Testimony to the Maryland General Assembly

Capital Projects

Presented by

Dr. C.D. Mote, Jr., President

Univesity of Maryland

College Park

March 2002

 

 

Thank you for the opportunity to address you on the capital budget.  My charge as President of the University is to lead the University of Maryland to the top echelon of research universities in the country.  The University has reached that ambitious goal in areas from physical science to linguistics to computer and information technology, to name a few.  We have recently opened a grand, new performing arts center building to establish firmly our leadership there. 

 

 

BIOSCIENCES RESEARCH BUILDING

 

Priority for University and State

 

The one area in which we have not reached our full potential is the biosciences.  Because strength in the biosciences is essential to the future of the University and the future of the State, I have made excellence in the biosciences my top academic priority from the beginning of my tenure in 1998.  There will be no great research university in the coming decades that is not excellent in the biosciences. There will be no state that can lead in the biotech industry without the resource of a major research university with world class leadership in biosciences.

              

Importance of Biosciences

 

The next decade promises a wave of discoveries through biosciences research about the fundamental processes that control living things. The nation is 100% committed to advancement of knowledge in biosciences, and the opportunities for universities are enormous.  Over the past thirty years, in constant dollars, total federal R&D increased by 36%, while in biosciences the increase was nearly 200%. The National Institutes of Health budget is currently targeted for a 15% increase to a stunning $27.3 billion in fiscal 2003 (doubling the 1998 NIH budget), the bulk of which will be distributed to universities. This national priority is the wave of the future, and we are positioning ourselves to respond as quickly as possible to these opportunities.

University Commitment

The University has made a strong commitment, backed up with substantial resources, to build our strength in biosciences.  Our efforts are paying off. We hired a strong dean for the College of Life Sciences to lead our effort and have invested major funds in purchasing necessary equipment and hiring outstanding new faculty.   In a remarkable coup, two faculty members in the College of Life Sciences, Dr. Victor Munoz in chemistry and biochemistry and Dr. Sarah Tishkoff in biology, were recipients of David and Lucile Packard Foundation Faculty Fellowships in Science and Engineering, prestigious five-year grants of $625,000 awarded annually to only 24 researchers selected from the nation’s top research universities.  This recognition highlights the distinction of our growing faculty and the promise of our biosciences program as seen by national experts.

Leveraging Assets through Partnerships

We are leveraging our strengths and expanding our resources by building links to federal labs.  These rapidly expanding collaborative efforts are predicated on the University’s matching the strength of its partners in biosciences research.

One arrangement that allows for sharing of costly equipment and pooled library resources is the FDA-UM Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, housed in a new multi-million dollar Federal Drug Administration laboratory at the College Park Metro. In state-of-the-art facilities, research by university faculty and students and FDA scientists is progressing in areas including risk analysis, microbial pathogens and toxins, and applied nutrition.  We have also taken the lead with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through our Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program that has developed a joint program with the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders offering doctoral and post-doctoral training. This program is a national model.

A joint doctoral program in virology between UMCP, CAB, and USDA, VetMed, and NIH is in the process of being worked out.  The new UM-funded Animal Biotechnology Facility located on the USDA campus will be staffed by USDA researchers and University faculty.

 

Breadth of Faculty Involvement in Biosciences

Reflecting the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of research in the biosciences, high impact bioscience projects that tap into faculty strengths in many disciplines have been encouraged.  These projects are garnering external support. Recent innovative projects include the following selected examples.

 

With a gift of $1.25million from physicist and inventor Robert Fischell, the University has established the Fischell Fellowship Program in Bioengineering to attract highly talented and innovative doctoral candidates in bioengineering who will pursue creation of medical devices. 

 

The Center for Auditory and Acoustic Research brings together faculty from engineering, life sciences, and behavioral and social sciences with collaborators at Johns Hopkins, Boston University and NIH to study how sound is perceived and the signal processed.

 

The College of Computer, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences has linked its new Center for Scientific Computation and Mathematical Modeling with IBM’s Deep Computing Institute and has established one of the nation’s first graduate programs in Applied Mathematics and Scientific Computation.  The application of computer science to data management and analysis in the biological sciences will drive the direction of future biological research. This Center specializes in interpretation of the vast amounts of data generated in new areas such as protein folding, which has the potential to reveal many of the secrets of biological processes.

Leadership for the State’s Biotechnology Industry

As Dr. Wayne Hochmeyer, Evan Jones, and other industry leaders would be pleased to testify, the biotechnology industry in Maryland looks to the University for leadership.  We have been a key resource for this segment of the economy that is so critical for the future prosperity of the State. We educate the skilled workforce necessary in this industry, and start-up companies turn to the University for its expertise and ideas through the Maryland Industrial Partnerships Program.  The Technology Advancement Program, an incubator program, has graduated 26 bioscience-related companies since 1984 that have generated more than $250 million in investments and approximately 500 new jobs.  

 

FY03 Request: $1.9 Million Initial Planning Funds

 

This building is a major undertaking, and in order to begin construction in FY 2005, we need only a small percentage of the total costs so we can begin the planning process in the coming year. The project entails the design and construction of a modular laboratory research building to house cutting edge research activities in the biological sciences (molecular, cellular and developmental biology and genetics). The building will house 35 research modules sized at 1,280 NASF each to provide flexibility for evolving research priorities. The building will have a total space of 125,600 GSF with 69,095 NASF.

 

Need for a New Building

 

To reach the level of leadership in biosciences research appropriate to our size and mission as the Flagship Institution of the System, we intend to increase the number of core faculty we support in bioscience fields. Based on our own assessment and on the recommendations of a visiting team of experts three years ago, we set a goal of hiring 30 additional faculty to create the necessary critical mass.  We have committed substantial University funds to hiring outstanding junior and senior faculty members, but we must have space to house the extensive research activity such faculty generate.  Each new faculty member will generate at least $400,000 in external funding and 8 additional positions.   

 

Without a new bioscience building, we will have neither adequate nor sufficient space to house the faculty we recruit.

 

 

Inadequacy of Current Facilities

 

H. J. Patterson was built in 1937; the Microbiology building in 1939; and Biology/Psychology in 1971.  They have poor HVAC and air quality, obsolete and deteriorated casework and finishes and an inflexible design that makes efficient utilization of space difficult.  The building shell of H. J. Patterson is not water and air tight, making environmental control impossible. The University simply cannot compete with or grow to the size of its peers without additional high quality laboratory space.

 

Conclusion

 

Funding to begin the planning process for the Biosciences Research Building is urgently needed and is the main priority of the University.   The progress we have worked hard to achieve and can demonstrate will be severely impeded if we do not have adequate facilities to house the burgeoning research in biosciences and to continue to unleash the talents of our faculty.  

 

CHEMICAL AND NUCLEAR ENGINEERING BUILDING RENOVATION

 

Renovate the 84,600 GSF building to renew and improve infrastructure to meet the teaching and research needs of the Departments of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering.  The building was constructed in 1950, expanded in 1967, and expanded again with renovations in 1974.  Its electrical and HVAC systems do not have the capacity to serve properly the power and climate control needs of the modern research instruments and techniques now used in the building.  The project will provide the necessary upgrades to those systems to support current and projected research activities.

 

KEY AND TALIAFERO HALLS RENOVATION

 

Renovate Taliaferro Hall (46,100 GSF), constructed in three phases in 1909, 1932, and 1962, and Key Hall (52,500 GSF), completed in 1932, which are interconnected buildings.  Few improvements have been made to either building since their original construction; consequently, the building systems are in poor condition.  The project involves renewal of the structural, mechanical, and electrical systems and the refurbishing of interior finishes in both buildings.  In addition, the University will reconfigure space on the second and third floors of both buildings in two phases to accommodate programs of the Department of History more efficiently.  This work involves approximately 53,300 GSF of existing space and 3,000 GSF of new space.  The improvements to Taliaferro Hall were funded in FY 2002.  The FY 2003 budget includes funds to complete the work in Key Hall.   

 

GOSSETT FOOTBALL TEAM HOUSE EXPANSION

 

Expand the 42,200 GSF Gossett Football Team Building by 20,100 GSF to add an academic support and career development unit, a new recruit meeting room and dining facility with kitchen, and a 160-seat team meeting auditorium.  The academic space is needed to house the function currently located in Cole Field House, the new recruit space is needed to adequately accommodate recruitment activities, and the auditorium will facilitate training activities.  The project also includes expansion of the buildings entrance and lobby and renovation of 3,200 GSF to improve circulation and provide space for display of the team’s historical achievements.  State funds will supplement and enhance private fund-raising efforts at a ratio of more than 4:1.  Capital equipment costs will be minimal and will be funded from private donations.  

 

 

COMCAST CENTER

 

 

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