Testimony to the Maryland General Assembly

Testimony to the Maryland General Assembly Presented by Dr. Wallace D. Loh President, University of Maryland, College Park March 2013 I am pleased to provide testimony to the General Assembly for our FY 2014 capital budget request. We greatly appreciate the General Assembly’s on-going support of our capital requests. However, space renewal and space shortages remain our greatest long-term programmatic and fiscal challenges.

Space Renewal. Our deferred maintenance backlog is about three-quarters of a billion dollars (about $650M for buildings and about $100M for infrastructure outside buildings such as utilities and roads) and continues to escalate. One-third of our state-supported space (1.8M NASF) has not had major renovation for more than 40 years and one-seventh (0.8M NASF) has not had major renovation for more than 50 years. Additionally, we have almost two-thirds (2.0M NASF) of the USM state-supported space that was originally built more than 50 years ago. This is more than the total amount of state-supported space of all ages at every other USM institution except UMB which has a total of 2.3M NASF of state-supported space.

Space Shortages. Our current space shortage of 1.8M NASF is almost the size of the entire UMBC campus (2.0M NASF). Looking at it another way, we are about 25 buildings short of space. A large portion of this shortfall is in research space. We are currently 901 research labs (811K NASF) short of space. With an existing inventory of about 7.4M NASF, these space shortages are very significant. Detail regarding our space shortages is attached.

The five projects recommended for funding this year are critically needed to help address both our space renewal and space shortage problems. Two projects will also help advance the State’s 55 percent college completion goal and the State’s strategic goals for the economy and workforce, in particular in the STEM fields.

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Physical Sciences Complex Phase I ($5.3M for Equipment Funds) This project will replace a decrepit and obsolete science facility with a state-of-the-art research building, help address our huge research space shortfall, and improve the ability of our top flight physical sciences programs to secure sponsored research and help advance our strategic goals for the economy and workforce in this important STEM field. We appreciate the General Assembly’s prior funding for this project, which helped us secure $10.3M of federal funds to contribute to the construction cost. Construction is on schedule to be completed this fall and we are now requesting the second and last phase of equipment funds.

This project is the first phase of a three-phased plan to provide a new home for the Department of Physics, the Department of Astronomy, and the Institute for Physical Sciences and Technology (IPST). Phase I, sized at 85,846 NASF/160,246 GSF will be attached to the east side of the existing Computer and Space Sciences Building (CSS) in the northeast sector of the campus. More than half of the NASF in Phase I will be dedicated to solving the pressing need for modern research laboratory facilities. In addition, there will be offices and meeting spaces for the faculty, students, and staff.

Phase I is intended to replace some of the existing facilities, which are dilapidated and obsolete; to provide additional research space so that the volume of sponsored research can be increased; and to ameliorate campus-wide shortages in research space. Phases II and III will ultimately increase the size of the complex to 195,052 NASF/368,946 GSF and replace the remaining substandard facilities. It will also bring the units together in one location to overcome operational inefficiencies resulting from physical separation of the units.

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Edward St. John Learning and Teaching Center ($3.4M for Planning) This project was in the CIP for over two decades, and we were thrilled when initial funding was authorized last year. This long overdue project will provide high-impact improvements to our instructional facilities and enhance our ability to help meet the State’s college completion and workforce goals, including STEM fields that do not require labs such as mathematics. It will replace obsolete classrooms in several buildings with technologically advanced classrooms and will help address our 72K NASF shortage of instructional space.

We have secured a $10M pledge from Mr. Edward St. John for the construction of this project. The pledge agreement includes the expectation that the building will be completed by 2016. We urge the General Assembly to continue funding the project as requested.

State funding for this important project has long been delayed. The Part I Program was approved in 1987 and the Part II in 2004. Many of our classrooms are woefully substandard. We are still teaching classes in a 60-year old former rifle range that has low ceilings which prevent the installation of modern computer and A/V equipment, and columns in the seating area that block the view of the chalkboard. Our math instructors in this space are limited to using 25 year-old teaching tools such overhead projectors and chalkboards.

They cannot integrate modern computer based teaching methods into their classes. This project will provide state-of-the-art improvements that will benefit almost every one of our 25,000 undergraduate students who we expect will take more than one class in this new facility during their stay at UMD. As the flagship campus of the University System of Maryland, we must move forward with this project as quickly as possible to enhance our ability to help achieve the State’s goal of significantly increasing the percentage of Maryland citizens with college degrees, and to provide our undergraduate students with a 21st century education.

The project includes the renovation or removal of two aged and obsolete buildings on McKeldin Mall. Holzapfel Hall, built in 1932, will be gutted and renovated to provide some of the space needed for the St. John Center. Shriver Hall, built in 1942 and located adjacent to Holzapfel Hall, will be demolished to make way for an addition to Holzapfel Hall to provide the balance of space needed for the St. John Center. The St. John Center will provide state-of-the-art classrooms, space for support staff, as well as study and lounge space.

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Campus Wide Building System and Infrastructure Improvements ($10M for Planning and Construction) This is the third phase of a $135M plan to provide UMD annual capital funds to help address a portion of our three-quarters of a billion dollar deferred maintenance backlog. $5M of State funds was provided in 2011 and $10M ($5M of State funds and $5M of USM Academic Revenue Bonds) was provided in 2012. The Governor’s CIP provides $10M annually, with $5M from State funds and $5M from USM Academic Revenue Bonds. This request is for $10M for the third phase of this project. We are extremely grateful to the General Assembly and USM for their past support of this critical need, and urge the General Assembly to continue that support and fund this request.

This multi-phased project addresses needs in two general categories, building systems and infrastructure. Building systems includes electrical gear, fire protection systems and HVAC equipment. Infrastructure includes work outside buildings such as underground utilities, roads, bridges, and exterior security lighting. This work is critically needed to improve life safety, prevent major service interruptions and reduce on-going maintenance and repair costs.

For this phase, we plan to do: seven fire safety improvement projects totaling $1.0M, eight electrical gear improvement projects totaling $3.8M, five HVAC projects totaling $4.1M; one repair of a failing storm water management pond totaling $0.5M; and one repair of a failing elevator in our main library totaling $$0.6M. Fire protection systems in many buildings are obsolete and unreliable, and many campus buildings have no fire sprinkler systems or are only partially sprinklered. Aging and inadequate HVAC and electrical systems limit the type of research that can be conducted, interfere with instruction, and hinder our ability to meet our strategic goals. Failing storm water ponds can result in flooding during heavy rains and contaminants entering our waterways. Failing elevators can trap passengers and compromise their safety.

Although we have access to operating funds for facilities renewal, this has historically been too little to adequately maintain the University which essentially has the infrastructure needs of a small city. Much of the campus infrastructure is past its useful life and was never intended to meet the needs of our energy-intensive world. While the Regents have set a goal to spend 2% of replacement cost annually on facilities renewal, this does little to address the reality of an overwhelming backlog that was already in existence.

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H.J. Patterson Hall Wing 1, Floors 2, 3 and 4 Renovation ($0.9M for Planning) This project will renovate the second, third and fourth floors of H.J. Patterson Hall to create office space for eight international units. Five units of the eight units are currently located in Holzapfel Hall and must be relocated for the construction of the St. John Learning and Teaching Center, a project that will support our ability to help meet the State’s college completion and workforce goals.

H.J. Patterson Hall Wing 1 was originally built in 1937 and remains largely unchanged since originally constructed. The space to be renovated in H.J. Patterson Hall is vacant, dilapidated and obsolete and cannot be assigned to new occupants until renovated. This project will renovate this largely unusable, centrally located space so that it more effectively meets the space needs of the university. Also, consolidation of these eight international units in this central campus location will enhance their ability to collaborate and strengthen their programs. This will support one of our major strategic initiatives, continued growth of our international character and global connections.

We want to make UMD the best globally networked university in the nation and College Park a capital of international education. International education is one of our highest priorities, we have unbelievable programming in place, and we are ideally suited to pursue these goals. We are the only public research university within the immediate orbit of the nation’s capital. Internationalizing our university could not be more vital to our students, faculty and to the State of Maryland as a whole. Our job is to prepare our students to be global citizens and to forge alliances that will keep our state and nation at the forefront of technological and intellectual development.

For one and a half years, the five units currently in Holzapfel Hall will be temporarily relocated into cramped surge space on the edge of campus until H.J. Patterson Hall is renovated for them. Faculty will be doubled up in offices and part-time faculty and staff quadrupled or more. It is vital that this project be funded as scheduled to avoid extending the time these programs are in this highly undesirable situation, as it impacts their ability to meet their mission and goals.

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Remote Library Storage Facility ($6.1M for Second Phase of Planning, Construction and Equipment) This project will convert a portion of the Severn Building (former Washington Post printing plant) in Greenbelt, Maryland into high-density library storage space to house up to 2.5 million volumes and help address the critical shortfall of library space at all USM institutions, in particular at UMD, and enhance the ability of the libraries to support the research and teaching missions of their institutions. The project will allow USM institutions to consolidate holdings and cull duplicate copies of rarely used books, facilitating expansion of their overall holdings and providing the ability to convert some existing stack space on campus into much needed library study space. Also, this project will save UMD $230K annually in rental costs for remote library storage space.

Insufficient library space is a problem at several USM institutions and is most severe at UMD. We have a stack space deficit of 140K NASF and are holding 1.1 million volumes over the recommended maximum capacity. We have been dealing with this crisis by renting space at Johns Hopkins University’s (JHU) remote library storage facility in Laurel where we have 0.5 million volumes. We plan to transfer our volumes from JHU to our new facility as soon as feasible, thereby releasing us from our annual rental obligation of $230K. The new facility will also help address our library space needs on campus by allowing us to transfer volumes off-campus and convert existing stack space on campus to much needed learning commons and study space (our shortfall of study space is 157K NASF and existing seating is at capacity). It will also enhance our ability to attract and acquire unique or rare special collections which will be a big part of any research library’s future. Lastly, it will allow for cost savings. Studies have shown that it costs about $4.86 annually for each volume stored in open stacks as compared to about $1.17 per book for high-density storage.

The library directors of all USM institutions and of Morgan State University and St. Mary’s College have signed a letter of support and mutual interest for this project. These University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) libraries see this facility as a critical element in their collective storage needs, allowing them to participate in a broader national strategy for preserving and sharing collections and addressing in a creative and costeffective manner access to “last copies.” While the USMAI libraries presently participate in a robust resource sharing program, the establishment of this storage facility will extend the benefits of sharing to their ability to address critical space needs in their individual libraries.

Directors will have the flexibility to repurpose collection space to respond to increasing user demands. New pedagogy, group work, uses of technology and many other 21st century shifts have placed pressure on libraries to create new and innovative user spaces. This storage facility will permit that transformation without the loss of valuable access to the books and journals that inform scholarly work. With this facility, the State of Maryland will step up to the challenges of physical collection access and preservation.

The Severn Building is a cost effective location to create this facility because it has the high ceilings, heavy load bearing floor and the robust HVAC system that this facility requires. In addition, it is only about a ten minute drive from the UMD campus which provides for cost and service efficiencies for our Libraries which will run the facility.

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SPACE SHORTFALL FACTS Below are the current and projected space deficits on campus based on Fall 2011 data.

Current Projected FALL 2011 FALL 2021 MAJOR ROOM USES Deficit (NASF) Deficit (NASF) Classrooms Class Laboratories Research Laboratories Office Subtotal Library and Study Spaces Other Room Uses* TOTAL

(71,634) (55,296) (811,225) (206,634) (1,144,789)

(59,364) (83,084) (1,212,702) (254,313) (1,609,463)

(392,313) (230,437) (1,767,539)

(398,432) (308,406) (2,316,301)

* Special Use, General Use and Support Facilities - e.g., lounge, storage

NOTE: Projections are predicated upon full funding of the USM Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2013 and beyond. In addition, the projections take into account the projects in the last Governor's CIP. The total current inventory is 7,437,438 NASF (main campus).

The current space deficit (1.8M NASF) is almost the size of the entire UMBC campus (2.0M NASF).

Looking at it another way, we are currently about 25 buildings short of space and this shortfall is projected to grow to 33 buildings by 2021 (based on building size of 70,000 NASF, about the size of the Bioscience Research Building).

We are currently 48 teaching labs short of space, and this shortfall is projected to grow to 72 teaching labs by 2021 (based on average lab size of 1,150 NASF).

We are currently 901 research labs short of space, and this shortfall is projected to grow to 1,347 research labs by 2021 (based on average lab size of 900 NASF).

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