A Message from Don Riley, Vice President and CIO

As the original 1862 Land Grant institution in Maryland and the only public Carnegie Research I institution in Maryland (until the Carnegie categories changed recently), the University of Maryland plays a unique role in terms of leadership for the State of Maryland. Created by two federal laws known as the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, Land Grant institutions received federal funds "to teach agriculture and the mechanical arts in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes".

Translated into modern language, the Land Grant institutions were given a special role to serve the needs of society, especially for economic development. As a result of this legislation, Land Grant institutions traditionally have focused on core programs in agricultural education and outreach to develop and expand our capacity to feed our nation and others, and on science, engineering, and technology to expand economic development. At the same time, our programs recognize the fundamental need to provide a well-rounded education with grounding in the liberal and fine arts and social sciences. As our economy changes to an Information/Knowledge Economy, the role of the Land Grant institution is also changing to address new societal and economic development needs while still preserving the intent of the Morrill Acts to provide broad access to higher education and play a unique role in the nation's workforce development.

The University of Maryland, as a Flagship, Land Grant, research university, plays a key role in the economic development of the State of Maryland and in making Maryland "the" technology state. In its unique role as a public research university, the University of Maryland has the responsibility to be an innovator for the State in information technology, including research in core technologies and applications as well as using modern technology tools in more engaging, effective ways of active learning. In addition, the university supports the State's economic development through technology transfer and service. This unique "flagship university" role has been recognized by the State as recently as 1999, when the legislature, acting on the recommendations of the Task Force to Study the Governance, Coordination, and Funding of the University System of Maryland, enacted legislation including language that the "State's first priority is the enhancement of the flagship campus, University of Maryland, College Park, to achieve national eminence...with programs and faculty nationally and internationally recognized for excellence in research and the advancement of knowledge."

The University of Maryland is engaged in numerous initiatives to support economic development in its role as a public research and Land Grant university. Several examples include:

• In support of the State's economic development, the university is engaged in eMaryland, an initiative to create the most advanced e-business environment in the U.S. (See the article in the Fall 2000 issue of ITforUM for more information about eMaryland - http://www.oit.umd.edu/ITforUM/2000/Fall/emd/).
• As part of its Land Grant mission to train the workforce, the University of Maryland is leading MAITI (Maryland Applied Information Technology Initiative), a multi-university program to double the number of IT graduates from the State's higher education institutions by 2004 to meet the needs of Maryland companies. MAITI also enhances the State's economic development by strengthening IT research and development at Maryland's higher education institutions to enable them to serve the R&D needs of existing Maryland IT companies and to attract new IT companies to the State.
• The University of Maryland is also carrying out its Land Grant mission of providing broad access to higher education by addressing Digital Divide issues. One focus is on expanding access at the university, while the Colleges of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Information Studies, Public Affairs and others are working in various other venues, including a collaboration between the College of Education and the State Department of Education.
• Various programs also are involved in international development. In most of these, IT plays an important role in supporting these projects and collaborations. In others, IT and its role in economic development are the primary focus of the interaction.