Our Alumni Speak:
Why We Give to UMUC

UMUC alumni share a common experience—they have juggled careers, families, and education like few others in other to achieve their dream of an undergraduate or advanced degree. It would seem natural that UMUC would recede into the background after graduation as these busy alumni pursue new goals. So when the degree is in hand and UMUC is no longer a daily part of their lives, why do they give to UMUC? We asked some of our favorite alumni why they gave to the university and found out that supporting UMUC enabled them to honor those who helped them on their long and often challenging roads toward graduation. Moreover, the knowledge that their generosity could help others attain personal goals was especially gratifying. Here is what some of our alumni had to say about supporting UMUC.

Bell Atlantic Grants $30,000 to UMUC

Thanks to a $30,000 grant from Bell Atlantic–Maryland, UMUC will be developing a new online teaching aid. When completed, the Virtual Resource Site for Teaching with Technology will be a cutting-edge resource designed to help undergraduate and graduate faculty convert classroom courses to an online environment and more effectively use technology when presenting courses.

"Bell Atlantic’s primary philanthropic focus is to encourage the use of technology as an essential tool for delivering educational services in Maryland," says Bell Atlantic–Maryland vice president of external affairs John Dillon. "UMUC continues to be an exemplary provider in the field of education, and the Virtual Resource Site is clearly UMUC’s latest teaching innovation. Bell Atlantic is proud to support this leading-edge project, which helps to fulfill the promise of information technology."

Dillon is also a member of the University System of Maryland’s Foundation Board, while Bell Atlantic–Maryland President Sherry Bellamy is co-chair of USM’s $700 million capital campaign.

Barbara Kaplan, executive director for UMUC’s new Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, will head the team creating the resource site. Over the next two years, her group will design and establish a pair of Web-based training programs, the first to show faculty how to use technology media when designing Web-based courses and the other to give them the skills to make online courses truly interactive.

Like online education itself, these two programs will allow teachers to learn new skills when, where, and how they choose through self-paced tutorials. During the testing phase, the programs will be available to UMUC faculty and upon completion to any USM faculty members.

UMUC has become the largest degree-granting virtual university in the United States. In fall 1998, nearly 5,000 students enrolled in the more than 140 online classes offered by the university. Because of this demand, there is now a critical need for faculty members who know how to use Internet technologies when converting classroom teaching into online courses.

"This new partnership between UMUC and Bell Atlantic–Maryland will develop a cutting-edge response to how technology can be integrated into education," said Nicholas Allen, acting executive vice president and provost at UMUC. "Their gift is significant because it allows UMUC to continue to be the world’s resource for technology-based faculty development."

Romeo Freer

Romeo H. Freer, Jr., Lt. Col. U.S. Air Force (retired), is a 1959 graduate of UMUC and a 15-year contributor to UMUC's Annual Fund. In a recent conversation, he recounts his days as a UMUC student overseas, his reasons for giving, and his role as an "ambassador" for UMUC as a commanding officer.

"I have been making annual contributions to UMUC for a number of years, beginning overseas while I was on active duty with the U.S. Air Force. I do this so that others can benefit today.

My first brush with college studies occurred at the University of Michigan before World War II began. I enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force, before the United States entered the war, and afterward finished my studies with UMUC, taking a B.S. in military science. My first courses with UMUC were taken in 1950. Later I took courses at Johnson and Yakoto air bases in Japan. Because I moved around in Japan and Okinawa, UMUC managed to accommodate my schedule. I remember to this day Dr. Smuck (American and Russian history), Dr. Augelli (political geography), and Dr. Weidlunk (German), who held degrees in law, archaeology, and African languages, as well as Dr. C. Joseph Bernardo (military policy). They were the best I have encountered in their fields.

The quality of students was also impressive. The students were people interested in learning, not in simply going along for the ride. Working full time while going to school takes a remarkable amount of self-discipline and devotion. Even if the subject was not important, the self-discipline learned was invaluable.

Realizing that I had learned so much from UMUC, I was determined that men under my command take advantage of what UMUC offered. I saw to it that they spoke with the education officer in order to take advantage of what UMUC could give. Pushy? You bet. How many successful people needed a jump-start at one time or another—whether from a boss, a teacher, or a colleague?"

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