Harry J. Patterson (1866-1948), a graduate of Pennsylvania State College, was director of the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station before being appointed president in 1913.
During his administration, which lasted until 1917, Patterson responded to faculty demands by establishing three years of high school as a prerequisite for admission. Two buildings were completed, and the military system gave way to a modern collegiate atmosphere. The first women admitted to the university, Elizabeth Hook and Charlotte Vaux, arrived in 1916.
Patterson resigned to return to the Agricultural Experiment Station, housed in the Rossborough Inn.
The H.J. Patterson Building, home to the Departments of Environmental Science and Technology, Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture, and Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, as well as the Health Professions Advising Office and the Norton-Brown Herbarium, is named for him.
The University of Maryland is one of the world’s premier research institutions. With our strategic location and scores of partnerships with government and businesses, UMD conducts groundbreaking research on some of the biggest challenges facing our global community, including cybersecurity and terrorism, bioengineering, public health equity, food safety and climate change. We strive to discover new knowledge and put it to work through innovation and entrepreneurship, advancing economic development and transforming lives.
The newly launched Innovation Gateway will guide you to the resources, programs, partners, and spaces you need to activate and scale your fearless ideas into innovations that launch new ventures, catalyze growth, and advance economic development.
Home of the Terrapins, the University of Maryland has one of the nation’s most recognizable and successful athletics programs. More than 550 student-athletes compete each year in 20 intercollegiate sports—12 for women and eight for men. Since 2005 alone, Maryland has won 19 national championships, including NCAA titles in women’s basketball, men’s soccer, men's lacrosse, women’s lacrosse, and field hockey. Since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014, UMD has won a combined 32 regular season and tournament championships. Fear the Turtle!
The Terp experience extends beyond classrooms, labs and studios. It encompasses residence halls and dining halls, clubs and sports, fraternities and sororities, campus events and performances, and countless off-campus destinations. Maryland touts 800-plus student organizations, dozens of prestigious living and learning communities, and countless other ways to get involved. Students here can create a unique identity and grow as individuals, even as they’re part of a close-knit and diverse community.