Univ. debates UMB merger in forum

Members of the university community were presented yesterday with their first opportunity to weigh in on a potential merger between this campus and the University of Maryland, Baltimore at a forum hosted by university administrators.

About 90 people — fewer than 10 of which were university students — gathered in Stamp Student Union to ask questions and give input to university officials on the proposed merger. Officials from both institutions will ultimately submit a summary of their studies to the Board of Regents, which will then be presented to the state General Assembly in December. Officials said yesterday the input of students, faculty and staff will be vital in deciding to move forward with a merger.

Comments and questions ranged from faculty pledging their support to students questioning the potential impact on their educational experience and financial expenses. University President Wallace Loh hosted and moderated the forum while Provost Ann Wylie, Vice President for University Relations Brodie Remington and Office of Technology Commercialization Director Gayatri Varma — all of whom chair merger task forces — fielded questions posed throughout the forum.

After University System of Maryland officials developed a study, which was approved by the board in June, the state's top higher education officials created four task forces to study the impact of a merger on areas such as education and research, financial costs and benefits for both universities, technology transfer, promoting research commercialization and national reputation and competitiveness.

State Senate President Mike Miller, who originally proposed merging the two institutions in January, said because the universities have complimentary and non-competing programs, a merger could propel this university to another level of research and education.

"The students will benefit in terms of stature, for one thing," Miller said. "It's a matter of prestige, but it's also a matter of obtaining federal dollars because many of these research grants require collaborative work between [different departments]."

But Donald Langenberg, a former university system chancellor who also served as chancellor of the University of Illinois after two of its campuses merged in 1982, warned university officials that complications can arise from bringing together two large institutions.

"It is possible to merge two such different institutions, but it ain't easy and there are a lot of questions you probably can't think of right now that will come up," he said. "The cultures of those institutions are enormously different. I would guess to accomplish a true merger in such a situation, it will take something between one and two decades. This is a lifetime project for a lot of people at these institutions."

Many of the university's top administrators — including School of Public Health Dean Robert Gold, kinesiology Chairman Brad Hatfield and public policy school Dean Don Kettl — threw their support behind the proposal, noting their respective departments would greatly benefit from collaboration with graduate programs at UMB.

"If you look at strategic locations of both campuses, critical issues lie in boundaries of disciplines we both work in," Kettl said. "The combined institutions have the potential to be an incredible research powerhouse. Merging would be a vast benefit to both of our campuses."

Students at the forum said it was important for both undergraduate and graduate students to engage in discussions surrounding the merger, given how greatly it could impact both research and education.

"I'm a little disappointed [with the student turnout] because I do feel like it's a big issue affecting the campus, so I would think a lot of students would definitely be more interested in what's going on," sophomore biology major David Lieb said. "There's so much to be gained from potential research opportunities, pre-professional programs and collaborations between various departments. There are challenges, but potential gains would make it worthwhile."

While Langenberg declined to say whether he favored a merger, he said it's important for the university to consider multiple options to advance innovation and research.

"It's striking how rapid change has become; the pace is going very, very quickly," he said after the forum. "There's a need to prepare students for lives and careers that will be remarkably different 10 years from now than they are now."

Although Loh has yet to take a public stance on the merger, he said investment in higher education could do more than just expand educational opportunities for students and faculty — it could also lift the state out of an economic recession.

"I don't think there's any project worth undertaking unless it's big, dramatic and complex," Loh said at the forum. "This is a very significant issue for the state regardless of how it comes out. These are difficult, challenging times, and yet, what's going to pull this state out of a recession and this nation out of economic downturn is more investment in research and education."

The Board of Regents will host forums both on this campus and in Baltimore at the end of the month. Once it compiles a final report, which will include feedback from these forums, the board will submit it to the General Assembly by Dec. 15.

abutaleb@umdbk.com