“Hey UMBC, and welcome to my crib!” That’s probably not verbatim what students said when UMBC’s first dormitories opened for students to call home, but there’s always a possibility. Starting from humble beginnings, UMBC opened its residential doors to the first cohort of 118 on-campus Retrievers on March 15, 1970. More dorms would follow, and apartments, and living learning communities, and here we are in 2025 with an on-campus population of approximately 4,000 Retrievers.
While some may take today’s dorm amenities for granted, a November 1969 edition of The Retriever reports about the forthcoming dorms promising, “The new dormitories boast of many features not currently found in other residence halls. On-campus residents will enjoy wall-to-wall carpeting, numerous lounges and study facilities, and kitchenette facilities for snacks. Each room will have a telephone and individual climate control (air conditioning included).”
The phone and air conditioning were probably great perks, but what really made a lasting impression on the first residents were the intangibles. Tom Stewart ’74, psychology, remembers how much it bonded him and his friends to the campus.
“It was a bit of a ‘suitcase school’ back then, so when the commuters went home on weekends, we had the whole place to ourselves,” he said. “I was living on the other side of Baltimore and I knew I wasn’t going to get any kind of college experience if I continued commuting.”
Making a home of their own
Much like the UMBC we know today, there was always an emphasis on making sure that students who lived on campus and those who commuted still had plenty of opportunities to interact through mixers, concerts, and movie nights, many of these being entertainment options still offered through Campus Life in 2025.
In addition to improving his social life, having a dedicated spot on campus to buckle down and do his work inspired Stewart to grow academically.
“When I started, I was just a slightly above average student, but things really kicked in for me at UMBC,” he said. “For some reason, this really seemed like the environment to take this whole academic thing seriously.”
During Homecoming 2024, a group of alumni from the 1970s, including Stewart, got together for a reunion tour of campus and had the opportunity to revisit some of their old haunts, including the dorms and the memories all came flooding back. Stewart and his wife Wendy ’77, sociology, agree that the friends they made at UMBC “are our lifelong friends.” And that’s something we can all agree on, no matter your graduation year.
All photos courtesy of Leo J. “Nick” Nicaise ’75, INDS, unless otherwise noted.
Tags: campus history, INDS, Spring 2025, Then and Now
