All posts by: Magazine Editor

SLIDESHOW: 2013 Scholarship Luncheon

Thank you to all of the wonderful donors and scholarship students who came out for last week’s 2nd annual Scholarship Luncheon, March 13. Often, this event marks the first meeting of donors and their scholars, making it a truly memorable occasion for all. The event drew more than 100 guests, and featured remarks by McCormick & Company President Alan D. Wilson and senior Nia N. Hampton ’14, media and communications studies, who is the recipient of a number of scholarships at UMBC, along with UMBC President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III.

We’ll be sharing stories of connections made at the luncheon over the course of the next couple months, but in the meantime, we hope you’ll enjoy this photo slideshow!

Bloom ’03, VPA, Awarded Writing Fellowship

Ryan Bloom ’03, visual and performing arts, an English lecturer at UMBC, was recently awarded a fellowship at Yaddo, an artists’ community in Saratoga Springs, New York. Yaddo’s mission is to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.

Bloom is an internationally-recognized translator of Albert Camus. He received his MFA from The American University in Washington, D.C., where he undertook a multidisciplinary study of Literary Translation, Fiction, and Composition Education. His work-translation, fiction, poetry, and nonfiction-has appeared in places such as The New Yorker, The Arabesques Review, The Baltimore Sun, The Current, Horizon Magazine, The Orlando Sentinel, and other publications.

This post originally appeared in UMBC Insights.

Chess Player Harris ’11, Psych, Teaching and Writing Book

Following a successful run on the internationally-ranked UMBC chess team, Ian Harris ’11, psychology, is making a career of the strategic game in his home state of Connecticut, the Norwalk Hour online reports.

Harris, who is ranked a national master by the United States Chess Federation and 7th in Connecticut, is working as an instructor at the Chess Club of Fairfield County, the story says. He has also co-authored a book, “Mastering Chess,” which is set to publish sometime next month.

On the topic of sharing his chess secrets with a new generation, Harris tells the Hour:

“I think a lot of people want to learn [chess] but are intimidated by it. We offer camps for kids to learn chess and a lot of kids love it. They get hooked because it’s fun and educational.”

Read the full story in the Hour here.

Hrabowski at TED: Set High Expectations for Students

Dr. Hrabowski speaks at TED2013. Photo by TED2013.

It’s all too easy to take successes for granted, especially when you see them every day around campus. At UMBC, the concept of pushing students of all backgrounds and academic levels to succeed is such a part of campus culture, we sometimes forget that’s not necessarily standard practice at other schools.

So when UMBC President Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, III, challenged audiences at the TED2013 conference in California last month to set higher expectations for all students at all levels of education, we were delighted — but not at all surprised. During his session — which fell within a grouping of talks based around the idea “The Spark” — Hrabowski explained how setting high standards for all students lets many who might otherwise be left behind excel. Case in point, he told the group:

“What makes our story especially important is that we have learned so much from students who are typically not at the top of the academic ladder.”

Read the TED blog’s take on Dr. Hrabowski’s talk.

UMBC sets incredibly high standards for its students. Professors and students know it will take a lot of hard work, but the results speak volumes. Our students and alumni are better for being pushed. Dr. Hrabowski touches on a few such examples in his talk.

Just as we sometimes take successes for granted, it’s also easy for forget that without the financial backing of UMBC’s donors, our efforts would be futile. Thank you for believing in Dr. Hrabowski’s message, and for supporting UMBC’s students!

Career Q&A: Magician Peter Wood ’06, Theatre

Every so often, we’ll chat with an alum about what they do and how they got there. Today, we’re talking with Peter Wood ’06, theatre, a magician whose new show, Timeless Deceptions, opens next month in Columbia, MD. Read more about how he and his brother, Matt, a current UMBC student, are living out a dream that started on Peter’s fifth birthday…

Name: Peter Wood ’06, theatre

Job: Corporate Magician
Company: Shazam Magic
Websites: http://shazammagic.com or http://TimelessDeceptions.com/tickets

Q: In a few words, describe the type of magic you do. Would your work remind us of any particular magicians we’ve seen?

A: The magic I share is very interactive, because I really try to treat the audience as my co-stars in the show and not just “spectators” watching from afar. I’m a fan of magicians from the turn of the 20th century, so the look and feel of my shows tends to be more Vaudeville and less Vegas. I’m closer to the magicians you’ve seen in The Prestige and The Illusionist than guys you’ve seen on television.

Q: Tell us a little about how you got into magic in the first place.

A: As a fifth birthday present, my parents got me a Blackstone magic kit, with all sorts of little plastic and cardboard magic supplies. We went to the library, and I’d just soak up all the books they had on magic. Once I outgrew the sets they sold in toy stores, we started going to Barry’s Magic Shop, which had every kind of trick imaginable, beginner to professional. I got paid to do my first show when I was 10, started “Shazam Magic” later that year, and haven’t stopped yet!

Q: What’s it like performing magic for corporate groups? Would you approach a corporate job differently than, say, one for a room full of families?

A: With a family crowd, I’m really performing two shows at once: one full of jokes and gags for the kids, and another whole layer of material just for the adults. But with my corporate audiences, I get to share more “intellectual” magic, like card tricks and mind-reading feats. Each group is rewarding in their own way, and the variety of entertaining different groups keeps it fun for me.

Q: What’s the craziest thing ever to happen to you onstage?

A: A few years ago, Matt and I were invited to the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC. When we arrived, our contact gave us a huge list of restrictions: no magic wands, nothing with fire, and no speaking the word “magic.” Matt says he was backstage cracking up as I tried to edit – on the fly – such an integral word out of my script. I’m still not sure why they hired us, but thankfully the audience was very kind, and the show went remarkably well.

Q: How’s it feel to be using your theatre degree in this way? And to be working with your brother, a current UMBC student?

A: I love performing, but my degree is actually in the technical side of theatre. So when I build my own equipment, or have to work with the sound or lighting at a venue, I’m tapping into skills honed at UMBC. Working with Matt always makes the show better, both for me and the audience. In addition to running sound and managing props (both of which he does masterfully), he’ll join me onstage for several partner routines. It’s a great chance to tap into the kind of dynamic that The Marx Brothers and Penn & Teller have built their careers on.

Q: What trick would you most like for people to remember about you and why?

A: Honestly, I hope my best “trick” is giving people a break from reality, if only for an hour or two. If my enthusiasm is contagious, if they’re engaged and interacting, then they’ll unconsciously put aside whatever might have been troubling them before the show. Ultimately, my goal isn’t for people to say “You should see what this guy can do,” but just simply “You should see this guy.”

Bell-McKoy ’73, Soc, In Essence, BBJ

Associated Black Charities CEO Diane Bell-McKoy ’73, sociology, has recently been featured in Essence magazine and the Baltimore Business Journal, her foundation reported.

In the March issue of Essence magazine, Bell-McKoy is one of several women to discuss the effects depression can have on black women. In the first-person piece, she tells Essence: “For Black women who suffer from depression, racism is a real challenge, like a slap in the face you experience day in and day out.”

The Baltimore Business Journal story focuses on the fact that the majority of Baltimore city non-profit board positions are primarily filled with white males. In the story, Bell-McKoy (who has run ABC since 2007, and who before that worked with both the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Baltimore’s Empowerment Zone corporation) discusses the results of a survey her foundation commissioned around this subject.

Read the BBJ story here.

Bell-McKoy was a 2003 UMBC Oustanding Alumna of the Year. She was featured in UMBC Magazine; read that story here.

Tattoo Artist Holloway ’92, VPA, in DelmarvaNow

Over the last 20 years, Eastern Shore tattoo artist Todd “Noble” Holloway ’92, visual and performing arts, has made a name for himself as a businessman — and a permanent impression on his customers and the tattoo community.

In a recent story on DelmarvaNow.com, the Salisbury native describes a career pathway that lead him to ultimately opening his own tattoo parlor, Right Coast Tattoo in Fenwick Island. As he told DelmarvaNow:

“I didn’t really know the realm of tattooing until I started, but once I really got into, it I found that it’s all-encompassing and from there I focused on how to get better at it and continuously hone my skill,” Holloway said.

“I had no idea you could reach that kind of level of notoriety in tattooing,” he said. “It was never a goal.”

Read the story here at DelmarvaNow.com.

Student Scholarship Q&A: Kate Hunsicker ’14, English and Dance

Name: Kate Hunsicker ’14
Majors: English and Dance
Scholarships: Alumni Association Scholarship (Legacy), Senatorial Scholarship, UMBC scholarship

Q: Why did you decide to attend UMBC?
A: I decided to come to UMBC because this school was able to offer me everything that I wanted. I wanted a mid-sized campus, in-state and not too far from home, where I could major in both Dance and English. My dad, uncle, and older brother all went to UMBC, so I knew that it was a great school and that I would be happy in the community life here.

Q: What has been the most amazing discovery you’ve made so far as a student here?
A: The most amazing discovery that I have made at UMBC so far is the way that I’ve been able to extensively pursue both Dance and English at a school that is known for STEM. I have been able to balance both of my passions, and even go far beyond classroom learning for both of them. In dance, I have had many opportunities to perform since my first semester here, and have even been performing with Baltimore Dance Project (a professional faculty company) since my freshman year. I was also awarded the Summer Research award for dance from the department, and was able to study in New York for three weeks under Doug Varone and his dance company. In English, I was recommended to become a tutor and now I work in the UMBC Writing Center. Now, as an experienced tutor, I have been given the opportunity to become a Writing Fellow. I will be starting next semester and some fellow tutors and I will be assisting English 100 teachers and facilitating the writing lab sections of the Composition 100 classes. I am extremely excited about all of my opportunities and very happy that UMBC has allowed me to fulfill all of these things in both of my areas of interest.

Q: Tell us about a class or club that has really opened your mind (and why)…
A: In the beginning of my freshman year, I joined a club called Intervarsity. This is one of the many Christian groups on campus, and it has really opened my mind and been a good thing for me on campus. Intervarsity has given me a place of refuge and rest, the opportunity to grow spiritually at school with people my age, and has allowed me to meet many amazing, supportive people; some of whom have become my closest friends. For the past two years, it has also given me the opportunity to be a leader in a campus club, and has influenced my abilities to speak in front of people, to manage my time, and to care for others on our campus.

Q: What do you hope to do after graduation, and why?
A: After graduation, I am hoping to find a way to incorporate both dance and English into my life/career. I am interested in finding an editing position for a magazine or for some type of published work. If I find a full time job in such a position, I would still like to be performing for dance with a local company or maybe even in community theater, as I also love to sing and act. I am also interested in the idea of writing dance criticism as a way to combine both of my interests and even if that is not a full time pursuit, I could potentially do freelance dance writing while performing or working at another job.

Q: How important is it to you as a student to get scholarship support?
A: As a student, it is so important to get scholarship support. Everyone wants to be able to complete their education and pursue their dreams, but financial concerns are always looming regarding student loans and making payments. Receiving scholarships significantly eases the financial burden of the college student, and allows us to carry out our studies with less stress about money and loans.

Q: What would you say to the alumni who contributed to your scholarship?
A: I would very much like to thank the alumni who contributed to my scholarship. Their generosity has given me the opportunity to continue my studies with less financial stressors above my head. Their willingness to make such contributions is an indication of the wonderful opportunities that they themselves once had at UMBC, and I think it is amazing that they want to help current UMBC students have an experience at this school as beneficial as their own experience here.

Behind the Mask

Brendan Mundorf ’07 is one of the world’s best (and toughest) lacrosse players. Now he’s bouncing back from an injury to pursue a professional championship.

By Jeff Seidel ’85

Brendan Mundorf ’07, sociology, still smiles when he remembers his first lacrosse stick: a beautiful blue STX Hi-Wall.

The stick was a gift from his grandmother, given to the two-year-old Mundorf after a trip to see his Uncle Matt play for Mount St. Mary’s lacrosse team. He used it practically non-stop in all kinds of weather, shooting balls at a goal or the side of his grandparents’ shed.

The future UMBC and professional lacrosse star played his first game when he was five.

More than two decades later, Mundorf ’s early passion for the game has blossomed into an impressive college and professional career, including two America East Player of the Year awards during his time at UMBC, professional lacrosse’s top individual honor (the 2012 Most Valuable Player award in Major League Lacrosse) and a world championship playing for the United States’ national team in 2010.

“Lacrosse was just what I loved to do,” recalls Mundorf. “I’d just be spending hours with a stick in my hand. That was my passion. I’ve known that since I was really young.”

Yet as Mundorf stands at the pinnacle of his beloved sport, he faces a new challenge. He’s spent the last few months recovering from an ankle injury that sidelined him in his pursuit of the one goal he hasn’t achieved in professional lacrosse: a team championship.

“That’s what continues to drive me to get better and improve every year,” says Mundorf. “It’s not getting old, that’s for sure.”

Those who know him best are convinced Mundorf will be back at the top of his game.

“He’s got that workhorse mentality, and I’d say he’s kind of like Terrell Suggs of the [Baltimore] Ravens,” observes Kevin Gibbons-O’Neill ’86, economics, assistant athletic director for fundraising and development at UMBC. “He knows he’s going to get killed in games, but he’ll keep going after it until he gets what he wants. He’s just a tough guy, and if I’m going to a fight, I’m taking him with me.”

DAWG DAYS

An untimely appendectomy may have played a decisive role in Mundorf becoming one of UMBC’s men’s lacrosse legends.

The young attacker was a highly regarded player at Mount St. Joseph High School, but he missed about six weeks of his junior year when he had his appendix removed. Mundorf ’s absence in a crucial recruiting period may be why he fell off the radar of some Division I lacrosse programs, but UMBC and the University of Delaware both made strong plays to lure him to their teams.

“He did not have the accolades that some other recruits have going into the recruiting process,” recalls UMBC lacrosse coach Don Zimmerman. “But we saw something we liked. It was more in his attitude, his approach, and his blue-collar work ethic. He played with passion, and you just can’t teach that.”

Mundorf chose UMBC and made an immediate impact, breaking into the starting lineup as a freshman in 2003. It was the beginning of a storied college career, during which the four-year starter tallied 111 goals and 74 assists.

Though Mundorf was in the starting lineup almost from the moment he stepped on campus, Zimmerman says Mundorf blossomed into a team leader late in 2005, during a season when the Retrievers won the America East regular season title and the then-junior earned the conference’s Player of the Year award.

“He really hit his stride [then],” observes Zimmerman. Mundorf ’s leadership continued into his senior year (2006) – which was also one of the university’s best-ever men’s lacrosse campaigns. The Retrievers went undefeated in the America East conference, won the conference tournament and earned a berth to the NCAA tournament.

Drew Westervelt ’09, economics, played with Mundorf at UMBC during that exciting season and then later in professional lacrosse leagues. “In college, you have demands of training that everyone has to do,” Westervelt remembers. “He never took short-cuts. It’s contagious. I think a lot of us tried to operate that way.”

Mundorf ’s individual excellence that season was rewarded with another America East Player of the Year award and selection as a third-team All-American. He was also named the Most Outstanding Player in the America East tournament, where he tallied five goals and one assist in UMBC’s 19-10 victory over Albany in the championship game.

Gibbons-O’Neill still remembers another game that season when Mundorf sparked a 20-9 victory over the State University of New York at Stony Brook with seven goals, including four straight goals in a span of less than two minutes in the third quarter.

“[Stony Brook] double-teamed him everywhere,” recalls Gibbons-O’Neill. “They checked him everywhere, kept hitting his arm, his shoulder, and kept trying to knock him down. He just kept going and going. It was incredible.”

TOP OF THE WORLD

Mundorf ’s excellence as a Retriever had not gone unnoticed by another lacrosse insider with Retriever connections, and the UMBC star made the leap from collegiate to professional lacrosse in less than two weeks.

Former UMBC assistant coach Jarred Testa, who was the head coach of the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse in 2006, contacted Mundorf on a Tuesday to ask the attacker if he had registered for the pro league’s draft.

Mundorf had not done so. But at Testa’s suggestion, he did. The Outlaws drafted him in the second round on Thursday and flew him out to Denver the following Friday. On Saturday night, Mundorf played his first game for the team, scoring two goals and realizing he liked the professional game.

“It just sort of worked well with me,” says Mundorf. “It just clicked right away.”

Professional lacrosse has continued to click with Mundorf ever since. Not only has he played seven seasons with the Outlaws in the outdoor professional lacrosse league, but he’s also played the indoor National Lacrosse League with the New York Titans (who selected him in the first round of that league’s draft in 2007) and the Philadelphia Wings.

Mundorf has also played in two Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) world championships: once for Australia in the 2006 games held in Canada and most recently for the worldchampion United States team in the 2010 tournament in Manchester, England.

Mundorf ’s father is Australian, so when the Retriever standout couldn’t make the 2006 United States squad, he landed a successful four-day tryout in the Land Down Under during his senior year at UMBC. Not only did Mundorf make the Australian team, but he led it with 32 points, a tally that tied him for third place in the 2006 tournament.

Mundorf told his Australian compatriots well in advance that he wanted to play for the United States in 2010. And this time he made the American squad.

“You can be a great lacrosse player and have a great career and still not get on the world team,” observes Mundorf. “That was a goal of mine, even when I was in college. It’s at the top of the mountain.”

Mundorf was a key contributor in the United States’ gold medal effort, scoring a crucial goal in the 12-10 championship win over Canada. His 17 goals in six games also helped him earn a spot on the All-World team for the tournament.

“There are only three attackmen in the world who get that honor every four years,” says Mundorf. “It’s where every lacrosse player wants to be. The first time [with Australia], I don’t think anybody knew who I was, but I think the [World Games] are what helped put me on the map.”

LIVIN’ THE OUTLAW LIFE

The 2014 world championships will be held in Denver – a city where Mundorf ’s attacking prowess has made him one of the brightest stars of professional lacrosse.

Leading the high-powered Outlaws offense, Mundorf had his best year as a professional last year, with a tally of 32 goals and 27 assists that earned him Major League Lacrosse’s Most Valuable Player award.

Denver Outlaws general manager Tony Seaman cites Mundorf ’s physical style as a key to his success, and he often marvels at the physical toll that the game exacts on Mundorf ’s body as they travel back to Baltimore together on Sunday mornings after Outlaws games.

“I’d think how the hell is this guy walking?” says Seaman. “How does he carry a bag? I watch him get hit for two-and-a-half hours and get the crap beaten out of him. When he turns the corner, he knows he’s going to pay for that shot. He knows somebody’s coming to deck him. His body takes an incredible beating, and he just goes on.”

Eventually, however, the beating took its toll at the worst possible moment. At a late August practice just a few days before the Major League Lacrosse 2012 championship tournament, Mundorf felt something pop in his left ankle. He was diagnosed with a torn ligament and two dislocated tendons.

The Outlaws were the tournament’s top seed, and Mundorf sat out his team’s semifinal victory against the Long Island Lizards hoping that the extra day of rest might allow him to play the following day.

Before the championship game against the Chesapeake Bayhawks, Mundorf and the Outlaws’ team doctor concurred that the player’s inevitable surgery meant that he likely couldn’t do any further damage to the tendon by trying to play. Aided by a shot of novocaine, Mundorf moved around well enough in warm-ups to play early in the championship game and even score a goal. But the pain returned and cut Mundorf ’s appearance short in a game the Bayhawks eventually won 16-6. (See “Net Achievements”)

“It was tough but I think I looked at it in as positive a way as possible,” Mundorf says of having to watch and cheer from the sidelines. “It happened, and now I’ve got to do the best that I can to keep the guys focused and do what I can from the sidelines. That was just the job I had to do in that situation.”

REHAB AND REFLECTION

With a world championship and a string of personal accolades behind him, no one would blame the 28-year old Mundorf for putting his stick away after last summer’s injury. He’s certainly not in it for the money: The maximum salary in Major League Lacrosse is only $1,000 per game. (When he isn’t playing lacrosse, Mundorf works as an operations manager at his family’s business – M&M Sediment Control, based in Hanover.)

But like other elite athletes, Mundorf wants to keep competing. He focused last fall on rehabbing his ankle, not just to add to his totals as the Outlaws’ all-time leading scorer (206 goals and 100 assists), but also to help Denver win its first championship.

“We’ve had a lot of success in Denver,” observes Mundorf. “I think we’ve won more games in this past seven years than any other team, but we haven’t been able to put a championship in the books.”

And so, the boy who wouldn’t put down the stick that his grandmother gave him doesn’t plan on putting it down anytime soon.

“There was never a thought that went through my head about not rehabbing and not playing,” Mundorf says. “I still want to play. I still love the game.”

Whitehead ’09, Ph.D. LLC, on White House Panel

Photo courtesy Loyola University Maryland

Karsonya “Kaye” Whitehead ’09, Ph.D. LLC, was one of four experts chosen nationwide to speak on the White House’s Black History Month panel held this month. C0-sponsored by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the event tackled the topic “At the Crossroads of Freedom and Equality: The Emancipation Proclamation and the March on Washington.”

Whitehead is an assistant professor of communication and affiliate assistant professor of African and African American history at Loyola University Maryland. She told Loyola’s news group:

“It’s difficult for me to express in words how honored I am to have been part of something so substantively relevant to our ongoing dialogue about African American history,” said Whitehead. “This is a historic year, with the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation and the 50th anniversary of both the March on Washington and Dr. King’s release of the ‘Letter from a Birmingham Jail,’ and it is a good time to have these types of discussions and connect them to some of the issues that we are grappling with today.”

Read the full story from Loyola here.

From the UMBC Alumni Blog: Read a Q&A with Whitehead about what it’s like becoming a college professor.

Alumni and UMBC Community Talents on Display at David Mikow Gallery, Feb. 22

Beginning this month, Catonsville’s David Mikow Art Gallery will host the first in-person exhibition of the online publication, The Light Ekphrastic, featuring collaborative works of literature, poetry and fine art by UMBC faculty, staff, students and alumni.

Join the Ekphrastic team this Friday, February 22 for a special opening event from 5-7 p.m., with informal discussion taking place at 6 p.m.

Exhibiting writers and artists from the UMBC community include:
Sara Abbott (former staff), Richard Byrne ’86, English (UMBC Magazine), Dayna Carpenter (OIA), Marlayna Demond ’11, visual arts (Creative Services), Vin Grabill (Visual Arts), Katie Heater ’09, visual arts (current MFA student), Michelle Jordan ’93, visual arts (Creative Services), Chris Justice (current Ph.D. student), Dina Karkar (Creative Services), Jim Lord ’99, visual arts (Creative Services), Meredith Purvis (OIA), Jackie Regales ’00, American studies, and others.

Published since November 2009 and edited by Jenny O’Grady, director of alumni and development communications, The Light Ekphrastic is a quarterly online journal dedicated to the creation of new written and visual artworks through collaboration between artists. The evening will include an informal discussion with artist/writer pairs about their ekphrastic processes — the methods by which they produce new works inspired by the work of their creative partners.

The David Mikow Gallery is located at 1002 Vineyard Hill Road, Catonsville, MD 21228. Find more information about the David Mikow Art Gallery, operated by Carolyn Forestiere, political science, at its website, or via its feature in the Winter 2013 edition of UMBC Magazine.

Light refreshments will be served.

Del. Jones ’76, Psych, Recognizes UMBC Chess on Maryland Senate Floor

Earlier this month UMBC’s chess team was formally recognized on the floor of the Maryland State Senate and the House with a citation from Speaker Pro Tem, Delegate Adrienne Jones ’76, psychology.

The UMBC team then played a friendly match with the members of the Maryland General Assembly Chess Challenge.

“It was a great experience to be recognized by the House of Senate and the House of Delegates. After being awarded we ended up playing for about two hours games with some of the senators, said Sabina Foisor, a member of the team and a graduate student at UMBC.

According to Collin Wojciechowski, a senior and UMBC government relations assistant, the event did not consist of any tournament style play but instead each student played a legislator multiple times. “From what I saw,” says Wojciechowski, “a legislator never won a game.”

Many members of the General Assembly trickled in and out of the room throughout the night, with a few playing only a game and then leaving, but those who were a central part of the tournament and stayed the whole time included Senator Ulysses Currie, Senator Jamie Raskin and Senator Bryan Simonaire.

“We all had a good time and hope to be able to do it again,” said Foisor.

About the UMBC Chess Team

The UMBC chess team recently tied for first place in the Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship, advancing to the 2013 President’s Cup, known as the “Final Four” of chess.

The UMBC chess team headed into the 2012 Pan-Am Intercollegiate Team Chess Championship with a record nine titles to its name. The competition known informally as the Pan-Am, was held December 27 to 30 in Princeton, New Jersey. Since the tournament began in 1946, dozens of universities throughout the Americas have participated. The Retrievers won their first Pan-Am title in 1996, and then embarked on a five-year title streak from 1998 to 2002.

This year, the Retrievers tied for first place with 3 other Universities: University of Texas, Dallas; Webster University, which had 2 teams; and the University of Illinois. “It was an exciting finish. This was the strongest Pan Am in the history of the event. Twenty – three grandmasters as well as 5 teams rated over 2500 competed,” says Alan Sherman, Director of the UMBC Chess Program.

The UMBC team, all on chess scholarships, is composed of students not only with exceptional chess skills but also with strong academic records, Sherman says. UMBC requires students to maintain a 3.0 GPA to maintain chess scholarships. The Retrievers last won the Pan-Am title in 2009, and took second last year. This year’s team will compete in the 2012 President’s Cup, the “Final Four of College Chess,” to be held in April 6-7, 2013 in Herndon, Va.