A Conversation With...
Arts and Humanities Dean
James Harris

1) What does 150 years mean to an institution like Maryland?

The University of Maryland is celebrating 150 years of existence, and that means celebrating a large number of firsts, among them the first graduating class, the establishment of the individual colleges and schools, the admission of the first women, minorities and international students, first graduate degrees, and many, many more 'firsts.' In doing so we celebrate the students, faculty and staff who achieved so much at the same time that we look forward to future successes in every field.

2) As an historian, what stands out to you about Maryland's 150 years?

From the historian's standpoint, the university has not grown steadily, but in spurts and the last twenty years have witnessed the most rapid change, to my mind, in the entire 150! To the naked eye this might not be self-evident; after all, one could argue that the basic structure of the university has not changed in those 20 years and that's largely accurate. The changes that matter most, however, are the incredible advances in excellence. The University of Maryland is now competitive nationally with the very best universities -- that was not the case except in isolated cases in the mid 1980s. We are now positioned to make the transition to that of a university known for excellence in all major academic disciplines in far less than another 150 years.

3) What impact did World War II have on the university?

The impact of World War Two on the University of Maryland is hard to underestimate. Not only did the university grow in response to the national need for research, but the war also caused major changes in state and national society. Today the university prides itself on providing excellence in higher education to all citizens of a diverse state, something that began to change in response to the war and its aftermath. We are not the same university today demographically that we were in 1950 and the change is all good.