Today, Stewart Edelstein, executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove, released the following statement:
“On behalf of the entire Universities at Shady Grove (USG) community, I want to thank the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Hogan for reinstating $36.7 million in funding for the construction of our Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Education (BSE) facility. With this secured funding, the Universities at Shady Grove plans to break ground later this year on the new facility.
The Biomedical Sciences and Engineering Education Facility will expand degree opportunities in healthcare, biosciences, engineering, and computational sciences—critical and rapidly growing industries in our region. Not only will it expand and enhance academic offerings; The BSE will allow USG to provide even more regional businesses with a talent pool of qualified STEMM (science, technology, engineering, math and medical sciences) graduates—beyond the 1,600 employers who currently benefit from an alignment with USG.
I also wish to thank the University System of Maryland and our Montgomery County General Assembly delegation for their combined work in securing additional enhancement funding to USG, which will be used to bring new programs to USG as well as grow enrollment of existing programs.
The actions our Governor’s office, the University System, our Montgomery County General Assembly delegation, and Montgomery County Government took in support of USG underscore the significance of USG’s approach to provide pathways to degrees and careers that support the economic and workforce development of the Montgomery County region and State.
Finally, I wish to thank the many members of our community—from our Board of Advisors, to the faculty, staff and students, to so many of our local business partners—for raising their collective voice, writing letters, and advocating these past several weeks to encourage the Governor to reinstate this important funding. Your efforts were not only fruitful, but they reminded me that we are truly a united community, brought together by our belief in the potential for advancing student success that directly supports the growth of the Montgomery County region and state’s knowledge-based economy.”