USM Education Policy Committee to Meet
September 16
The University System of Maryland (USM)
Board of Regents’ Committee on Education Policy will
meet in public session on Thursday, September 16 at 9
a.m. in the Terrace Lounge of the Baltimore Student Union
at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, 621 West
Lombard St.
The meeting will begin with a joint public session with
the Regents’ Committee on Finance, during which two
items will be reviewed:
- A USM-wide plan for improving the quality of
Maryland’s public school teachers. The plan
is designed to forge new partnerships between
K-12 teachers and faculty at USM institutions.
- The USM Mission Statement, developed by an ad hoc
committee comprising representatives of the USM
institutions and headquarters staff. Unlike the
institutional mission statements mandated by the
recent governance legislation and currently under
review by the USM and the Maryland Higher
Education Commission (MHEC), the statement is not
required by law and does
not follow the format of the institutions’
statements. It also does not require review or
approval by MHEC. It is intended to clarify the
role of the USM in serving the State of Maryland.
The proposed statement reads in part:“The
University System of Maryland aspires to be a
pre-eminent, public system of higher education
for the 21st century. Cognizant of our central
role in providing high quality educational
opportunities for the State of Maryland, we are
dedicated to creating an informed citizenry who
both understand the challenges posed by an
interdependent world and have a commitment to
serve the community. … [T]he USM will strive
to be acknowledged to be among the best higher
education enterprises individually and
collectively….”
Following the joint session with the Finance
Committee, the Education Policy Committee will take a
vote on the USM Mission Statement and consider these
agenda items:
- Annual status report and five-year summary on the
state of agriculture instruction, research and
service in the University System of Maryland,
prepared jointly by the College of Agriculture
and Natural Resources at the University of
Maryland, College Park, and the School of
Agricultural and Natural Sciences at the
University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
- Tentative agenda for the Education Policy
Committee for 1999-2000.
- Update on institutional mission statements,
provided by USM Vice Chancellor for Academic
Affairs Charles Middleton.
Full agenda and background information will be
available at the meeting. Sign language interpreters
and/or other appropriate accommodations for eligible
individuals with disabilities will be provided upon
request. Please call 301/445-2756 (voice) or 301/314-7683
(TTY/ITT) to make special arrangements.
Contact:
Chris Hart
Phone: 301/445-2739
Pager: 301/507-2316
E-mail: chart@usmh.usmd.edu
