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UMB President Reviews Actions to Promote Safety, Widen Collaboration |
 Jay A. Perman MD, president of
the University of Maryland,
Baltimore (UMB), urged members of the University community to avoid
talking and texting on cellphones while walking on campus. "You make
yourself a target," he told those gathered during his Q&A session
on Jan. 22.
The session, held in the auditorium of the University of Maryland School of
Nursing, also included a review of developments related to
the initiative University of Maryland: MPowering the State.
On the subject of safety, Perman held up his own wallet to drive home a
point. By displaying a phone, someone might as well be holding out a
wallet to a would-be robber given the "very lucrative market" that has
developed for stolen phones, he said.
Of nine robberies that occurred on the UMB campus during 2012, eight
involved smart phones or cellphones. "We're a data-driven campus," he
said, explaining the recent push to improve safety by curtailing public
use of phones. Signs have been posted across campus, and people are
asked to speak out when they see colleagues and classmates start to
talk or text on the street.
"I need everybody's help," Perman told the group, going on to discuss
more broadly the ways the University is bolstering public safety
through increased resources for campus security.
UMB Police Chief Antonio Williams, MS, said 166 crimes occurred on campus during 2012,
four more than in 2011.
Of those incidents, 140 were thefts, and he urged people to be smart
about leaving laptops and other valuables out in the open for the
taking.
Williams urged people to be more alert to their surroundings, to wear
their University identification badges so that strangers would be
easier to notice, and to use the police escort service. "Bother us,
please," he said, encouraging people to notify police of suspicious
activity or to request an officer to escort students and staff to their
destinations.
University faculty, staff, and students can call for a police escort by
dialing 410-706-6882. Walking escorts within the campus area are
available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Williams also reviewed the steps the University is taking to increase
resources and promote safety. Perman recently described some of
the details in a statement.
Williams also suggested those seeking information about crime and
tactics may visit the Web
page of the UM Police Force.
Perman also presented a general overview of progress on the University
of Maryland: MPowering the State
initiative, UMB's pioneering and structured collaboration with the
University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP).
- UM Ventures, which combines the technology
transfer/commercialization functions of the two universities, is an
effort to take discoveries and innovations from campus laboratories to
the marketplace. James L. Hughes, MBA, has been named director of UM
Ventures, but is continuing in his capacity as UMB's chief enterprise
and economic development officer and vice president.
- The Center for Health-Related Informatics and BioImaging will
have space in the Health
Sciences and Human Services Library at UMB. The new center combines
advanced computing resources at UMCP with clinical data and biomedical
expertise at UMB. It could soon revolutionize the efficiency and
effectiveness of health care in the state of Maryland and beyond,
Perman said.
- The Center of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation
(CERSI) is a partnership of the School of Pharmacy at
UMB and the A. James Clark School of Engineering at College Park.
CERSI involves students as well as faculty and is funded by a $3 million
grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to upgrade and
modernize regulatory sciences.
- Leadership of both campuses and the University of Maryland
Cooperative Extension Service have formed a partnership with the
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene called the Institute
for a Healthiest Maryland. It emphasizes the study and learning about
links between obesity and health and will be focusedý in rural
counties, said Perman. The institute is supported by a $10 million
grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Perman said that the two campuses are continuing their joint
competitive Seed Grant Program for research. It fosters teams of
investigators crossing disciplinary boundaries and campuses,
establishes research foci capable of resulting in preliminary data
relevant to future public health improvements and potential
commercialization, and fosters collaborations between junior and senior
investigators.
- Accreditation is being sought for a collaborative school of
public health, which will combine the strengths of the School of Public
Health in College Park with the Department of Epidemiology and Public
Health at the School of
Medicine in Baltimore. "From a student perspective that will be
very beneficial," Perman said of a combined Master of Public Health
program at each campus.
- He also said that MPowering
the State includes shared use of the libraries across the two
campuses.
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| Posting Date: 01/23/2013 |
| Contact Name: Patricia Fanning |
| Contact Phone: 410-707-7946 |
| Contact Email: pfanning@umaryland.edu |
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