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Enhancements
 Great
Expectations: the Campaign for Maryland is a landmark effort to raise a record $1 billion in private support, the largest goal ever pursued by a public institution in the State of Maryland and the Washington, D.C. area. The Campaign will provide support to fund student scholarships, recruit and retain top faculty, enhance physical facilities and library and technology resources and reinforce excellence and innovation in academic programs. Publicly launched in October of 2006, UM's Great Expectations Campaign officially passed the $400 million fundraising mark in June. Of that total an impressive $18 million was contributed by faculty and staff of the University. In the single year of FY07 philanthropic gifts and pledges to UM totaled $120 million. The dedication of a team of strong campaign co-chairs led by Bill Mayer, David Driskell, Alma Gildenhorn, Barry Gossett, and Lowell Glazer has been essential to the Campaign's energetic beginning. Under the auspices of the UM College Park Foundation, and with the active involvement of the deans, directors and many others across campus, around the region and beyond, the Campaign has gotten off to a thriving start.
The Philip Merrill College of Journalism announced a major gift that will enable it to add a new facility to its programs in the Journalism building. A generous grant from the John
S. and James L. Knight Foundation to the Philip Merrill College of Journalism will partially fund a new building, Knight Hall, and will support the Knight Institute for the Future of Journalism. The gift continues the Knight Foundation's historically strong support of the University's journalism program which has included a Knight Chair in Journalism and support for the College's national magazine, American Journalism Review. The new facility will employ state-of-the-art technology in the advancement of journalism, and is scheduled for construction in early 2008 with occupancy expected in 2009. The building has also been funded by generous contributions from the State and other private donors.
The Joseph and Alma Gildenhorn Institute
for Israel Studies was dedicated this year after a generous gift from the Gildenhorns. Housed in the Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Studies, the new Institute greatly expands the programming and range of Jewish Studies on campus. The Institute focuses on contemporary Israel and is being developed as an integral part of existing and newly emerging programs in Middle East Studies at the University. A second generous gift, this one to Persian studies, also enhances our offerings. The Roshan
Cultural Heritage Institute Center for Persian Studies was named in honor of a gift from the Roshan Foundation. The gift will provide a new Chair for the Center, fellowships and scholarships, and�lectures and conferences to further the understanding and appreciation of Persian culture and history.
Another new initiative is the four-year Hillman
Entrepreneurs Program, a scholarship program targeted to students who have an interest in entrepreneurship and enthusiasm for starting a business venture or leading a company. Established through a generous $1.7 million gift by David and Suzanne Hillman, the program offers students who might not be able to afford a college education, a start at Prince George's Community College on full scholarship, including books. Students then transfer seamlessly to the College Park campus to finish their bachelors' degrees. In the process they take entrepreneurship and leadership courses, receive intense mentoring, networking opportunities, and community building. At College Park students receive two thirds of their tuition, books and a one thousand dollar merit scholarship. Hillman Entrepreneurs are expected to contribute to the economic growth of the community and to help others who follow after them succeed.
 The Campus
Recreation Center became the Geary
F. Eppley Recreation Center this year, honoring the life and work
of Geary Francis "Swede" Eppley. Eppley was a varsity student athlete at the
University of Maryland and
later, an assistant professor of agronomy and track coach here. Eppley's
passion for athleticism and the welfare of the whole student led him to several
influential positions over his almost fifty years at UM: director of athletics,
director of student activities and student welfare, and dean of men. Along the
way he advocated for several critical student concerns and modeled leadership
and fitness for the whole UM community until his retirement in 1964. Eppley's
legacy lives on in the cutting edge facility that now bears his name and
the Eppley Fund for the Enhancement of the Student Experience, a $2 million
initiative to support student recreation services.
 Closing out the celebration of UM's 150th anniversary the very popular
sculpted turtles were auctioned off to new homes. Twenty of them had spent 6 months representing UM throughout the State, while 30 decorated different sites on campus, inspiring mirth and spirit with their whimsical designs. The auction was populated by generous alumni and friends who raised over $300,000 for scholarships and ended up with creative pieces of Maryland history to take home. Gary Williams, Connie Chung and Buno Pati are the three co-chairs of the scholarship campaign which has thus far raised over $130 million of its $350 million goal.
The M-Square University of Maryland Research
Park took several more steps in its development as the region's largest research park. Set on 128 acres next to the College Park/University of Maryland Metro station, the Park is a collaboration among the University, the State, and private sector business. It is already home to two centers under the auspices of federal government agencies. The NOAA building, which will house the National Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, is expected to open in the summer of 2009. Adjacent to the NOAA facility the University and its partners are constructing another building that will house several academic and scientific organizations related to weather and climate prediction, making this one of the largest clusters of scientific resources devoted to climate change in the world. The facility should be ready for occupancy by April, 2008. The Park also houses the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and a federally sponsored University Affiliated Research Center, the Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language.
The University is moving steadily ahead with the development of East
Campus. Foulger-Pratt / Argo, with whom the University is negotiating a development agreement, was selected from a wide group of initial bidders from across the nation, in part for their success in developing downtown Silver Spring. A 38-member steering committee, representing area businesses, local citizens and various campus groups has been established to provide input and leadership in the process, which aims to improve both campus life and that of the surrounding communities. The project covers 38-acres of
University-owned land east of Route One and anticipates a $550 million investment that will provide graduate housing, market rate housing, office space, hotel and retail amenities in a new urban center.
Athletics director Debbie Yow announced expansion plans for Chevy Chase Bank Field at Byrd Stadium. The project will include a dramatic expansion of Tyser Tower, the addition of 64 luxury suites and 500 mezzanine-level seats, a refurbished President's Box, new work areas for television, radio and print media, and a new team store. Costs of the project will be paid for entirely by Maryland Athletics and private support.
Major Grants, Research Activity, Academic Initiatives
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