Campus Messages

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.

At the University of Maryland, we work to be a community that is free from sexual misconduct. Achieving this goal means we must educate and train, advocate and enforce.

The University of Maryland will begin the semester as scheduled on August 31 but will delay undergraduate in-person instruction until September 14. Undergraduate instruction will be delivered online for the first two weeks. All graduate-level instruction and approved research activities will proceed as planned.

On July 14 and 15, 2020, the University of Maryland offered volunteer PCR COVID-19 testing to its entire campus community. The purpose of this testing pilot was to provide "free of charge" access to certified state of Maryland PCR COVID-19 testing to anyone, who is a student, or employee of the university.

I have proudly served as your president for one week, and I continue to prioritize keeping you informed as we remain physically distant and dispersed. Seven days in, I want to provide some important updates to our community:

Today is my first day as the 34th President of the University of Maryland. I have been on our campus for more than 25 years as an Assistant Professor, Department Chair, and Dean. Now, I am honored and humbled to be leading our great university in the third decade of the 21st century. My wife, Sylvia, and our two children love the University and the great state of Maryland. We have proudly raised two Terps! We are all part of the greater Terrapin Family and we are excited about our collective future.

On May 29, 2020, the White House issued an executive order on "Suspension of Entry as Nonimmigrants of Certain Students and Researchers from the People's Republic of China."