BOLDNESS A N E W S L E T T E R F OR S U PP ORT E R S OF T H E U N I V E R S I T Y OF M A RY L A N D / J U LY 2 0 19
TO TURN IMAGINATION INTO INNOVATION / CURIOSITY TO DISCOVER NEW KNOWLEDGE PASSION TO INSPIRE MARYLAND PRIDE / INSPIRATION TO TRANSFORM THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE
A VISION COMPLETED Brendan Iribe Center Opens to Advance Computer Science and Engineering P.4
DEAR MARYLAND SUPPORTERS,
Jackie Lewis Vice President for University Relations President, University of Maryland College Park Foundation
COVER PHOTO BY JOHN T. CONSOLI ’86
It was another busy and exciting semester at the University of Maryland. While members of our Class of 2019 are off on their next adventure, we are taking a moment to reflect on all the accomplishments of the academic year. To name just a few, School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation students won the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s low-income housing design competition for the second year in a row. The men’s soccer team captured its fourth national championship. College of Arts and Humanities students celebrated the works of a famed German-American composer during the yearlong Kurt Weill Festival, part of our Year of Immigration. This issue of our campaign newsletter gives you a first-hand look at the tremendous impact that donors have on Maryland students, helping them bring their Fearless Ideas to life one invention, research project and discovery at a time. Donors are critical to helping us increase access to an outstanding education for students from all backgrounds. Alumnus Brendan Iribe recently invested $1 million to launch an initiative promoting inclusion and diversity in computing at the University of Maryland. The newly opened Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering, a remarkable, state-of-the-art facility, will also help bring more women and underrepresented minorities to our computer science department. Bob Frazee ’77 and Chuck Daggs ’69 are opening the door to a Maryland degree for deserving local students by establishing need-based scholarships through the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise and the Incentive Awards Program. Plus, a new gift from Larry and Brenda Thompson will support a collections fellow or postdoctoral student in our Driskell Center and fund a new event series, increasing the impact and reach of our arts programs. While this issue only touches on a handful of inspiring gifts, so many across our campus are having a tremendous effect on our institution. We remain grateful to all of our donors who invest in Maryland students and faculty as they seek to create a better world for all.
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A PROMISING FUTURE FOR AGRICULTURE STUDENTS Alum’s Gift Establishes Need-Based Scholarship for AGNR Major By Annie Dankelson
PHOTO COURTESY OF FRAZEE FAMILY
FOR BOB FRAZEE ’77, the College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources was an oasis on the University of Maryland’s expansive campus of tens of thousands of Terps. He remembers being impressed with umd upon first visiting as a 10th grader with the Science in Action biology program, when he got to shadow classes and labs. But once he arrived as a Terp a few years later, thanks in part to a Victor E. Albright scholarship for Garrett County students, the culture shock kicked in. “There were more people on that campus than the whole county I grew up in,” Frazee says. “But in the college, there was this close-knit community that went all the way to my advisor.” Now, Frazee and his wife, Linda Frazee (shown above), are giving back to help incoming Terps enjoy the same kind of experience through the J. Robert and Linda Frazee Maryland Promise Scholarship. Driven by their belief in umd’s land-grant mission and agnr’s focus on solving real-life problems, the Frazees contributed $50,000 to the endowed fund, which will be fully matched through the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise Program. The need-based scholarships for Maryland and D.C. undergrads, with preference for agnr students, are renewable for up to four years for incoming freshmen and two years for transfer students. “I just simply wouldn’t have had an education without the generosity of others,” Bob Frazee
says. “I’m wired to want to give others the same chance I had.” An agriculture and extension education major, he enjoyed his time on campus, where he met his late first wife, Lisa. He secured a job right after graduation as a loan officer at the Farm Credit Bank of Baltimore, and he worked his way up, making stops everywhere from the dmv to South Carolina to Puerto Rico, before becoming the ceo of MidAtlantic Farm Credit back in Maryland. He’s stayed involved at Maryland through the Alumni Association, the Terrapin Club, the Dean’s Global Leadership Council and the Council on Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching, which advocates for federal support for land-grant programs like agnr. And Frazee hopes he and his wife’s gift will allow more driven Terps to bolster the college further. “The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources takes great pride and effort in sustaining equitable entry for folks of all backgrounds and financial means,” says agnr Dean Craig Beyrouty. “We are grateful to the Frazees for helping us attract a breadth of talented and passionate students to solve some of the world's most pressing issues.”
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UMD LAUNCHES IRIBE INITIATIVE for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing
By Abby Robinson
W
ITH A NEW $1 MILLION GIFT from alumnus
Brendan Iribe, the University of Maryland has created the Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing to increase diversity and foster a stronger environment of inclusion in the Department of Computer Science. The funding will support tutoring for required introductory computer science classes, computing-related student organization activities, a computer science inclusion speaker seminar series and attendance at computing conferences. The initiative will also support after-school programs and summer camps for elementary through high school students from all backgrounds. The initiative will expand on the successes of the Maryland Center for Women in Computing (MCWIC), which
has provided a variety of opportunities for female students at umd and local K–12 schools to engage in computing activities since 2014, to offer programs for students of all backgrounds. “I’ve been very impressed by the work Jan Plane and the center have been doing to build the pipeline for women and underrepresented groups to enter computing fields,” Iribe said. “Increasing diversity and creating a culture of inclusion in the tech industry is important to me, and I know Jan and her team will use this new funding to make an even bigger impact at Maryland.” In 2017–18, over 1,400 K–12 students and nearly 250 UMD students participated in MCWIC programs. Following the launch of the initiative, MCWIC will continue to provide specific programming for women and strengthen its current partnerships with national organizations, including the National Center for Women in Technology and the Building Recruiting and Inclusion for Diversity initiative. “We are extremely grateful for Brendan’s generosity,” said the initiative’s director, Jandelyn Plane, a principal lecturer in the Department of Computer Science who directs MCWIC. “It’s very motivating to have someone who shares our vision and dedication to creating an inclusive environment for everyone interested in computing.” The number of female undergraduates in the department more than doubled over the last five years, to over 650, making it one of the largest female computer science populations in the country. The number of underrepresented minorities in the major increased by 50 percent in that timespan.
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A VISION COMPLETED Brendan Iribe Center Opens to Advance Computer Science and Engineering
By Lauren Brown
A
Following his address to the audience at the dedication ceremony, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan presents a governor’s citation to Brendan Iribe, who launched construction of the Brendan Iribe Center with a $30 million gift.
GLEAMING, MODERN NEW BUILDING at
the main entrance to the University of Maryland trumpets a message: This is where the future is happening. The Brendan Iribe (pronounced ee-REEB’) Center for Computer Science and Engineering was dedicated on April 27, Maryland Day, to support groundbreaking research and innovation in fields such as virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, algorithms, programming languages and systems, and computer vision. It’s named for the co-founder of virtual reality company Oculus, who donated $30 million to launch the project; the state also provided significant funding. “I wanted this gift to support a place that inspires students to form friendships and teams that last a lifetime, where students have access to everything they need to build the next great company or breakthrough technology,” Iribe said at the opening celebration. In addition to its tech-infused classrooms, spacious labs and a student-focused makerspace, the 215,600-square-foot center houses the Department of Computer Science—which offers the biggest and fastest-growing major on campus—and the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), a group of 80-plus faculty and research scientists from 10 departments and six schools and colleges across campus. “This transformative building will take one of the nation’s top computer and data science programs to even greater heights,” said umd President Wallace D. Loh. “Our leadership in fields like artificial intelligence and virtual and augmented reality will grow, making our campus an even greater hub for innovation and economic development.”
Bob Reisse M.S. ’70, Ph.D. ’76 and Dana Reisse M.L.S. ’73 admire photographs taken by their son, Andrew Reisse ’01, a co-founder of Oculus who died in 2013. Michael Antonov ’01, who also co-founded Oculus, gave $3.5 million to fund the building's 298-seat auditorium, which now bears his name. To the right are Iribe and University President Wallace D. Loh.
Informal gathering spaces at the Brendan Iribe Center were designed to foster collaboration.
Brendan Iribe, the Maryland alumnus and co-founder of the virtual reality company Oculus who provided the leadership gift for the building, addresses friends, family and members of the university community.
PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
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PASSING THE ENTREPRENEURIAL CS Professor’s Gift Will Staff, TORCH Emeritus Coordinate Campus Makerspaces
PASTRICK NAMED HONORARY CAMPAIGN CO-CHAIR
By Kimbra Cutlip
entrepreneur might be someone who turns good ideas into reality, and with his latest gifts to the University of Maryland, Computer Science Professor Emeritus Bill Pugh—a successful entrepreneur in his own right—is giving students the tools to do that. A pioneer in programming languages and software engineering who taught at UMD for nearly a quarter century, Pugh (below, center) has pledged $500,000 to staff and operate the Jagdeep Singh Family makerspace in the new Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering. He and his wife, Lisa Orange, are also making another $250,000 gift to coordinate the campus’ makerspaces, designated areas equipped for students to invent and create. Over the years they’ve donated nearly $1.5 million, including $500,000 to help build the Iribe Center, which was dedicated in April. “The Iribe Center was designed as an environment to encourage students to be inventive, to think about what they can do with technology and to partner with people outside their disciplines,” Pugh said. “They’ll come here, see research with drones and robots, art projects infused with technology—all done by students—and they’ll be excited to get involved.” A $1 million donation from Jagdeep ’86 and Roshni Singh
provided funds to support the 5,300-square-foot makerspace known as the Singh Sandbox—a nod to the first Sandbox makerspace that opened in 2016 in the Computer Science Instructional Center. Consisting of a large, open collaboration area and six workshops on the first floor, the Sandbox provides students from any major with specialized equipment that isn’t available elsewhere on campus except to students and researchers in specific departments: laser cutters, a woodshop, 3D printers, an electronics fabrication and analysis shop and more. “Makerspaces are a wonderful way for students to work with tangible hardware and apply real-life problem-solving skills to create something in the real world,” Jagdeep Singh says.
COURTNEY CLARK PASTRICK, board chair of the A.
James & Alice B. Clark Foundation and a director of Clark Enterprises, will serve as an honorary co-chair for the University of Maryland’s Fearless Ideas: The Campaign for Maryland. The daughter of renowned builder, businessman and alumnus A. James Clark ’50, Pastrick and her family have been an integral part of the umd community for over 70 years. Notable contributions include numerous gifts to the A. James Clark School of Engineering and an investment of $219.5 million for Building Together: An Investment for Maryland to increase college access and affordability, spark innovation that tackles the problems facing the nation and world, and inspire the next generation of leaders. As honorary co-chair, she will help guide the university in its most ambitious and comprehensive fundraising effort ever, with a goal of $1.5 billion. “It is an honor to be in the position to help umd reach this incredible fundraising goal,” said Pastrick. “The Clark family has always held a special place in our hearts for Maryland and I am excited to contribute to this campaign in pursuit of world-changing innovation.” Pastrick joins Alma G. Gildenhorn ’53, philanthropist; Barry P. Gossett ’62, principal, Gossett Group; Brendan Iribe, co-founder, Oculus; William E. “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor emeritus, University System of Maryland; Karen B. Levenson ’76, educator; Kevin A. Plank ’96, founder, CEO and chairman, Under Armour; Michelle Smith, president, Robert H. Smith Family Foundation; and Craig A. Thompson ’92, partner, Venable LLP.
PHOTOS BY JOHN T. CONSOLI
O
NE DEFINITION of an
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PAINTING A LEGACY Driskell Center Gift Honors Namesake and African-American Art By Sala Levin ’10
WITH SOME 600 WORKS of art in
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LARRY AND BRENDA THOMPSON
their collection, Larry and Brenda Thompson are no novices to the craft of identifying and showing spectacular pieces. But decades ago, when they were neophyte collectors, they found guidance from an esteemed source: David Driskell, renowned artist, umd professor emeritus and namesake for the university’s David C. Driskell Center for the Study of Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora. Now, the Thompsons are pledging $600,000 to establish the Thompson Endowed Collections Fellowship, the Thompson Collections Fellowship Current-Use Fund and the Living Legacy Tour and Education Fund. The Thompsons’ gift will support a collections fellow or postdoctoral student in the Driskell Center, as well as a series of events that will highlight Driskell and his influential career. Years ago, the Thompsons met Driskell and thendirector of the center, Robert Steele, when the two came through Atlanta, where the Thompsons live. Visiting their home, Driskell took note of their modest but impressive collection and successfully urged them to display some of the works at the Driskell Center. That, Brenda says, “really launched us on our way as young collectors,” says Brenda. The Driskell Center is “one of the most preeminent scholarly centers for the study of art by AfricanAmerican artists and artists of the African diaspora, and so a part of what we wanted to do was make certain that Dr. Driskell’s experience and knowledge and wisdom and even legacy was further communicated to people across the country,” says Larry. The gift “has a serious impact on the mission of the Driskell Center,” says Professor Curlee Holton, executive director of the Driskell Center and Distinguished Artist in Residence in the Department of Art. “This gift helps us realize the potential of the Driskell Center... The goal we have to really position it as an important national center is facilitated by this gift.”
One painting in Larry and Brenda Thompson's collection is "De Good Book Says" by Wilmer Jennings. The Thompsons plan to donate artworks from their collection to the university's David C. Driskell Center.
The Thompsons—Larry was deputy attorney general of the United States under President George W. Bush, then general counsel for PepsiCo, and Brenda is a retired school psychologist—hope that the Driskell Center will continue to serve as inspiration for generations of students. “When we had our first show in College Park … one of the students wrote [in the visitor book], ‘I didn’t know that black art looked like this—I’m free to paint as I’d like,’” says Larry. The two also hope that the Center will continue to place African-American art in its proper context. “Dr. Driskell always says that African-American art is American art,” says Brenda. “What happened is some of the work was lost, and sometimes the work is ignored, so we’re hoping that we can make sure that doesn’t continue to happen.”
University Relations Office of Strategic Communications 2101 Turner Hall, 7736 Baltimore Ave. College Park, MD 20742
PHOTO COURTESY OF CHUCK DAGGS
W HY I G I VE
BY CHARLES “CHUCK” W. DAGGS ’69
In the summer after my sophomore year at the University of Maryland, I started a summer job that changed my perspective on the world. I worked as a counselor with the federally sponsored Summer Enrichment Program at an elementary school in Southeast Washington, D.C. The program provided extracurricular activities for low-income students. My three summers with them opened my eyes to the disparity of opportunity for kids growing up in underserved communities. Over the last 17 years, I have served on the Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) Board. KIPP’s mission is to operate highachieving public schools in educationally underserved communities, developing in their students the knowledge, skills and character essential to thrive in college. And through my experience with KIPP, I have seen that even if students work hard and are successful academically, they still face unaffordable college costs and the challenge of adapting to a college experience as a first-generation student. If you struggle your freshman year, it’s easy to conclude that you don’t belong there. That’s why my wife, Rebecca, and I created the Daggs Family “KIPP at Maryland” Endowed Scholarship, so students from KIPP schools in Maryland and Washington, D.C., can attend umd through the Incentive Awards Program. IAP is committed to educating the region’s most promising students who demonstrate the greatest financial need. Students have access to mentoring, academic coaching,
fearlessideas.umd.edu
career guidance and a close-knit, peer-topeer community for support. Participating students share highs and lows, and help each other out. These wraparound support services lead to 95% of IAP students returning for their second year, and an 89% graduation rate, compared to 86% in the general umd student population. Consider Kareem Shakoor ’10, raised in Prince George’s County, the sixth of nine children and now the special education manager at Democracy Prep Public Schools in New York City. A firstgeneration college student, Kareem says IAP allowed him to be “an agent of change” for his family and community, and now each of his younger siblings and cousins are enrolled in college or college graduates. He sums up the program’s impact saying, “IAP opened the door for me and put me in a position to keep it open for those who came after me."
charles “chuck” w. daggs ’69 was executive vice president and senior managing director at wells fargo in san francisco before retiring. he is on the university of maryland college park foundation’s board of trustees, serving on the budget, audit and investment committee and the campaign steering committee. daggs also served as board chair of kipp: bay area public schools.