The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public higher education system in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park,

Baltimore County Baltimore County ( , locally: or ) is the third-most populous county in the U.S. state of Maryland and is part of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Baltimore County (which partially surrounds, though does not include, the independent City of ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of K ...

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 55,197 as of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Baltim ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

, Bowie,

Frostburg Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States, and is at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. Located west of Cumberland, the town is one of the first cities ...

, Hagerstown, Rockville,

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, and Adelphi, along with four regional higher education centers located throughout the state of

History

In 1974,

, along with seven other states, mainly in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

, submitted plans to desegregate its

state universities A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univers ...

; Maryland's plans were approved by the

U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

. The University System of Maryland was created in 1988 from the merger of University of Maryland (UM) and Board of Trustees of State Universities and Colleges (BTSUC).

Campuses

With more than 172,000 students at all levels, USM institutions award 78% of bachelor's degrees in Maryland.

Finances

Nearly 50 percent of undergraduates graduate without debt. USM institutions attract more than $1.4 billion in research and development funding to the state annually and have helped foster the creation of more than 700 startup companies since 2011. The system's Aa1 bond rating enables its institutions to borrow at lower costs to students, families and taxpayers. Related effectiveness and efficiency initiatives have saved Marylanders nearly $600 million in administrative costs since 2004.

Governance

The USM is governed by a board of regents and led by a chancellor, who serves as the CEO of the university system and leads the USM Office.

USM Board of Regents

A 17-member volunteer Board of Regents, including one full-time student, governs the University System of Maryland. Appointed by the governor, the regents oversee the system's academic, administrative, and financial operations; formulate policy; and appoint the USM chancellor and the presidents of the system's 12 institutions. With the exception of the student member, each regent is appointed for a term of five years, and may not serve more than two consecutive terms. The student regent is appointed for a one-year term, and may be reappointed. Regents serve on the board without compensation.

USM chancellors

John S. Toll John Sampson Toll (October 25, 1923 – July 15, 2011) was an American physicist and educational administrator. Education Toll received his bachelor's degree in physics from Yale University in 1944, after which he served in the U.S. Navy in Worl ...

(1988–1990) * Donald Langenberg (1990–2002) * William E. Kirwan (2002–2015) * Robert L. Caret (2015–2020) * Jay A. Perman (2020–present)

USM Office

The USM Office, led by the system chancellor, is the staff to the Board of Regents. Staff members advocate on behalf of the 12 USM institutions, facilitate collaboration and efficiencies among the institutions, and provide information about the system to the public. With leadership from the USM Board of Regents and the chancellor, the system office coordinates academic programs, assists with long-range planning and resource management, facilitates private fund raising, and provides financial stewardship. The system office is headquartered in

and has locations in Adelphi,

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, and Columbia.

References

External links

*
Board of Regents records
at the

University of Maryland libraries The University of Maryland Libraries is the largest university library in the Washington, D.C. - Baltimore area. The university's library system includes eight libraries: six are located on the College Park campus, while the Severn Library, an of ...

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