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The University Serves the Citizens of Maryland

The University serves the State far beyond its campus and students, with services directed to benefit Maryland citizens. In areas such as public health, business, agriculture, education, the environment, and transportation, University expertise informs a breadth of programs and policy decisions in the State. Citizens have come to rely on the University to keep them informed and prepared in a variety of social and political arenas. Here are just a few examples:

Serving Citizens Through Maryland Cooperative Extension (MCE)

Serving Citizens Through Maryland Cooperative Extension (MCE) As a component of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, MCE enhances greatly the well-being of Maryland’s citizens, families, and businesses. Making direct contact with over 300,000 Maryland residents last year (one out of every 18 people in the State), MCE works to improve the lives and economic self-sufficiency of people across Maryland.

MCE Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) educators collaborate with agencies to respond to the foreclosure crisis. By monitoring foreclosure rates, hosting statewide forums, and offering programs, FcS is working to reduce the burden on Maryland residents.

Supporting Military Families

MCE educators are coordinating the State’s Operation Military Kids, a program that partners with National Guard and Reserve units. This program provided services to more than 2,700 youth from all branches of the military in 2008, including many children of service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. MCE reported an additional 2,000 youth enrolled in 4-H military club programs in Maryland, Germany, and Korea last year.

Public Health

The School of Public Health signed 12 MOUs with State, federal, professional, and community agencies in 2008 addressing public health issues. At the State level, the School has been awarded almost $1M to implement and expand the Maryland Environmental Public Health Tracking System. Partnerships between the School and federal agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, are fostering collaborations in public health research, education, and service within our State.

Serving Citizens Through Cultural Enhancement

The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora received a $100,000 two-year Ford Foundation Grant to take its public and educational programs to new heights. The center’s education program reaches a wide range of students at the middle, high school, and college levels, focusing on the study of African American and African diasporic art. Its goal is to inspire the next generation of African American artists and scholars.

Serving Citizens Through Transportation

Five hundred College Park city residents were invited to ride University of Maryland shuttle buses without charge for the Fall semester. Residents were asked to show an identification pass. The pilot program is being evaluated for its viability and usefulness.

Serving Citizens Through Buying Local Food

A new online service, developed through the University’s Environmental Finance Center (EFC), a unit of the National Center for Smart Growth Research and Education, allows small independent Maryland farms to list their fresh foods for sale, along with prices and locations. FoodTrader.org allows consumers to buy the freshest food that Maryland farms have to offer with just a click. The site has over 300 Maryland farms as members who are selling to over 300 registered consumers, including restaurants, schools, and hospitals. Similar sites are being launched with EFC’s help in seven other states.

Serving Citizens Through Sustainability

Student and faculty energy around sustainability is high. The University competed again in Recyclemania, a 10-week competition among 400 colleges and universities nationally to recycle the most material in distinct categories. The University improved its recycling rates over 2007 in several categories: food composted (up 23%), bottles and cans (up 15%), and recycling per person (up 11%). The number of students in EcoHouse, a living-learning community focused on sustainable practices, doubled this year.

In 2008 a new Department of Environmental Science and Technology was established and a new Master’s of Engineering in Sustainable Energy Engineering was developed, the first in the nation. Together with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the University hosted the third Smart and Sustainable Campuses Conference this year, attracting over 300 people from colleges and universities around the country.

Serving Citizens Through Democracy

TerpsVote registered more than 1,600 student voters on campus preceding the U.S. presidential election. The University ranked second among 156 college and university campuses for the number of voters registered, according to U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups.

Serving Citizens Through Greening

Creating a vision of sustainable living is another goal of the strategic plan. The new William and Kathy Mayer Mall, a beautiful green space in front of the Smith School of Business, was formerly an asphalt parking lot. Now its 1.4-acres of turf are a model for sustainability with 98 trees and 450 shrubs already planted, and more planned for the next phase. The Washington Quad was also renovated, transforming a run-down area of campus into a new green space that is a model for sustainable construction. With 52 bike rack U-tubes it promotes eco-friendly travel, and with 96 new trees planted it has tripled the greenery of the previous space.

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