Foundation funding allows our students, faculty and staff to
ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH,
SCHOLARSHIP AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY.

EACH YEAR, AWARDS ARE PRESENTED ACROSS THE UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE THAT CELEBRATE ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND ARE NAMED IN HONOR OF SOME OF THE UNIVERSITY’S MOST STALWART SUPPORTERS, INCLUDING FACULTY, STAFF, ALUMNI
AND STUDENTS.  

The Erin Kvedar Memorial Fund endows the annual seminar prize awarded by the Integrated Design program. The eponymous award was established in memory of Erin Kvedar, M.A. ’10, a graduate of UBalt’s (then) Publications Design program. It is given annually to a student project that exhibits excellent concept, high quality and consistency of design, appropriate and well-composed writing and tremendous execution.

In May 2022, the award was presented for the fourth time to a team of Integrated Design student who create design and branding strategies for a UBalt student entrepreneur’s visionary company for their capstone project. The winning “AfriVariety” team, including designers Bennan Parker, Kate Hardwicke and Maya Robers, worked to bring West African goods right to your front door using Amivi Atsu’s business plan.

The Johannes M. Botes Capstone Achievement Award was established in 2017 to honor the legacy, memory and contributions of our late colleague, Johannes M. Botes, associate professor emeritus in the School of Public and International Affairs.

Nafeesat Rabiu-Adebayo, M.A. ‘21, who graduated from the Global Affairs and Human Security program, was selected by the School of Public and International Affairs awards committee as the winner of the 2021-22 Johannes M. Botes Capstone Achievement Award. Nafeesat’s capstone project title was, “Gendercide: The Prevailing Violence Against Women and Girls in India.”

At the beginning of last school year, Steven Leyva, M.F.A. ’12, was named the Klein Professor of Writing and Literature for a three-year term. Leyva, a graduate of UBalt’s Creative Writing & Publishing Arts program, is an assistant professor in the Klein Family School of Communications Design and an award-winning poet.

“It’s a great honor to be awarded the Klein Professorship and to promote the ideals and values of the Klein family, who have been committed to the advancement and promotion of literary arts and research at The University of Baltimore. One of the duties of the Klein professors is to select a vibrant, engaging and erudite writer to give a reading or presentation as part of the Creative Writing & Publishing Arts Reading series. I selected Paisley Rekdal, former Utah Poet Laureate, in part because she had an interdisciplinary project about the transcontinental railroad, called West: A Translation. The work combines history, multimedia, poetry and design into an interactive website that centers the voices of the Chinese, Native-American and African-American workers who built the railroad. I thought this would be an excellent way to demonstrate the vibrancy of the Humanities in 2022, and how we at UBalt are in conversation with other scholars across the country.”

The Fannie Angelos Program for Academic Excellence has sponsored, mentored and guided me from my LSAT days through my law school journey at The University of Baltimore. At the beginning of law school, I did not know the exact career path I wanted to pursue. My mentors pushed me toward extracurriculars. By the end of my first year, I was selected to serve as a staff editor for the Law Review, and the following year, I was elected to be the Articles Editor. In an effort to explore different career options, I served as a Summer Associate at Semmes, Bowen & Semmes. Additionally, during my time as a Student Attorney for the Immigrant Rights Clinic, I was able to extensively represent a family seeking asylum in the United States. With all these tools and experiences under my belt, I am confident I will do well in any field I choose.”

–YEMISI GIWA-OTUSAJO, J.D. ‘21

TURNER STUDENT RESEARCH AWARDS

Established in 1998 to honor H. Mebane “Meb” Turner on the occasion of his retirement as the sixth President of The University of Baltimore, the H. Mebane Turner Scholarship Fund provides student awards for honors level activities.

Full- or part-time undergraduate and graduate students from all four schools are eligible to apply to the University’s Council on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity for funds to subsidize travel, research projects, equipment purchases and internship programs done in support of their academic work. Some of the FY2022 awardees included:

• Bob Ezumah, an M&T Bank Real Estate Fellow who is pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Global Affairs and Human Security at the College of Public Affairs, participated in the 2022 Global Trade Academy WTO (World Trade Organization) Simulation, hosted by Georgetown Law and the Institute of International Economic Law.

• Sylvia Nolasco, a Sam Rose Scholar and student in the Merrick School of Business’ Human Resource Management Program, presented her research at the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) 2022 Annual Conference in Seattle.

• Rashad Johnson, B.A. ’22, traveled to the National Museum of the American Indian to conduct research pertaining to the portrayal of Native Americans in video games.

UBalt’s Interdisciplinary Studies program allowed me to explore key issues in the gaming industry in unique ways that went beyond the school’s game design program alone. By combining game design, history and psychology, I was able to create a degree program that explored game studies, video game preservation and the use of gaming tech in therapeutic practices. This has allowed me to not only be a more conscientious game designer and storyteller, but also utilize games in educational settings, as I pursue a career in education.”

–RASHAAD JOHNSON, B.A. ’22