Chancellor Kirwan Statement Regarding President Obama's Budget
"I
applaud President Obama's proposed 2012 budget for its support of higher
education and research. The President's decision to sustain the maximum Pell
grant means that our neediest students will get the support they require to
pursue their dreams of a college degree. The increases in research
funding and the support for producing more science and mathematics teachers for
our schools are vitally important if, as the President has said, we want to
"win the future" as our legacy for our children and grandchildren.
"The President's proposed $123 million in grants to spur innovation in teaching
and learning, drawing upon recent advances in cognitive sciences and new
technologies is also most welcome. We have found in Maryland that using
these strategies to redesign curriculum and course delivery can both improve
learning outcomes and lower the cost of instruction. Perhaps most
important of all is the proposed investment of $1.25 billion to create College
Completion Incentive Grants, encouraging reforms in states' higher education
systems to spur increased degree completion. This program offers real
hope for aligning state and federal investments in higher education and moving
the nation toward the President's ambitious goal of once again leading the world
in college completion by the end of this decade.
"At the Â鶹´«Ã½, we are making college completion our
watchword because the future of our state, and our citizens, demands it.
For the U.S. to be a leader in the things that matter, it must be a leader in
educating its citizens. The President's proposed budget provides the
substantive support needed to move us toward this lofty but vitally important
goal. "
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu
