Read Dr. Jarrell’s column on Founders Week and stories of resilience and learn about student, faculty, and staff achievements; news from around the University; and upcoming events.
To see previous editions of The President’s Message newsletter, go to the archives page on the Office of the President website.
President’s Column
CELEBRATING STORIES OF RESILIENCE AND COMMUNITY DURING FOUNDERS WEEK
I look forward to Founders Week every October here at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). This weeklong celebration of our students, faculty, and staff serves as a wonderful reminder of the strength of our community.
First, there are few things I love more than taking part in our annual Student Cookout and Staff Luncheon events. In the middle of one of the busiest times of the academic year, we come together to share a meal and catch up with colleagues and friends from all across campus. These moments offer an important reminder that we are part of something truly special at UMB.
So, too, does the culminating event of Founders Week: our Awards Recognition and Reception. This year, we honored five impressive individuals who embody UMB’s core values and work tirelessly to advance our mission.
Like many of you, I’m deeply inspired by their stories of perseverance in the face of challenges or even self-doubt.
“Not one of this year’s honorees spoke about going it alone. In fact, each one of them shared their own perspectives of how they found strength in leaning on others. May this be our reminder that we, too, can look to our community for strength when confronted with new challenges.”
Our 2025 Educator of the Year, Andrea Morgan, DDS, MS, shared a glimpse of her journey, first as a student and now a faculty member in our School of Dentistry. She talked about the importance of mentors in her life who inspired her to keep going at a time when few women — and even fewer women of color — were in the program.
Danielle Basdekis, our 2025 Student of the Year, said her internships with Baltimore City Public Schools and FreeState Justice — a nonprofit that provides legal services to low-income LGBTQ+ Marylanders — helped drive her passion for social justice and public interest law, even as the going got tough.
And Kyla Liggett-Creel, PhD, LCSW-C, our 2025 Public Servant of the Year, spoke candidly about how lived experiences have been extraordinarily important in shaping her understanding of how best to serve the broader community.
Each of these stories — and countless others I heard throughout the week — serve as welcome reminders of the power of resilience.
There’s no denying that this year has been challenging for many of us.
Hundreds of UMB researchers have felt the direct impact of federal funding cuts. Countless students have had to quickly navigate new — and often, complicated — changes to federal student aid. Some of the organizations with whom we partner have had to cut programs that provide vital resources and services to the broader Baltimore community. Across the state, thousands of households have been affected by the federal government shutdown and layoffs — among them are those of UMB staff, faculty, students, and alumni.
None of us knows exactly what lies ahead, yet we march forward. And, just as our Founders Week honorees echoed time and again, we don’t march forward alone.
Kirsten Lyke, MD, our 2025 Researcher of the Year, spent many years of her career on the front lines of infectious disease research and global vaccine development. She has traveled around the world and seen how diseases can ravage communities. Bearing witness to tragedy of such an enormous scale, Dr. Lyke responded by digging further into groundbreaking work on vaccines for malaria, Ebola, dengue, Zika, and COVID-19.
Like Dr. Lyke, this year’s David J. Ramsay Entrepreneur of the Year is on a mission to help as many people as possible through his work. As a vascular surgeon, Rajabrata Sarkar, MD, PhD, has improved the quality of life for countless patients, but through innovation and entrepreneurship, he aims to scale that impact. Many mentors and leaders inspired Dr. Sarkar, including his award’s namesake: the late David J. Ramsay, who served as UMB’s president from 1994 until his retirement in 2010.
Not one of this year’s honorees spoke about going it alone. In fact, each one of them shared their own perspectives of how they found strength in leaning on others.
May this be our reminder that we, too, can look to our community for strength when confronted with new challenges.
Sincerely,
Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS
President
From left, UMB President Bruce Jarrell with Founders Week award winners Andrea Morgan, Danielle Basdekis, Kyla Liggett-Creel, Rajabrata Sarkar, and Kirsten Lyke (Photo by Matthew D’Agostino)
Laurels is a roundup of student, faculty, and staff achievements that is published 11 times a year in The President’s Message newsletter. This month’s edition includes kudos for (in photo, from left) Jana Shen, School of Pharmacy, who was named a fellow of the American Chemical Society; Lisa Berlin, School of Social Work, who received the Sabbatical Fund Fellowship from the James McKeen Cattell Fund; and Vivek Thumbigere-Math, School of Dentistry, who was awarded two National Institutes of Health grants totaling nearly $4.3 million.
DOWNLOAD LAURELS FOR NOVEMBER 2025
New Hires
See a LIST OF NEW HIRES at UMB central administration and our seven schools for October.
News and Notes
UMB POLICE AND PUBLIC SAFETY CELEBRATES 50 YEARS
University leadership, external partners, and even a former University police chief came to Westminster Hall on Oct. 21 to celebrate UMB Police and Public Safety’s 50-year history, while spotlighting new award winners who continue adding to the department’s legacy of service. As guests arrived, a slideshow of archival photos played — black-and-white snapshots of officers in crisp uniforms, vintage patrol cars, and early campus scenes. Slowly, the newsprint photos transitioned to vibrant color photos of the department’s officers in recent years, showing a transformation of service through the past five decades. Thomas Leone, assistant vice president for public safety and chief of police, honored former chief Cleveland Barnes, who joined the department in 1971 and rose through the ranks to take the top job from 2007 to 2009. (Photo: Thomas Leone speaks at the Oct. 21 celebration. Photo by Matthew D’Agostino)
MARYLAND CAREY LAW LAUNCHES INNOCENCE PROJECT CLINIC
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, in collaboration with the Maryland Office of the Public Defender (MOPD), launched the MOPD Innocence Project Clinic this semester, led by professor Erica J. Suter. Under Suter’s supervision, student-attorneys will represent MOPD clients who maintain their innocence but have been convicted of serious crimes in Maryland state courts. Activities in the yearlong clinic will include legal research, interviewing clients and witnesses, devising and implementing investigative strategies, and possibly drafting pleadings and arguing motions in cases involving claims of wrongful conviction. “With the launch of the MOPD Innocence Project Clinic, we take our place within an international movement that syncs perfectly with the work this law school has been doing for many decades,” said Dean Renée Hutchins Laurent. “We are incredibly grateful that all the pieces came together to make it possible.”
CREATING A PATH FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING SURVIVORS
Participants in a forum at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in Rockville, Md., on Sept. 30 heard firsthand about the University of Maryland SAFE Center’s success in combating human trafficking and preparing a pathway for survivors to reclaim their lives. Olga, a survivor of human trafficking in Maryland and one of more than 500 survivors served since the center’s 2016 founding, told the audience, “I am the proved example that you can overcome everything in life. And I will say that I’m so thankful and that the SAFE Center saved my life.” UMB President Bruce Jarrell led the discussion with SAFE Center founder and director Susan Esserman and two other panelists before an audience of alumni from four of UMB’s professional schools gathered at USG. (Photo: Susan Esserman, right, speaks as Olga, a human trafficking survivor, looks on during the Sept. 30 event. Photo by Matthew D’Agostino)
ANNUAL THANKSGIVING DRIVE GOAL: 300 TURKEYS
The UMB Staff Senate’s Community Outreach Committee and the UMB Office of Community and Civic Engagement are coordinating their annual Thanksgiving Drive in partnership with the University of Maryland Medical Center and WJZ-TV. The goal this year is to secure funding for 300 turkeys ($7,500) by Nov. 24. Every $25 contributed will provide one frozen turkey (12-16 pounds) to families connected to the Community Engagement Center, Hollins House, Poppleton Place, Vintage Gardens, James McHenry Elementary/Middle School, Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, and Samuel Coleridge Taylor Elementary/Middle School.
NEW FUND STRENGTHENS SUPPORT FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONS EDUCATION STUDENTS
For Christina Cestone, investing in the Department of Health Professions Education (HPE) at the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies reflects both sides of her career: championing faculty and mentoring graduate students. As the inaugural director of HPE’s academic programs — two certificates, a Master of Science, and a Doctor of Philosophy — Cestone led each program’s curriculum design and launch. Now, with a new support fund she created, Cestone is giving back to the students she helps prepare in HPE. “The HPE Student Fund is really about supporting the extras that help students share their work more broadly,” said Cestone, assistant vice provost of faculty affairs. “In academia, dissemination of your work is central to becoming an expert in your field. By giving our students the opportunity to present their research widely, their accomplishments reflect positively on the program and UMB, while raising our visibility as a leader in health professions education.”
MARYLAND CHARITY CAMPAIGN: ‘GIVING BACK TOGETHER’
The 2025 Maryland Charity Campaign (MCC), a workplace charitable giving program, offers state employees the opportunity to contribute to charities that are meaningful to them through payroll deduction or a one-time credit card gift. This year’s MCC theme is “Giving Back Together.” UMB employees and retirees who give through the MCC offer hope for charities as well as those that depend on their services. By donating to causes you love through this campaign, you not only support charities that matter to you personally, you also strengthen the sector, your community, and the world at large. The campaign will run until Dec. 12 but consider giving early for a chance to win one of several weekly MCC prizes.
Upcoming Events
NOV. 10: TOWN HALL ON REVITALIZED SHUTTLE
After receiving feedback about the revitalized UMB shuttle program, the University will hold a town hall to gain more insight from the UMB community on proposed changes to the service coming in August 2026. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the in-person town hall to receive information, share ideas, ask questions, and help shape a service that best meets the needs of the UMB community.
NOV. 19: CENTER FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL EDUCATION SEED GRANT SYMPOSIUM
Hear directly from recipients of the 2024-2025 Seed Grants and 2023-2025 Sustaining Funds Grants as they present their innovative interprofessional projects and share outcomes. The event will be held in the President’s Boardroom at the Saratoga Building from 3 to 5 p.m.
NOV. 27: PROJECT FEAST
Project Feast, a student organization at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has organized a free meal for members of the Baltimore community every Thanksgiving Day for 35 years. The event also connects visitors with a variety of community resources and donated clothes, blankets, toiletries, and more. Organizers are seeking volunteers to help on Thanksgiving and donations to buy the meals.
Save the Date
DEC. 3: UMB HOLIDAY CRAFT FAIR
Mark your calendars for one of UMB’s favorite holiday traditions, which returns for a 17th year from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the SMC Campus Center. You can browse handmade creations, find unique gifts, and support talented crafters from UMB, the University of Maryland Medical Center, the BioPark, and beyond.
FEB. 5: MLK AND BLACK HISTORY MONTH CELEBRATION
UMB’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month Celebration will feature keynote speaker Chris T. Pernell, a dynamic physician leader and public health expert who is the director of the NAACP’s Center for Health Equity. The event will include recognition of MLK Leadership Award winners among UMB students, staff, and faculty as well as Community Champion of Equity and Justice Award recipients.
Video of the Month
Watch a video celebrating 50 years of UMB Police and Public Safety: