Dear Friends and Colleagues,

I hope you made the best of a rainy summer and are having a great start to your fall. This summer at the USM, we officially welcomed two new university presidents - Salisbury President Charles Wight and University of Maryland Eastern Shore President Heidi Anderson.  President Wight and President Anderson have both been embracing their new roles and their new universities. 

	Dr. Heidi M. Anderson

In our last edition of LeaderNotes, we introduced President Wight, who has been spending his first months at Salisbury University on a listening tour visiting students, faculty, and staff. I would like to take this time to introduce Dr. Heidi Anderson, who became the 16th president of UMES on September 1. Anderson comes to UMES from Texas A&M University, Kingsville, where she served as Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2015-2017. Anderson plans to host "Listen-Learn-Lead" town halls, in which students, faculty, and staff are invited to share their experiences and wishes. We are pleased to have Dr. Anderson on board at the USM. Read more about Dr. Anderson here.

This summer, we also welcomed a new staff member to our team at the Foundation, Chad Mitchell. Chad joined the investment staff as Senior Investment Analyst - Private Markets in July. Chad comes to us from the Teachers' Retirement System of Illinois. As Senior Investment Analyst at the Foundation, Chad primarily focused on the Foundation's Private Markets portfolio where he was responsible for the sourcing, due diligence and monitoring of investments across buyout, growth equity, venture capital and various other illiquid strategies.  

We are sad to announce that our Chief Operating Officer, Bill Wojcik, left the Foundation at the end of September to join a Pittsburgh-based company that implements financial and operational systems for manufacturing companies. The move means that Bill will no longer be a "super commuter," traveling home to Pennsylvania on weekends to spend time with his family. Throughout his seven years at the Foundation, Bill completely revamped and modernized our business operations, effectively led our Audit and Budget and Finance committees, and worked to improve Advance, our alumni donor database consortium. We congratulate him on his new position and will greatly miss him. We are pleased that Roy Hossler, Senior Staff Accountant, agreed to serve as Interim COO. 

I hope you are enjoying the start of fall and as always, please contact me at raley@usmd.edu or 301-445-1941 with any questions or comments. 

Sincerely,

Leonard R. Raley

In September, Salisbury University received a $50,000 gift from RSM, an audit, tax, and consu lting service focused on the middle market, and Pat Tracy, a long-time supporter of SU's Accounting and Legal Studies Department. The gift will benefit students in the Perdue School of Business through scholarships. Read more.

On September 23, Montgomery County residents attended the Leggett Legacy Forward event in North Bethesda, celebrating Ike and Catherine Leggett's commitment to higher education. The event was also the culmination of their effort to establish the Ike and Catherine Leggett Scholarship, which is a legacy gift that will serve the county in perpetuity and will benefit students in the Achieving Collegiate Excellence and Success (ACES) program. To date, nearly $1.7 million has been raised and the Leggetts vow to achieve $2 million for the scholarship. Read more.

The University of Maryland, College Park's Philip Merrill College of Journalism announced in August that they are the recipients of a $3 million gift from the Scripps Howard Foundation. The gift will be distributed to the college over three years and will establish a Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, as part of a full $6 million investment. The other half of the investment will go towards establishing a center at Arizona State University. The center will house a multidisciplinary, graduate-level program that will train students through hands-on, investigative journalism. UMCP was chosen for this gift due to its prestigious journalism program.  Read more.

	President Breaux with Maguire scholarship recipients

In August, Bowie State University announced its partnership with the Maguire Foundation, a nonprofit that provides scholarships to students in need. The partnership was established after two recent high school graduates from Pennsylvania received full, four-year scholarships to attend BSU through a $100,000 gift from the Maguire Foundation. The funding also establishes the Maguire Scholars Program at the university, which will allow BSU to provide four-year scholarships to as many as three students per year from the southeastern Pennsylvania region. Read more.

USM News Briefs

In July, UMUC won the SC Awards 2018 Professional Award for Best Cybersecurity Higher Education Program. The award, from SC Magazine, recognizes UMUC for having the best cybersecurity higher education program. SC Magazine praised UMUC's challenging curriculum, strong student outcomes, and online resources for students. Read more.

Frostburg State University will offer a physician assistant master's degree program at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown. The program is a result of the requests of local and state health care leaders who asked FSU in 2013 to develop a PA program that would attract students who want to work and live in Western Maryland and its surrounding areas. Read more.

Towson University renovated the former TU

 Marriott Hotel this summer, and converted it into The Residences at 10 West Burke Avenue. The renovation of the 15-floor building added 200 beds to campus housing. Towson University is meeting demands for student housing through projects such as this--a record number of freshmen enrolled to attend the university this fall. Read more.

Hrabowski, Brady and Gira Honored at Maryland Humanities Anniversary

This summer, Maryland Humanities celebrated its 45th anniversary and honored UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski, Chair of the Board of Regents James Brady, and President Emerita of FSU Catherine Gira. The three honorees were celebrated for their support and commitment to the humanities in Maryland. Hrabowski, Brady, and Gira spoke at the event on the value and role the humanities have had in their lives and in their roles as leaders. Read more.

Executive Director Phoebe Stein, James Brady, Catherine Gira, and Freeman Hrabowski

USM Vice Chancellor Ellen Herbst Recognized by Baltimore Sun

USM Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Ellen Herbst has been recognized by the Baltimore Sun as a Woman to Watch in 2018. Herbst has been with the USM for a year, during which she has led projects such as the $33 million Workforce Development Initiative and has worked on developing a sustainable, long-term model for the USM's regional higher education centers. Prior to joining the USM, Herbst worked in the private sector and the federal government as an assistant secretary for administration and chief financial officer in the Commerce Department.

Bowie State University Appoints Brent Swinton as VP for Institutional Advancement

In June, BSU announced the appointment of Brent Swinton to the position of vice president for institutional advancement. He comes to the USM from Advancement Project, where he was the managing director of development. Prior to this position, Swinton worked at the Children's Defense Fund where he was a senior philanthropy officer. He also served as assistant vice president for institutional advancement at Notre Dame of Maryland University and senior director of advancement services at Howard University. At BSU, Swinton will build comprehensive fundraising and alumni relations operations to secure support for strategic institutional goals. 

Frostburg State University Appoints Al Delia as VP for Regional Development and Engagement 

FSU has appointed Al Delia as vice president for Regional Development and Engagement (RDE), a new position and office at the university. At FSU, RDE will integrate university resources with regional partners in Western Maryland to help communities and companies be competitive and meet the challenges of economic and community development. Delia serves as the primary contact for partners to access FSU's intellectual capital and resources that may address regional opportunities or challenges. He comes to FSU from the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, where he served as director of the Office of Health Access.

TU President Kim Schatzel Recognized at Fort McHenry

In August, President Schatzel  and Towson University were recognized for their efforts in the Baltimore region. At the annual event, Schatzel was named an honorary colonel of the Fort McHenry Guard. Schatzel and TU were recognized for the BTU (Baltimore and Towson University) initiative, which elevates the work TU performs with partners in Greater Baltimore. Activities performed under BTU include community-based research, economic development, outreach events, health promotion, and service learning, among other initiatives. 

UB President Schmoke Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

President Kurt Schmoke received the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Baltimore District Council of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) on October 4 at the Winslow Parker Metal Building. Schmoke was recognized for his contributions as an elected official, educator, and lawyer, and his commitment to development in the Baltimore community and the nation. Kim Clark, ULI Baltimore District Council Chair noted Schmoke's emphasis on community revitalization in areas ranging from real estate development to literacy.