With new members for the 2015-16 year, the University System of Maryland’s Board of Regents is beginning to lay down a road map of what it hopes to accomplish.
University system Chancellor Robert Caret said the new members of the board will be beneficial in accomplishing the board’s goals, which include increasing graduation rates and establishing new research centers. These goals are modeled largely after the system’s Powering Maryland Forward 2020 plan, Caret said.
“If you look at the primary goals in that plan, like college completion, good stewardship of resources to develop the trust we need within the public and the state, high quality, and the economy — those are some of the things that are high on our agenda,” he said. “We believe embracing that plan … is the right way to go.”
Specific objectives include helping Maryland achieve its 55 percent college degree completion goal and the “creation of 325 new companies and five internationally recognized research centers of excellence by 2020” to build the state’s competitiveness, according to the system’s website.
The system’s institutions have a four-year college completion rate of 43 percent as of 2010, according to a system document.
The 17-member board is operating this year with new additions, including two prior board members and a student regent from the University of Baltimore.
Gov. Larry Hogan appointed the new board members — Robert Neall, Robert Rauch, prior members James Brady and Robert Pevenstein, and student regent Sydney Comitz — on Feb. 20. Dr. Michelle Gourdine was appointed in April to complete an unfinished term.
“Governor Hogan chose experienced, professional individuals who are the most qualified and committed to carrying out the educational mission of our state’s top public colleges and universities, while also keeping them on the right track financially,” said Erin Montgomery, Hogan’s press secretary.
There is a possibility the governor will appoint three more members for next year as well.
Caret applauded the newest appointments to the board, noting they all bring considerable expertise to the table.
“I think the governor has done a good job in terms of looking at the credentials of the individuals that he’s putting on the board,” Caret said. “On a board you’d like to have a mix of backgrounds: some from the financial sector, some from perhaps the industrial sector, technology, pharmaceuticals, and bio and life sciences.”
Gourdine said she often looks at issues facing the board from the lenses of a parent and a physician.
“I am a parent of two students who are currently in college in the system. … And as a physician, I understand that education plays a huge role in the quality of life of all individuals,” Gourdine said. “Knowing all of that, I think it’s wonderful to have the opportunity to serve on the Board of Regents.”
Other regents, such as Brady, Hogan’s transition chief and former secretary of business and economic development secretary, and Neall, a former state senator and Hogan’s budget adviser, also have prior government experience that will help the board better connect with the government, Caret said.
“In our role, we need everyone to want to support us, and the more people that can talk to the governor and the legislature to support us, the better off we are,” Caret said. “[They] all bring that to the table.”
Sydney Comitz, a second-year law student at the University of Baltimore, said she is especially eager to bring a strong student voice to the board.
“When anyone asks me, ‘What do the students think of this?’ I think it’s one of the funniest questions they can ask me, because the students think 500 things about that,” Comitz said. “So I really hope to be very representative and bring the diversity of thought to the table, even though I’m only one person.”
The next board meeting will be Sept. 18 at Coppin State University.