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

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The public university system’s Board of Regentas approved Friday a sweeping restructuring of the that will parcel out its four research along with staff andother assets, to other campuses. System leaders hope the restructuring will drive research collaboration and boost accessd tooutside funding. It also means an end for which was launched to greagt fanfare two decades ago with the mission ofadvancing education, researcgh and economic development for what was then the state’sz nascent biotech industry.
A months-lonbg study of UMBI by an ad hoc committeed led by USM regents Chairman Clifforx Kendall concludedthat “the organization of UMBI as a geographicallyg dispersed, free-standing entity has created intractabler problems.” Those problems included an inabilitg to scale UMBI programs, isolation among UMBI’d research centers, the lack of a criticalo mass of graduate and undergraduate studenta involved in UMBI research, and administrative inefficiencies. “After a comprehensive and deliberatives process, we have concluded that restructuring UMBI’s assetsz is the right thing to do,” Kendall said in a statement.
“With a focua on collaboration — across disciplines and acrossinstitutiones — and with recognition of the exceptional talent within the UMBI community and the system’s otheer institutions, this action will positiojn USM to take fuller advantage of its system-wide strengthse in the biosciences and to fuel the state’s knowledge economgy even more.” The move isn’t a total surprise. Critics have long questionef whether the state was duplicating its research effortds inthe biosciences. UMBI’s four centers in Rockville and College Park conduct researchon biotechnology, marine and environmental science.
At the same time, statwe funding for higher education is pinched by the recessionb andthe state’s budget deficit, and research needs are growing. Undef the restructuring approved Friday by the regents at a meetinfgin Frostburg, a joint University System of Maryland researcj center will be established at UMBI’ s Center for Advanced Researchy in Biotechnology in Rockville. The system’s flagship College Park campuds will oversee the facility and work with the Universittyof Maryland, Baltimore to elevate work in engineering and computational sciences as well as structural biology, protein design and drug discovery.
• UMBI’ s Center for Biosystems Research will also be oversee n byCollege Park. • A joint research center at UMBI’z Center of Marine Biotechnology in Baltimore willbe established, with administrativ responsibility falling to the Universitgy of Maryland, Baltimore County. UMBC will collaborate with the Universityu of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the Universithof Maryland, Baltimore to drive research in environmental and genomivc sciences. • UMBI’s Baltimore-based Medicalk Biotechnology Center will fall unde r the Universityof Baltimore’s purview. • UMBI’zs Institute of Fluorescence will be administerexdby UMBC.
• UMBI’s K-12 educational programs will be overseen by with an eye on enhancint itsteaching focus. UMBI President Jennis Hunter-Cevera is stepping down June 30 after 10 year s inthat role. She will become executive vice presidenr of discovery and analytical sciences and corporate developmentfat , a North Carolinw nonprofit. The University System of Marylanr will honor tenure held by UMBIfaculty members, and administrative support staffers will be able to stay in theit jobs through fiscal 2010.
Job opportunities at other systekm campuses willbe identified, and memoranda of understandinv outlining future operations and collaborations are expected to be completeed by the end of this year and fullyu implemented by the end of fiscal 2010. UMBI generates abourt $25 million in research activity annually, and university system leaderss hope to see that numbert increase dramatically by breakinfg upthe institute. “Today’s decisions by the board providd a tremendous opportunity for the University System of Marylanf to increase the volume and impact of its basic and appliedf research inthe biosciences,” said USM Chancellor Willia m E. Kirwan in a statement.
“Thiss restructuring has the potential to double the researcb productivityof UMBI’s current assets withinb five years.”