TerrapinSTRONG Symposium

In response to large-scale reductions across the federal government and the broader public service ecosystem, the School of Public Policy launched the *Navigating Career Transitions* program in summer 2025 to support alumni—particularly those impacted by job loss, funding shifts, and structural changes. Recognizing that our community includes not only current students but also alumni serving in the federal workforce, the program reflected our School’s commitment to inclusivity, continuity, and lifelong professional support.

The program offered structured guidance to help alumni reassess their career goals, identify transferable skills, and reframe their professional narratives for a changing workforce, and individualized support. Participants engaged in interactive workshops focused on values assessments, rebranding strategies, job search readiness, and networking. Emphasis was placed on translating federal experience into industry-relevant language and preparing compelling application materials.

The initiative highlighted the School’s commitment to cultivating an inclusive community that supports alumni at every career stage—particularly during times of uncertainty. Given the overwhelmingly positive response, a second round was delivered in early October 2025. This presentation will share insights from the program’s development and delivery and invite discussion about how higher education can better support alumni facing workforce disruptions in an evolving political and economic landscape.

C. Bryan Kempton, director, Career Services & Alumni Relations, School of Public Policy
Mike Goodhart, director, Executive and Cohort Programs, School of Public Policy

Presentation 1: All of the changes new first-year students are about to experience are monumental and will shape the rest of their lives. We know and they know that they are going to make mistakes, but students are still afraid. Based on conversations I’ve had with students the fear is because even small mistakes can drastically change their trajectory in college and beyond. Our brains don’t fully developed until around age 27. Students deserve a chance to try and fail and to try again in a safe and low stakes environment. They need a guiding hand to help them. This session aims to use pedagogical research and approaches to begin educating educators to better prepare and support our students. We sometimes forget that even the teachers need to continue learning!

Presentation 2: The Transfer Champion Training is an asynchronous course available to all UMD faculty and staff via ELMS. This program is designed to inform, inspire, and cultivate a community of transfer advocates on campus. Participants gain valuable insights into the transfer student demographic at UMD, along with an understanding of current programs and policies impacting their experience. The course delves into the unique needs and strengths of transfer students, empowering participants to consider their role in engaging and supporting transfer students. This presentation will provide a program overview, highlight the positive impact of the training, and celebrate the collaborative efforts made to improve the transfer student experience at UMD.

Sydney Sharpstene, lecturer, English
Imani Burwell-Finch & Jill Nagiel, program managers, Pre-Transfer Advising

Art transcends educational levels, backgrounds, and barriers, while nurturing different ways of thinking and learning. With the launch of a Climate Emotions webpage in fall 2024, a successful documentary screening on art and science in spring 2025, and through attending a six-week intensive Climate Art 101 course, the Office of Sustainability (OS) is excited to share how art is enhancing its outreach and communications strategy.

Exploring themes like climate change, environmental justice, and personal action through the lens of beauty, color, and art makes these topics more accessible, encourages optimism, and drives action. Further, creating and experiencing art has proven stress-reduction benefits and is a powerful tool for dealing with climate emotions, which can be difficult to convey verbally.

In this workshop, Dyani Frye and Savannah Holt will demonstrate art’s impact on wellbeing, improving learning, fostering community, and strengthening the climate movement. Attendees will discover resources related to art and art education on campus and explore an in-depth case study of the Colors of Change event where film, poetry, and art demonstrated how complex environmental problems require creative interdisciplinary solutions.

Additionally, the workshop will include a small group discussion for attendees to connect with one another and brainstorm how they can incorporate art to deepen understanding and excitement in their respective disciplines. Through interactive components, discussions, and the creation of climate art, Leveraging Art for Climate Action will invite the UMD community to explore the ways in which art supports the Fearlessly Forward mission amidst a continually changing landscape. 

Savannah Holt, sustainability coordinator 
Dyani Frye, sustainability associate, ESSR Office of Sustainability

Improvisation has long been recognized for promoting people's ability to be flexible and adaptable through change, but when you're looking for context-specific training improv can feel a little abstract. Applied improvisation bridges the gap between theatre improv and real world-contexts through an integration tool. What’s that tool? A debrief! But not just any debrief–a 6 phase debrief that supports participants in making meaning of their immediate lived experience and leverages the power of the group to promote transformative adjustments to behavior in the face of change. Participants in this workshop can look forward to a playful experience with real-world takeaways. No experience with theatre or improvisation is necessary. All contexts encouraged!

Christine Alexander, lecturer, Science, Technology, and Society
Mira Azarm, Innovation Instigator & Learning Experience Catalyst, Academy for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Have you ever entered a project or program mid-stream and had to correct course? What can you do differently to set yourself up for success for future projects and programs? Join Nicole Rumeau and Courtney Johnson, Assistant Directors of Pre- and Post- Award Management at the Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security (ARLIS) at the University of Maryland to discuss developing dynamic, cross-functional portfolio planning through comprehensive kickoff planning and execution. The presenters will share their experience entering an organization without a defined project management culture, observing and evaluating the organization to identify areas of improvement, building teams to support growth, and planning for an improved future.

Nicole Rumeau, assistant director of proposals & award compliance
Courtney Johnson, assistant director of post-award, Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence & Security

Mashanda and Bill will discuss the changing landscape in the search and selection process. They will also discuss best practices and lead a discussion session.

Mashanda Mosley, staff ombuds
Bill Kindred, Equal Opportunity Officer

This panel discussion will focus on the experience of completing masters or doctoral coursework while serving as a full-time administrator with a marginalized identity at UMD. In the current political climate, daily challenges arise as to how we engage in our work and our studies. We recognize the urgent need for advisors to act as disruptors to the status quo in higher education; especially with special student populations including students with marginalized identities, those on academic probation, first generation, and those seeking admission into limited enrollment programs. Our panel will also discuss the personal aspect of pursuing higher education while working at a PWI as a person of color. Additional topics will include navigating disruptions to personal routines, professional growth in the midst of a volatile environment within higher education, and effective inter/intradepartmental collaboration.

Kendyl Oliver, Senior Academic Advisor CASA (SPH)
April Khaing, Assistant Director of Student Services CASA (SPH)
Kelly Marbury, Academic Programs Coordinator, Business LTSC
Randall Phyall, Associate Director Letters & Sciences
Eva Morgan, Academic Advisor PLCY
Elaine Rudder, Assistant Program Director of HR, SPH

This panel will discuss the Stand Together For Higher Ed movement, a national project to support faculty concerned about growing political attacks on academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and the public mission of higher education. We will examine how this movement can integrate with ongoing efforts to preserve academic freedom on campus.  Both veteran scholars and non-tenured faculty will discuss various approaches we need to take at the University of Maryland to protect our academic freedom. It will include input from representatives of the Faculty Senate, which approved a Mutual Defense Compact in March and from the American Association of University Professors and our local union, UAM-UMD, which is organizing against such attacks.

Moderator: 
Rob Wells, associate professor

Panelists: 
Derek Willis, lecturer
Sarah Oates, Ph.D, professor
Krishnan Vasudevan,  Ph.D., associate professor, Philip Merrill College of Journalism

Navigating change requires community. It insists that we, figuratively, return home, find our way back to the places and people that have informed our perspectives and politics. If no home exists, it demands that we invent one from a community cultivated with regard. This community, with its collective memory, can allow us to remember important figures who can provide a model for courage in the face of injustice. One reason why I love being a Marylander is that I get to live in the same state as some of the bravest and most significant figures in African American history such as Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglas. By mere proximity, I draw on their history and courage to augment my own. 

Moderator: 
Chad Infante, assistant professor, English

Panelists: 
Paul Cote—cinema and media
Oliver Gaycken—English
Mike Henry—Hornbake Library

When change hits, our default reflexes often kick in: resist, retreat, react. But what if we could retrain those reflexes? What if we could move from automatic reactions to thoughtful, constructive action? This session will introduce different change reflexes to help you navigate transition and uncertainty with greater ease. We'll also cover strategies to make reflex shifting a regular practice for your team. Reset your reflexes so you can respond to change with clarity and confidence.

Adrienne Hamcke Wicker, director, Center for Leadership & Organizational Change (CLOC)

Navigating the evolving landscape of higher education presents new and shifting challenges for faculty, staff, and administrators. Balancing these demands and changing expectations with regular responsibilities can be overwhelming and may increase the risk of burnout.

This interactive workshop will define occupational burnout, present current research on predictors of burnout, and explore practical strategies for prevention. Special attention will be given to the unique challenges faced by employees with marginalized identities. Participants will brainstorm strategies to support well-being and belonging for all. The session will also highlight campus resources designed to promote healthier, more sustainable work environments.

Nazish Salahuddin & Karen O'Brien, faculty ombuds and psychology

Restorative Circles are rooted in Indigenous and spiritual tradition- not from one specific Indigenous tribe, but rather, a philosophy and practice that has many forms across the globe. It’s a practice that aims to build connections to ourselves, each other, the land we’re on, and the creatures and plants we share space with. In challenging times, coming together and leaning on one another is key. In this interactive session, the facilitators will lead small groups in community-building, restorative circles to explore navigating change and turning disruption into direction. In a restorative circle, participants will have the opportunity to actively listen to other participants and share their own thoughts and stories in response to questions, and honor each other's humanity along the way. Restorative circles tend to begin with a formal opening, whether it be a grounding breath, quote, or activity, and include time for participants to respond to questions to explore a particular topic, and end with a formal closing. After the circle, the facilitators will debrief with participants and share information about Restorative Philosophy and ways it’s being integrated into life at UMD. Join us for an honest conversation about the difficulties of this time and how we can move forward together.

Nicole Garcia Diaz, assistant director for restorative practices & community engagement, Department of Resident Life
Stephanie Olson, Laura Tan, Daniel Satterthwaite, Nicole Mehta, Department of Resident Life
Jordan Adams, Conference & Visitor Services

Narratives about the future force us to confront how the present will inevitably change – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse, and sometimes in ways we can’t predict. This often stirs hopes, fears, and other emotions that can push us into impulsive action or paralyze us into passive inaction. Slowing down to examine those emotional responses, engage with a variety of lived experiences, and imagine new possibilities can create opportunities to reconsider the prospect of change and the role we want to play in it.

In this workshop, we will work collaboratively, drawing on tools from mindfulness practice and futures design, to explore different possible futures and consider how they might shape our responses to change and our role in initiating it. Together, we will leverage each other’s experiences and perspectives to uncover what these futures reveal about our values, hopes, and fears — and how we want to engage with them. Participants will leave with practice using tools to navigate change with curiosity and intention, along with ideas they can continue to explore with colleagues across campus.

Christina Hnatov, lecturer, Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Nick Ocasio, Community Manager, Academy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

With so many different colleges/units/departments on campus, everyone is trying to find their niche, but very few know how to navigate the red tape. This presentation explores the availability, accessibility, and impact of community engagement resources across campus and the USM. Recognizing the growing role of higher education institutions in fostering civic responsibility and social impact, the research investigates how students, faculty, and staff connect with programs, partnerships, and infrastructure that support community involvement. This presentation will introduce best practices for promoting community engagement, identifies common barriers to participation, and offers recommendations for improving outreach, resource integration, and collaboration. 

Errica Philpott-Barber, program manager, faculty affairs, CBMG

This workshop session will be centered around 2024’s Belonging & Community at UMD survey and the campus-wide dashboard created to share the survey data. Staff and faculty from Belonging & Community, ADVANCE, and IRPA will 1) share the dashboard of campus-wide survey data, 2) offer best practices for analyzing and interpreting the data, and 3) facilitate discussion among participants about leveraging these survey findings to better understand the campus climate and help the university and its constituent communities come together during these uncertain times.

Abigail Do, associate data scientist, IRPA
Stephanie Chang, Assistant Vice President for Belonging
Dawn Culpepper, Director of ADVANCE Program for Inclusive Excellence
Michelle Appel, Assistant Vice President and Chief Data Officer

Today's colleges and universities are navigating massive tech shifts, balancing automated services with their unique identities and community ties. As a Senior Cloud Engineer with 8 years of experience in UMD's infrastructure at Division of IT, who's spearheaded large-scale conversational AI projects across departments and cloud platforms, I'm sharing practical lessons on steering this change through smart automation.

In this session, we'll explore the tension between tech efficiency and human values in academia. Using real case studies from cross-departmental chatbot deployments and cloud-native architectures, we'll discuss theories and methods for digital transformation that honors institutional culture while boosting operations.

Key takeaways include:

• Design principles to maintain personal connections in automated cloud systems.
• Strategies for managing stakeholder resistance across hierarchies.
• Inclusive frameworks for tech adoption that respect diverse skills and cultures.
• Metrics that weigh efficiency gains against community impact.
• Cloud tips for scalable, secure AI implementations.
• Drawing from tech expertise and organizational psychology, we'll address: Does tech dictate our path, or do we shape it? You'll gain evidence-based tools for decision-making, helping preserve community spirit amid rapid change.

Ideal for senior admins, academic leaders, and tech pros seeking thoughtful change management. We'll blend theory with actionable steps to turn digital disruption into institutional growth.

Chaitanya Gunupudi, IT Platform Engineer, Division of Information Technology

A big-picture overview of the evolution of Canvas Data Ingestion and Reporting from the ATEX team. Session will include a look into how things started and where they are now and how the progression came to be.

Hesham Halabi, data engineer, Division of Information Technology
Martyn Clark, senior data engineer, Division of Information Technology

Few developments have disrupted the academic technology space in recent years like generative AI (GenAI). To help the university navigate the new AI landscape, the Academic Technology Experience (ATEX) team within the Division of IT administered surveys designed to establish students’ and instructors’ baseline use and perceptions around GenAI tools. To make the most of these efforts, however, we needed to disrupt our own survey processes and develop innovative strategies for survey creation, administration, and reporting.

One example is the creation of the Pop-Up Protocol (PUP), a rapid, low-barrier interview method that informed the design of a campus-wide GenAI survey. PUP allowed us to build empathy through short video clips, guide survey language, and amplify the student voice in both the instrument and reporting. We used mixed-method dissemination including infographics, narrative summaries, interactive presentations, digital signage, and social media to increase visibility.

We’ll also share results from our participation in EDUCAUSE surveys, which provided a valuable update on students’ GenAI use. Here, we tested pre-notifications, alternative incentives, and push notifications to increase survey response rates. While changes in incentive and pre-notifications had little effect, students who received push notifications via our campus app were 54% more likely to respond.

Our findings highlight both successes and lessons learned, pointing toward future possibilities like mobile-based pulse surveys, more intentional campus-wide coordination, curating and featuring video interviews, and rethinking what success looks like in survey work.

Jonathan Engelberg & Tiffany Pao, research analysts, Division of Information Technology

I am interested in facilitating a roundtable discussion about the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education to support student learning and growth. As AI tools become increasingly accessible, faculty and students need to explore how these technologies can be meaningfully integrated into academic life. This conversation will focus specifically on ways to use AI to enhance learning strategies, improve organization, and foster greater academic independence and success. Participants will be invited to share their experiences and questions regarding the use of AI-powered tools, including writing assistants, organizational apps, intelligent tutoring systems, and personalized study platforms. The goal will be to encourage collaborative exploration of how AI can serve as a support system rather than a replacement for student effort and critical thinking. I plan to contribute insights and examples gathered during my attendance at the Future Ready Maryland: AI in Education Summit in July 2025, including innovative uses of AI to scaffold student development. The goal will be to share practical strategies and a broader understanding of how AI can be used to support students' evolving needs. This discussion is ideal for faculty, instructional designers, academic advisors, and student support staff who are interested in aligning emerging technologies with student success initiatives.

Stacey C. Williams, internship coordinator & principal lecturer, CHSE, Special Education Program