Campus Messages

The University of Maryland ranks No. 19 among the nation’s top public institutions in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 Best Colleges edition released today. UMD jumped from No. 24 from last year on that list and from No. 64 to 58 among national universities in the rankings, frequently used by prospective college students and their families navigating the application process.

Based on a careful evaluation of a comprehensive list of factors, today I announce that we will proceed with our cautious, phased approach to the resumption of limited undergraduate in-person instruction on Monday, September 14 as planned. This represents approximately 15% of undergraduate classes offered this fall at the University of Maryland.

Today, we write to you all to share the latest update that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the university budget. We want to assure you that our decisions are being guided by a commitment to sustain the excellence of our education, research and service missions, protect the health, safety and well-being of our campus community, and minimize the impact to the most vulnerable of our community.

In one of my first official duties as President, I outlined five initiatives and recommendations designed to create a more inclusive environment at the University of Maryland. Those announcements were just the beginning of our commitment to build a multicultural campus of excellence. Today, I am pleased to build further upon that commitment.

Our collective behavior this weekend is critical. By next week, we will determine if the conditions are right to resume in-person classes. If necessary, we will change plans immediately. To make this work - and avoid pivoting to virtual instruction - we ask that you continue to cooperate rigorously with our 4 Maryland healthy behaviors over the forthcoming three-day weekend. This will be the ultimate test of whether we can rise to the challenge and stay together this fall semester

For over 160 years, the University of Maryland has proudly served the citizens of our state and the world. I have been fortunate enough to be part of this community for more than 25 of those years. Today, we officially begin the Fall 2020 semester, which will be like no other in our storied history.

Dear University of Maryland community, As we fight two pandemics - COVID-19 and racial injustice - it pains and angers me that we continue to see the senseless shooting of Black people. This includes Jacob Blake and the many before him who have been ...

Over the past several weeks, we have communicated with you many times about such important matters as COVID-19 testing, healthy behaviors, and student conduct expectations. We announced the postponement of all fall intercollegiate athletics and a two-week delay in the resumption of undergraduate in-person instruction. There has also been a dizzying amount of information in the media about case counts and positivity rates at other leading universities, and the availability of testing nationally, in the State of Maryland, and right here in Prince George's County.

Today, Governor Larry Hogan announced that, for the first time, the COVID-19 positivity rate in all Maryland jurisdictions - including here in Prince George’s County - has fallen below 5 percent. We need your help in keeping this trend going. 

Transparency and testing are two key measures in our plans for the gradual reopening of campus. It is important that we understand and track the presence of COVID-19 in our community, and we must continue to test for coronavirus in order to curb the spread. Today, we officially launch our public COVID-19 campus dashboard that will provide our community with transparent and timely data about the prevalence of COVID-19 within our campus, based on UMD-administered testing.