The Campaign for UMCES

The Campaign for UMCES: Environmental Leadership for Maryland is an eight million dollar, five-year effort designed to increase private support for the Center. 

The campaign was jumpstarted in 2008 with the largest contribution in the institution’s history – a $750,000 challenge grant from the Baltimore-based France-Merrick Foundation. By June 2009, the campaign has reached it’s halfway point, thanks to an $85,000 gift from Annapolis-area businessman Barry Gossett, chairman and CEO of Acton Mobile Industries.

“This campaign is a launchpad for expanding the Center’s environmental science education and Chesapeake Bay research programs,” said then UMCES Board of Visitors Chairman and former Maryland Governor Harry R. Hughes at the Campaign’s launch. “The campaign comes at an opportune time for helping expand society’s understanding of our natural world. Now, more than ever, we need to find solutions to the complex environmental problems we face around the globe.”

The France-Merrick Foundation gift will help establish the Center’s first endowed chair. The professorship in Sustainable Ecosystem Restoration is designed to maintain Maryland’s leadership and further expand its ability to restore our ecosystems in the face of growth and climate change. It also allows the Center to attract and retain highly qualified researchers and faculty in a highly competitive environment.

As the idea of environmental sustainability moves to the forefront of public policy discussion regarding the Chesapeake Bay, the new professorship will help the Center continue to be a trusted advisor to regional leaders seeking new opportunities to improve our local environment.