President's Testimony

Strengths and Opportunities 

• The modern 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 associated medical and dental practice plans for patient treatment, affiliated foundations, alumni associations and a research park.  Our faculty care for patients and train residents at the University of Maryland Medical Center located on our campus, as well as the adjacent Veterans Administration Medical Center and other area hospitals.    [Chart 1.]
  

• UMB strives toward excellence, with all schools ranked among the very best in the country.  We consider these rankings the most important indicators in our Managing for Results performance plan.  Appended to my testimony is a document entitled "University of Maryland:  Making an Impact Since 1807" that provides a snap shot of our mission, programs, enrollment, student and employee demographics, history, budget, and role in driving the economy of our state.  [See Appendix 1.]

• Our faculty are highly entrepreneurial, with approximately two-thirds of our nearly $945 million total budget coming from sponsored research and clinical care.  [Chart 2.] [Chart 3.]
  

• Unlike our sister campuses, UMB does not operate dormitories or food halls to any significant degree.  The 4% or so of revenue that we generate from 'auxiliary operations' is due almost entirely to our parking garages.
  
  

• Entrepreneurship has expanded dramatically here.  Sponsored research has exploded over the last ten years.  At $450 million for FY 08, UMB again ranks first in the University System in sponsored research as it has for the last several years. [Chart 3.] [Chart 4.]
  
  

• UMB is an economic engine for Baltimore City and the State of Maryland.  An independent analysis shows that in FY 2008 the campus generated $15.11 in economic activity for every $1 of general funds.  At 23,000 jobs, the campus and its affiliates are the second largest employers in Baltimore City (behind Johns Hopkins), and rank fourth state-wide.  [Chart 5.]
  
  

• In addition to generating jobs, the campus also plays a major role in workforce development, addressing many of the State's critical health workforce shortage needs. Our alumni comprise the majority of physicians, dentists, pharmacists, social workers and baccalaureate and graduate nurses in Maryland, and a plurality of its attorneys and biomedical researchers.  Even during a recession, we have an enormous responsibility to continue to help the State maintain and grow its health, law and human services workforce.
  
  

• The global shortage of nurses and pharmacists is well-known.  Social workers and attorneys who are willing to work in the public sector pose an issue that we must confront.  Shortages are also reaching critical proportions in dentistry and several medical specialties, especially OB-GYN, internal medicine, general surgery and emergency medicine.  We address these primarily through our large residency program (over 700 interns and residents) funded through Medicare that we operate in conjunction with area hospitals. 
  
  

• Moreover, given the national crisis in health care and the large and growing shortage of epidemiologists and health policy analysts, nearly three years ago UMB received approval to launch its masters of public health (MPH).  We have now graduated our first two MPH classes and are in the process of obtaining formal accreditation by the Council on Education for Public Health.  In reality awarding this degree in public health formalized what has been a major part of UMB's history and mission dating back at least to the 1830s.

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