A catalyst is defined as “a substance that allows something to proceed at a faster rate than otherwise possible” as well as “an agent of change.”
Embodying these two definitions, the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) appropriately named Catalyst Campaign achieved a significant milestone in early 2021, surpassing $600 million. This vital philanthropic endeavor has now raised $621 million, or 83 percent of its $750 million goal.
The Catalyst Campaign continues to educate and inspire alumni, faculty, staff, civic and community leaders, corporations, and friends as it supports the University’s crucial institutional priorities. These priorities include scholarships, clinical initiatives, faculty excellence, research, entrepreneurship, and community engagement. On a daily basis, more and more individuals, corporations, and foundations are becoming agents of change by giving selflessly of their time and financial resources to advance UMB’s important initiatives.
Recent examples of this philanthropic support include investments in the PATIENTS Professor Academy (School of Pharmacy), the Positive Schools Center (School of Social Work), and the Erin Levitas Initiative (Francis King Carey School of Law), as well as gifts to support our new Community Engagement Center, CURE Scholars Program, and scholarships for multiple schools.
UMB is fortunate to have ongoing and generous assistance from the state of Maryland, which provides approximately 20 percent of the University’s overall funding. As UMB President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, notes, “The remainder of our budget is generated through research grants and contracts, student tuition, auxiliary enterprises, and philanthropy. Philanthropy is absolutely the most elastic source of revenue available. We invite charitable investment in the numerous UMB programs and initiatives that impact the daily lives of Maryland citizens and many others well beyond our region.”
The Catalyst Campaign is co-chaired by UMB Foundation board members Ellen H. Yankellow, PharmD ’96, president and CEO of Correct Rx Pharmacy Services, and Brian J. Gibbons, JD ’87, chairman and CEO of Greenberg Gibbons Commercial.
For information and how you can be a catalyst for UMB, please contact Jim Hughes, MBA, interim chief philanthropy officer, at jhughes@umaryland.edu or 410-706-1935.