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Chancellor Kirwan Statement Regarding President Obama's Budget

"I applaud President Obama's proposed 2012 budget for its support of higher education and research. The President's decision to sustain the maximum Pell grant means that our neediest students will get the support they require to pursue their dreams of a college degree.  The increases in research funding and the support for producing more science and mathematics teachers for our schools are vitally important if, as the President has said, we want to "win the future" as our legacy for our children and grandchildren.

"The President's proposed $123 million in grants to spur innovation in teaching and learning, drawing upon recent advances in cognitive sciences and new technologies is also most welcome.  We have found in Maryland that using these strategies to redesign curriculum and course delivery can both improve learning outcomes and lower the cost of instruction.  Perhaps most important of all is the proposed investment of $1.25 billion to create College Completion Incentive Grants, encouraging reforms in states' higher education systems to spur increased degree completion.  This program offers real hope for aligning state and federal investments in higher education and moving the nation toward the President's ambitious goal of once again leading the world in college completion by the end of this decade.

"At the University System of Maryland, we are making college completion our watchword because the future of our state, and our citizens, demands it.  For the U.S. to be a leader in the things that matter, it must be a leader in educating its citizens. The President's proposed budget provides the substantive support needed to move us toward this lofty but vitally important goal. "

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu

University System of Maryland
3300 Metzerott Road
Adelphi, MD 20783-1690, USA
301.445.2740