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NEW ACADEMIC INITIATIVES
New academic initiatives attract talented students, inspire faculty and respond to the changing needs of our society. As the College of Health and Human Performance transforms into a new School
of Public Health, it will officially change its name in 2007. An intercampus collaboration committee composed of College Park and UMB members is working actively on objectives and strategies for the transition. There are 38 accredited schools of public health in the nation, and UM, with its current graduate program accreditation, expects full accreditation by 2009.
Bioengineering. The new Fischell Department of Bioengineering with 12 faculty members admitted its first undergraduates in Fall 2006. The Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices was also established, uniting the strengths of entrepreneurship and innovation in the emerging field of health-related engineering. A remarkable gift of $31 million from Robert Fischell and his sons has drawn national attention and will allow UM to attract high caliber students within the state and across the country. The department plans to grow to 25 faculty within five years and aspires to become one of the nation's prominent programs. In its first year it has attracted the most highly qualified engineering applicants, and it ranks second in the Clark School for the number of applicants.
Professional Studies. Innovation in serving citizens with diverse educational needs is another hallmark of greatness. This fall, new self-support programs address the interests and schedules of professionals within government and industry. They offer two Master's degree programs—one in Arabic and another in Real Estate Development—and nine Graduate Certificates of Professional Studies in Historic Preservation, Persian, Information Assurance, Public Health Informatics, Arabic, Food Safety Risk Assessment, Radar Signal Processing, Chinese, and Transportation Planning. More than 70 students are currently enrolled. These new programs join long-standing professional master's programs in the Schools of Engineering and Business.
Shady Grove. This year, we have 750 students enrolled at Shady Grove. Our new programs in Communication and Criminal Justice join existing programs in Business, Engineering, Biology and Education. Specifically geared for the working professional, enrollment is growing steadily and we expect to expand our program offerings to include a program in Public and Community Health next year. Other areas are under development and we expect student enrollment in 2008 to top 1,000 and exceed 1,200 by 2010. College Park continues to oversee the operations of this campus, working with the other System institutions to ensure that quality offerings are available.
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