During its recently concluded legislative session, the Maryland General Assembly voted to provide the University of Maryland with $71 million for campus infrastructure projects and $3.5 million for public health programs, University of Maryland President Darryll Pines announced Friday.
In a campuswide email, Pines wrote the infrastructure funding will go toward campus construction projects in the university’s capital budget. The projects include building a new chemistry building, completing the public policy school building and planning a new interdisciplinary engineering building.
The public health funding will go toward hiring new social data science and public health faculty members in this university’s public health school. The funding is part of a $23.4 million supplemental budget for public health programs in the University System of Maryland.
The assembly also voted to provide funding for the university system’s E-nnovation initiative, through which the state matches private funds raised for endowed chairs at Maryland universities.
[The Maryland General Assembly adjourned this week. Here’s what you need to know.]
The state legislature also voted to grant full-time state employees — including those at this university — a $1,000 bonus, Pines wrote.
“I believe this bonus is well deserved,” he wrote.
The assembly also passed several other bills that will impact university community members.
One bill allows student athletes at public state universities to be compensated for their name, image and likeness starting July 2023. Another bill allows this university to build on its partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and enhance academic programming and economic development.
“We are grateful to Governor Hogan, the General Assembly and staff for their dedication to make this a productive legislative session addressing important issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, police reform, as well as K-12, higher education and more,” Pines wrote in the email.
