The USM in 2010: 

Responding to the Challenges that Lie Ahead

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Mission: The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is the state's academic health and law university devoted to excellence in professional and graduate education, research, public service and patient care.

• We educate leaders in health care delivery, biomedical science, social services and the law.
• We carry out internationally recognized research to cure disease and to improve the health, social functioning and just treatment of the people we serve.
• We are committed to ensuring that the knowledge we generate provides maximum benefit to society.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore is the principal provider of health, law and social work professionals in Maryland, and a major source of biomedical research, health information, patient care, and legal and social services. UMB is the only provider of dentists, pharmacists, and graduate social workers in the state, and prepares the largest number of nurses in Maryland. The university's overarching goal is that all of its schools and programs are ranked among the very best in the nation. Some our schools and programs have already achieved top ten ranking nationally.

The campus is largely funded by entrepreneurial activity, particularly sponsored research and is a major economic engine for the region. UMB provides health and human services to tens of thousands of Marylanders annually, and faces the same budget issues as other academic health centers due to policy issues in public health programs. Nearly every challenge to academic infrastructure is magnified by the necessity to couple the academic programs to direct service providing situations. Because of its mission and funding sources, UMB faces unique opportunities and challenges.

Key Goals and Strategies

The key goals and strategies articulated more fully in our campus and school-based strategic plans have been arranged and summarized here to match the USM goals.

Goal I

USM academic programs will evolve to meet the changing educational needs of a growing and increasingly diverse undergraduate and graduate student population and will enhance the quality of life for all Maryland citizens.

Continue to evolve and maintain competitive edge as a center of excellence in the life and health sciences, law and social work

• Complete capital plan to include law/social work facility, HSF II, the new dental school, the pharmacy school addition, and renovations to the nursing school, Davidge Hall, and Howard Hall.
• Continue to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and staff; provide competitive compensation; provide professional development opportunities in line with changing needs.
• Conduct public relations campaign targeted to promote quality and recruit and retain outstanding students.
• Secure support to propel PhD programs toward research and academic excellence.

Respond to the State's critical need for health and human services professionals by increasing access to high quality professional education and training

• Enhance recruitment and improve the quality of life for students on campus
• Continue to explore feasibility/ funding options for constructing residence hall/student center
• Focus on alleviating professional shortages, particularly in pharmacy, nursing and social work, and in underserved areas of the State.
• Achieve competitive funding of school-based dental residencies.
• Work with state and federal policy makers, industry and private philanthropists to provide enhanced student financial aid.
• Enhance asynchronous and distance learning opportunities, using IT and via offering programs in regional centers, particularly in nursing and social work.
• Continue to support Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) to provide health services to rural Marylanders and to promote interdisciplinary learning.
• Expand continuing education opportunities to update skills of practicing professionals.

Goal II

USM research and scholarship will position Maryland as a national leader in science, technology and other key areas, providing the knowledge and infrastructure to ensure the State's continued economic growth, sustainable development and international competitiveness.

Conduct internationally recognized research and scholarship in the life and health sciences, law and social work that fosters social and economic development

• Initiate and/or expand specialized programs in genomics, environmental studies, cancer and other specialized programs in health and law as needs and opportunities arise
• Expand efforts to increase the number of institutional training grants.
• Enhance quality and quantity of grants submission and administration; promote interdisciplinary and interschool submissions; expand information flow on research opportunities.
• Expand staffing and services to enhance identification and protection of intellectual property and transfer of technologies.
• Enhance infrastructure and market clinical trials and promote participation in trials.

Continue to increase fund raising and entrepreneurial activities to enhance support for education, research and service programs on and off campus, and to foster economic development

• Continue to expand public-private partnerships to enhance the professional schools.
• Reestablish the University of Maryland, Baltimore Foundation. Expand fund raising activities to enhance annual giving and endowments. Work with State policy makers to fund fully the Private Donor Incentive Fund.
• Work to expand philanthropic support for the President's Initiative Fund as a source of seed money for technology development
• Work closely with federal, state and local agencies such as NIH, DBED, the Baltimore City Economic Development Corporation and TEDCO to identify public and private sources of seed funding for business start-ups.

Goal III

The USM will achieve its legislative mandate of national eminence and its fundamental mission to serve the public good while carefully managing growth and developing System resources.

Provide public service in all sectors and geographic regions of Maryland, and clinical care within our catchment areas

• Complete implementation of accurate reporting systems to track public service activities; evaluate cost/benefit of these activities; publicize results.
• Increase involvement in child development programs in the community and in the K-12 schools, and participate actively in K-16 activities.
• Implement teleoncology/telehealth services in at least two sites.
• Improve access of poor children to health care (including dental care).
• Reduce morbidity and mortality from cancer (including oral cancer) in Maryland through research, education, early detection and treatment, and smoking cessation programs.
• Continue to play leadership role in Westside Development and in Empower Baltimore.
• Expand law and social work outreach programs; obtain external funds to support expansion.

Improve information technology, libraries and management infrastructure to increase efficiency, enhance accountability and respond to pressures in the health care industry

• Generate internal and external support for funding needed improvements in technology as identified in the UMB IT Plan; complete implementation of Student Information System.
• Invest in appropriate standardized financial management and HR information systems across campus.
• Modernize information management systems in the schools to support both academic and research programs and patient/clinical care operations.
• Complete implementation of Mission Based Budgeting (MBB) in medical school; begin implementation of MBB in dental school; evaluate implementing the MBB process in other schools.
• Continue to reallocate resources in line with programmatic needs.