Moving Maryland Forward

Forty-eight names. Forty-eight irreplaceable threads in the uniquely woven tapestry of the University of Maryland community. At the center of today’s UMD Memorial Celebration, the first staging of a planned annual event, university leaders individually called out the name of each Terp lost from January 2020 through last month. About 50 invitees, including family members and university leadership, listened to the toll in a physically distanced ceremony at Memorial Chapel, along with many more virtual attendees.

The University of Maryland is aiming to add more than 100 tenured or tenure-track faculty from underrepresented backgrounds over the next decade with a new commitment of $40 million across schools and colleges. The FAMILE program—Faculty Advancement at Maryland for Inclusive Learning and Excellence—represents a near-tripling of support for several existing recruitment and retention programs aimed at improving diversity among faculty across campus. 

With streamers flying and surrounded on stage by his family, Darryll J. Pines on Thursday celebrated his inauguration as the University of Maryland’s 34th president—the apex of a week filled with high points. Here are some of the unforgettable scenes.