ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Board of Regents Endorses Creation of University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Strategic Alliance
Adelphi, MD. (Dec. 9, 2011) --The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø (ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø)
Board of Regents today endorsed the concept of creating the University of
ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Strategic Alliance, an innovative and structured collaboration between
the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore (UMB) and the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø,
College Park (UMCP). The alliance will leverage the resources of the two
universities to help position ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø to serve students and the State of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø
better.
The board action resulted from a comprehensive and inclusive
six-month study of the advantages and disadvantages of merging the two ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø
universities in response to a ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø General Assembly Joint Chairmen's
request. The study involved work groups comprising faculty, staff, and students
from UMCP and UMB and from all ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø institutions. The board also solicited input
from higher education merger experts, elected officials, business and community
leaders, and other interested individuals.
Also at today's meeting, the board charged ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Chancellor
William E. Kirwan, UMCP President Wallace Loh, and UMB President Jay Perman to
develop a detailed plan for creating the alliance. They will submit the plan to
the board by March 1, 2012.
In assessing the advantages and disadvantages of a UMB-UMCP
merger, the board concluded that the disadvantages of a merger outweighed the advantages.
Board members also concluded that the strategic alliance would capitalize on
the advantages while minimizing the risks associated with a merger.
"I would like to express my appreciation to the board, the
faculty, staff and student committees and to the legions of concerned and
involved citizens, throughout our state, for their focused efforts during the
merger-study process," Kirwan said. "It is gratifying that there is so much
support for UMCP, UMB, and the entire mission of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø all across ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø.
"This process revealed that there is no doubt ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøers
recognize the critical role ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø institutions play in our state --
educationally, economically, socially, and in terms of our quality of
life. From my perspective, that alone
made the study a worthwhile endeavor."
As envisioned by the board, the alliance will leverage the
combined resources of each institution, enabling ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø to:
- better prepare
students to fill the region's workforce needs through joint academic
programs.
- attract more
research funding to the state.
- create more
opportunities for innovation, technology transfer, and commercialization.
- develop capacity
to implement joint appointments between the two campuses efficiently.
- create more
opportunities to compete even more successfully for star faculty and
researchers.
The board views the alliance as a giant step toward paving
the way for more collaboration among all institutions within ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø. While its
primary focus will be to strengthen the collaboration between UMCP and UMB, it
will serve as a model for furthering collaborations system-wide.
Among the disadvantages identified for a merger were lack of
unified, collective agreement; the cultural and operational differences of the
two institutions; required funding enhancements; and threats to achieving the
goals of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø strategic plan.
The identified benefits of the alliance were many: committed leadership,
significantly fewer challenges regarding campus cultural differences, avoiding
some of the costs identified for a merger, its potential to move ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø strategic
goals forward, and others. Among the goals articulated in Powering ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Forward, ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø's strategic plan, are advancing the
state toward its established goal of having 55 percent of its young adult
population hold a college degree and enhancing the state's competitiveness.
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu