2026 Awardees

2026 Presidential Faculty & Staff Awards

Presidential Teaching Professor Award
Lindsay DiCuirci
Associate Professor, English

Presidential Research Professor Award
Weidong Zhu
Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Presidential Distinguished Staff Award, Exempt Staff
Joby Taylor, Ph.D. ’05
Assistant Vice Provost, The Shriver Center

Professional Distinguished Staff Award, Non-Exempt Staff
Michele Kimery
Business Services Specialist, UMBC Police Department

USM Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching
Tara Carpenter
Teaching Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry

USM Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Mentoring
Michael Summers
Robert E. Meyerhoff Chair for Excellence in Research and Mentoring and Distinguished Professor, Chemistry and Biochemistry

USM Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship or Research
Curtis Menyuk
Professor, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

USM Board of Regents Staff Award for Outstanding Service for Students
Laura Schraven
Director, Student Affairs Communications and Marketing

USM Board of Regents Award for Excellence in Creative Activity
Brian Kaufman
Associate Professor, Music

Diane M. Lee Teaching Award
David Clurman
Contract Administrator, Procurement

Michael Canale
Assistant Director, Student Disability Services

Jakubik Family Endowment Staff Award
Keith Harmon
Executive Director, Meyerhoff Scholars Program

Karen L. Wensch Endowment Award for Outstanding Non-Exempt Staff
Maisha Cron
Executive Administrative Assistant I, Academic Partnerships and High-Impact Experiences, Special Projects, and Family Programs

Marilyn E. Demorest Award for Faculty Advancement
Ramana Vinjamuri
Associate Professor, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Teresa Lupinek Endowment Award
David Hoffman, Ph.D. ’13
Director, Center for Democracy and Civic Life

UMBC Research Faculty Excellence Award
Mehdi Benna
Senior Research Scientist, Center for Space Sciences and Technology