Our Great Expectations Drive Us

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND is abuzz with excitement and anticipation this fall. Many important milestones have been passed as the university moves forward and upward in stature when viewed on a global scale—call it world-class university stature.

In July—thanks to the leadership of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Board of Trustees and gift commitments from thousands of alumni and friends—we topped $400 million in our Great Expectations campaign. This was followed quickly by news that externally sponsored research and outreach for the past fiscal year—funding from government and private sources that support our faculty research and other programs—surged to $407 million, an increase of more than $57 million from the previous year.

Both of these significant milestones represent our awareness that private support and increased research funding are essential elements in advancing the university’s mission. While funding from the state of Maryland remains a key component in our overall budget, our commitment to greatly increase other funding is ambitious but attainable. By the end of 2011, we seek to raise $1 billion in private support through Great Expectations and bring in $500 million in sponsored research annually. Now, these are ambitious goals.

Two important academic and research initiatives launched in September best represent what combinations of state funding, private support and increased research support will do for our future. Our new School of Public Health (see page 5) advances the state of health education and research in Maryland and beyond. And our Bioscience Research Building (see page 24) strengthens scientific discovery in genomics, host pathogen interaction, bioinformatics and other areas. Both of these initiatives will increase research opportunities substantially with nearby federal agencies and research centers, and they offer opportunities for private support and partnerships.

The milestones I just described are highlighting our path to increasing world-class university stature. A world-class university in College Park signifies the state’s commitment to excellence in higher education. World-class universities attract hundreds of millions of research dollars, create high-skilled jobs for the region’s work force and fuel new industries like no other enterprise can. Take a look at California’s Silicon Valley or North Carolina’s Research Triangle as good examples. Maryland must follow a similar path.

A world-class university will retain the state’s most talented students. Students who leave their state for higher education most often do not return. In fiscal year 2006, for example, only 34 percent of Maryland high school seniors who scored greater than 1300 on the SAT attended any in-state college or university. This percentage has been steadily dropping over the past five years. The state also sends away more than twice as many students as it imports from other states. These trends must be reversed for the benefit of our state.

A world-class university leads in basic research, providing knowledge of the highest value to the state and the nation. A study published by the National Academies, “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” called on the nation to strengthen basic research in science and technology to preserve high-paying jobs for Americans and provide for national security. Basic research on societal, economic, health and technology problems is fundamental to new businesses and services. Basic research is a hallmark of a world-class university, where talent, facilities and the environment create opportunity for great discoveries and innovations.

Perhaps most important is that a world-class university transforms lives. It brings diverse, talented and inquisitive people into an environment with an unwavering demand for remarkable achievements. We are charting a course that will determine the university’s success over the next decade—transforming us from an excellent university to one of increasing world-class stature. As we move through the planning process, we seek input from the entire Maryland Family. Please join us and be a part of this journey.

–Dan Mote, President

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