University of Maryland, Known as UM, UMD, or UMCP according to AbbreviationFinder.org, is a public research university located in Prince George’s County, Maryland, about 8 miles (13 km) from Washington, DC Founded in 1856. Due to the proximity of the capital of the country has led to strong research alliances with the Federal government.

History

In July 1862, the same month that the Maryland School of Agriculture awarded its first graduates, President Lincoln signed the Morrill Land Grant Act. The legislation provided federal funding for schools that teach agriculture or engineering, or military training. Seizing the opportunity, the school became a university land grant in February 1864. Within months of accepting the grant, the Maryland School of Agriculture proved to be an important site in the Civil War. In April 1864, General Ambrose E. Burnside and 6,000 soldiers from the Union Ninth Army Corps camped on campus. The troops were on their way to reinforce General Ulises S. Grant’s forces in Virginia.

Later, about 400 soldiers under General Bradley T. Johnson stayed on the grounds as they prepared to participate in an attack on Washington. A legend states that the soldiers were warmly received by the president of the university Henry Onderdonk, they held a party on the campus nicknamed “The Ball of the Ancient South”. The next morning the soldiers rode to cut the lines of communication between Washington and Baltimore. Financial problems forced increasingly desperate administrators to sell 200 acres of land, and falling student enrollments led to bankruptcy. For the next two years the campus was used as a boys’ preparatory school.

After the Civil War, the Maryland legislature pulled the university out of bankruptcy, and in February 1866 took over half ownership of the college. The university therefore became part of a state institution. George Washington Custis Lee, son of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, was appointed president of the university by the Board of Directors, but due to public outcry the position was reduced. Over the next six years, enrollment continued to grow and the school’s debt was finally paid off. Twenty years later, the school’s reputation as a research institution began, with the federally funded Agricultural Experiment Station being established there. During the same period, a series of state laws granted the university regulatory power in various areas,

The state assumed full control of the school in 1916, and consequently the institution has been renamed Maryland State College. Also that year, the first female students are enrolled in the school. On April 9, 1920, the university merged with the professional colleges established in Baltimore to form the University of Maryland. The university’s enrollment reached 500 students in the same year.

In 1925 the University was accredited by the Association of Universities of America. During World War II, it was one of 131 colleges and universities nationwide that participated in the Program, offering students a path to the Navy

In 1957 President Wilson H. Elkins made an effort to raise the academic standards of the University which resulted in the creation of one of the first Academic Plans. The first year the plan went into effect, 1,550 students (18% of all students) face expulsion. Since then, academic standards have risen steadily. Recognizing improvement in academics In 1969, the university was elected a member of the Association of American Universities. The university continued to grow, and in 1985 it reached an enrollment of 38,679. Like many universities during the Vietnam War, the university was the site of student protests and had curfews imposed by the National Guard. In 1997 the Maryland General Assembly passed a law allowing the University of Maryland,

Organization

In 2004, the university began construction of the 150 acre (61 ha) “M Square Park Research,” which is the largest research park within the Capital, and includes facilities associated with the US Department of Defense.., Food and Drug Administration, and the new National Center for Weather and Climate Prediction, affiliated with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The university launched its 7-year campaign to raise $ 1,000,000,000 through private donations, called “Great Expectations,” in 2006. The university published a new strategic plan in 2008, which includes plans for the East Campus Redevelopment Project. They provide, among other things, for the graduate student on campus housing and entertainment center for campus Programs ” allow students with similar academic interests to live in the same residential community and host universities, take courses, and conduct research in those areas of specialization. One example is the University’s Honors College, which is aimed at students with exceptional academic talents. Honors College welcomes students into a community of intellectually gifted teachers and students committed to acquiring a broad and balanced education. The Honors College offers seven life and learning programs: Advanced Cyber ​​Security, Digital Cultures and Creativity, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Humanities Honors, Gem, Life Sciences and Honors College.

Careers

• Health Services Administration
• Business Administration and Management, General
• Public Policy Analysis
• Anthropology
• Dramatic Arts / Theater Arts, General
• Educational Counseling / School Counseling and Guidance Services
• Astronomy
• Audiology / Audiologist and Ear Sciences
• Fine Arts and Study Arts, General
• Librarianship / Librarian
• Biology / Biological Sciences, General

Personalities awarded the Nobel Prize

The university faculty has included four Nobel Prize laureates. The first winner was Juan Ramón Jiménez, he was a professor of Spanish language and literature and won the 1956 prize for literature. Four decades later, physics professor William Daniel Phillips won the Physics Prize for his contributions to laser cooling, a technique for slowing the movement of gaseous atoms in 1997. In 2005, emeritus professor of economics and public policy Thomas Schelling was awarded the prize in Economics for his contributions to game theory. In 2006, NASA associate professor of physics and astrophysicist John C. Mather was awarded the prize in physics with George Smoot for his work in the discovery of the black body shape and the anisotropy of radiation from the cosmic microwave background. Additionally, two alumni are awarded the Nobel Prize, Herbert Hauptman won the 1985 prize in chemistry and Raymond Davis Jr. won the 2002 prize in physics.

Curiosities

• It is the largest university in the Washington metropolitan area.
• Morrill Hall is the oldest instructional building and still in use on campus.
• A large concrete brick with a compass on the ground designates the old center of the campus, as it existed in 1912.
• The university uses three airports that exist in the Washington metropolitan area. It has a small public airport in College Park, Airport, which is located almost next to the school, but operations are limited.
• A free shuttle service, called Shuttle-UM, is available to all students, faculty, and administrative staff. The university uses an out-of-school stop in Washington.