In recognition of Chancellor William E. "Brit" Kirwan's recent selection for the prestigious Carnegie Corporation Academic Leadership Award, the Board of Regents is hosting a black tie celebration at the Samuel V. Riggs IV Alumni Center at the University of Maryland, College Park, on January 30.

Chancellor Kirwan is being recognized for his decades-long work in closing the achievement gap, strengthening STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, promoting workforce development, enhancing K-12 teacher education, and implementing the Efficiency and Effectiveness Initiative, which has become a national model, among other innovations.

The Carnegie award carries with it a $500,000 grant to be used at the recipient's discretion to further the recipient's initiatives. Chancellor Kirwan will use his award to launch A Matter of Degrees: USM Leading the Way in College Completion. The initiative will support college completion intervention efforts, including scholarships to those in good standing who are at risk of dropping out of school close to graduation; course redesign in order to make "gateway" courses more accessible to all students - with improved interaction with faculty - which will ultimately help them to complete their degrees on time; and funding for Way2GoMaryland, a USM public information campaign that encourages middle school students to begin planning for college. This effort will build the pipeline of minority and underrepresented students who will eventually attend USM institutions. Proceeds from the dinner, after expenses, will support the college completion program.

Invitations will be delivered by mail in early December. For more information on attending or supporting the event, please contact the USM Office of Special Events, at 301-445-2700 or SpecialEvents@usmd.edu.

Tags: December 2009

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 9:14 am