Testimony, February 19, 2004, Office of the President, University of Maryland

Going the Distance

The State of Maryland mandated a university equal to the best in the nation because the State's future depends on this resource. When our peers were designated in 1999, I made two predictions:

Given appropriate increases in funding and absent any declines in support from the state or cuts in federal funding or other unexpected funding decreases, we will reduce the gap between our institution's performance and that of its peers in five years and be ranked among them in 10 years. The rate of progress toward our benchmarks will be dependent on the rate at which we achieve funding parity with the peers we have selected.

As measures of quality show, we have closed the gap in five years. We can be ranked at the top in the next five years. The University's trajectory over the past five years has been one of success, gathering strength, and growing impact. We have been remarkably efficient in achieving our successes. It is clear, however, that the University cannot reach the goal on a funding base that is consistently decreasing and is lower than that of our peers.

It is equally clear that the State needs the essential asset of a great, nationally influential flagship campus if it is to build its future as a leader in this coming century. To be this close to the goal and not go the distance would be an enormous waste and a great disservice to the State and its citizens in the years to come.

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