UMB Staff
“True impact is not what you can give someone, it’s what you can leave them. What UMB has been able to do is to be the catalyst of going first and saying, ‘We’ll do it.’ That’s the leadership that’s needed to change our city. That’s the leadership that’s needed to change our country.”
— Former Baltimore Ravens star and Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis, who serves on the UMB Foundation Board of Trustees, during the UMB Office of Community and Civic Engagement’s 10th anniversary celebration Oct. 16
“It was the most difficult and saddest decision I’ve made in my life, but it had to be done. I am the 20th director. I was given this treasure with a history of 250,000 volunteers who have served in 142 countries. We have been changed. Countries have been changed. Communities have been changed. And at this moment, I have to bring it all to a halt, and thousands of lives are going to be affected.”
— Jody K. Olsen, PhD, MSW ’72, former Peace Corps director and current UMB Center for Global Engagement senior fellow, detailing how the decision was made to bring all Peace Corps volunteers back to the United States as the pandemic worsened in March 2020, during the UMBrella Speaker Series event Oct. 31
“There are many people who contribute to our mission, and we spend a lot of time on the process of selecting Founders Week award winners. We have immense talent at the University at all levels — staff, faculty, and students — so that makes it a difficult process. But it is rewarding one, and it’s a wonderful pleasure and privilege to be a part of it.”
— UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, during the 2024 Founders Week Awards Recognition and Reception at the M&T Bank Exchange on Oct. 17
“From one recovering perfectionist to another, I have one charge for you: I want you to fail. I want you to fail often. And I want you to fail gloriously. I want you to nominate yourself for committees, submit for long-shot grants, and throw your name in the hat for opportunities that you don’t really have a chance of getting.”
— Kimberly Lumpkins, MD, MBA, professor, University of Maryland School of Medicine, during UMB’s Faculty Convocation on Sept. 12
“If you don’t have integrity and benevolence, which I define as care and concern for society, you are not going to be perceived as an expert, and public trust is just not going to be there.”
— Andrew Coop, PhD, MA, professor and associate dean for graduate programs, University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, during UMB’s Faculty Convocation on Sept. 12
“I want you to see my sister the way my son sees her, or the way my 5-year-old self saw her — as someone who is recognized as able by her humanity, not diminished by her disability.”
— Sydnee Chavis, DMD, MS, clinical assistant professor, University of Maryland School of Dentistry, speaking about her older sister, Brandi, who has cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities, during UMB’s Faculty Convocation on Sept. 12
“I had the unique opportunity to be in a room with all of the Supreme Court justices. So I decided if I was going to have 15 minutes in a room with the people who actually make decisions in this country, I wasn’t going to waste my time. Justice [Ketanji Brown] Jackson is a big fan of ‘Hamilton,’ so I chose those two particular songs because I wanted all of the justices to hear these words.”
— Award-winning singer and actor Felicia Curry, telling a story about performing “Satisfied/Dear Theodosia” from “Hamilton” for the nine U.S. Supreme Court judges in 2022, during the 2024 Founders Week Recognition and Reception at the M&T Bank Exchange on Oct. 17
