (OEI) seeks to advance “Inclusive Excellence” to combat alleged structural racism in America and on campus. The OEI provides guidance on promoting allyship with Black community members toward the goal of anti-racism. UMBC’s Health System, College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, and Counseling Center have all promoted anti-racist books such as “How to Be Antiracist” and writings like “The 1619 Project,” along with an exhaustive list of related literature. The Health System has gone so far as to overhaul its hiring practices to recruit more “POC” employees. The Dresher Center has started a policy of financially incentivizing faculty to research and teach about anti-racism. There is no evidence UMBC requires any anti-racist or critical race theory training. Its mandatory training for the entire community appears to focus mainly on sexual harassment and hate prevention.
Actions Taken
- Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
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The Office of Equity and Inclusion provides "mandatory training" for all UMBC community members "to ensure we are living up to our value of Inclusive Excellence." The only information given about this training is that it "includes sexual violence prevention as well as information on how to report instances of sexual violence and hate/bias to OEI."
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- Program and Research Funding
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UMBC's University Health Services released a "BLM Statement" denouncing "systemic racism" including in the health care system. It commits to "provide ongoing training for our staff, including education for non-BIPOC staff on issues such as white supremacy and white fragility." It adds it will "Revise education and outreach materials, including trainings to be more inclusive of the many races, genders, orientations, cultures, and other marginalized identities within our community."
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The Dresher Center for the Humanities within the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences started a "Faculty Working Group on Anti-Racism and Action." "The Faculty Working Group is envisioned as a collaborative, interdisciplinary community of scholars that will support this work and spur research and teaching activity focused on anti-racism."
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- Resources
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UMBC's University Health System commits to "Enhance our commitment to be intentional in hiring practices and prioritize hiring POC in our staff."
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UMBC's University Health System promises to "review and address implicit bias, racism, and xenophobia in our policies and procedure." It adds it will "identify and address health equity issues in our clinic and on our campus."
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UMBC's Office of Equity and Inclusion oversees the advancement of "Inclusive Excellence," including the "work to dismantle structural racism on campus..."
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The Office of Equity and Inclusion provides a "Guide for White and non-Black UMBC faculty and staff" to promote "allyship and advocacy toward the dismantling of anti-blackness in all forms and in the future." The guide lists "trauma-informed practices" such as "pushing back deadlines" and "canceling non-essential meetings" for black employees and students as ways to show support.
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The Office of Equity and Inclusion provides "Guidance on making statements in support of Black community members." It recommends a statement "disavowing structural racism and/or white supremacy," and "encouragement for non-Black members of the community to do work to educate themselves."
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UMBC's Center for Social Science Scholarship within the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences provides "BLM" and "Anti-Racism" resources including links to the 1619 Project, "Anti-Racist Reading List" by Ibram X. Kendi, and "White Academia: Do Better."
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UMBC's Counseling Center provides a "list of resources on systemic racism history, antiracism resources, resources for Black communities, and resources for parents raising antiracist children." Resources include "How to Be an Antiracist," "White Fragility," "Deconstructing White Privilege," and "I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness." It also links to an article titled, "We are living in a racism pandemic..."
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- Symbolic Actions
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On April 20, 2021, the Chancellor of the University of Maryland system released a statement to students and faculty on the Derek Chauvin verdict. He stated, "Black Americans are still being killed, still being harmed, still being denied their civil and human rights. And so the University System’s students, faculty, staff, and leaders will work even harder to secure racial justice, to improve police practices, and to ensure access, equity, and opportunity for all."
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