We are building a Beloved Community.
Everything we do and offer is grounded in intentional community-building, justice, and connection. At UMBC, we are committed to cultivating a Beloved Community where everyone is seen, respected, and empowered to participate fully in campus life. This means creating spaces and opportunities where diverse voices are heard, relationships are strengthened, and learning happens through meaningful engagement.
Beloved community asks us to reflect deeply: Who is included? Whose voices matter? How do we honor difference while building connection?
Rooted in bell hooks’ radical love, dignity, and equitable opportunity, this work invites each of us to show up with curiosity and care, even when we disagree.
We invite you to explore and join the opportunities below to grow with us in this shared commitment.
The Collaborative: Community Collaborative for Inclusive Excellence (CCIE)
The Community Collaborative for Inclusive Excellence (CCIE), or “The Collaborative,” is a collective of university community members dedicated to fostering a culture of inclusion and belonging across UMBC. Serving as representatives of key campus communities, CCIE members act as liaisons between the Division of Institutional Equity (DOIE) and their respective areas, ensuring effective communication and collaboration.
Culture Builders Cohort
Culture building is the intentional process of developing and nurturing a set of shared values, beliefs, and practices within an organization or community. Culture builders are actors who intentionally seek to foster a positive and productive environment.
Especially during times of deep societal polarization and loss of shared humanity, an inclusive and equitable culture benefits and requires everyone; we all have a role to play in building the culture we want to see. The Culture Builders Series is a new semesterly speaker series at UMBC focused on connecting community and culture across differences. The series is designed to engage in topics and ideas grounded in shared community values, beliefs, and practices that pull us closer to a more loving and just campus. Learn more.
Inclusive Excellence in Action
Build new skills and gain new insights into how inclusive excellence can show up in your daily practices. This lunch and learn series by the Division of Institutional Equity focuses on key inclusion, belonging, and access practices and behaviors.
Each session offers practical insights, shares valuable resources, and equips participants with actionable skills and behaviors to foster inclusivity in their personal and professional lives.
Culture Conversations
How do we use microaffirmations to foster inclusion?
How do we confront bias to build belonging across Eastern Religions & Spiritual Traditions?
Join for dialogue that deepens our collective understanding of the diverse experiences, identities, and perspectives that shape UMBC. Join us to grapple with challenging questions and engaging discussions with nationally recognized scholars and practitioners from both UMBC and beyond. The series will focus on new, relevant themes each semester.
Circles for Beloved Community
Circles for Beloved Community are facilitated spaces for faculty and staff to gather and build trust and understanding. These circles offer an opportunity to slow down, connect across roles and experiences, and practice being in community together. Join us to reconnect, rebuild, and strengthen the bonds that make UMBC a place where everyone belongs.
UMBC Talks
UMBC Talks is a collaborative initiative that aims to enhance the sense of community, vibrancy, and well-being at UMBC through guided community conversations that re-establish our commitment to inclusive excellence and foster a sense of pride for what it truly means to be a UMBC Retriever. UMBC Talks is a collaborative, dialogue-informed approach to gathering community input, understanding shared values, and taking shared responsibility for Inclusive Excellence. UMBC Talks is cosponsored by the Division of Student Affairs and the Division of Institutional Equity.