University of Maryland Joins Nationwide Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity

COLLEGE PARK, M.d.-- The University of Maryland recently joined nearly 40 institutions to launch the Taskforce on Higher Education and Opportunity.

The Taskforce brings together leaders from across American higher education, including public, private, two-year, and four-year institutions that represent 2.5 million students nationwide. Taskforce members are focused on three key goals: ensuring student success despite widespread financial difficulty, partnering with local communities, and reimagining how higher education is delivered.

Schools will take individual and collective action to meet the shared mission of the Taskforce through new goals set regularly. Member institutions are now launching the first round of initiatives to prepare the graduates of 2021-2023 for success in the post-pandemic economy. In the coming months, Taskforce members will develop programs to support local communities, and additional programs will follow to reimagine the future of higher education and prepare students for work in a post-pandemic world.

To help meet the Taskforce's goal of positioning students for success, Maryland will initially focus on supporting transfer students. In Fall 2020, nearly 40% of new students at UMD were transfer students, often from community colleges across the state. Through established programming in the A. James Clark School of Engineering, the university has seen success in onboarding transfer students by offering specialized services and support, and will explore replicating and expanding this at other colleges and schools on campus.

“I wish for all students - no matter where they start their path in higher education - to have the opportunities and support they need to successfully finish their degree at the University of Maryland,” said Darryll J. Pines, University of Maryland President. “I am encouraged that plans are in development to help transfer students transition smoothly to UMD and support them through graduation."

UMD and Taskforce member partners are driven to act by the challenges caused by the pandemic, income inequality, the changing nature of work, and levels of unemployment among recent college graduates nearly double those seen in the 2008 recession. The impact of this crisis is falling unevenly across groups and disproportionately impacting students from disadvantaged communities, despite their educational background. The Taskforce will provide greater opportunity to students and communities, while reimagining higher education's contribution to society and sharing insights with the broader education community.

Taskforce membership will continue to grow to diversify and scale impact with a focus on action – uniquely positioning the Taskforce in the higher education space. Current members include:

• Mark Becker, President of Georgia State University
• Gene D. Block, Chancellor of University of California, Los Angeles
• Seth Bodnar, President of University of Montana
• Bob Brown, President of Boston University*
• Ángel Cabrera, President of Georgia Institute of Technology
• Mary Schmidt Campbell, President of Spelman College*
• Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University
• Carol Folt, President of University of Southern California*
• Joan Gabel, President University of Minnesota
• Patrick Gallagher, Chancellor of University of Pittsburgh
• Kevin Guskiewicz, Chancellor of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Andrew David Hamilton, President of New York University
• Anne Kress, President of Northern Virginia Community College*
• Paul LeBlanc, President of Southern New Hampshire University
• Linda Livingstone, President of Baylor University
• Sarah Mangelsdorf, President of University of Rochester
• Andrew Martin, Chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis
• Harold Martin, Chancellor of North Carolina A&T State University
• Gary May, Chancellor of University of California, Davis
• Joe May, Chancellor of Dallas College
• James Milliken, Chancellor of University of Texas System*
• Mark Mitsui, President of Portland Community College
• Darryll Pines, President of University of Maryland
• Vincent Price, President of Duke University
• Scott Pulsipher, President of Western Governors University*
• Scott Ralls, President of Wake Technical Community College
• Robert C. Robbins, President of University of Arizona*
• Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Chancellor of City University of New York*
• Timothy Sands, President of Virginia Tech
• Michael Schill, President of University of Oregon
• Kate Smith, President of Rio Salado College
• Samuel Stanley, President of Michigan State University
• Astrid S. Tuminez, President of Utah Valley University
• Gregory Washington, President of George Mason University
• Ruth Watkins, President of University of Utah
• Federico Zaragoza, President of College of Southern Nevada
• Bill Hansen, CEO and President at Strada Education Network
• André Dua, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company*

*Indicates Taskforce Executive Committee Member and/or Goal 1 Initiative Lead