Taking Stock: State of the University 1999-2004, Office of the President, University of Maryland

Introduction

Greetings to Chair Popper, Senators, faculty, staff, students and guests. It is a great pleasure to welcome everyone to a new year. The high energy surrounding the new beginnings is like being born again ... a chance to start anew. like being born again...a chance to start anew.

And welcome to the new Senate leadership. I appreciate greatly our shared governance in programs and policies of the campus and also the time, energy, and true dedication of those who participate.

I want to take a moment to thank all those who carried the University so effectively through the norovirus crisis in the summer. Housekeeping and residential facilities teams deserve great thanks for their super effort. They had to disinfect two high-rise dorms and a community center in record time. Every surface was disinfected: ceilings, floors, mirrors, walls and halls. Our staff always rises on these occasions. It is a marvelous characteristic of this place that I always find inspiring. Thank you very much.

Last year was another wonderful year for the University: We celebrated extraordinary faculty achievements; records were set for fund raising, attendance and events on Maryland Day; and our graduation rate hit a record high. In addition we founded a research park just to name a few special accomplishments. Because of time contraints, I decided to highlight these activities in an annual report on the web. I won't speak about them today but you can always ask questions about them.

>>1999-2004: How far have we come?

Office of the President, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742