ABC’s of UMD: Letter F

F is for FOOTBALL!

Maryland Agricultural College students first took to the gridiron in 1892. Unfortunately that first season was a disastrous one; the squad lost all three of its games by a combined score of 128 to 0. They rebounded the following fall, however, and ended that year as DC Champions. Sixty years later, the Terps won the national college football championship in 1953 with a 10-1-0 record.Over the last 123 seasons since the team’s founding, the Terps have been to 26 bowl games and have won 11 conference championships.

First MAC football team, 1892

Come out and support the team during their 7 home games this fall, including this weekend when we take on the University of South Florida at Byrd Stadium!

This is the sixth post in our series on Terrapin Tales called ABC’s of UMD! Posts will come out twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout the semester. If you want to learn more about campus history, check back weekly to see what we’ve picked to highlight, and you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

Do you have other ABC’s about campus? Let us know in the comments below!

Take a quick guess before you click here for the Letter G!

ABC’s of UMD: Letter E

E is for EPPLEY

Geary F. Eppley (1895-1978) was Dean of Men from 1936 to 1964 and also served as an assistant professor of agronomy, track coach, director of student welfare, and athletic director. Eppley was a 1920 graduate of the University of Maryland and served in the Army in both World War I and II. To honor his many years of service to his alma mater, the university renamed the recreation center for him in 2006.

The University Archives holds Eppley’s personal papers, and you can find more information about this collection here and access these materials in the Maryland Room on the first floor of Hornbake Library.

This is the fifth post in our series on Terrapin Tales called ABC’s of UMD! Posts will come out twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout the semester. If you want to learn more about campus history, check back weekly to see what we’ve picked to highlight, and you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

Do you have other ABC’s about campus? Let us know in the comments below!

Head this way for the Letter F!

ABC’s of UMD: Letter D

D is for DIVERSITY

Diversity of the campus community is one of UMD’s core values. As of Fall 2014, 39% of all females and 33% of all males in a student population of 37,610 identified as people of color. Of the 9,961 faculty and staff, 1,507 identified as black or African American. The university also has a significant percentage of students and faculty who identify as Asian or Hispanic or originate from outside the U.S.

Diversity of the campus began early in the university’s history with the introduction of international students in the 1870s, primarily from Latin and South America. One of most notable early international cadets was Pyon Su, MAC Class of 1891, the first Korean to receive a degree from any American college or university. Female students arrived in 1916, with the enrollment of Elizabeth Hook and Charlotte Vaux, and our first African American undergraduate, Hiram Whittle, began classes on campus in spring 1951 semester. UMD’s first African American full professor, M. Lucia James, began teaching 60 years ago this fall and continued working with classes until her death in October 1977.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

You can find more information about the university’s emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion here. More data about the diverse composition of the UMD can be found in the Campus Counts feature on the website of the Office of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment.

This is the fourth post in our series on Terrapin Tales called ABC’s of UMD! Posts will come out twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout the semester. If you want to learn more about campus history, check back weekly to see what we’ve picked to highlight, and you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

Do you have other ABC’s about campus? Let us know in the comments below!

Check here for Letter E!

ABC’s of UMD: Letter C

C is for CHARLES BENEDICT CALVERT

Charles Benedict Calvert, photograph by Matthew Brady, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3a00240

Charles Benedict Calvert (1808-1864) is considered to be the founder of the Maryland Agricultural College (MAC). Calvert worked vigorously to obtain the charter for the MAC from the Maryland General Assembly, canvassing farmers, planters, and businessmen across the state to raise funds for the institution he sought to establish. He led the committee that planned the first buildings, laid the cornerstone for the “Barracks,” and held the second largest number of stock subscriptions to charter the college. When the MAC opened its doors in 1859, he served as the first Chairman of the Board of Trustees and became president of the college when the first president, Benjamin Hallowell, had to resign. Calvert also underwrote college expenses when there was no money to pay salaries. When he died in 1864, the MAC lost one of its strongest advocates

In this letter in the UMD Libraries’ Special Collections and University Archives, Calvert outlines his vision for the MAC, stating that the college would “teach everything that is taught in the best Universities.” He outlines the coursework the students will take as well as their daily activities, setting the tone for the school that would become today’s internationally renowned University of Maryland.

If you would like to learn more information about Calvert you can read his full bio here and check out the list of resources we’ve found about him in this guide.

This is the third post in our series on Terrapin Tales called ABC’s of UMD! Posts will come out twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout the semester. If you want to learn more about campus history, check back weekly to see what we’ve picked to highlight, and you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

Do you have other ABC’s about campus? Let us know in the comments below!

Up next is the Letter D!

ABC’s of UMD: Letter B

B is for BAND!

The first band, formed in 1908, consisted of 25 musicians: 2 clarinets, 4 cornets, 2 alto horns, 3 trombones, 1 baritone, 2 basses, 2 drums, and cymbals.This ensemble was an outgrowth of earlier mandolin and glee clubs the students had formed, beginning in the 1890s, and was designed to “beef up a slack Military Department,” according to the Reveille yearbook.

First MAC band, 1908.

Today’s Mighty Sound of Maryland,one of the most visible embodiments of Terrapin spirite, is comprised of over 250 players and is joined by auxiliary units of silks, twirlers, dancers, and cannoneers. Over the years, the band has performed at countless football games and other athletic contests, marched in parades across the country, including four presidential inaugural parades and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2000, and played for many special guests, including H.R.H. Queen Elizabeth.

You can find some of the band’s performances online this semester as part of our posts on UMD’s most recognizable songs. Halftime shows during football season often appear on YouTube as well.

You can also find more information about the history of the UMD marching band in the University Archives’ exhibit “Musical Milestones” on the first and second floors of McKeldin Library. Find more information about the display here.

This is the second post in our series on Terrapin Tales called ABC’s of UMD! Posts will come out twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout the semester. If you want to learn more about campus history, check back weekly to see what we’ve picked to highlight, and you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

Do you have other ABC’s about campus? Let us know in the comments below!

Want more? Here’s the Letter C!

Do you know your ABC’s of UMD? We’ll start with the Letter A.

This fall, we are starting a new series on Terrapin Tales called ABC’s of UMD! Posts will come out twice a week, on Mondays and Fridays, throughout the semester. If you want to learn more about campus history, check back weekly to see what we’ve picked to highlight, and you can also visit our encyclopedia University of Maryland A to Z: MAC to Millennium for more UMD facts.

Do you have other ABC’s about campus? Let us know in the comments below!

Here’s our first letter!

A is for AGRICULTURE

The University of Maryland was founded in 1856 as the Maryland Agricultural College. As outlined in the first course catalog in 1859, the college’s early focus was on instruction in scientific and practical agriculture, including  “an experimental and model farm, with a plan for the advancement of Agricultural Science, based upon practice.”

The students raised food for the table in the dining hall as part of their weekly activities, and the faculty gradually began extensive experimentation in the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, and grains. Much of their work took place in the fields surrounding the building we know today as the Rossborough Inn on Route 1, which served as the headquarters for the Agricultural Experiment Station when it was established in 1888.

Fields at Rossborough, c. 1894.

The college’s agricultural focus was enhanced by the Maryland General Assembly’s designation of the young school as the state’s land grant institution in 1864.

Today,. the university’s agricultural heritage is embodied in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR), which offers comprehensive academic programs in environmental technology, food science, natural resources, animal and avian sciences, entomology, and a variety of other agriculture-related subjects.Beyond AGNR’s headquarters in College Park, the college maintains research centers and Extension offices throughout the state of Maryland.

What other A’s would you suggest?

Check out our next post in this series, the Letter B!