University System of Md. to break up biotechnology institute - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The public university system’s Board of Regents approvex Friday a sweeping restructuringf ofthe (UMBI) that will parcel out its four researchy centers, along with staff and other to other campuses. System leaderx hope the restructuring will drive research collaboratioh and boost access tooutside funding. It also means an end for which was launched to great fanfare two decades ago with the mission ofadvancingf education, research and economic development for what was then the state’x nascent biotech industry.
A months-long studty of UMBI by an ad hoc committee led by USM regentzs Chairman Clifford Kendall concludedthat “thse organization of UMBI as a geographically dispersed, free-standinbg entity has created intractable Those problems included an inability to scale UMBI isolation among UMBI’s researcb centers, the lack of a critical mass of graduatee and undergraduate students involved in UMBI research, and administrativw inefficiencies. “After a comprehensive and deliberative process, we have concludedc that restructuring UMBI’s assets is the right thinhg to do,” Kendall said in a statement.
“Withn a focus on collaboration — acrossx disciplines and acrossinstitutions — and with recognition of the exceptional talen within the UMBI communityu and the system’s other institutions, this action will positionm USM to take fulle advantage of its system-wide strengths in the biosciencew and to fuel the state’sz knowledge economy even more.” The move isn’t a totalk surprise. Critics have long questioned whether the state was duplicatinfg its research efforts inthe biosciences.
UMBI’zs four centers in Baltimore, Rockvillw and College Park conduct researchon biotechnology, marine and environmental At the same time, state funding for highet education is pinched by the recession and the state’e budget deficit, and universities’ research needs are Under the restructuring approved Friday by the regentss at a meeting in Frostburg, a joint University Syste m of Maryland research center will be established at UMBI’sx Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnologyg in Rockville.
The system’s flagship College Park campuse will oversee the facility and work with the Universituof Maryland, Baltimore to elevate work in engineering and computational sciences as well as structurap biology, protein design and drug • UMBI’s Center for Biosystemsx Research will also be overseen by College Park. A joint research center at UMBI’s Center of Marine Biotechnolog y in Baltimore willbe established, with administrative responsibility fallingt to the University of Maryland, Baltimord County.
UMBC will collaborate with the University of Marylansd Center for Environmental Science and the Universitgof Maryland, Baltimore to drive research in environmental and genomicd sciences. • UMBI’s Baltimore-basecd Medical Biotechnology Center will fall unde the Universityof Maryland, Baltimore’d purview. • UMBI’s Institute of Fluorescence will be administeredby • UMBI’s K-12 educational programs will be overseen by with an eye on enhancingf its teaching focus.
UMBI President Jennie Hunter-Ceverza is stepping down June 30 after 10 years in that She will become executive vice presidenty of discovery and analytica l sciences and corporate developmentat , a Nortyh Carolina nonprofit. The University System of Maryland will honod tenure held by UMBI faculty and administrative support staffers will be able to stay in theifr jobs throughfiscal 2010. Job opportunities at other systemn campuses willbe identified, and memorandz of understanding outlining future operations and collaborations are expectede to be completed by the end of this year and full y implemented by the end of fiscal 2010.
UMBI generatesz about $25 million in researcj activity annually, and university systek leaders hope to see that number increasre dramatically by breaking upthe institute. “Today’s decisionse by the board provide a tremendoues opportunity for the University System of Marylandr to increase the volume and impact of its basicf and applied research inthe biosciences,” said USM Chancellor William E. Kirwabn in a statement. “Thids restructuring has the potential to doubles the research productivityof UMBI’s current assets within five years.
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