We invest in people, their well-being and advancement, and the conditions that support their ability to fully participate and thrive in our community, state, and world.
In a bold effort to increase affordability and access to the state’s flagship institution of higher education, the University of Maryland launched a new investment in need-based financial aid providing up to $20 million annually for students from the state of Maryland.
Terrapin Commitment
The Terrapin Commitment program is the largest single-year investment in need-based scholarships in the university’s history. The program will begin in January 2023 and ensures that tuition and fees are fully covered for Pell eligible, in-state students, who are enrolled full time and have unmet financial need. The program will dramatically reduce the financial barriers to obtaining a higher education for Marylanders.
Several significant increases in compensation recognize the value of the UMD workforce and the efforts of the talented faculty and staff who power the university’s academic, research and service missions.
Salaries and Student Stipends
In 2022, with support from the state, UMD boosted salary/wage outlays for employees by over $80 million. Over 8,000 UMD employees received two cost-of-living adjustments and two merit raises, resulting in an average salary increase of over 9%. Further investments have raised the minimum stipend for its 2,700 graduate students by 26.4% in the past year, and by 51.6% over the last four years. Meanwhile, 3,700 hourly student workers, primarily undergraduates, will benefit from the recently announced $15 minimum wage on campus, a 20% jump in pay set to take effect several years ahead of the state’s timeline.
Faculty Advancement at Maryland for Inclusive Learning and Excellence (FAMILE) is a diversity initiative aimed at increasing faculty diversity by adding over 100 new tenured or tenure-track faculty in departments and units across campus based on demonstrated diversity objectives.
With many employees taking on extra responsibilities to care for loved ones during the pandemic, providing additional resources for family support, child care and elder care services became a priority for the university.
Employees' Family Care Needs
In early 2021, University Human Resources launched a suite of family care benefits for faculty, staff and graduate assistants. The cornerstone is the Care@Work program by Care.com, which provides eligible individuals with access to a free premium Care.com membership and two options for subsidized backup care for children or adults/elders. Employees can also access a comprehensive web page with information on campus child care resources, elder care and social networks for parents and guardians.
The university is actively seeking to improve the work life of its staff and support an inclusive community of excellence where all can fully participate and succeed.
Investing in Staff
Over the summer, they were invited to offer ideas for improving work life at UMD.
Data from these activities are being analyzed and will be shared with campus leadership in mid-October, and then more broadly with the campus community. The Invest in People and Communities Pillar Committee will develop recommendations and action items based on this valuable community input.
Five vibrant, welcoming cultural centers are being designed to uplift, affirm and honor the diverse histories and experiences of students who identify with the Latinx, Native and Indigenous, disability, bi- and multiracial, and Asian Pacific Islander Desi American communities.
New Cultural Centers
They will be located in Cole Field House, with opening anticipated in summer 2024. A steering committee includes a cross-section of student leaders, faculty and staff representing the communities being served, and an advisory committee consists of MICA, Stamp Student Union and Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs leadership.
Efforts are underway to increase staffing and redefine the delivery of mental health services for students, including developing a rapid access treatment team and a care management team, minimizing barriers to care for marginalized communities, implementing a unified and flexible model of treatment, and enhancing wellness resources.
Mental Health
In addition, consultations with students have resulted in a new counseling services mandatory fee. The Campus Mental Health Coalition was created, and the T.E.R.P.S. (Training to Evaluate, Respond to, and Prevent Suicide) for Terps program launched in Fall 2022. A mental health task force is examining what mental health support currently exists, identifying gaps and recommending next steps in a report due April 1, 2023.
The university seeks to align faculty workload; policies and procedures for appointment, promotion and tenure; and appointment, evaluation and promotion of professional-track faculty with its commitments to people, excellence and diversity, equity and inclusion. The recommendations gathered from hundreds of faculty members at seven Provost’s Dialogues and the work of several task forces will be written into faculty evaluation and workload policy revisions.
Launched in 2021, this innovative onboarding program and its follow-on orientations in academic colleges introduce new faculty, students and staff to what it means to be TerrapinSTRONG: to engage diversity, acknowledge the university’s history, show Terrapin pride and take action to advance equity, inclusion and social justice. Participants complete the program by identifying three ways they will take action to learn more about our history, engage in a tradition, and/or join a community on campus.
Goal 1
Goal 1
Lead the nation in living a commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion in all we do.
Objectives
Goal 2
Goal 2
Become a connected, coordinated, and effective community of care that supports the success and well-being of students, faculty, and staff.
Objectives
Goal 3
Goal 3
Align evaluations, rewards, and incentives with our goals and values.
Objectives
FEARLESSLY FORWARD IN PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE AND IMPACT FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD: THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND STRATEGIC PLAN is a living document and will evolve and grow as we do. Please visit this site to follow our progress as we move fearlessly forward.