University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Maryland, College Park (also known as UM, UMD, or UMCP) is a public university located in College Park, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. As the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland, the university is most often referred to as the University of Maryland or simply Maryland, even though the formal name remains University of Maryland, College Park.

History

Early history

On March 6, 1856, the University of Maryland was chartered as the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC). Two years later, 420 acres (1.7 km²) of the Riverdale Plantation in College Park were purchased for $21,000 by a descendant of the Barons Baltimore, Charles Benedict Calvert. Calvert founded the school later that year with money earned by the sale of stock certificates. On October 6, 1859 the first 34 students entered the Maryland Agricultural College, including four of Charles Calvert's sons. The keynote speaker on opening day was Joseph Henry, the first Sectretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

Related Topics:
1856 - Barons Baltimore - 1859

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In July 1862, the same month that the MAC awarded its first degrees, President Lincoln signed the Morrill Land Grant Act. The legislation provided federal funds to schools that teach agriculture, engineering, or provide military training. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the school became a land grant college in February 1864 after the Maryland legislature voted to approve the Morrill Act.

Related Topics:
President Lincoln - Morrill Land Grant Act - Land grant college

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Civil War period

A few months after accepting the grant, the Maryland Agricultural College proved to be an important site in the Civil War. In April of 1864, General Ambrose E. Burnside and 6,000 troops of the Union's Ninth Army Corps camped on the MAC campus. The troops were in route to reinforce General Ulysses S. Grant's forces in Virginia. Later that summer, Confederate soldiers led by General Bradley T. Johnson stayed on the grounds while preparing to take part in a raid against Washington. Problems caused by the Civil War and a decline in student enrollment sent the Maryland Agricultural College into bankruptcy. For the next two years the campus was used as a boys preparatory school.

Related Topics:
Civil War - 1864 - Ambrose E. Burnside - Ulysses S. Grant - Virginia

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Post-war era

Following the Civil War, the Maryland legislature pulled the college out of bankruptcy and in February 1866 assumed half ownership of the school. The college then became, in part, a state institution. George Washington Curtis Lee, son of Confederate General Robert E. Lee, became president of the college but was replaced within the year. By October 1867, the school reopened with 11 students. In the next six years, enrollment at the college continued to grow, and the school's debt was finally paid off. Twenty years later, the school's reputation as a research institution began as the federally-funded Agricultural Experiment Station was established at the college. During the same period, a number of state laws granted the college regulatory powers in a number of areas -- including controlling farm disease, inspecting feed, establishing a state weather bureau and geological survey, and housing the board of forestry. Also in 1888, the college began its first official intercollegiate baseball games against rivals St. John's College and the United States Naval Academy. Baseball, however, had been played at the college for decades before the first "official" games were recorded.

Related Topics:
1866 - Robert E. Lee - 1867 - 1888 - St. John's College - United States Naval Academy

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In 1897 the first fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa, was established on campus, and Morrill Hall (the oldest instructional building still in use on campus) was built the following year. Unfortunately, in November 1912 a fire that began at a Thanksgiving dance destroyed the dormitories, all the school's records, and most of the academic buildings; only Morrill Hall was left untouched. The loss was appraised at $250,000 despite no injuries or fatalities. A large brick and concrete compass inlaid in the ground designates the former center of campus as it existed in 1912. Lines engraved in the compass pointed to each building that was destroyed in the Thanksgiving Day fire. The only building not marked on the compass is Morrill Hall, which was eerily spared by the blaze.

Related Topics:
1897 - 1912

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Recent history

The State took complete control of the school in 1916, and consequently the institution was renamed Maryland State College. Also that year, the first female students enrolled at the school and four years later established the first official sorority, Sigma Delta. On April 9, 1920, the college merged with the pre-established professional schools in Baltimore to form the University of Maryland. The graduate school on the College Park campus awarded its first Ph.D. degrees, and the University's enrollment reached 500 students in the same year. In 1925 the University was granted accreditation by the Association of American Universities.

Related Topics:
1916 - 1920 - Baltimore - 1925

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By the time the first African American students enrolled at the University in 1951, enrollment at the school had grown to nearly 10,000 students -- 4,000 of whom were women. A push was made in 1957 by president Wilson H. Elkins to increase academic standards at the University. His efforts resulted in the creation of one of the first Academic Probation Plans. The first year the plan went into effect, 1,550 students (18% of the total student body) faced expulsion. Since then, academic standards at the school have steadily risen. Recognizing the improvement in academics, the national honors fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, established a chapter at the University in 1964. Previously, the school had been rejected twice for membership. The University continued to grow, and by the fall of 1985, the school reached an enrollment of 38,679 -- the highest in school history.

Related Topics:
1951 - 1957 - 1964 - 1985

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In a massive 1988 restructuring of the state higher education system, the school was designated as the flagship campus of the newly-formed University System of Maryland and was formally named University of Maryland, College Park. The University is currently headed by president C. Daniel Mote, Jr.

Related Topics:
1988 - University System of Maryland - C. Daniel Mote, Jr.

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On September 24, 2001, a tornado struck the College Park campus, killing two students and causing $15 million in damage to 12 buildings.

Related Topics:
September 24 - 2001 - Tornado

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Name and structural changes

In 1997, the Maryland General Assembly passed legislation allowing the University of Maryland, College Park to be known simply as the University of Maryland, recognizing the campus's role as the flagship institution of the University System of Maryland.

Related Topics:
1997 - University System of Maryland

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The other University System of Maryland institutions with the name "University of Maryland" are not satellite campuses of the University of Maryland, College Park, and are not referred to as such. For the above historical reasons, the University of Maryland, Baltimore is also sometimes called "University of Maryland." This is not a significant point of confusion, as UMB is limited to graduate professional education.

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