UMBC NEWS

Read More UMBC News Blog Stories

August 20, 1997

UMBC LAUNCHES $50 MILLION CAPITAL CAMPAIGN

BALTIMORE--To keep and attract the very best students and faculty, and fulfill its mission to serve the local community and grow the regional economy, the University of Maryland, Baltimore County will officially launch its $50 million capital campaign at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow, with a reception honoring leadership donors at The Center Club.

With six leadership gifts of $1 million or more and pledges totaling 44 percent of its goal already in hand, The Campaign for UMBC seeks to raise $15M in endowment ($7M for student scholarships, $7M for faculty chairs and fellowships, and $1M for the library and equipment). The campaign will also raise $14M in gift-in-kind donations and $21M in grant & contract support for a total of $50 million by 2002.

"I'm not an alumnus and the leadership donors we will be honoring tomorrow night are not alumni, not even parents,” says Earl Linehan, President of Woodbrook Capital, Inc., and co-chair of UMBC's first capital campaign. "But we know UMBC is on a path to be a great institution and we want to be a part of the drive for success by helping it to secure endowment funds for scholarships, fellowships and costly technology essential to education today and tomorrow.”

In addition to Linehan's generosity--he and wife Darielle are endowing a scholarship program for academically talented undergraduates majoring in the arts--his sentiment is shared by many philanthropists in the Baltimore business community who have made endowment gifts of $1 million or more, but have no personal ties to the institution. Examples include:

  • The Robert W. Deutsch Foundation for faculty research fellowships in high-demand fields of computer science and information systems. Note: UMBC produces nearly 40% of the State's bachelor degree recipients in these fields, more than any other institution in Maryland.

  • The Dresher Foundation, Inc. for scholarships to high-achieving students from Harford County.

  • The France-Merrick Foundation for scholarships to high-achieving undergraduate students who demonstrate a strong interest in community service.

  • Willard and Lillian Hackerman for an endowed chair in engineering. The award of UMBC's first-ever chair comes at a time when it has lost faculty to endowed positions at other institutions.

  • Robert and Jane Meyerhoff for an endowed chair in biochemistry. The first recipient is Dr. Catherine Fenselau, a pioneer in mass spectrometry. The Meyerhoffs established the nationally renowned Meyerhoff Scholarship Program at UMBC in 1988 to address the shortage of African Americans in the sciences, engineering and medicine. They are also serving as honorary co-chairs of the campaign.

    "Our company is starting to have a UMBC flavor,” says George Sherman, President and CEO of Danaher Corporation, who is also co-chair of the UMBC campaign and has given a combined personal and Danaher Corporation gift of $500,000 for scholarships. "We are excited by UMBC's approach to training future engineers and managers and feel the institution can help our company achieve its ambitions. This is a university that knows how to win.”

    "UMBC's culture is very entrepreneurial and we are delighted to be working closely with the businesses community to develop the regional economy,” adds President Freeman A. Hrabowski, III. "An investment in UMBC is an investment in Baltimore and Maryland.”

    # # #
  • Posted by dwinds1 at August 20, 1997 12:00 AM