Baltimore, Md. (Nov. 5, 2019) – The University System of Maryland (USM) celebrates this week’s opening of the new Biomedical Sciences and Engineering education facility at the system’s regional higher education center in Montgomery County, the Universities at Shady Grove (USG). A grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony takes place at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 7.
The Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (BSE) education facility is a $175 million project that will allow USG to expand educational offerings and degrees in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). These programs include new offerings from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in life sciences, cybersecurity and engineering; from the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) Clark School of Engineering; and from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) School of Dentistry.
USG is located at 9636 Gudelsky Drive in Rockville. USM Board of Regents Chair Linda Gooden and Chancellor Robert L. Caret will participate in the ceremony.
Established more than 20 years ago, the concept of the USM regional centers is unique nationally. The regional centers are not “satellite” campuses of a single university, but rather conveniently and strategically located sites where multiple universities deliver their most in-demand undergraduate, graduate, professional degree, and certificate programs. The USM maintains two other regional higher education centers: USM Hagerstown in western Maryland and USM at Southern Maryland in St. Mary’s County. USM has broken ground on a new Academic and Innovation Center, an $86 Million, 84,000-square foot academic and research facility that will nearly double USMSM’s educational footprint, create autonomous systems research space, and spur economic activity and job growth.
“A major expansion is also underway at USMSM, as construction is underway on the Academic and Innovation Center NAME building that will greatly expand classroom space and provide testing facilities for drone research conducted by the UMCP Clarks School of Engineering….]
Since its opening in 2000, USG has grown rapidly and increased the number of students served on its campus from an initial cohort of 200 to more than 3,000 today. Approximately 12,000 undergraduate and graduate-level degrees have been awarded by USG’s nine participating universities to students who have attended the campus. Programs are offered at USG by the following nine University System of Maryland universities: University of Maryland, College Park; Bowie State; Salisbury University; University of Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore; UMBC; University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES); and University of Maryland Global Campus.
“The Universities at Shady Grove is a critical, successful, and major component of the higher education landscape in Montgomery County. Having served several years ago on the USG Board of Visitors, it gives me great pride to see this marvelous new facility move from concept to completion,” Gooden said. “Our three regional centers are hubs of innovation and training that extend the reach of the fine institutions in our system—benefitting both students and local businesses. We are grateful to leadership in Annapolis for providing the funding to support this important and unique regional model.”
The BSE is a six-level, 220,000-square-foot facility that will double the footprint of the campus and allow USG to increase enrollment capacity from its current 3,000-plus students to more than 7,500, during the next several years. Its constriction makes it one of the most sustainably sourced laboratory buildings in the region and is on track for LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of certification issued by the U.S. Green Business Council.
An exciting feature of the BSE will be a community dental clinic operated by the School of Dentistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. Equipped with 24 operatory stations, the clinic will provide comprehensive dental care to community patients. Faculty-supervised dental students and dental hygiene students will provide the patient care.
“In many ways this new Biomedical Sciences and Engineering education facility represents the best of the USM regional center model—providing students with access to an affordable education, businesses with innovation partners and a highly trained workforce, and communities with enhancements to the local quality of life,” said USM Chancellor Robert L. Caret. “We are proud to expand this important work in Montgomery County, and greatly appreciate both the state and county leaders who support this vision.”
In this article by UMBC News, the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) is highlighted for the high-impact programs offered on the campus by UMBC and its eight other Maryland university partners. UMBC student, Jackelyn Flores ‘21, is also featured as one of the first students to pursue UMBC’s newest degree in translational life sciences technology (TLST), where she will also get to take advantage of classes in the Biomedical Sciences & Engineering (BSE) facility that just opened today. The BSE is a step toward increasing opportunities for students in programs, like TLST and other in-demand STEMM careers, to further develop their skills with state-of-the-art lab equipment, from liquid chromatography to bioreactors to high-end microscopes.
The full article, published on November 7, 2021, can be found below.
The University of Baltimore College of Public Affairs once again ranked in the top 25 percent of all public affairs schools of its kind in U.S. News & World Report's 2020 edition of the best graduate schools in the nation. The college is ranked #60, climbing four spots from its 2019 ranking.
The rankings are based on peer reviews about program excellence and statistics that measure the quality of a school's faculty, research and students.
"This is our third straight year climbing in the U.S. News rankings. I attribute that rise not only to the strength and distinction of our nationally-accredited Master of Public Administration program, but also to our faculty and their world-class research and scholarship," said Roger Hartley, dean of the College of Public Affairs. "It is an honor to be ranked among prestigious schools that are a mix of Research 1 and private institutions, many much larger than us. This ranking is a testament to the tenacity and grit of our faculty, staff, students and alumni, and I thank them all for contributing to the success and national recognition of our college."
UB tied with equivalent programs at Cleveland State University, CUNY-John Jay College, the Naval Postgraduate School, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the University of North Carolina-Charlotte and the University of Pennsylvania, all in the #60 position.
The full rankings, data and methodologies can be found here.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.
Montgomery County Executive Ike Leggett in February. (WTOP/Kate Ryan)
WASHINGTON — Montgomery County’s outgoing county executive remembers scraping his way through college. Now, he and his wife are helping pay it forward in dollars and cents, so local students can get the support they need to succeed.
Ike Leggett said he has fundraising efforts at his Alexandria, Louisiana community church to thank for his very first college scholarship — all $12 of it.
“At the end of the summer, it raised more money than it ever raised in the history of the church,” Leggett remembers of the fundraiser. “That $37 had to be divided among three students, and we got about $12 apiece.”
Leggett also asked a Louisiana state senator who had given him a resounding “no” at first, but eventually gave in with some persistence.
“Once I realized the benefits of college, I really devoted myself — opened my heart, my arms, my intellect and whatever I could — to devote an effort to make sure I would do well,” he said.
Four degrees later, and many years of service to Montgomery County, Leggett and his wife have established their own fund: The Ike and Catherine Leggett Scholarship.
“This scholarship fund my wife and I are establishing is designed in a way to help those who are underprivileged, those who need resources in order to go to college, either the University of Maryland at Shady Grove or Montgomery College,” Leggett said.
Ike Leggett, who has served three terms as County Executive, announced nearly two years ago that he would not seek a fourth term at the county’s helm.
He and his wife, Catherine, were honored Sunday at the Leggett Legacy Forward event, which was free and held at the Music Center at Strathmore. It also doubled as a fundraiser.
Donations rolled in during the latter portions of the event, via text message and old-fashioned check, which helped meet the $1.7 million goal.
Now, they’re looking to raise an additional $300,000 to meet their new $2 million goal.
The Ike and Catherine Leggett scholarship fund will benefit students throughout Montgomery County who participate in the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success program, also known as ACES, a free program at 14 participating county high schools.
High school students can apply to the program while in 10th grade. They receive support during 11th and 12th grades, while navigating the pathway first through Montgomery College, then a bachelor’s degree at the Universities at Shady Grove.
“We are hoping that it is a scholarship fund that lives on in perpetuity — so clearly we’ll establish an endowment, and clearly there’ll be money that we give every single year to both Montgomery College and to the Universities at Shady Grove,” Catherine said. “And so it’ll be a perpetual scholarship fund” for students in the ACES program “who need that help to get to the four-year college, that four-year university.”
Donations can be made to the scholarship fund through the Montgomery College Foundation, or the Universities at Shady Grove Foundation.
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In this exciting age of science, technology, and innovation, more and more high schoolers, college students, and graduate students are becoming interested in pursuing a career in biotech. But, is the standard science degree (i.e. Biology, Chemistry, and Physics) keeping up with this demand and adequately preparing students for careers in this field? While there is no doubt that having formal scientific training is important, many employers feel that students don’t often graduate with the skills that are sought out by the biotech industry.
This is where the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and Montgomery College have stepped up to the plate! Together, these two institutions have jointly developed a new biotech industry-driven degree program that will be offered at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG) this fall. This new degree, the Bachelor of Science in Translational Life Science Technology (TLST), is designed to prepare students for the exhilarating biotech opportunities of today and tomorrow by combining general learning with real-world applications used by scientists in academic and industry research. BioBuzz recently caught up with Dr. Bill LaCourse, Professor and Dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences at UMBC, to learn more about how the TLST came to be and how it will strengthen biotech as a whole in the BioHealth Capital Region. [READ MORE]
MSAC in partnership with the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) announces the selection of Michael Singer Studio for the new Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Education Building (BSE) at the Rockville campus. When the building opens in 2019, the University System of Maryland’s research universities, University of Maryland, Baltimore, University of Maryland, College Park and University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will offer undergraduate and graduate degree opportunities in healthcare, biosciences, engineering and computational sciences.The BSE will provide state-of-the-art teaching laboratories, active learning classrooms, clinical training facilities, and innovation and product design labs for interdisciplinary student research projects.
Michael Singer Studios was selected through a national Call-to-Artists conducted by MSAC, with over 200 applications received. An artist selection committee comprised of representatives of USG, the building architects and landscape architect, and local art professionals, conducted four rounds of review narrowing the pool to three semi-finalists that were interviewed in person. Michael Singer Studio was selected for their innovative and sustainable approach to projects integrated in the landscape creatively incorporating water.
For the BSE, the proposed artwork site is highly visible both from the student gathering areas inside as well as from exterior spaces – an adjacent boardwalk traversing existing wetlands. Initial community meetings conducted with students, staff and faculty were held in late June and the studio team is currently in the concept development phase. Proposed artwork completion is fall semester 2019.
The project is part of the state’s percent-for-art program - the Maryland Public Art Initiative that integrates public art in state capital construction projects. Public art projects are underway at other University System of Maryland campuses including: University of Baltimore, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and an upcoming call-to-artists is planned for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
ROCKVILLE, Md. (ABC7) — The aging Baby Boomer population is creating a critical need for nurses across the country.
A grant is helping to accelerate the pipeline of students who earn nursing degrees.
Elizabeth Capowski didn't always aspire to become a nurse.
“I'm a personal trainer by trade but I wanted to go deeper,” she says. “I wanted to get in the medical field.”
The senior at the University of Maryland School of Nursing will soon graduate thanks in part to a scholarship provided through the state-funded $200,000 EARN grant.
The grant assists more than 60 Bachelor of Science nursing students over two years.
“Most of the candidates still had family obligations and needed to work while they were in school so we wanted to provide the scholarships to eliminate that stress,” says Ellie Giles of WorkSource Montgomery
The program is a partnership between WorkSource Montgomery, the Healthcare Initiative Foundation, and the Universities at Shady Grove. The ultimate goal is to help meet the demand for nurses in Montgomery County.
“It's expensive to go to school and if we can get the support to go we're going to produce more qualified nurses,: Capowski says.
Employment for nurses is expected to increase 15 percent between now and 2026.
GERMANTOWN, Md. - The biotechnology industry is booming in Montgomery County, and educators want to make sure there will be qualified workers to fill those jobs.
That's why Montgomery College has partnered with the Universities at Shady Grove and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County to offer a new degree program called the Translational Life Sciences Technology program. Students in the program would spend two years at Montgomery College's Germantown campus, and then two years at the Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville.
"The object is for them to get opportunities for the skills, and the education they need for jobs. Jobs that are local, and jobs in industries that we know are growing," said Stewart Edelstein, executive director for the Universities at Shady Grove.
Officials said more than 75 percent of Maryland's biotechnology companies are located in Montgomery County.
A new degree program developed jointly by UMBC and Montgomery College (MC), and soon to be offered at The Universities at Shady Grove (USG), will create opportunities for students of all backgrounds to pursue high-demand careers in the life sciences. The four-year Translational Life Science Technology (TLST) program, which leads to a bachelor of science degree from UMBC, will train students in the fundamentals of biochemistry, cell biology, epidemiology, statistics, lab instrumentation, and biochemical engineering, as well as give students opportunities to develop sought-after skills such as analytical thinking, teamwork, and data evaluation. The TLST program is accepting students now, and courses will begin in fall 2018.
“As the biotechnology industry translates basic research from ‘bench to bedside,’ it needs a well-trained workforce,” says Dean Bill LaCourse, of UMBC’s College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences, within which the TLST program resides. “The TLST program is designed from the ground up to meet that need through a flexible and interdisciplinary approach with intensive industry-inspired laboratory skills training.”
Students begin coursework for the TLST program at Montgomery College, taking classes at the new, state-of-the-art Bioscience Education Center on its Germantown, MD campus for the first two years. Successful completion of that curriculum results in an A.A.S. in biotechnology or other associate’s tracks from Montgomery College.
The Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Education Building at The Universities at Shady Grove in Rockville, MD is scheduled for completion in 2019, and will then host the third and fourth year courses of the TLST program. Both the USG and MC facilities are in the heart of Maryland’s technology corridor and offer well-equipped classrooms and labs where students can master techniques commonly called upon in the biotech industry, such as polymerase chain reaction, gel electrophoresis, gene cloning, mass spectroscopy and chromatography.
The need for workers with these skills is especially great in Maryland, which is one of the top-ranked regions in the nation for its concentration of technology-related jobs. Of the more than 2,300 biotech companies in the state, more than 75 percent are found in Montgomery County, the location of both MC and USG.
“The Universities at Shady Grove is pleased to bring UMBC’s Translational Life Science Technology degree program to Montgomery County,” says Stewart Edelstein, executive director of The Universities at Shady Grove, a regional higher education center in Rockville, MD that hosts courses offered by nine Maryland institutions. “This degree program is the first of its kind in Maryland and is specifically designed to provide the skilled talent needed to support the region’s growing bioscience and biotechnology industry.”
UMBC’s collaboration with Montgomery College adds to the university’s growing list of active partnerships with Maryland community colleges that support the success of Maryland students. “The collaboration between two great institutions, Montgomery College and UMBC, provides a national model for developing a pathway to a bachelor of science degree,” explains Sanjay Rai, senior vice president for academic affairs at Montgomery College. MC has offered A.A.S. degrees in biotechnology and biomanufacturing for more than 20 years, and the new, joint program with UMBC will expand opportunities for students in Montgomery County interested in the field.
“Students will graduate with a combination of ‘know-what’ and ‘know-how’ for in-demand careers,” from developing therapies for disease and next-generation materials, to inventing and refining wearable sensors and cutting-edge forensics techniques, says LaCourse, “supporting the economic growth of Maryland and offering students a novel STEM career path to a bright future.”
Image: Erin Green, assistant professor of biological sciences at UMBC, and Khoa Tran, a Ph.D. student in her lab, examine experimental plates. Photo by Marlayna Demond ’11 for UMBC.
Program Director, Dr. Wendy Stickle, from University of Maryland, College Park's Criminology and Criminal Justice program at the Universities at Shady Grove, was interviewed by mymcmedia, regarding human trafficking in Montgomery County.
