Research and Creative Achievement Council

About the Council

The UMBC Research and Creative Achievement Council (RCAC) is established in the Plan of Organization for the Senates of UMBC and includes representation from several of UMBC’s senates and other groups, as detailed in the roster below. The Council reviews and recommends policies that promote and enhance research, scholarship, and creative activity at UMBC. It also “serves as a forum for discussion of research issues or systematic problems in need of amelioration.” In addition, the UMBC Research and Creative Achievement Council is charged with:

  1. carrying out periodic reviews of UMBC Centers and Institutes to ensure the academic quality and value to the University;
  2. receiving reports from UMBC administration and research committees including issues of University compliance with Federal and State regulations; and
  3. voicing faculty concerns to the campus administration on matters involving administrative or academic affairs affecting the quality of research.
Research and Creative Achievement Council Meetings:  
All meetings are 11am-1pm, with location TBA.
  • Fri, Sep 11, 2026
  • Fri, Oct 9, 2026
  • Fri, Nov 13, 2026
  • Fri, Dec 11, 2026
  • Fri, Feb 12, 2027
  • Fri, Mar 12, 2027
  • Fri, Apr 9, 2027
  • Fri, May 14, 2027

If you would like to bring a potential initiative, concern or suggestion to the Research and Creative Achievement Council’s attention, please contact the Council through any or all of the individuals below.

We look forward to hearing from and working with you!

Research and Creative Achievement Council – Members
Representing Name Department/Unit Email Term
Faculty Senate Manas Gaur Computer Science and Electrical Engineering manas@umbc.edu AY25-AY27
Faculty Senate Eileen Meyer (Chair) Physics meyer@umbc.edu AY27-AY29
Faculty Senate Molly Mollica Mechanical Engineering mollica@umbc.edu AY26-AY28
Faculty Senate Nicole Morse
Language Literacy & Culture Doctoral
 nemorse6@umbc.edu AY27-AY29
Faculty Senate Nkiru Nnawulezi Psychology nnawulez@umbc.edu AY26-AY28
Faculty Senate Nykia Walker Biological Sciences ndwalker@umbc.edu AY25-AY27
Faculty Senate Semhar Yohannes Library semhar@umbc.edu AY25-AY27
Faculty Senate Lei Zhang Information Systems leizhang@umbc.edu AY26-AY28
Faculty Senate Tarannum Shaila Zaman Information Systems zamant@umbc.edu AY27-AY29
Non-Exempt Staff Crocetta Argento Division of Research and Creative Achievement cargent1@umbc.edu AY25
Exempt Staff Senate Peter DeCrescenzo Academic Opportunities Program peterd@umbc.edu AY26
Exempt Staff Senate Taylor Smith Office of Sustainability tsmith29@umbc.edu AY26
Grad. Student Assoc. Guarav Shinde Information Systems gshinde1@umbc.edu AY26
Research Centers Aryya Gangopadhyay Center for Real-time Distributed Sensing and Autonomy (CARDS) gangopad@umbc.edu AY25
Research Centers Xiaoguang (Richard)  Xu GESTAR2  xxu@umbc.edu AY25
Sr. Research Admin. Grp. Amy Schneider Creative Achievement and Research Administration Team (CARAT) aschneid@umbc.edu AY25
Ex-Officio Members of the Council (non-voting)
  • Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (or designee)
  • Vice President for Research & Creative Achievement (or designee)
  • Vice President for Administration and Finance (or designee)
  • Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (or designee)
  • Vice President for Research & Creative Achievement (or designee)
  • Dean of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (or designee)
  • Dean of Engineering and Information Technology (or designee)
  • Dean of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (or designee)
  • Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (or designee)
  • Dean of the Erickson School (or designee)
  • Director of the Library (or designee)
  • Director of Undergraduate Research and Prestigious Scholarships

Work Products from the Council

The 2025 RCAC Research Climate Survey has provided valuable input into the university’s strategic planning process, to the Division of Research and Creative Achievement (ORCA), and to ORCA’s partners throughout the campus. The Council’s report on the results of this survey are available here. Notably, the survey was conducted just before the university’s transition to the Concur travel system, so any content related to travel is based on the earlier, pre-Concur system.