University System of Md. to break up biotechnology institute - Business First of Louisville:

http://www.minerta.ru/post138270125/
The public university system’s Board of Regent approved Friday a sweeping restructuring ofthe (UMBI) that will parcel out its four researc centers, along with staff and other assets, to otheer campuses. System leaders hope the restructurinhg will drive research collaboration and boost access tooutsidee funding. It also means an end for which was launched to great fanfare two decadews ago with the mission ofadvancing education, researc and economic development for what was then the state’d nascent biotech industry.
A months-long study of UMBI by an ad hoc committeed led by USM regents Chairman Clifford Kendallk concludedthat “the organization of UMBI as a geographicallu dispersed, free-standing entity has created intractable problems.” Those problemz included an inability to scale UMBI programs, isolationm among UMBI’s research centers, the lack of a critical mass of graduatde and undergraduate students involved in UMBI research, and administrative “After a comprehensive and deliberative process, we have concludeed that restructuring UMBI’s assets is the right thiny to do,” Kendall said in a “With a focus on collaboration — across disciplinesx and across institutions — and with recognition of the exceptionao talent within the UMBI community and the system’s othedr institutions, this action will positiojn USM to take fuller advantagwe of its system-wide strengths in the biosciences and to fuel the state’zs knowledge economy even more.
” The move isn’t a totalp surprise. Critics have long questioned whether the statwe was duplicating its research efforts inthe UMBI’s four centers in Baltimore, Rockville and College Park conducg research on medical, biotechnology, marinee and environmental science. At the same state funding for higher education is pinchedx by the recession andthe state’s budget and universities’ research needs are growing. Under the restructurin g approved Friday by the regents at a meeting in Frostburg, a joint Universituy System of Maryland research center will be established at UMBI’z Center for Advanced Research in Biotechnologyu in Rockville.
The system’s flagship College Park campus will overser the facility and work with the Universit yof Maryland, Baltimore to elevate work in engineering and computational sciences as well as structurall biology, protein design and drug discovery. • UMBI’se Center for Biosystems Research will also be overseen byCollegee Park. • A joint researcu center at UMBI’s Center of Marinse Biotechnology in Baltimore willbe established, with administrative responsibilityu falling to the Universitt of Maryland, Baltimore County.
UMBC will collaborate with the Universitt of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and the University of Baltimore to drive research in environmental andgenomicc sciences. • UMBI’s Baltimore-based Medical Biotechnology Center will fall under the Universityuof Maryland, Baltimore’s purview. • UMBI’s Instituter of Fluorescence will be administeredby UMBC. UMBI’s K-12 educational programs will be overseem by with an eye on enhancing itsteaching focus.
UMBI President Jennie Hunter-Cevera is stepping down June 30 after 10 years in that She will become executive vice president of discovery and analyticak sciences and corporate developmentat , a Northg Carolina nonprofit. The University System of Maryland will honor tenurse held by UMBI faculty and administrative support staffers will be able to stay in theie jobs throughfiscal 2010. Job opportunities at othef system campuses willbe identified, and memoranda of understanding outlinin g future operations and collaborations are expected to be completesd by the end of this year and fully implemented by the end of fiscall 2010.
UMBI generates about $25 million in researcgh activity annually, and university system leadersx hope to see that number increase dramatically by breakingh upthe institute. “Today’s decisions by the boardd provide a tremendous opportunityy for the University System of Maryland to increasew the volume and impact of its basicf and applied research inthe biosciences,” said USM Chancellor Williakm E. Kirwan in a statement. “Thizs restructuring has the potential to double the researcg productivityof UMBI’s current asseta within five years.
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