"The Meyerhoff Scholarship Program has achieved two very important goals: It is changing the face of science by graduating large numbers of underrepresented minorities and women who go on to earn graduate and professional degrees in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. And in doing so, it is challenging stereotypes about minorities’ academic achievement.

Achieving ‘excellence and diversity’ at UMBC is far more than a black-and-white issue. It’s about global interaction, with students from 91 countries. It’s about seeing students of all types, from all kinds of backgrounds on our campus, who graduate and go to Harvard and Oxford and Duke.

The Meyerhoff Program has had a significant ripple effect at UMBC. It has raised the level of academic achievement by all of our students. It has served as the model for our other distinguished scholarship programs in the arts and humanities and public policy. And it has made us committed to breaking barriers wherever they exist, establishing a community where all students feel supported."