Notre Dame of Maryland renovating science center

With a new master’s program and renovations on the way, Notre Dame of Maryland University is literally bursting with excitement.

Notre Dame officials held a wall-breaking ceremony Sept. 8 and then delivered a breakdown of their planned $9 million renovation of the college’s Knott Science Center. 

Dr. Marylou Yam, president of NDMU, said the science center renovations are part of a historic campaign that should help the school continue its mission. 

“We’re thrilled with the renovations,” Yam said. “We’re on target to have everything completed in January. 

“The upgrades and enhancements throughout will make the classrooms a hands-on experience and will enable all of our students to look in and get excited about science,” she said.

The renovations, scheduled to be completed in 2023, are designed to create “innovative learning and collaborative spaces to enhance student success in STEM,” according to the university.

The work will create glass-walled classrooms and labs to display science in action, instructional spaces for student-faculty collaboration, specialized research labs and flexible group-learning spaces.

The university received a $4 million matching grant from the state for the science center project.

The work is part of the university’s $45 million “Go BeyoND: Campaign for NDMU.” 

With two years remaining in the campaign, Yam said the university has already raised $41.6 million. She noted that most of the funds are earmarked for scholarships.

“It’s part of the largest campaign in school history and we are very excited about continuing to work to make our university affordable and accessible,” Yam said.

The renovated space will house Notre Dame’s program for its new master’s degree in physician assistant studies. It will include a clinical procedures lab and faculty offices for the new program.

NDMU offers several STEM programs, including the Sister Alma Science Year, which places science majors in yearlong research internships with Johns Hopkins Medicine scientists. The program’s namesake, Sister Mary Alma McNicholas of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, inspired generations of women to explore their passion in STEM in her six decades at the school.

Dr. James Fielder Jr., the secretary of the Maryland Higher Education Commission; State Senator Mary Washington (District 43); State Delegate Regina T. Boyce (District 43); Baltimore City Councilman Mark Conway; and Baltimore Comptroller Bill Henry attended the wall-breaking ceremony.

The wall-breaking was the start of five days of big news for the North Baltimore campus.

Notre Dame announced Sept. 13  it will begin accepting male students to all its undergraduate programs, changing to a co-educational model after more than 125 years of offering a traditional women’s college education.

The NDMU Board of Trustees voted unanimously for the university to become co-ed and enroll men into the traditional undergraduate program starting in fall 2023. The decision came nearly a year after the board formed a taskforce to review the enrollment trends of women’s colleges, as well as national and statewide undergraduate data. 

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