Legislation to combine the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland, Baltimore is garnering support among some local business leaders who say the plan could stimulate economic development in the city.
But a sticking point has emerged over a provision in the bill that would allow the university system’s regents to appoint one president when one of the two campus presidents leaves his job.
Business leaders who support the legislation include Peter Angelos, majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles. “I think it’s an encouraging and a very exciting concept, particularly for us in Maryland because we don’t do much of getting together, staying together and advancing together,” Angelos said Tuesday at a hearing in Annapolis. “Let’s pass this bill. Let’s get on with it.”
Kevin Plank, founder of apparel company Under Armour, did not attend the hearing but sent a letter to the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee endorsing what is being called “a strategic partnership” between the universities.
Click here to read the rest of the article written by Carrie Wells over at the Baltimore Sun