The grants support projects that advance the University’s commitment to fostering a more inclusive and engaged community by integrating the University’s core values set of Equity and Justice.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) Office of Inclusive Excellence and Institutional Effectiveness (IEIE) has awarded three Access and Engagement Innovation Grants to UMB faculty and staff members. The grants advance UMB’s commitment to fostering a more inclusive and engaged University community.
Through projects rooted in education, UMB’s core values, and leadership, the grants expand opportunities for access and engagement. These efforts directly support Theme 3 of the 2022-2026 UMB Strategic Plan — University Culture, Engagement, and Belonging — as UMB aims to cultivate environments in which everyone feels valued, heard, and seen.
By integrating the UMB core values set of Equity and Justice, the grant not only advances institutional effectiveness but also exemplifies the University’s role as a leader in innovation and inclusive excellence.
The projects are required to be interprofessional and interdisciplinary, involving at least two disciplines/schools/units at UMB; include a combination of UMB faculty and staff in project creation; focus on the University community; and address and increase access and engagement at UMB.
Here is a sneak peek into each project, with more to come as the projects develop:
‘NeuroBelong: Interprofessional Neuro Networks Outreach and Promoting Belonging in Neurobiology’
The University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) will partner with the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies and URecFit and Wellness to develop the “NeuroBelong: Interprofessional Neuro Networks Outreach and Promoting Belonging in Neurobiology” project.
The Neuro Networks Committee and the Promoting Belonging in Neurobiology (PBN) Committee proposed a coordinated, yearlong outreach initiative designed to strengthen belonging, interprofessional collaboration, and inclusive excellence across UMB.
The Neuro Networks Committee includes 28 trainees, eight faculty members, and representatives from the University of Maryland-Medicine Institute for Neuroscience Discovery, Kahlert Institute for Addiction Medicine, and UMSOM’s Program in Neuroscience, reflecting a broad and engaged neuroscience community.
The PBN Committee shares a complementary mission focused on enhancing belonging and inclusivity within the Department of Neurobiology. Together, these groups propose a structured outreach model that extends beyond a single annual event and instead creates recurring, intentional opportunities for engagement across departments and schools.
The initiative aims to expand mentorship networks, elevate trainee visibility, integrate scientific storytelling as a tool for connection, promote interprofessional collaboration across UMB units, incorporate wellness and resilience programming, and establish structured forums dedicated to belonging and inclusion.
Through these integrated efforts, the program looks to create a sustainable framework for inclusive engagement that supports trainees, staff, and faculty across career stages while strengthening a connected and collaborative academic culture at UMB.
The project advances equity and justice by expanding fair access to mentorship, professional visibility, and interprofessional networks for trainees, staff, and faculty within the neuroscience community. Through coordinated, yearlong outreach that centers belonging, wellness, and inclusive collaboration, the project supports IEIE’s inclusive excellence pillar by embedding equity‑minded practices into academic culture and strengthening institutional effectiveness across UMB.
‘UMB SenseSpace Sensory Room’
The University of Maryland School of Social Work’s (UMSSW) Office of Access, Strategic Initiatives, and Support (OASIS) will partner with UMB’s Student Counseling Center (SCC) and Office of Educational Disability Services (ESDS) to create the UMB SenseSpace Sensory Room.
OASIS has noticed a trend of students, staff, and faculty under-attending events designed to assist them and provide various resources. Informal polling of students revealed that they are pulling back from engagement when they feel stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, or tired.
OASIS aims to meet this need for students by proposing a relaxing environment that is considerate of sensory needs. OASIS is aware that sensory rooms are often designed for neurodiverse students and/or students who have experienced trauma.
During “Fill Your Cup,” an event co-sponsored by OASIS and UMSSW’s Advocacy, Culture, and Engagement Committee, a simple sensory room with pillows, low light, and small fidget toys was provided. This space received high praise, with participants stating the importance of rest and quiet, which are often overlooked for activities that are more social in nature.
OASIS and its UMB partners will ensure that the space is considerate of and meets the needs of these student groups. The space will serve as a model for trauma-informed design in higher education acknowledging diverse sensory needs, neurodiversity, and the impact of chronic stress, particularly within academic and caregiving communities.
This project will advance equity and justice by reducing barriers to engagement created by stress, trauma, and sensory overload, and by affirming the diverse sensory needs of students, staff, and faculty. Through a cross‑unit partnership among UMSSW, SCC, and EDS, the project will create a trauma‑informed, accessible space that supports regulation, rest, and well‑being. This initiative aligns with IEIE’s pillar of Cultivating a Culture of Belonging, Dialogue, and Well‑Being by embedding inclusive design practices into the campus environment and advancing equitable participation across UMB.
‘Preserving UMB Voices: A Community-Driven Oral History Initiative’
The Health Sciences and Human Services Library (HSHSL) will partner with a number of schools across the University to develop “Preserving UMB Voices: A Community-Driven Oral History Initiative.”
This project proposes the development of a sustainable campuswide infrastructure, established by HSHSL’s Historical Collections department, to collect, preserve, and share oral histories of members of the UMB community.
The project leaders and contributors will foster interprofessional collaboration across UMB’s schools and units to document the lived experiences of our multifaceted faculty, staff, students, and alumni by applying the Maryland State Archives’ “Voices of Maryland” archiving model to preserve UMB’s living history through oral history videos.
According to the Oral History Association, “The value of oral history lies largely in the way it helps to place people’s experiences within a larger social and historical context, and, conversely, to contextualize social and historical events through how people lived them. The interview becomes a record useful for documenting past events and individual or collective experiences as well as an understanding of the ways that history is constructed.”
Oral histories also provide a way to “interrupt harmful, dominant narratives in history” by presenting the memories and experiences of individuals whose voices might not be represented in traditional archival records. This project will capitalize on the memories and experiences of UMB staff and faculty to contextualize contributions from students and alumni across the University’s schools and offices.
Historical Collections is uniquely suited to lead this project because it already collects, preserves, and provides access to the University’s history. This project will serve as a cross-campus catalyst for expanding this mission, ensuring that the diversity of UMB voices from schools and units becomes part of the historical record and places the University central in Baltimore and Maryland history.
This project advances equity and justice by collecting, preserving, and amplifying the lived experiences of faculty, staff, students, and alumni whose voices are often absent from traditional archival records, thereby interrupting dominant historical narratives and honoring community knowledge. Led by HSHSL in collaboration with partners across UMB, the project will build a sustainable, campuswide oral history infrastructure that promotes shared authority, representation, and historical accountability.
This initiative advances two of IEIE’s pillars — Inclusive Excellence in Teaching, Learning, Research, and Service; and Strategic Partnerships, Alignment, and Capacity Building — by embedding equity‑minded archival practices into institutional learning and strengthening cross‑campus collaboration in preserving UMB’s living history.
Learn more about the Access and Engagement Innovation Grant initiative.