Testimony to the Maryland General Assembly Presented by Dr. Wallace D. Loh President, University of Maryland, College Park March 2012 I am pleased to provide testimony to the General Assembly for our FY 2013 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 now 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. Over one-quarter of our state-supported space (1.4M NASF) has not had major renovation for more than 40 years and one-sixth (0.85M NASF) has not had major renovation for more than 50 years. Additionally, we have almost two-thirds (1.9M 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 2.1M NASF of state-supported space. Space Shortages. Our current space shortage of 1.7M NASF is almost the size of the entire UMBC campus (2.0M NASF). Looking at it another way, we are about 24 buildings short of space. A large portion of this shortfall is in research space. We are currently 825 research labs (744K NASF) short of space. With an existing inventory of about 7.3M NASF, these space shortages are very significant. Detail regarding our space shortages is attached. The four 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 ($29.6M for Construction and 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 well underway and we are now requesting the third phase of construction funds and the first phase of equipment funds. Our physical sciences programs have been operating in substandard and inadequate space for many years. Wiring in the Toll Physics Building crumbles in the hands of maintenance staff replacing light fixtures, circuits are overloaded, and piping frequently fails resulting in flooding. The Physics Department lost a member of the National Academy of Sciences to another university, in part, because of the inability of the infrastructure in the Toll Physics Building to support his research. In October 2002, an electrical panel in the Toll Physics Building exploded and an electrical maintenance employee tragically died. 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 85,956 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 ($2.1M for Initial Planning) This project has been in the CIP for over two decades, and we are thrilled that it is finally on the verge of being funded. 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 70K NASF shortage of instructional space. We are delighted to report that we have secured a $10M pledge from Mr. Edward St. John for the construction of this project. The pledge agreement requires approval of public funds before the first pledge payment, and includes the expectation that the building will be completed by 2016. We urge the General Assembly to fund 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 and lecture halls ranging in size from 50 to 500 seats, 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 second 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. Last year, the Governor planned to allocate $5M annually beginning in FY 2013. The General Assembly accelerated the Governor’s plan one year to begin funding in FY 2012, and recommended that the State explore providing an annual match of $5M from USM Academic Revenue Bonds beginning in FY 2013. The USM agreed to the match, and we are now requesting approval of a total of $10M ($5M State funds and $5M USM Academic Revenue Bonds) in FY 2013. 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: ten fire safety improvement projects totaling $0.9M, six electrical gear improvement projects totaling $2.3M, one water line replacement project estimated at $0.9M, one cooling tower replacement project estimated at $0.9M, and one project to replace rooftop air handling units estimated at $5.0M. Fire protection systems in many buildings are obsolete and unreliable, and many campus buildings have no fire sprinkler systems or are only partially sprinklered. Disruptions in electricity, HVAC service and flooding in buildings from failed piping result in cancelled or relocated classes and suspended or lost research. 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. 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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Remote Library Storage Facility ($0.4M for Planning) 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. USM institutions have a stack space deficit of 235K NASF, and over half of that is at UMD. We 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 and currently have 0.5 million volumes there. 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 153K 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 as well as the library directors 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 cost-effective 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. 5
SPACE SHORTFALL FACTS Below are the current and projected space deficits on campus based on Fall 2010 data. Current Projected FALL 2010 FALL 2020 MAJOR ROOM USES Deficit (NASF) Deficit (NASF) Classrooms Class Laboratories Research Laboratories Office Subtotal Study Spaces Other Room Uses* TOTAL
(69,711) (40,674) (744,121) (233,934) (1,088,440)
(182,391) (141,805) (1,122,673) (597,328) (2,044,197)
(381,967) (242,264)
(386,795) (338,457)
(1,712,671)
(2,769,449)
* 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 7,296,669 NASF (main campus). The current space deficit (1.7M NASF) is almost the size of the entire UMBC campus (2.0M NASF). Looking at it another way, we are currently about 24 buildings short of space and this shortfall is projected to grow to 40 buildings by 2020 (based on building size of 70,000 NASF, about the size of the Bioscience Research Building).
We are currently 35 teaching labs short of space, and this shortfall is projected to grow to 125 teaching labs by 2020 (based on average lab size of 1,150 NASF).
We are currently 825 research labs short of space, and this shortfall is projected to grow to 1,250 research labs by 2020 (based on average lab size of 900 NASF).
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