Dear Colleagues,
I feel the excitement of the campus community as we move to the end of the academic year and celebrate the many accomplishments of our students, faculty, and staff. It is difficult to believe that I am nearing the end of my first year, as I am still learning daily about the remarkable efforts of UMD.
In my April 10 email update, I mentioned that we would present our academic/fiscal year 2026 (FY26) campus budget request to U of M System leadership in mid-April. I am writing with an update on that conversation.
First, I want to thank leadership from across campus who participated in our new budget call process earlier this semester. This process and these discussions allowed for intentional thinking around both reallocations and areas of opportunity. It was very helpful to hear and learn from colleagues, and we used that context to inform our presentation.
Last Friday, UMD leaders made a wonderful presentation to our U of M System leadership colleagues. In that presentation, we highlighted our accomplishments, strengths, and the essential role we play in fulfilling the university’s statewide mission. We advocated for increased resources to enhance student success, fund faculty and staff compensation, and maintain our facilities. We also discussed the ongoing legislative budget process that will determine state funding for the U of M for the next two years. Given the current budget proposals at the legislature, we are expecting no additional resources for the U of M.
While it may be several months before we have certainty on our budget allocations and related budget decisions, the conversation underscored that difficult budget decisions lie ahead for UMD, the U of M System, and higher education in general. We will continue to engage with partners locally and across the system to do all we can to enable and amplify UMD’s success.
As we near the end of the academic year, I thank you for your dedication, passion for UMD and student success, and for going above and beyond. I anticipate with excitement how great it will feel to see each of our graduates cross the stage at commencement and leverage their talents and skills to positively impact the larger world. |
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Sincerely, |
