By Jay Parsons, TheDiamondback Annapolis Bureau
ANNAPOLIS - Gov. Bob Ehrlich’s commission on government efficiency proposed three immediate changes for state universities that could come to the table in the coming General Assembly session.
The one with the most potential to affect this university would combine all eight police forces in the University System of Maryland. The change is intended to create standard policies and help smaller colleges recruit and train officers.
Police here are waiting to see how a potential bill evolves before taking sides, a spokeswoman said. It’s unclear who would govern the single force.
“There are some advantages to it and some concerns,” said University Police spokeswoman Maj. Cathy Atwell. “It’s too early to say if the benefits outweigh the concerns.”
Those concerns include officer training and transferring between departments. University Police officers are hired independently of other police forces, so they are assured of staying put in College Park. If this university’s police force is merged with those from other universities, officers may not have a choice which university they work for after completing training.
“I don’t want to work anywhere in the state, I want to work here,” Atwell said. “But if I were in the state police, I could be on the Eastern Shore.”
At yesterday’s public hearing in the State House, the most contested of the three proposals would strip private colleges of state funding, and then transfer that money to public schools.
The recommendation drew passionate pleas from private school officials and students. They portrayed the withdrawal of $31 million in grants between 16 colleges to be a critical blow that would cripple some schools and force poor students to drop out because of higher tuition rates.
“I have personally seen how critical these dollars are,” said Maryland Institute College of Art President Fred Lazarus. “We are a fragile institution with a reputation for being one of the best in the country ... You have a great bargain here.”
Commission Chairman Marvin Mandel, who was governor when the state first funded private schools, said after the forum he opposes cutting off private colleges.
The third proposal was to merge Morgan State University and St. Mary’s College of Maryland into the University System of Maryland. That was not addressed at yesterday’s forum.