Debate intensifies over proposed UMB-College Park merger - Childs Walker, The Baltimore Sun

With the board that oversees Maryland's university system just two months from deciding whether to back a merger of its largest research campuses, Baltimore civic leaders are lining up against any move that would place the city's campus under out-of-town control. The idea of merging the University of Maryland, Baltimore with the state's flagship campus in College Park initially was floated by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who says the combined university would become one of the most prestigious in the nation. At Miller's behest, the General Assembly passed legislation this spring requiring the Board of Regents to study the issue and submit a report in December. The regents will hold the first in a series of public hearings on the issue Friday afternoon at UMB and next Friday in College Park.