---
title: 6 Times U.S. Presidents Visited UMD
date: 2024-02-19T05:30:00-05:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/6-times-u-s-presidents-visited-umd"
section: Articles
---
# 6 Times U.S. Presidents Visited UMD

*February 19, 2024* — by [Karen Shih ’09](/author/karen-shih)


> Speeches, Slam Dunks—and Monkey Skin?

*Presidential Visits2 1920x1080 — A half-dozen U.S. presidents have visited the University of Maryland over the years, including, from left, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy.*

The election year has barely started, candidates are dropping faster than Beyonce’s new singles and you’re already tired of hearing about it all. Instead, this Presidents Day, let’s flip the politician’s script and not on the future, but the past—specifically at how the University of Maryland has played host to the nation’s chief executive throughout the decades.

Located just 12 miles from the White House, UMD is perfectly placed for presidents to come impart wise words at commencement or to catch the Terps driving to the basket at the Xfinity Center.

(The university is even home to the archives of disgraced former Maryland Gov. and Vice [President Spiro T. Agnew](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/06/20/the-best-agnew-archive-no-contest/14b87c83-2eeb-4df9-a8e5-089ef5e8071c/), which includes a monkey skin cape gifted to him by the president of Kenya in 1971 and a painting of him as a circus clown, orange hair and all.)

Not all came while they were in office; some came early in their political careers, while others spoke as elder statesmen. All drew big crowds—and some even got some Terrapin goodies to take home.

Here’s what happened when six presidents stopped by College Park:


## John F. Kennedy


*Kennedy speaks on stage — John F. Kennedy speaking at spring convocation, April 1959 (Courtesy of University Archives)*



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## Dwight D. Eisenhower



*Eisenhower at podium — (AP Photo by Bill Allen)*



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## Lyndon B. Johnson



*Diamondback article: LBJ to Address '63 Grads*



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## Jimmy Carter



*Jimmy Carter speaks on campus — (AP Photo by Nick Wass)*



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## Bill Clinton



*Clinton and Kirwan — U.S. President Bill Clinton and UMD President William E. Kirwan (center) view a plaque together in 1993. (Photo courtesy of University Archives)*



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## Barack Obama



*Obama leads town hall — Obama at a 2011 town hall at Ritchie Coliseum. (Photo by John T. Consoli)*



**Sidebar note:**

Terps don’t just applaud for presidents—some of them have sought the highest office for themselves, including:

- Republican Carly Fiorina MBA ’80, former chief executive of Hewlett Packard, in 2016
- Democrat Eric Swalwell ’03, congressman from California, in 2019
- Independent Jerome Segal, former Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy researcher, in 2019 (as a member of his own Bread and Roses party)





**Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community)


**Tags:** [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience)