The View from Here
A Periodic and Regular Letter from
William E. Kirwan
President, University of Maryland at College Park

Perhaps more than any other type of enterprise, a university is driven by recurring cycles. Here, in late winter, we are immersed in "act two" of the academic year: the spring semester, with all its attendant rituals and demands. Long before the first daffodil, this busy campus is astir with plans for growth and renewal.

As a state and public institution, we also find ourselves caught up in the cycles of the state government as we prepare for another round of presentations, papers and testimony associated with the state budgeting process. It is a time, administratively, for "show and tell," for taking stock of both cost and value -- documenting our contributions to the state, outlining our needs, and reiterating our vision for the University of Maryland at College Park.

Since the founding of the University's Board of Visitors in 1993, administrators on this campus have been guided by a valuable document, the Board's annual report, prepared for and submitted to the Governor and state legislative and higher education leadership. This year's report, issued by the Board in November, is titled, "Meeting the Challenge: Achieving the Goals for the University of Maryland Set by the Maryland Charter for Higher Education." I would like to share with you some of the observations and recommendations contained in this document.

Our Distinctive Mission

Early in the report, the Board defines the distinct mission of the University of Maryland at College Park -- something that even we within the University take for granted in our day-in, day-out activities.

Our role, within the higher education structure of this country, is that of a comprehensive national research university. This mission sets us apart from every other public institution of higher education in Maryland, and all but one private institution.

Further defining our mission is the designation of this University by the legislature in 1988 as the flagship university of the state. This appellation carries with it the responsibility for educating the state's best and brightest students, for supporting the state through research and public service, and for serving as a resource for the state's other educational institutions.

I think it is important to remind ourselves -- as the Board of Visitors did -- that this institution is purposely and meaningfully different, and that this difference entails distinct goals, expectations, opportunities and challenges that touch all who study at, work for or care about the University of Maryland at College Park. As the Board points out, this difference also entails a special commitment of support on the part of the state.

The Board of Visitors makes this point eloquently and forcefully in its report. The first recommendation, in fact, is that College Park be granted " . . . an increase in funding at least equal to that of higher education generally in the next budget to ensure that its position as the leading nationally-prominent public research university for the state of Maryland is not eroded."

Markers of Our Success

One of the great values of the Board of Visitors' annual report is the "yardstick" it offers for measuring our progress. The Board's findings should come as no surprise to those of us who are tuned in to this campus and its success stories: recognition of our honors program as one of the best at any public institution in the country; top-25 ranking for our programs in Business and Management, Education, Engineering and Journalism; and the recent study of doctoral programs by the National Research Council that ranked 16 of College Park's programs among the top 25 at public universities nationally, six among the top 10. It is worth noting that no school, public or private, south of the Ivy League, had as many top rate programs in the broad area of computer, mathematical, physical sciences and engineering. The University of Maryland at College Park is also the only school -- public or private -- in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, to have both its Colleges of Engineering and Business ranked in the top 25.

Perhaps the greatest success story of all is the one about College Park's extraordinary impact on the state's economy. There are countless examples of the University's people and programs bringing dollars and jobs to Maryland. Here are a just few:

• The American Center for Physics recently relocated to a site adjacent to the campus, moving from its previous headquarters in Manhattan. Even more important than the 200 jobs the ACP brought to the state is its reinforcement of the role of the University as a magnet for high-technology enterprises.
• Just last fall, a major Swedish software engineering firm announced it would be locating its U.S. research headquarters in College Park -- with no state-funded incentives -- simply because of the strength of the University's software engineering expertise.
• In its recent analysis of Maryland's technology incubators -- programs that help with the start-up of new technology-related businesses -- the state's Department of Business and Economic Development found that College Park's Technology Assistance Program led the state's five such programs, serving a total of 28 firms with 280 employees.
• The Greater Baltimore Committee in its report on the fastest growing companies in the Baltimore-Washington corridor found that the fourth fastest-growing was Neocerra, a graduate of the University's incubator program.
• In technology transfer -- the movement of University-supported technology from the campus to the private sector -- College Park has seen the licensing of 34 new technologies with a total income of nearly $1.7 million in 1995 -- an almost seven-fold increase over the previous five years.

One of the realities this university faces, like other state universities across the nation, is the erosion of state support. Higher education's share of the state budget has fallen steadily since the early 1990s, and there is no indication the trend is likely to reverse anytime soon. The Board of Visitors' report notes that the state's annual investment in its flagship campus is a staggering $140 million below the funding level anticipated by the state higher education enhancement plan the state set forth in 1991.

These realities make it all the more imperative that the University form new linkages with the world beyond the campus -- "win-win" partnerships that tap the University's expertise in social and economic areas, while bringing private dollars to the University to fill the void left by the state. The programs I have just mentioned show that our collaborative ventures are already paying off.

Ambitious and comprehensive fund-raising programs have been the mainstay of private colleges and universities for decades. Public universities are quickly coming around to this concept for raising support. We were relatively late in entering the field, but now we are moving into the "major leagues" in our efforts to garner outside support from corporations, foundations, alumni and friends, and our recent track record demonstrates notable success. The numbers at the close of the 1995 fiscal year tell the story: overall private support up 17% over the previous year; cash gifts up 44%; and corporate and foundation gifts up an incredible 51% over 1994.

Adapting to Our New Role

If we are to play a larger role in financing our programs, we will need relief from some of the procedures and regulations that govern state agencies. As the Board of Visitors' report points out, "given the amount of non-state revenues generated by public higher education, the state should grant additional management flexibility to administrative practices in public higher education with the goal of making higher education more business-like and less government-like."

In other words, the line between public and private higher education is blurring, in Maryland and beyond. We must develop new and innovative paradigms for the future that support our traditional programs while expanding the scope of our academic enterprise.

Expanding our traditional role to include these entrepreneurial activities should not erode our ability to serve the state. I see it, rather, as an enhancement and a refinement of our service to Maryland, rooted in our land grant status, a pragmatic response to challenges and conditions that the drafters of the Morrill Act could not anticipate.

One certainty we can count on as we enter the 21st Century is that many of yesterday's certainties will no longer hold. That is intimidating and unsettling for institutions as well as individuals. Yet within that necessity to change and adapt is the opportunity to explore fresh approaches, develop new methodologies and become even stronger and more resilient. A harsh winter should make us especially receptive to the message of spring: it is the season for us to grow.

Sincerely yours,

William E. Kirwan
President

March 6, 1996

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