President's Testimony

Strengths and Opportunities

• The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is a highly complex institution consisting of the six professional schools of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy and social work, a program in public health that will become a full-fledged school, and a graduate school.  UMB also has affiliated medical and dental practice plans, foundations, alumni associations and a research park.  Our faculty also train residents and care for patients at the University of Maryland Medical Center located on our campus, as well as the adjacent Veterans Administration Medical Center and other area hospitals.  We also work closely with the Medical Examiner's Office, which is currently located adjacent to our nursing school, and is soon to relocate to new quarters in the UMB BioPark. [Chart 1]
  
  
• Each year I report to you on the current national rankings of our schools, and this year is no exception.  Our vision for our schools is that each of them will be considered among the very best in the country.  I am proud to say that we are close to achieving that vision.  [Chart 2.]
  
  
• At $411 million in sponsored research for FY 2007, an 8% increase over FY 2006, UMB again ranked first among the State of Maryland's public institutions, and second only to Johns Hopkins in the state's private institutions, in external support for our research.  [Chart 3.]
  
  
• UMB continues to be extraordinarily entrepreneurial with two-thirds of our funds coming from research and clinical revenue, 20% from the State general fund appropriation and about 10% from tuition and fees.  [Chart 4]
  
  
• Unlike other USM campuses where auxiliary services can make up as much as one-third of the revenue, UMB does not operate dormitories or food halls to any significant degree.  The 4% showing for our auxiliary services is almost entirely due to our parking garages. 
  
  
• While we appear to have reversed last year's decline in sponsored research, I remain concerned about the future health and strength of our research program.  In particular, we lack research space for expansion at a time when our competitors are not standing still.  Compare the research space that is available for our medical school faculty, for example, against that of our competitor schools.  Lack of facilities and equipment support for research is probably the single most important obstacle we face in recruiting and retaining key faculty.  [Chart 5]
  

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