CONCLUSION

In these tough economic times the University of Maryland serves three primary roles for the State:

1. It fulfills its primary role of educating the people of the State with a focus on the future of Maryland, the STEM fields and the other jobs that the recovery will bring, including those that do not exist today in industries that have yet to be created.
2. The University continues to build the economy of Maryland, positioning the State to compete against other states and nations for the new jobs and new businesses that the recovery will bring and also to contend for top talent, the coin of the realm in today’s competitive world.
3. The University conducts research that prepares the State for the future, and actually creates the future, too. Research topics span the spectrum from democracy, sustainability, public health, and culture to the sciences and engineering fields underpinning the State’s growth.

The University works on large-scale initiatives that fuel Maryland’s economy like the East Campus initiative. This $900M, 38-acre, town center project will transform the community around the University and deliver economic revenue to the State, Prince George’s County, and the City of College Park, totaling $1.6B over 35 years. The project will create 1,000 construction jobs and 1,200 permanent jobs on completion. In addition to serving the University and the communities around the campus, it will serve the College Park Metro and the M Square Research Park at the Metro, which are walking distance from the East Campus. The Research Park is projected to employ over 6,000 people and cost at least $500M at full buildout. To reap the benefits of the East Campus initiative an infrastructure investment is needed to move all facilities currently on the site to an alternative campus site. The total cost of that move is $51M, which is a shovel-ready candidate for stimulus plan support.

A second candidate for stimulus plan support derives from the USM Presidential Task Force on Research and Economic Development. The Task Force report, delivered to Chancellor Kirwan on January 30, 2009, lists five USM research centers that have been identified as likely becoming internationally competitive within five years and bringing great value to the State. Their titles and budgets over a five-year period are:

1. Center for Reinvention of Computing for Parallelism ($4,471,000)
2. Maryland Center of Excellence in Human Microbiome Research ($14,800,000)
3. Center for Vaccine Development ($13,571,473)
4. Center for Nano-Enabled Electrical Energy Storage ($16,100,251)
5. Center of Excellence for Sustainable Marine Systems ($7,473,166)

In addition, the Task Force proposed a direct economic development initiative that will create or recruit to the State of Maryland 325 new companies or other entities bringing jobs and value to the State over 10 years. This initiative expands USM venture creation services and future expectations for economic development in the State. The expansions, which are detailed in the report, increase and broaden participation in Maryland Industrial Partnerships by $1M per year.

The expansions also fund Innovate Maryland at $5.7M per year to expand venture capital, legal, and entrepreneurial resource centers across the USM; to provide proof of concept funding; to support technology transfer offices and early-stage funding; and to expand the Maryland Technology Enterprise Institute (MTECH), the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship services, and the Maryland Intellectual Property Legal Resource Center to all USM institutions.

Few institutions in society educate people to highest standards, drive the economy by creating jobs and enterprise, and prepare society to tackle its future. Universities are charged to achieve these goals. In these times of great economic problems, universities are essential to their solution.