The Department of American Studies at UMBC is hosting a special event to honor Dr. Ed Orser, who retired in August after over 40 exemplary years at UMBC.

Ed Orser Retirement Party
Thursday, November 11 from 7-10pm
Skylight Lounge
UMBC

Please R.S.V.P to Carol Harmon
(410) 455-2106 or [email protected]

This event is the Kickoff of the Ed Orser Endowment Fund

In honor of Dr. Orser’s extraordinary contributions to the department and university, the American Studies Department plans to endow the Orser Center for the Study of Place, Community, and Culture to continue the work Dr. Orser pioneered.  Endowing the Center requires that we initially raise a minimum of $25,000, and we hope to raise considerably more than that in the years ahead.

Dr. Orser was a founding member of the Department of American Studies.  He helped to build the Department’s curriculum from the ground up, mentored many faculty members, won both the Presidential and Regents’ awards for teaching excellence, and served as chair for many years.  He is a leading scholar in urban and community studies, as evidenced by his 1994 book, Blockbusting in Baltimore: The Edmondson Village Story, a classic study of the dynamics of racial change in a city neighborhood.  As a public intellectual mindful of the need to inform civic discourse, Dr. Orser has consistently translated his scholarship into accessible and popular exhibits, teaching materials, films, public lectures, and community projects. Generations of American Studies students benefited from the research and fieldwork of the Community Studies Projects he designed and led for his classes.

Send contributions to the Orser fund to:

Center for the Study of Place, Community, and Culture
c/o Carol Harmon
Department of American Studies – Fine Arts 453
1000 Hilltop Circle
Baltimore, MD 21250

Checks should be made to UMBC Foundation; please write Orser Center in the subject line.