Mentoring Event Reinforces Maryland Smith Enrollment-Retention Initiative Targeting Racially Minoritized Students More than 60 Black and Latinx male high school students along with Maryland Smith student leaders and alumni, plus other accomplished professionals, engaged together recently in a virtual mentoring event focused on leadership development and empowerment.

The University of Maryland is aiming to add more than 100 tenured or tenure-track faculty from underrepresented backgrounds over the next decade with a new commitment of $40 million across schools and colleges. The FAMILE program—Faculty Advancement at Maryland for Inclusive Learning and Excellence—represents a near-tripling of support for several existing recruitment and retention programs aimed at improving diversity among faculty across campus.

April is Pride Month at Smith! The Diversity and Equity Council’s thought leadership task force spotlights affinity clubs and organizations to bring awareness to the social identities they represent and how these organizations foster societal change.

At Maryland Smith, and at organizations across the business world, our diversity is a strength. At Smith, that strength shows through in numbers. “It shows because of the things that we do to nurture students and support students,” says Victor Mullins, associate dean of Undergraduate Studies at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

The road to success for Route One Apparel’s Ali von Paris ’12 stretched from her University of Maryland dorm room, where she designed her first T-shirts, to the Towson headquarters of her company selling distinctive Maryland-themed merchandise now worn by everyone from students to political leaders and pro sports figures.

At Maryland Smith, Women’s History Month will be off to a strong start. On March 4, the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business will host Women Inspire. Now in its 10th year, the annual event celebrates alumnae leaders in business and encourages attendees to strive to reach their full potential.

Llacey Simmons, MBA ’11, knows that leadership is all about making a difference. When her son, Cavanaugh Bell, was being bullied in school, Simmons encouraged him to speak up and help others who feel the same way. That encouragement launched the creation of an anti-bullying campaign and, eventually, a community pantry to help others ease the burden of the impact of COVID-19.

Education regarding injustice and inequality is necessary for hopes of creating a better future for all. As part of her role as vice president of inclusion and professional development of the MBA Association (MBAA), MBA candidate Jasmine Snead is helping to further emphasize diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.