Posted by Gena Chung on November 26, 2011
University of Maryland President Wallace G. Loh speaks to members of the Faculty Voice Editorial Board
Members of the Faculty Voice Editorial Board were able to spend an hour with President Loh on a late October afternoon. The president’s office is now a little bit hybrid, with two large Oriental silk paintings framed under glass, some lamps with orange Chinese ceramic bases, and a round glass cocktail table replacing what used to be a very modest wooden table. We sat in a circle, on lined blue Colonial chairs, with a large chandelier hanging over our heads.
We were asked to submit questions ahead of the interview. Nonetheless, there was a dialogue. Many key issues arose; here, we will summarize them.
The Merger: President Loh didn’t want to preempt committee and other discussions about the proposed merger between UMCP and the UMB professional schools. However, he is convinced that one clear positive would be to facilitate collaboration. He thinks that more blending at the top would make multi-unit grant proposals, joint programs, and other actions easier to implement. He also thinks that the university would be able to create linked undergrad-grad programs leading to stronger undergraduate applicants. At present, UMCP draws 25% of the best students in the state; he felt what after the merger, at least 50% such students would be attracted. And he added that the everyday life of a faculty member would not be changed except that more opportunities would arise with structural change. Continue Reading »UMCP President Wallace G. Loh sits down with the Faculty Voice
Categories: Features, News |
Tags: arts and humanities, budget, faculty, Latinos, merger, President Loh, salary, UMB, UMCP | 
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Posted by Gena Chung on November 26, 2011
By Nelly Stromquist, Education, UMCP
It is the intention of The Strategic Plan for the University of Maryland (May 2008) to move toward a new doctoral student profile. The Plan’s vision for graduate education states that “normally” doctoral students are to be full-time and fully funded (p. 12). While this plan was approved by the UMD faculty, some of the implications of this model are only now becoming apparent.
“Full-time” means that students with families and those in their early or mid-careers, as is often the case for professional schools, will not seek admission into our doctoral programs or, if they do, will be denied admission. The stipend being considered for such students, a minimum of $18,000 per year, is patently insufficient to maintain a family even with only one child. Who will be eliminated? Individuals who must support their families or must take care of them, most of them minorities and women. Continue Reading »One size fits all? In pursuit of the perfect scholar
Categories: Features |
Tags: arts and humanities, doctoral students, engineering, faculty, graduate students, natural sciences, professionals, strategic plan, University of Maryland | No Comments »
Posted by Gena Chung on November 26, 2011
By Bill Hanna, Editor
Urban Studies and Planning, UMCP
The School of Dentistry, the School of Law, the School of Medicine, the School of Nursing, the School of Pharmacy, and the University’s College Park campus will all become one? Maybe! A proposal has been made, and some key state politicians are in favor of it. So the odds on the merger are pretty good. A Regents’ report is to be delivered to the General Assembly by December 15.
“In conducting the study, the group will consider issues related to mission, quality of learning, reputation and rankings, institutional cultures, administration, and costs. The group also will take a look at mergers of similar institutions-flagship institutions like UMCP with academic health centers like UMB-around the country.” (From the System web site.) Continue Reading »Merger???
Categories: News |
Tags: merger, President Loh, rankings, students, UMB, UMBC, UMCP | No Comments »
Posted by Gena Chung on November 26, 2011
As many readers know, the DREAM Act is proposed but has never passed federal legislation enabling young undocumented immigrants brought to the USA as children to pay in-state tuition for a college or university education. The legislation has been blocked, in part because of the anti-immigrant nativist mood in the country – a mood enhanced by the economic recession and now the almost-recession prevailing in the country.
With federal legislation blocked, some states have passed their own DREAM Act – for example, California and … Maryland. But in Maryland, passage was followed by a petition campaign to put the issue on the November 2012 ballot. So for the next year, advocates on both sides of this political battle will be knocking on doors, handing out fliers, calling with robo, paying for radio and television time, and more. Continue Reading »DREAMing in Maryland
Categories: News |
Tags: debate, democracy, DREAM Act, education, freedom, higher education, immigrants, Senate, University of Maryland | No Comments »
Posted by Gena Chung on November 26, 2011
There was an error in the May 2011 issue which must be corrected. The University of Baltimore’s Library’s name is Langsdale, not Langston. Was Langston Hughes on the mind of the FV staff member who mistyped? (If so, perhaps it’s not the worst of mistakes!) Apologies to the UB folks.
Categories: Et Cetera |
Tags: correction, library, UMB | No Comments »
Posted by Gena Chung on November 26, 2011
For Preventing Our Children From Being a Burden on Their Parents or Country, and for Making Them Beneficial to the Public
In a New York Times (16 July 2011) article by Charles M. Blow, the fastest growing occupations in the USA listed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics are registered nurses, home health aides, customer service representatives, food service workers, home care aids, retail salespersons, and office clerks. These are the jobs that will have a projected 300,000 or more openings during the period from now until 2018. That positions Maryland’s Schools of Public Health and Nursing quite well for turning out degree-holders who are likely to get jobs, especially if they are willing to be underemployed in their fields. Well down the list are teachers, computer engineers, and accountants. What are the implications for Maryland’s higher education institutions? Continue Reading »One more thing…
Categories: Et Cetera |
Tags: academic fields, education, engineers, faculty, higher education, jobs, Teachers | No Comments »
Posted by Gena Chung on November 25, 2011
By Bill Hanna, Editor
Urban Studies and Planning, UMCP
About two miles south of the College Park campus is a town called Hyattsville. It’s on the way between Baltimore and D.C. for those working and/or living north of the D.C. metro area. In the past few years, there has been an effort to gentrify it a bit, mostly by creating an arts district. And along with some artists’ spaces have come some restaurants worth checking out. Here, I’ll mention three: Franklins (about six years old), Busboys and Poets (very new), and Sahara Oasis. And I’ll end with an “Elsewhere” list of other favorite restaurants nearby.
For those who live near another System campus, let us know your favorites. Continue Reading »Dining Around
Categories: Et Cetera, People/Places, Reviews |
Tags: cafe, campus, Good eats, Hyattsville, restuarants, reviews | No Comments »
Posted by Gena Chung on May 12, 2011
William E. "Brit" Kirwan
William E. “Brit” Kirwan is the Chancellor of the University System of Maryland. With fiscal and other changes taking place—or feared to be taking place in the near future, we asked him to respond to some questions developed by the Editorial Board of The Faculty Voice. He provided the answers below. Thanks Brit!
TENURE: Will the tenure ranks continue to dwindle in the University System of Maryland (and elsewhere)—with many of those on tenure tracks replaced by non-tenure personnel as retirements and departures take place? And if so, what impact will that have on our intellectual communities and on the quality of our teaching?
The decline in tenure ranks and corresponding growth in adjunct faculty is a national phenomenon and is directly tied to the decline in state support for public higher education. In Maryland, with the University System of Maryland (USM) and our institutions facing an inadequate level of funding, we are left with the unenviable choice of either eliminating sections that enable students to make progress toward degrees, or increasing use of adjunct faculty. We have tried our best to find a balance between these competing pressures. As the Continue Reading »Kirwan Says!
Categories: Features |
Tags: chancellor, faculty, fiscal, graduation rates, Humanities, tenure, University System of Maryland | No Comments »
Posted by Gena Chung on May 12, 2011
By Rick Kohn, Animal Science, UMCP
Have you invented a process, machine or composition of matter that might have commercial value? Has your research crossed into an area where it could be commercially valuable but may not be fundable by grant programs? If so, you may have a desire to develop patent rights to leverage future funding for research or to develop your invention. I have some experience with a number of pitfalls related to intellectual property in the UMD system, and I’d like to offer some suggestions to inventors and administrators. Continue Reading »Inventions: How Should the University Handle Them?
Categories: Et Cetera |
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Posted by Gena Chung on May 12, 2011
Federal figures, as of 2009, indicate that 45% of Maryland’s residents in the 25-34 age range have graduated from a four-year college. That’s a bit above the national average, but far below the national goal of 58%-60%. “Right now we’ve got an education system that works like a funnel when we need it to work like a pipeline,” said Vice President Biden in late March. “We have to make the same commitment to getting folks across the graduation stage that we did to getting them into the registrar’s office. The dreams and skills of our college graduates will pave the way to a bright economic future for our nation.” Continue Reading »The Graduation Push
Categories: Et Cetera, News, Statistics |
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