Message from the President

Dear colleagues and friends,

Our University has achieved many wonderful things in its illustrious history. Still, I believe the University’s greatest achievements are in its future. We need a strategic plan to assist us in reaching our collective goals. This plan cannot be the staid effort that we envision when we hear the term “strategic plan.” This plan must bring our strengths and values together to make us greater than the sum of our parts. This will require an effort that is broadly inclusive, engaging our faculty, staff, students, partners, and communities. We need an innovative forward-thinking plan to ensure that the University reaches its full potential as leaders in higher education, research, service, and community engagement. This must be an action-oriented plan that directs us for the next five years and shapes our future for 10 years. This plan must also ensure that we are financially secure and accountable as we achieve our University’s goals.

We have charged a Planning Committee to develop the plan by soliciting broad input, thinking broadly, considering innovative ideas about where we need to be and how we get there. I have asked Pete Gilbert, vice president for planning and accountability, and Stephen Bartlett, MD, professor and chair, Department of Surgery in the School of Medicine, to serve as co-chairs, in leading this vital effort. The Planning Committee will build a strong, innovative plan that positions the University to be a leader in our missions and in our community.

This website will contain all the latest news and developments on the planning process and the plan itself. I encourage you to visit it often to share your ideas and to stay connected.

The landscape of higher education is changing, and we must adapt if we are to be leaders in real-world thinking and worldwide reach. This is an exciting and dynamic time, and I am thrilled that we are facing it together.

Jay A. Perman, MD
President, University of Maryland, Baltimore