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March 1, 2012
Message to the University of Maryland Community on a
Bold New Collaboration to Leverage UMCP and UMB Resources
Dear Members of the University of Maryland Community:
We are writing to inform you that the University System of Maryland
(USM) Board of Regents today approved an innovative and structured
collaboration between the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP)
and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) called the University of
Maryland: MPowering the State.
We are confident that this new collaboration between the state's
flagship and founding campuses will benefit both institutions, USM, and
the state of Maryland. The new working relationship will leverage the
resources of these two great universities to serve students better;
attract even more exceptional faculty and researchers; and boost
research, technology transfer and commercialization. This, in turn, will
allow USM to better address Maryland's workforce needs and for UMCP and
UMB to attract more research funding to the state.
Among the partnership's components are:
—Establishing University of Maryland Ventures to promote technology
transfer and commercialization, taking discoveries and innovations from
the campus laboratories to the marketplace.
—Combining the research efforts at the Institute for Bioscience and
Biotechnology Research—a joint UMB-UMCP institute—at the
Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in Montgomery County with new
educational programs in health, law, human services and STEM (science,
technology, engineering, mathematics), business, and the social
sciences. USG is one of the university system's two higher education
regional centers.
—Creating a Collaborative School of Public Health resulting from
combining the Master of Public Health (MPH) Program at UMCP and the MPH
Program in Baltimore.
—Development of new educational offerings and activities including the
University of Maryland Scholars Program, through which students from
each institution will engage in research led by faculty at the other
institution.
—Implementation of a process to facilitate joint appointments and
joint grant submissions.
IMPLEMENTATION
This new collaboration will be led initially by a steering committee,
appointed by and reporting to the UMCP and UMB presidents, who in turn
will be accountable to the USM chancellor and Board of Regents for the
success of the collaborative activities. Implementation of the plan,
which begins immediately, will require investment of funds from a
variety of sources.
BACKGROUND
The Board of Regents on December 9, 2011, charged us with developing the
plan for this new collaboration between UMB and UMCP. That board action
resulted from a comprehensive six-month study of the advantages and
disadvantages of merging the two universities in response to a Maryland
Joint Chairmen's directive. Based on the study, the board concluded that
a structured collaboration between UMB and UMCP would yield more success
than a merger.
This new alliance—University of Maryland: MPowering the State—provides a strong framework for UMCP and UMB to work together in
powerful new ways that will advance institutions, USM, our state and
nation during these globally competitive and fiscally challenging times.
Sincerely,
Wallace D. Loh, President, University of Maryland, College Park
Jay A. Perman, University of Maryland, Baltimore
William E. Kirwan, Chancellor, University System of Maryland
This note was authorized for distribution to University of Maryland Community by: Office of the President.
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