Our UMBC community supports a range of faculty affinity groups dedicated to improving the recruitment, visibility, and retention of diverse faculty and staff, and providing professional development, mentoring, and support to help them find success at UMBC.
As part of this commitment, each group is available upon request to meet with faculty candidates during their interview process. Below are the Affinity Groups and their Mission Statements.
Asian and Asian American Faculty Staff Council
The mission of the AAAFSC is to promote and support inclusion and belonging of Asian and Asian American faculty and staff members at UMBC. The AAAFSC is open to all faculty regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin, who are committed to this broad goal which encompasses the following specific aims:
- Promote Asian and Asian American faculty and staff visibility and concerns on campus.
- Reflect Asian and Asian American visibility and UMBC diversity to the larger community.
- Promote reflection of Asian and Asian American experiences university-wide through the curriculum.
- Advance recruitment, retention and promotion of Asian and Asian American faculty and staff members.
- Aid in recruitment, retention and graduation rates of Asian and Asian American students.
- Promote and support Asian and Asian American student experiences at UMBC.
For more information, please contact the Chair, Shuyan Sun (suns@umbc.edu)
Black Faculty Committee
The Black Faculty Committee works to improve the recruitment and retention of Black faculty. The Black Faculty Committee is open to all individuals regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin, who are committed to enhancing the sense of community and professional welfare and development among UMBC’s Black faculty, staff, and students.
For more information, please contact the Leadership Team, Dr. Loren Henderson (loren@umbc.edu) or Dr. Pamela Bennett (pbennett@umbc.edu)
CAHSS Women’s Faculty Network
The mission of the CAHSS Women’s Faculty Network is to promote and support experiences of women faculty members at UMBC. The CAHSS Women’s Faculty Network is open to all faculty regardless of their sex or gender who are committed to supporting women faculty members at UMBC.
This broad goal encompasses the following specific aims:
1. Support and facilitate mentorship for women faculty.
2. Advance recruitment, retention and promotion of women faculty.
3. Promote women faculty’s visibility and concerns on campus.
4. Amplify and publicize women faculty’s work and diversity on and beyond campus.
5. Promote the reflection of women’s experiences university-wide through the curriculum.
6. Support and coordinate with UMBC departments, programs, initiatives, and organizations related to recruitment, retention, graduation rates, and the campus experiences of women students.
For more information, please contact Kate Drabinski (drabinski@umbc.edu) or Michelle Scott (mscott@umbc.edu).
Latinx and Hispanic Faculty Association
The Latinx and Hispanic Faculty Association is a group open to all faculty, regardless of race, ethnicity, or national origin, who desire to center inclusion and belonging of all self-identified Latinx and Hispanic faculty at UMBC in order to advance full-time academic appointments, retention, and promotion of Latinx and Hispanic faculty, as well as the mentoring and recruitment of outstanding graduate and undergraduate students of Hispanic and Latinx heritage.
For more information, please contact Dr. María Cristina Sanchez (msanchez@umbc.edu).
LGBTQ+ Faculty Staff Association
The LGBTQ Faculty and Staff Association (LGBTQ FSA) is a group of full-time UMBC staff and faculty who advocate for LGBTQ+ faculty, staff, and students at UMBC. LGBTQ FSA welcomes all individuals who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other non-cis-gender and non-heterosexual identity (abbreviated as LGBTQ+) and those who are allies to the LGBTQ+ community regardless of their sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
For more information, please contact the President, Tim Phin (tphin@umbc.edu).
Women in Science and Engineering (WISE)
WISE is open to all faculty regardless of sex or gender who are committed to supporting and encouraging women STEM faculty through mentoring, development opportunities, policy development, advocacy, and educational programs.
For more information, contact Dr. Phyllis Robinson (probinso@umbc.edu).