Ehrlich: This is 'glory year for College Park'

ANNAPOLIS— Harnessing energy from last Saturday’s men’s basketball game against Duke, high rollers from the state, university and Board of Regents convened in the capital yesterday to show their support for the university while making subtle pleas for higher education funding at the annual Terrapin Pride Day.

Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) expressed excitement about the Terps’ overtime win, but added it is only a piece of the bigger powerhouse that is the university.

“Sometimes we tend to focus on athletics,” Ehrlich said. “That’s fun and important, but is only a part of [the university]. Academics, communication and competition for admission add to the big picture.”

Reflecting the air of optimism surrounding state higher education funding in this year’s budget, which presents a much less abysmal picture than in previous years, Ehrlich labeled this “the glory year for College Park.”

Ehrlich’s presence at Terrapin Pride Day — his first appearance at the event since his election — marked the continued nurturing of a bond between university students and the governor. The relationship had been strained since former Student Government Association president Tim Daly named Ehrlich “Public Enemy No. 1.”

Aaron Kraus, the current SGA president, said the relationship between the university and the state was nonexistent in Ehrlich’s first year, adversarial in his second and is now “warming.”

“We’ve seen the start of a reversal of policy in Annapolis, even in the past year,” Kraus said. “We have come up from the bottom, and we’re not at the top yet, but we’re working our way there.”

Likewise, university President Dan Mote said he was pleased to see Ehrlich at the event, pointing to the Governor’s turtle-shaped lapel pin.

“Governor Ehrlich told me he wears that pin at least three days a week,” Mote said. “There are a lot of institutions in this state, and to see him wear that says a lot.”

Speakers at the event also honed in on the importance of the university in the state’s economic engine.

“Our university is the most important asset the state has in the determination of its future,” Mote said.

Several speakers praised the university’s two recent $30 million endowments as examples of progress, saying Mote and other administrators were fundamental in elevating the university’s status.

University alumnus and Under Armour founder Kevin Plank also spoke, recounting stories of early entrepreneurial success at the university and saying those experiences gave him his “roots.”

He said his story is a testimony to the university’s link to the economy and personal achievement.

“These [students] are the investment,” he said. “The dollars are well worth it.”