MAGE Faculty Spotlight: Debra Beckham

Faculty Spotlight

Maryland Applied Graduate Engineering (MAGE) is proud to introduce Faculty Spotlight, a new series highlighting the outstanding educators who bring real-world expertise and passion into our classrooms. For our first feature, we’re excited to shine a light on Debra Beckham, a valued member of the MAGE teaching community.

Beckham has been teaching with MAGE for less than a year, but she brings more than three decades of IT experience to her students. She currently teaches ENPM818P: Linux System Administration, a subject she first discovered a passion for while working at Sun Microsystems (now Oracle) in their Education department. There, she helped professionals prepare for Solaris System Administration certification exams. “I really enjoyed being able to help people who were just starting out as well as learn new things from people who had been using Linux/Unix,” she recalls. That same curiosity and supportive spirit now guide her teaching at MAGE, where she hopes students leave her class with practical skills they can use to land jobs or advance in their careers.

The more you understand the basics and create a solid base, you can develop your knowledge from there.

Debra Beckham, MAGE faculty

In addition to teaching, Beckham serves as the Team Lead of the Platform Engineering group at the University of Maryland’s Division of IT, managing infrastructure for clients that include the State of Maryland and other university departments. She often brings this applied expertise into the classroom, including lessons learned from her own missteps. “It’s important for students to know it’s okay to fail and learn from your mistakes,” she says. Her advice to graduating students is simple but powerful: “Don’t be afraid to ask questions or ask for help. The more you understand the basics and create a solid base, you can develop your knowledge from there.”

Outside of work, Beckham enjoys puzzles, collecting rooster statues, and surprising people with the fact that she was born in Hawaii. Colleagues describe her in one word: supportive—a quality that shines through in both her teaching and professional work. MAGE is honored to have her as part of our faculty community.

Published September 4, 2025