We partner to advance the public good

The Discovery District is fostering research and industry partnerships, supporting small businesses, and nurturing the growth of next-generation technology ventures. It encompasses cutting-edge startups, longstanding firms, co-working space, a public charter school, stylish eateries, a top-flight hotel, easy connections via the College Park Metro Station, and much more.

The Discovery District is also the headquarters for the Maryland Small Business Development Center (SBDC), the DOD APEX Accelerator, and the Mid-Atlantic Veterans Business Outreach Center (VBOC).

In addition, a transformative new mixed-use development named Aviation Landing will enable the research park to attract more ventures, startups, and small businesses to the community. This 1.3 million-square-foot project will include housing units, outdoor space, and retail and commercial research and innovation facilities.

The Do Good Campus Fund supports efforts by faculty, staff and student groups to reimagine learning in our classrooms and communities with Do Good learning principles: experiential, inclusive, innovative, social impact-oriented and in service of humanity. The fund awards faculty and staff who are looking to enhance academic or co-curricular programs focused on social impact, as well as student groups who are looking to enhance their social impact.

In support of our Do Good Campus expansion, the Do Good Campus Strategic Leadership Council is a group of senior administrators from colleges, schools and units across campus. The Council members support the operation of the Do Good Campus Fund, support students in their unit to access growing Do Good Institute program opportunities, and surface new collaborative opportunities to advance our Do Good Campus. The Council members also manage the nomination and awarding of Provost's Do Good Innovator Awards to celebrate the social impact already being made by faculty and staff across campus. The awards recognize excellence by members of the campus community who create, nurture, expand and amplify social impact through education, programs and research, both in and outside the classroom.

The Do Good Institute inspires and equips Terps to apply their passions and ideas to make a positive impact, now. DGI offers hands-on experiences, funding opportunities, engaging curriculum, and effective programs that prepare Terps with the skills, experiences and resources to Do Good throughout their lives.

Other Do Good efforts and investments include the Do Good Challenge, Accelerator Fellows, Endowed Professorships, and Impact Interns.

The Center will ensure that community engagement is woven into the very fabric, values, and identity of the institution. The new Center will coordinate with current units in the Division of Academic Affairs, Division of Student Affairs, Division of Administration, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Teaching & Learning Transformation Center, and other units across campus to support existing activities as well as cultivate new opportunities for community-engaged scholarship, instruction, and service aligned with our mission as a public, land-grant, research-intensive university.

Functionally, the Center will provide strategic vision and leadership for UMD community engagement; develop and support partnerships locally and globally; offer training and development opportunities on community engagement best practices for faculty, staff, and students; integrate community engagement into reward and recognition systems; and support logistics and collaboration across units and divisions.

Enrollment Management continues to make strides in increasing access and strengthening its pipeline from Baltimore City and Prince George’s County. These efforts include expanding staff to continue the critical work in this area, enhancing the Maryland Ascent Program (MAP) and increasing contact and communication with admitted students from these areas.

Long-term strategic partnerships with Prince George’s County Public Schools and the College of Education’s Center for Educational Innovation and Improvement include, among other resources:

• The President’s Virtual High School Course: Calculus in PGCPS

• The Learning Recovery Networked Improvement Community Initiative tackles problems of practice related to mathematics achievement, social and emotional learning, and learning recovery

• The EdD in School System Leadership with cohorts of PGCPS principals, teacher leaders, and administrators studying equity, continuous improvement, and leadership in an innovative, job-embedded doctoral program

The MPower Professorship award includes funding to support professors’ salaries or supplemental research activities and is part of the MPowering the State initiative, which leverages the unique strengths of both institutions.

The inaugural cohort of researchers was selected in November 2021 and new cohorts are announced yearly. Over $1 Million MPower funds have been disbursed. Faculty receiving the award have, so far, represented the fields of arts and humanities, behavioral and social sciences, computer science, dentistry, engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and public health.