Kirwan

On July 7, 2004, MARY V. KIRWAN, beloved wife of the late John "Sam" Kirwan, devoted mother of Barbara Rhodus and Lynda Slater, cherished grandmother of Michael & Jeffrey Rhodus and Matthew Harbaugh; loving great grandmother of three and great-great grandmother of one; dear sister of Emil Kretschmer. Friends may call at the family owned Peaceful Alternatives Funeral & Cremation Center, 2325 York Rd., Timonium on Saturday 9:30-11:30 A.M. A funeral service will be held 11:30 A.M. Saturday.

Few would argue that the University of Maryland's decision earlier this week to join the Big Ten isn't about the money — $24 million a year in television revenue. But university officials are helping to sell the deal with what they argue is a significant academic benefit to joining the athletic conference. The 12 universities that make up the Big Ten Conference, plus the University of Chicago, constitute an academic consortium called the Committee on Institutional Collaboration.

Hilda Virginia Kirwan, 88, a longtime resident of Annapolis, died Saturday of congestive heart failure in New London, Conn.Funeral services were being held today at Baltimore National Cemetery, 5501 Frederick Ave.The former Virginia Garner was born in Annapolis and lived there until last year when she moved to Connecticut to live with her daughter, Mary Doresky.Mrs. Kirwan was the wife of naval Lt. Buford E. Kirwan, who died in 1984.She was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church in Edgewater, where she was active in the church's senior citizen programs.

Remember the talk over whether to name Maryland's basketball court for Gary Williams?  The plan had plenty of support but still needed to be debated. Former coach Lefty Driesell questioned whether the court naming was a good idea. You may recall that the Board of Regents discussed the proposal privately. And then Chancellor William E. (Brit) Kirwan made the final decision. A year later, we may be in a comparable situation. The regents on Monday plan to discuss Maryland's proposed move from the Atlantic Coast Conference to the Big Ten. It's likely to be a lively debate.

William E. Kirwan, the next chancellor of the state university system, received a returning hero's welcome yesterday - including the gift of Final Four tickets from Gov. Parris N. Glendening, who briefly coveted the $375,000-a-year job. At his first public appearance after accepting the position Monday, Kirwan expressed confidence that he could lead the 13- institution system fairly, despite his close ties to its College Park flagship, where he was...

SHOULD WILLIAM E. "Brit" Kirwan become chancellor of the state's university system -- a near certainty -- Maryland can maintain and even accelerate its upward trajectory in higher education. As compared with another looming possibility -- the promotion of an outgoing governor -- the advent of Mr. Kirwan amounts to being twice blessed. A delightful synergy would be achieved if the General Assembly could restore most or all of the $34 million it cut from the system's budget. Money and personality, when added to official commitment, equal momentum.

COLLEGE PARK -- Looking back on nearly a decade at the helm of the state's flagship campus, outgoing President William E. "Brit" Kirwan said yesterday that the University of Maryland, College Park remains "in striking distance" of greatness.But he said the 33,000-student institution needs a consistent level of funding and greater influence in the state's university system.In a warm farewell address to the College Park Senate, Kirwan, who leaves June 30 to become president of Ohio State University, said the campus has made remarkable progress despite economic woes in the early 1990s.

COLLEGE PARK -- University of Maryland president William E. Kirwan said yesterday that he is aware that athletic director Andy Geiger has interviewed for the same job at Ohio State, and will do what he can to keep Geiger.What Kirwan won't do is hold Geiger to his contract should he decide to leave. Geiger, 53, is in the fourth year of the five-year contract he signed when he came to Maryland from Stanford in September 1990. The contract calls for Geiger to earn a base salary of $125,000 a year, with a yearly $15,000 annuity and the use of two automobiles.

COLLEGE PARK -- The University of Maryland at College Park, determined to have its cake and eat it, too, announced major budget cuts yesterday but dovetailed them with a restructuring of academic programs officials say will keep the campus on the path to national eminence.Faced with a 10 percent reduction in state funds, university President William E. Kirwan announced $10 million in academic budget cuts and proposed shutting down two of the campus' 16 colleges and eight of its academic departments.

The University of Maryland has called an 11 a.m. news conference for today, when university president William E. Kirwan will introduce the school's new athletic director.Maryland has been looking for a new athletic director since Andy Geiger resigned in May to become the athletic director at Ohio State. It will be Maryland's fourth athletic director in the past eight years.Sources said last night that acting director William "Bud" Thomas, the vice president for student affairs, will not be named to a permanent position in the athletic department.

University of Maryland University College was academically sound on the day President Susan Aldridge resigned, according to the chancellor of the state university system. That assurance, conveyed by Chancellor William E. Kirwan in an interview last week, is the closest Maryland higher-education officials have come to answering questions about the sudden departure last month by the leader of the nation's largest online-focused public university. Aldridge's decision to step down has drawn notice across the national higher-education community because neither she nor the university system has offered an explanation.

Maryland could boast one of the top 10 research universities in the country, simply by establishing a formal bond between programs that already exist. That's the message Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller is pushing after he proposed Monday that the state university system study a merger between its Baltimore and College Park campuses. "If you're in favor of the state of Maryland, it's a win-win," said Miller. "It could give great stature to both universities and to the state.

Carl Gordon Kirwan Jr., a retired businessman who enjoyed restoring and driving vintage automobiles and riding to hounds in Howard County, died Feb. 8 of cancer at the Lisner-Louise-Dickson-Hurt Home in Washington. The longtime resident of Woodbine, Howard County, was 84. Mr. Kirwan, whose father was vice president of the Cumberland Coal Co. and mother was a homemaker, was born in Baltimore and raised on Brightwood Road in Howard Park. He attended the McDonogh School and the University of Maryland, College Park.

With concerns growing about the price of higher education, Maryland university leaders find themselves in the unusual position of encouraging students to take their initial classes not in the state system but at community colleges. Two years of community college followed by two years at a university is simply a cheaper formula — for the student and the state — than four years at a university. "If we're going to find a way to keep higher education affordable, community colleges are going to play a very significant role," says William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the state's university system.

A January 18 Sun article on salaries of higher education officials reported that I had refused to accept a deferred compensation payment (" State university presidents' pay in middle of the pack"). This is not correct. The Sun based this on information released this week by the Chronicle of Higher Education that shows that I received a deferred compensation payment in 2008 but not in 2009. However, this change actually stems from the University System of Maryland Board of Regents' conversion of my deferred compensation to a multi-year performance payment.

Va. lawyer Sanchez to head state labor department 2 Maryland's new labor secretary will be Alexander M. Sanchez, an attorney and United Way of America executive who lives in Virginia, aides to Gov. Martin O'Malley said Monday. O'Malley is expected to formally nominate Sanchez on Tuesday. After receiving Senate approval, Sanchez would replace Thomas E. Perez, who was tapped by President Barack Obama in March to lead the Civil Rights division at the U.S. Department of Justice. The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation oversees workforce development, adult education, unemployment insurance and the Maryland Racing Commission, among other agencies.

In one of his final speeches before stepping down as president of the University of Maryland, College Park, William E. Kirwan renewed his call for more state aid to higher education.Kirwan, who will assume the presidency of Ohio State University this summer, told 200 Montgomery County business and civic leaders yesterday that Central Maryland can become a technological powerhouse like California's Silicon Valley and North Carolina's Research Triangle Park if it matches the financial commitment those states have made to their universities.

The state university system's Board of Regents has offered its chancellorship to William E. Kirwan, who left the presidency of the University of Maryland, College Park four years ago partly out of frustration with the very system he is being asked to lead. Kirwan, president of Ohio State University, will not decide whether to take the post until after a commencement in Columbus on Friday, Ohio State spokesman Lee Tashjian said yesterday. Kirwan, who for months disavowed any interest in the Maryland job, expects to weigh the offer while at his family's vacation home at Deep Creek Lake during Ohio State's spring break next week.

The state university system is unlikely to raise tuition for the spring semester despite recent orders from the governor to cut $56 million in salaries and operating costs, said Chancellor William E. Kirwan. "I rather suspect that this cut doesn't rise to the level where the board would take that extraordinary step," he said of a midyear tuition increase, adding that the system's Board of Regents will probably discuss tuition at its Sept. 18 meeting. Instead, the system will order employee furloughs, eliminate open positions, shift money from its cash reserves, and cut student aid and maintenance spending.