WE ARE EDUCATING a top workforce, inspiring future leaders, producing groundbreaking research and addressing many of society’s greatest challenges. All this is being accomplished despite COVID-19 and its lingering effects. Without missing a single step, the University of Maryland is driving innovation and progress at the highest levels to create a generational and lasting impact in the world. We are recruiting academically talented students from every part of the state with one of the largest and most diverse freshman classes in recent history for the Fall 2021 semester. For the first time, the majority of the freshman class comprises students of color.
I am extremely proud of the incredible academic, research and economic achievement occurring in the Discovery District, our dynamic research park located in Prince George’s County that brings together a vibrant mix of university stakeholders, corporate partners, government researchers, entrepreneurs and local residents. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the General Assembly for the tremendous success of the startup IonQ, one of the crown jewels of the Discovery District. Without your support, we likely would not have been able to translate cutting-edge quantum research from the laboratory benchtop to the marketplace to the New York Stock Exchange.
The new National Quantum Lab at Maryland (Q-Lab) is the first of its kind in the nation to enable the scientific community to pursue world-leading research through hands-on access to a commercial-grade quantum computer, giving our faculty and students access to the most powerful computing in the world. UMD also has launched the Quantum Startup Foundry, one of our region’s best business incubators for incentivizing quantum entrepreneurs and startups to locate businesses in College Park. Our research awards and expenditures are the highest ever, which is helping us achieve high-impact results in such vital areas as climate change, clean energy, public health and safeguarding the world’s food supply. Our new strategic plan, Fearlessly Forward, outlines our vision to reimagine learning, invest in people, take on humanity's grand challenges and partner to advance the public good.
In keeping with our commitment to inclusive excellence, our campus is expanding the ranks of new tenured and tenure-track faculty from underrepresented groups; building a pipeline to academic leadership for Black, Hispanic and American Indian/Alaskan Native faculty in the arts and humanities; taking purposeful steps to confront the historic marginalization of Maryland’s Indigenous people; and prioritizing investments that lift up students with disabilities and communities of color.
Buoyed by the success of our $1.5 billion Fearless Ideas campaign, we will continue to devise innovative solutions that move us toward a more equitable, resilient and sustainable future.
Thank you for your continued support of the University of Maryland. I am both gratified and excited by the progress we have made together. I am looking forward to continuing the strong relationship between the university and the General Assembly.
Download 2022 Report to the Maryland General Assembly (PDF)