On the Road with
USM Chancellor Robert L. Caret

Snapshots from the October 2015 statewide listening tour

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October 14, 2015

Tour Stop: Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art (Salisbury, MD)

Attendees: Salisbury University President Janet Dudley-Eshbach, Jim Perdue, chairman and CEO of Perdue Farms, Alexis DaShield of the Fruitland Community Center, and other leaders from the Salisbury area
Highlights:  President Dudley-Eshbach saluted Chancellor Caret for his consistent attention to the Lower Eastern Shore, noting that already he has made several visits to the region.  

The group emphasized the important role agriculture plays in the area and the need to continue a tone of civility between agricultural and environmental causes.  

The group was moved by the words of Alexis DaShield about the importance of making a difference in children’s lives at very young ages and the potential these youth have if they are supported.

Tour Stop: Wright’s Market and Farm (Mardela Springs, MD)

Attendees: Charles Wright IV, Eastern Shore farmers
Highlights: Chancellor Caret heard some candid concerns about ways the Eastern Shore farming community could receive better support from the University of Maryland Extension agriculture advising service, whose faculty sometimes are taxed by competing demands in their lives as faculty members. One of the farmers in attendance noted, “You have very good people, they’re just hamstrung” by so many demands on their time.

Tour Stop: Gaylord National Resort (Fort Washington, MD)

Attendees: Prince George’s County CEO David Iannucci, Bowie State University President Mickey Burnim, Prince George’s County Human Relations Commission Executive Director Michael Lyles, and Baltimore-Washington Corridor Chamber President/CEO Walt Townshend
Highlights: David Iannucci said the challenge for his office is working to keep in his county, and the state, the companies that are forming from the research breakthroughs at University of Maryland, College Park and Bowie State University.

Chancellor Caret discussed the different pathways students can take toward minimizing the overall cost of attaining a bachelor’s degree.