Maryland Higher Education Commission

July 2008 Press Release

 

For immediate release: July 17, 2008
Contact: Christopher Falkenhagen
Communications: (410) 260-4511

MHEC assist. secretary to visit St. Mary’s County post-secondary institutions

(Annapolis, MD) July 17, 2008 – Maryland Higher Education Assistant Secretary for Planning and Academic Affairs Dr. George Reid will visit several of St. Mary’s County’s post-secondary institutions today as part of Governor O’Malley’s Capital for a Day initiative in Leonardtown, MD.

Leonardtown is the county seat of St. Mary’s. Often referred to as “the Mother County,” St. Mary’s is Maryland’s home. It was here that men and women disaffected by religious persecution set off from England for the shores of St. Clement’s Island to establish the colony that would one day become Maryland. Soon after landing on St. Clement’s Island, they moved to St. Mary’s City which became the first capital of Maryland.

“This was a bold, adventurous and I’m sure sometimes frightening experience for these brave colonists,” Dr. Reid said of St. Mary’s County’s original residents. “They struggled to survive, build a new and great colony and to educate themselves and their children. It could be said that the seeds of higher education in Maryland were planted right here in St. Mary’s County. I believe the Governor made the right choice to name Leonardtown as Capital for a Day since it is so intertwined with the history of such an important piece of Maryland’s early history.”

Secretary Reid will visit the Leonardtown campus of the College of Southern Maryland. CSM is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. During the 2008 General Assembly Session, Governor O’Malley budgeted $11.7 million for the Leonardtown campus’ Wellness Center.

After meeting with Leonardtown’s CSM Dean and Vice President F.J. Talley and members of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Reid will tour the Southern Maryland Higher Education Center.

Governor O’Malley provided $419,000 in funding for the SMHEC in this year’s budget, a $69,000 increase over last year. Dr. Reid will tour the facility and meet with staff and Board of Governors of the highly respected Center.

From the SMHEC, Dr. Reid will visit the Blades School of Hair Design, a Private Career School that falls within MHEC’s oversight. Many of Blades’ students receive financial assistance from MHEC which administers nearly $110 million in grants and scholarships a year. Governor O’Malley fully funded this scholarship program this year.

From Blades, Dr. Reid will end his trip at St. Mary’s College of Maryland located in Historic St. Mary’s City. There, he will meet with President Jane Margaret “Maggie” O’Brien and other college officials to discuss areas of mutual interest to the College and MHEC and tour the newly opened Goodpaster Hall, one of the college’s nearly all-environmentally sensitive or “green buildings.” St. Mary’s College of Maryland has become a national leader in its approach to “going green” – an initiative that the College’s students conceived a few years ago and have strongly embraced ever since.

The Maryland Higher Education Commission is a 12-member coordinating board responsible for establishing statewide policies for Maryland public and independent colleges and universities and private career schools. It serves as an advocate for more than 325,000 college students in Maryland, for the State and its needs, and for business and industry in Maryland.