Voices of Maryland
March 24, 2020
Dear Campus Community,
As I write to you, I hope that you and your family are staying safe and well.
And as we continue to prepare for our transition this summer, I also want to thank every member of the Presidential Transition Team for their willingness to serve on the various committees and for their work to-date. Because of the continued concern about the coronavirus, I have asked the Transition Team to postpone its work, which includes delaying the listening sessions. COVID-19 is top of mind right now, and everyone is and should be focused on the safety and well-being of themselves, their families, friends and the entire community.
Even though the listening sessions are on hold, we are still collecting and reviewing all the comments that are being posted on the Voices of Maryland website. I appreciate the very thoughtful and helpful observations to date, and I encourage you to continue post your opinions, concerns, reasons to be optimistic, and ideas. When we next gather in-person as a Terrapin community, much will have changed. Hearing your valued perspectives will help us prepare for the next chapter.
My sincere thanks to all members of the campus – faculty, staff, students, administrators, and especially to the Health Center health-care providers, dining services employees, facilities and residential facilities staff, and campus police – for everything you are doing to support and protect our community. Please continue to check umd.edu/virusinfo for updates on COVID-19 and email your non-medical coronavirus questions to healthconcerns@umd.edu.
Please stay safe and healthy. With our shared Terp spirit, caring, understanding and support, we will get through this together.
Sincerely,
Darryll J. Pines
Dean and Farvardin Professor, A. James Clark School of Engineering
President-Designate, University of Maryland
Introduction
The University System of Maryland Board of Regents recognizes that a presidential transition from current President Wallace D. Loh to President-Designate Darryll J. Pines is critical to the continued success of the University of Maryland. Board Chair Linda R. Gooden and Chancellor Jay A. Perman have approved the appointment of a Presidential Transition Team for the purpose of developing a comprehensive plan to ensure the success of this important transition.
Purpose
President-Designate Darryll J. Pines believes that solutions and ideas come from every corner of the campus. Therefore, Dr. Pines charges the Presidential Transition Team to work to better understand our community’s perception on the structure and culture of both the campus and the relationships with our partners and surrounding community through a collaborative, inclusive and transparent process. The goal of this collective effort is to enable Dr. Pines to gain a clear understanding of the broad and complex campus landscape.
To facilitate this understanding, the Transition Team will solicit comments, suggestions and ideas from the campus community by hosting listening sessions, receiving online comments, and other means, guided by the following four questions:
- What is the university doing well?
- What are the challenges and opportunities? How can we best address these issues to help the university continue to ascend and grow?
- What are your B1G ideas for moving the university forward?
- As members of the university community, what broad advice would you offer to the new president?
After soliciting input from the campus community, the Presidential Transition Team will present a final transition report to Dr. Pines by June 1, 2020. This report will purposefully outline a clear, collaborative and inclusive transition process for Dr. Pines by highlighting the strengths, challenges, and opportunities for the University of Maryland. The plan will serve as a guiding document for Dr. Pines as he and his team chart the path forward for our University.
