Universities at Shady Grove Groundbreaking Ceremony
November 22, 2005
Business, political, and community leaders joined with
students on Tuesday morning, November 22, for the ceremonial shoveling of dirt,
marking the groundbreaking for Education Building III at the Universities at
Shady Grove (USG) in Montgomery County.
The new building will double the physical education space on
the campus and triple the enrollment capacity, from 2,000 full- and part-time
students to more than 6,000. The
building will be completed in fall 2007.
The fast-growing regional education center, which is part of the
University System of Maryland, features more than 30 undergraduate and graduate
degree programs offered by seven of the state’s leading public
universities.
Governor Robert Ehrlich led a distinguished group of
speakers who saluted the occasion. The
new structure was included in the Governor’s 2006 capital budget and approved
by the General Assembly. Governor
Ehrlich praised Shady Grove for “efficient delivery of services” and its role
in advancing education in the region and state.
County Executive Douglas Duncan, who played a key role in the
establishment of USG in 2000, noted USG’s importance in education for a “technology
economy” and praised community leaders for their vision in creating a new
educational enterprise.
Senator Patrick Hogan (39th district) said that USG’s unique
model for bringing different educational institutions together under one roof
“will be replicated around the state and the nation.” Foday Sackor, a junior in the degree program of the Robert H.
Smith School of Business, University
of Maryland, College
Park, offered at USG, provided a special
perspective. An emigrant from Liberia
seven years ago, he described escaping a war-torn nation with his family and
spending two years in refugee camps in Ghana
before arriving in Maryland. He called the new building a symbol of
“promise, growth, and hope.” He
commented, “I’ve learned in class that an asset creates value. The students at Shady Grove are the leaders
of tomorrow. We are the state of Maryland’s
greatest asset.”
Mr. Sackor and six other students,
representing the six other universities offering courses at USG, then joined
the Governor Ehrlich, County Executive Duncan, Senator Hogan, USM Chancellor
William E. Kirwan, USG Board of Advisors Chair Steven
O’Connor, USM Regent Patricia Florestano, Maryland
Treasurer Nancy Kopp, first USG Board of Advisors Chair Gene Counihan, and USG Executive Director Stewart Edelstein at
the construction site, shovels in hand.
A reception followed.
