FM Staff News

It’s again time for UMD faculty and staff to complete the university’s annual IT security awareness training. The university needs a cybersecurity-conscious workforce to ensure that computers, networks, and information are kept safe. Updated for 2024, “Defend Your Shell” is a basic cybersecurity awareness training created to fulfill the state of Maryland’s expectation that all employees receive cybersecurity awareness information each year.

Approximately 20% of FM team members communicate in a language other than English. This language barrier can hinder access to important work-related information, limit career growth, and reduce confidence and engagement at work. To help address this challenge, FM is offering training opportunities to help staff sharpen their English language and communication skills. 

If the thought of vacuuming your living room floor or cleaning your bathroom fills you with dread, consider, for a moment, the work facing Facilities Management’s (FM) Building Services team: Keeping nine million square feet in 100 campus buildings clean and healthy, from top to bottom, every single day. What does it take? How do they do it – day after day? 

At 4:47 a.m. on Monday, October 23, an alarm alerted Facilities Management (FM) staff to a drop in water pressure at two campus buildings. That alarm was the first signal of a major water main break that would impact more than 60 buildings. 

The UMD Arboretum has reinstituted tours for mothers and infants that were cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new organization has launched at UMD: the Latinx/a/o/e Employee Association (LEA). Its goal is to bring visibility to the diverse Latinx/o/a/e community on campus and advocate for relevant needs and interests. The group also aims to strengthen the sense of community among Latinx/o/a/e employees, increase the recruitment and retention of Latinx/a/o/e students, staff, and faculty, support professional development, and engage in outreach and mentoring initiatives.