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Friday, September 18, 2015
Report to the USM Board of Regents
Chancellor Robert L. Caret
AS DRAFTED
Thank you Mr. Chairman. Today is a day of many “firsts”: Our first Board meeting of the
Academic Year; My first Board meeting as Chancellor (more about that in a moment); The
first official Board meeting for Regents Sydney Comitz, Bobby Neall, and Bob Pevenstein;
And the first Board of Regents meeting for Coppin State University’s new President, Dr.
Maria Thompson.
And that is where I want to start my report . . . with Dr. Thompson and our “host”
institution, Coppin State University (CSU).
Since taking office on July 1st, Dr. Thompson has already impressed the entire Coppin
“family”—students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders—with her strong commitment to
preparing graduates who are analytical, socially responsible, lifelong learners. As I
understand it, CSU has scheduled a series of Presidential “meet and greet” receptions along
the B/W corridor—last month in Columbia, earlier this week in the White Marsh area, with
Baltimore, Towson, and Owings Mills still to come. I know first hand the value of this type
of outreach and engagement.
President Neufville, Dr. Thompson’s predecessor, stepped forward at a challenging time for
CSU and helped put the institution in a position to make progress. I have every confidence
that under President Thompson, Coppin will continue to rise.
And the past few months have shown what this progress will look like:
 We saw the announcement of a new collaborative partnership between CSU and
the University of Baltimore (UB) bringing students and faculty together to focus on
STEM programs and inspire new job paths that will significantly impact Baltimore
and beyond.
 Shortly after that, softball standout Candice Van Horn became the first female
student-athlete in CSU history to be named an Academic All-America.
 And in the 2015 ranking of Historically Black Colleges and Universities, College
Choice—an independent online publication dedicated to helping students and their
families find the right college—Coppin was in the top 25.
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This type of achievement—from individual students to campus-wide recognition to impact
beyond the campus—is just the first wave of what can be a time of real and meaningful
progress for Coppin under Dr. Thompson’s leadership.
Since the board meeting last June, there has been an incredible amount of activity. Let me
start with some “ranking” news:

In the just-released 2016 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings:
o The University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) ranked 19th among
national public universities and climbed five spots to 57th overall
o Towson University ranks 12th and Salisbury University (SU) 18th in the Public
Schools – Regional Universities (North) category.
o Both Bowie State University (BSU) and the University Maryland Eastern
Shore (UMES) ranked ion the top 30 of Historically Black Institutions.
o And the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) ranked 4th in the
nation—joining MIT and Stanford in the top five—in the new ranking of the
“Most Innovative Schools.”

The Princeton Review has named three University System of Maryland (USM)
institutions among the Best 380 Colleges for 2016:
o UMCP, UMBC, and Salisbury.

In The Washington Monthly’s 2015 "America's Best Bang for the Buck Colleges" list,
which ranks schools based on "net" price, how well they do graduating students, and
whether those students go on to earn at least enough to pay off their loans:
o Towson, Salisbury, and UMCP were all in the Top 100 of Northeast
institutions, with Towson leading the way at 35th.

Bowie joined Coppin in the top 25 on College Choice’s ranking of Historically Black
Colleges and Universities.

U.S. Veterans Magazine named both Towson and University of Maryland University
College (UMUC) in its recently released list of the nation’s best veteran-friendly
schools.

Frostburg State University (FSU), Salisbury, and UMBC were each named as a 201516 College of Distinction, in recognition of their continued commitment to the four
distinctions: engaged students, outstanding teaching, vibrant communities, and
successful outcomes.
o Finally, the Center for World University Rankings released its 2015 global
rankings this past July.
o All three of the USM’s research institutions—UMCP, University of Maryland,
Baltimore (UMB), and UMBC—were ranked among the top 500 universities
worldwide, with UMCP listed at number 72.
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I want to touch upon a few other recent accolades as well:

Salisbury President Janet Dudley-Eshbach was honored with the William Donald
Schaefer Helping People Award.

Just last week, Stew Edelstein, Executive Director of the Universities at Shady Grove
(USG) was honored with the "Advocate of the Year Award" from the Montgomery
County Executive Hispanic Gala.

At Towson, Drs. Gail Gasparich and Clare Muhoro were named two of the top 100
women nationally in the STEM fields by INSIGHT into Diversity magazine.

The advertising campaign for the UB/Towson MBA earned a Silver award in the
international 2015 Circle of Excellence Awards from the Council for Advancement
and Support of Education (CASE).

UMBC was named to the Chronicle of Higher Education’s “Great Colleges to Work
For in 2015.”

The White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities selected
83 students as its 2015 HBCU All-Stars. Two USM students were among the 83:
Ravenn Mathis of Bowie and Salematou Traore of UMES.

Campus Pride listed UMCP as one of the top 25 LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges &
Universities in the nation in recognition of positive efforts to promote diversity,
inclusion, and safety for LGBTQ students.

University of Maryland University College (UMUC) won three 2015 Hermes Creative
Awards—two platinum and one gold—from the Association of Marketing and
Communication Professionals in a field of more than 6,000 entrants.

Towson’s business incubator—the TU incubator—has been nominated for
Incubator Space of the Year in the Annual Baltimore Innovation Awards.

And I am pleased to note that at FSU, the new Center for Communications and
Information Technology was named in honor of President Emerita Catherine Gira.
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This past summer also saw some major developments in both philanthropy and grants:

Developers Palmer Gillis and Tony Gilkerson announced the donation of the Plaza
Gallery Building on West Main Street—valued at $4.4 billion—to the SU Foundation,
helping Salisbury create a stronger downtown presence.
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At UMES, Lexus provided a $100,000 gift to honor the legacy of Charlie Sifford, the
first African-American to join the PGA Tour in 1961. The Lexus Endowment will
help UMES students establish careers in the golf industry.
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And across the USM, preliminary FY15 numbers indicate our institutions raised
more than $330 million in private funds—more than $70 million ahead of our goal.
Turning to a few impressive grants

Both Salisbury and Frostburg announced major support from the state’s Nurse
Support Program to help educate nurses at Maryland institutions.
o Salisbury University’s Nursing Department has received the largest grant in
its history ― nearly $2.1 million ― to continue a project that prepares clinical
experts to become nursing faculty.
o FSU received nearly $2.5 million to develop new collaborative nursing
programs.
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Dr. Stephen Habay of SU’s Chemistry Department earned the campus’ first
competitive grant from the National Institutes of Health, nearly $300,000 that will
expand research opportunities for undergraduates and enhance laboratory spaces.
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UMBC has joined the multi-institutional Center for Sustainable Nanotechnology,
supported by a $20 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

UMBC is also a founding member of the new Urban Water Innovation Network—14
U.S. academic institutions and key partners addressing challenges that threaten
urban water systems in the U.S. and around the world—supported by a $12 million
from the NSF.

At UMCP, a $1.25 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation will fund
research, education, and training at the intersections of digital humanities and
African American studies in the College of Arts and Humanities.

UMB’s Institute of Human Virology was awarded $24.5 million to fight Botswana's
AIDS epidemic.

And a research team of experts from both UMCP and UMB—through the School of
Public Health—received a $5 million grant from the Intelligence Advanced Research
Projects Activity (IARPA) to develop influenza threat tests.
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I also want to note some impressive academic initiatives and other innovations taking place
on our campuses:
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Frostburg announced several impressive collaborations:
o A new partnership starting next spring with UMES and Vanung University in
Taiwan offering a unique international opportunity in hospitality management.
o A degree partnership with Cecil College in Materials Engineering.
o A degree partnership with Garrett College in Adventure Sports Management.
o And, beginning this fall semester, a Master of Education with a concentration in
School Counseling program through the University System of Maryland at
Hagerstown (USMH)
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The UB School of Law and UMB’s Francis King Carey School of Law are setting up a new
legal incubator program. This “startup accelerator for lawyers” will offer graduates
guidance and resources like office space and malpractice insurance, for a year to 18
months.
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In another partnership, UMCP and Johns Hopkins University are collaborating on the
Maryland Advanced Research Computing Center. Supported by $30 million in state
funding and located in Baltimore, the center offers state-of-the-art digital processing
power to a wide array of researchers at both institutions.
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UMUC is the first major American university to replace 100 percent of its
undergraduate textbooks with no-cost digital resources, saving each UMUC
undergraduate student hundreds of dollars a session—potentially thousands over the
course of the degree. By fall 2016, all of UMUC's graduate classes will be textbook-free,
too. The collective savings is estimated to be in the millions for the more than 80,000
students taking classes at UMUC annually.
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The last innovation I will highlight comes from the University of Maryland Center for
Environmental Science (UMCES). Ryan Powell, who earned his Ph.D. from UMCES last
year, has figured out a way to harvest algae and turn it into crude oil. His Baltimorebased biotechnology firm, Manta Biofuel, seeks to convert the oil harvested from algae
and turn it into fuel.
The momentum that USM has established in all these—and other—critical areas is a
tremendous source of pride. And it bodes well for an eventful and impactful future.
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Two issues I want to quickly update you on . . .
Budget / Legislative Session
As far as our budget goes, our work is still in the preliminary stages. We have been meeting
with Governor Hogan as his staff, members of the legislature, and professionals from the
Department of Budget and Management to discuss USM’s budget for FY 2017. We also have
a budget discussion set for September 30th at the Maryland Higher Education Commission.
I will keep you informed as we make progress. But I can assure you we are committed to
keeping USM priorities aligned with state priorities, supporting our strategic plan, and
maintaining the USM as a genuine funding priority. I ask all of you to continue your strong
advocacy on behalf of the USM.
Unfortunately, we will be facing next year’s legislative session without one of USM’s
strongest and most effective advocates leading our efforts. As you know, PJ Hogan, our vice
chancellor for government relations for the past eight years, will be leaving the USM at the
end of this month to join Cornerstone Government Affairs, a public affairs firm specializing
in government relations and lobbying.
If you add up his years in the Maryland State Senate and his tenure with USM, PJ has been
one of public higher education’s strongest supporters for more than 20 years. PJ, thank you
for your service and know that you will be missed.
Telling & Selling the USM Story
Finally, I want to note that over the course of the next several months leading up to the
Legislative Session I am pursuing a two-tiered agenda.
Next month, October 12–15, I will take a statewide “listening tour”—four days, hundreds of
miles—to meet with several of USM’s external stakeholders. I will be meeting with
business leaders, educators, government officials, advocacy organizations, and others to
elicit opinions and perspectives as to USM’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities.
Ideally some new partnership opportunities will come into focus as a result of these
meetings. I want to thank State Employees' Credit Union (SECU) for generously sponsoring
the transportation for the tour.
This tour will also give me the chance to "tell and sell" the USM story, generating stronger
broad-based understanding of—and support for—the USM and its mission. In fact, I am
also carrying this message to key groups. Earlier this week I met with the Greater Salisbury
Committee and just yesterday I spoke at the Maryland Chamber of Commerce breakfast.
Within the next two weeks, my office will be providing members of this board with a full
itinerary of the tour. I invite you join me at any point to whatever extent you are able.
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I addition to the bus tour, I will be meeting with key internal constituencies with daylong
visits to each campus in the months ahead. I will be meeting with institutional leaders,
faculty, staff, and students to talk about how we can work together as a system even more
effectively to make progress on our agenda:
 Advancing college completion;
 Growing the workforce and the economy;
 Sound stewardship of resources;
 And enhanced quality.
These campus visits will also provide me with the opportunity to better familiarize myself
with each institution’s initiatives, activities, partnerships, and areas of emphasis going
forward. I also welcome the chance to talk with campus leaders in a more extended and
relaxed setting.
I also held a daylong retreat with my Direct Reports last month and have similar retreats
scheduled with the Council of University System Presidents and the members of this board.
The Board Retreat will focus on a wide range of issues: the USM budget, affordability,
analytics, Effectiveness & Efficiency (E&E), collaboration, etc.
I see these external and internal meetings as part of a comprehensive process, giving us the
information we need to make a coherent assessment of where the USM stands. Basically I
want to establish a “baseline” to determine where we can best add focus to advance our
priorities, especially the completion agenda, our economic impact, and leveraging our
“system-ness” as a tremendous source of strength. Thank you all for your willingness to
work with me while I execute this approach.
Closing
One final item I want to mention as I close my report. At 4:00 this afternoon Towson
University will celebrate the life and legacy of President Emerita Dr. Maravene Loeschke at
SECU Arena. Maravene was the epitome of “Tiger Pride.” She received both her bachelor's
and master's degrees from Towson, she spent more than three decades at TU as an
educator and dean, and spent her last three years as president of her beloved institution.
Mr. Chairman . . . this concludes my report. I would be happy to respond to any questions
the Regents may have.
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