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Two Goals: Excellence and Affordability <- You Are Here
TWO GOALS: EXCELLENCE AND AFFORDABILITY
Greatness requires innovation. A willingness to experiment, to bridge across disciplines and to lead new initiatives with confidence is essential to the mission of the State's flagship. UM's research leadership, entrepreneurial culture, and interdisciplinary collaborations produce a climate that expects greatness and rejects mediocrity.
The State recognizes that a great university will benefit the citizens of Maryland in innumerable ways. For these reasons the State has promised the citizens of Maryland a flagship university ranked in the upper echelon of national flagships2. To serve the state, this excellence must be affordable to Maryland citizens, a promise that UM has made to the people of Maryland. Excellence and affordability must go hand in hand, contemporaneously.
Investment in the Flagship University brings value-added returns. Our rankings continue to climb and our faculty are winning international acclaim across disciplines. Admission to the University is more coveted, keeping talent in the State, with a wave of talented students bringing scholarships and fellowships along with them. Our research tackles cutting-edge problems which keeps the State at the head of an increasingly competitive field.
In the first part of this written testimony I will highlight briefly some accomplishments and initiatives of the past year and review the latest measures of our progress. Then, I will look to the future and outline our strategy for using the State appropriations. Our plans are rooted in two promises: one by the University to deliver affordable access for State residents, and one by the State to build the nationally eminent flagship university. This section will unite the goal of a top-ranked educational institution with the State's commitment to the enhancement of the Flagship University as its "first priority."3
21988 founding legislation for the University System
of Maryland and 1999 Larsen legislation Senate Bill 682.
3Preamble, Senate Bill 682, 1999.
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