By The University of Maryland Eastern Shore
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore is in line to receive $850,000 from the latest federal omnibus funding legislation Congress approved earlier this month.
The money will underwrite a new initiative in UMES’ School of Graduate Studies and Research as well as an ongoing project to convert records, photos and other important documents in the university archives into digitized form.
The university’s requests were submitted to Maryland’s two U.S. senators, Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, who announced jointly March 11 both were among some $9.5 million in projects on the Eastern Shore included in the next budget bill.
Dr. LaKeisha L. Harris, dean of the graduate studies and research school, called the $350,000 allocated for an Interdisciplinary Research Center an important investment to keep the university competitive in pursuit of resources to support research.
“This (federal) funding is extremely important … to strengthen our research infrastructure and meet the needs of our graduate students and faculty researchers,” Harris said. “The goal … is to centralize our efforts to identify funding and develop research proposals, which will lead to innovative discovery.”
“When faculty are engaged in meaningful research, our students become engaged. They work as teaching and research assistants, and they contribute to the research,” Harris said.
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education considers UMES a “high research activity” doctoral institution because the university awards 20 or more Ph.D.s annually, a highly sought-after credential.
“Research funding,” Harris said, “is critical to maintaining this goal.”
The remaining $500,000 will go to continuing the digital conversion and organization of archival material in the Frederick Douglass Library that got started with a $50,000 grant awarded in June 2020 by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services.
“The (new) money will be used to digitize historical documents that pertain to the state of Maryland, the Eastern Shore, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore to make these educational resources more accessible to Marylanders and the academic community,” according to a summary seeking the funding.
UMES’ projects are among a wide array of local and regional priorities focusing on infrastructure and economic development across the Eastern Shore. Overall, the senators said they secured over $104 million in federal funding for Maryland in the bill.
“Bringing direct federal investments to our communities helps spur opportunity, create jobs, and grow our economy. Working together with local leaders across the Eastern Shore, we have identified these projects that will strengthen our communities by driving job growth, modernizing our infrastructure, improving public safety, bolstering educational and small business resources, and more,” said Van Hollen, a member of the Appropriations Committee. “We look forward to getting these funds across the finish line and delivering these investments to the Eastern Shore.”
Added Cardin: “We have worked with local officials and organizations across the Eastern Shore to identify the projects that could benefit from a strong federal partner. Congressionally Directed Spending is one of the best tools to maximize how we use taxpayer dollars in the places it can make a real difference for Maryland and the region.”
Other funding secured by the senators included:
- Nearly $4 million for infrastructure & economic development projects, including for Cecil County’s Belvidere Road expansion, the Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico Regional Airport runway extension, Cecil County’s New Wastewater Infrastructure, The Good Stuff Packing House to support food entrepreneurs, and Cambridge Historic West End sewer line replacements
- Over $4 million to support community health care through the Choptank Community Health’s Federalsburg Health Center and Ashley Addiction Treatment’s Mental Health Initiative in Cecil County
- Nearly $300,000 for the Chesapeake Bay and the environment, including for surveying the Pocomoke River’s federally authorized navigation channel for future dredging, expanding the Nature Conservancy’s Supporting Aquaculture and Restoration in Maryland initiative, and equipment and research at the NCCOS Cooperative Oxford Laboratory
- $116,000 for public safety through the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office Body Worn Camera System
