Staff
The Graduate School’s experienced and dedicated professional staff further the mission of advancing graduate education and enhancing the graduate student experience by working closely with the equally dedicated staff of the university’s more than 230 graduate programs. The deans, directors, and staff of the Graduate School collaborate with over 120 directors and coordinators of graduate studies to guide applicants, students, and faculty through admissions to completion and every milestone in between and to offer these constituents access to the resources, opportunities, and support needed to succeed now and in the future.
The GS staff have created this website to be a comprehensive and useful tool for UMD students, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as prospective students and the general public. If you cannot find what you seek on our website, please feel free to contact us by email at gradschool@umd.edu or by phone at 301-405-3644 or toll-free at (800) 245-GRAD (4723).
Office of the Dean
Associate Provost and Dean
(301) 405-6732
Steve Fetter is Associate Provost and Dean of the Graduate School. He has been a professor in the School of Public Policy since 1988, serving as dean from 2005 to 2009.
Jason Farman
Associate Dean for Academic Standards and Policies
(301) 405-4901
- Manages Graduate Programs, Curricula and Courses Committee (PCC)
- Supports the Dean in enforcing Graduate School academic policies
- Oversees Graduate Faculty appointments and development of new policies and guidance
Evelyn Cooper
Assistant Dean and Chief of Operations
(301) 405-4205
- Oversees the Graduate School's central administrative functions
- Works with the Dean on strategic planning and building consensus among the Graduate Council, campus administrators, and graduate faculty and students
- Ensures the operational effectiveness of Graduate School policies and procedures
Brent Hernandez
Director of Graduate Student Services
(301) 405-7792
- Oversees the Graduate School's recruitment, admissions, graduate diversity and inclusion, and graduate student academic services teams.
Sparkle Lonesome
Assistant to the Dean
(301) 405-6732
- Manages GS communications and documentation processes for GS policies
- Oversees administrative support for facilities maintenance
- Organizes campus-wide GS events
- Provides support to the dean, associate dean and assistant dean
Graduate Academic Counselor
(301) 405-0296
- Supports graduate students
- Manages Leave of Absence requests and supports students returning from a Leave of Absence
- Provides programming centered on mental health care
Helen Mamo
Communications Coordinator
(301) 405-3644
- Assists with Graduate School website updates and maintenance
- Creates and publishes written material and graphics for GS, including the bi-weekly Graduate Pathways newsletter, TerpEngage Admissions Update Newsletter
- Coordinates all of the Graduate School's social media accounts
Office of Graduate Diversity and Inclusion
Christopher Pérez, PhD
Program Director, Office of Graduate Diversity and Inclusion
(301) 405-0763
- Manages recruitment, retention, and support initiatives for underrepresented and underserved graduate student populations
- Develops and implements diversity initiatives in graduate education
- Serves as UMD Coordinator for NSF PROMISE AGEP Grant, GEM Fellowship Campus Liaison, and Big Ten Academic Alliance SROP Coordinator
- Diversity Officer for The Graduate School and UMD Big Ten Academic Alliance
Office of Academic and Professional Development
Director, Academic and Professional Development
(301) 405-7882
- Oversees the development and delivery of programming and resources that support academic and professional development for graduate students across campus
- Develops and implements campus-wide communication initiatives and programs for graduate students, including GradTerp Exchange
- Directs the Graduate School Writing Center
Yi Hao
Program Director, Career and Professional Development
(301) 405-8236
- Directs and manages career-related services to graduate programs across twelve colleges to support doctoral and postdoctoral career development by leveraging existing faculty, staff, and program support.
Office of Funding Opportunities
Robyn Kotzker
Program Director, Office of Funding Opportunities
(301) 405-0281
- Oversees competitive GS fellowship and award programs and review processes
- Liaison for matters relating to Graduate Faculty Membership Nominations
- Graduate School contact for the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) - compliance and enrollment matters
Office of Postdoctoral Affairs
Blessing Enekwe, PhD
Program Director, Postdoctoral Affairs
(301) 405-6009
- Coordinates programs and outreach to serve postdoctoral scholars.
Ombuds Office
Graduate Ombudsperson, and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
(301) 405-3132
- Serves as impartial, independent, and confidential resource for graduate students
- Ombuds Office
GS Operations: Admissions and Enrollment Management
Joe Lindsey
Business Process and Systems Lead
(301) 405-3644
- Provides IT support and training for admissions software system
Heather Kissinger
Program Manager, Admissions
(301) 314-1179
- Oversees domestic and international graduate admissions
- Serves as GS liaison with Maryland English Institute regarding English proficiency standards and remediation
- Serves as GS liaison with IIE, Amideast, and Laspau for incoming Fulbright student applications
GS Operations: Student and Faculty Services
Toyin Oguntolu
Manager, Academic Services
(301) 405-0827
- Manages academic activities and issues of graduate students from enrollment to graduation
Fan Tsao
Coordinator, Graduate Academic Services
(301) 405-4182
- Supports academic services including petitions and degree audits
Waqeelat Gaji
Administrative Operations Coordinator
(301) 226-6280
- Coordinates the operations of the Graduate School Information Desk
- Assists and directs applicants, current students, faculty and staff to the appropriate staff and offices across campus
- Supervises graduate students who support the Graduate School Information Desk
GS Operations: Graduate Information and Systems
Teddy Wu
Director, Graduate Information and Systems
(301) 405-4181
- Oversees and manages information, communications, and systems technologies
- Manages GS business process in systems
- Serves as GS liaison with University Division of Information Technology
- Oversees the Graduate Admissions system, TerpEngage
Alex Ridgell
Systems Analyst
(301) 314-1178
- Performs operational functions supporting the development and maintenance of graduate admissions, CRM, recruitment, and review systems.
- Provides ongoing operational support to GS staff, campus schools/colleges, and departments on the use of the admissions system
- Manages the FreeApp fee waivers through the Big Ten Academic Alliance
Ross McCool
Coordinator
(301) 405-3644
- Manages the queues for cloning processes within the TerpEngage application system including admission deferrals, program referrals, and dual-program applications
- Responds to email cases in the TerpEngage support queues
- Assists the Office of the Dean with REC processing
GS Operations: Finance and Administration
Patricia Woodwell
Director, Finance and Administration
(301) 405-0814
- Oversees and manages Graduate School budget, accounts, and personnel
- Works with departments on policy matters as it relates to funding
- Administers University/Dean’s/Merit Fellowship program
- Serves as budget officer for the Graduate School and coordinating official for UMD’s NSF GRFP program
Barbara Rhine
Manager, Fellowships and Tuition Accounts
(301) 405-0371
- Manages GS fellowship accounts
- Approves graduate assistant/student overloads
Maria Palmaira
Business Manager, Fellowships and Awards
(301) 405-0404
- Responsible for fellowship budgetary reconciliations, assisting with fellowship budgeting and reporting, funding transfers, and fellowship tracking
Naima Ben Ali Shameem
Business Manager, Operations
(301) 314-4150
- Responsible for daily business operations of The Graduate School and personnel/payroll actions.
- Reconciles operational accounts and provides financial reporting and budgetary assistance.
Judith King
Coordinator
(301) 405-0369
- Provides administrative support for GS fellowships and tuition accounting
- Primary contact for NRA forms relating to Grad School-funded fellowships