Barry and Mary Gossett: Supporting the University in Many Ways

arry and Mary Gossett, passionate supporters of Maryland Athletics, have given generously to create opportunities and better facilities for university athletes. They feel equally enthusiastic about the university's rise as an academic power.

Christopher Monroe

In a stellar example of collaboration, the couple worked with Department of Physics Chair Drew Baden and the University of Maryland College Park Foundation to lure preeminent physics researcher Christopher Monroe to the University of Maryland from the University of Michigan. His addition to an already first-rate faculty lineup in the department is an exciting development, its importance underscored by how far-reaching the recruitment process was.

"To get an experimentalist at this caliber, you have to have the facilities," says Baden. "This required money and the cooperation of Howard Milchberg [professor in electrical and computer engineering]." Monroe's new lab needed the space occupied by one of Milchberg's facilities in the Computer and Space Science building. An affiliate faculty member with physics, Milchberg was already consolidating his labs, so he was able to accommodate his new colleague.

Then the provost's office, the Division of Research and the foundation pulled together a package including funds to support post-doctoral students and summer salaries. With the Gossetts' support, Monroe's addition to campus has significantly increased the university's strength in atomic molecular and optical physics. "With the Joint Quantum Institute we have with NIST, this made a critical mass of researchers," says Baden. "Things are going really well."

The Gossetts have also given generously to the Incentive Awards Program, allowing students with challenging backgrounds to take advantage of a free, world-class education at the university. Also, they've given to the Gossett Football Team House.