- December 12, 2025
- By Maryland Today Staff
A 2-foot-tall commencement speaker was one of the biggest stories at the University of Maryland—and around the world—in 2025.
Kermit the Frog’s address to 13,000 graduates and their family and friends on May 22 at SECU Stadium was an international phenomenon, with it appearing in Google’s 2025 Year in Search video and in CNN’s Year in Pictures.
The Muppet, an early creation of UMD alum Jim Henson ’60, encouraged Terps to “leap together”—something the community took to heart this year.
UMD certainly saw its rankings soar: It climbed to No. 16, its highest-ever placement, in U.S. News & World Report’s influential 2026 “Best Colleges Guide.” The university also rose to No. 42 among national universities, up 22 spots since 2020, and earned top-10 spots in the country for entrepreneurship education and graduation rates.
The university launched its most ambitious fundraising campaign, the $2.5 billion Forward: The University of Maryland Campaign for the Fearless, and brought in an all-time high of $5.3 million during Giving Day, its 24-hour fundraising marathon in March.
UMD took a huge step in expanding the “Capital of Quantum” by forging a partnership with the state and the quantum computing and networking firm IonQ to catalyze $1 billion in investments and position Maryland as a global leader in quantum information science and technology. Gov. Wes Moore later announced that a major new Microsoft quantum research lab will soon open in UMD’s Discovery District.
The role of artificial intelligence expanded across campus not only through research, but also through preparing students to lead in an AI-infused workforce and by applying AI to strengthen our economy and safeguard our communities. A new online certificate in AI and career empowerment introduced in May has garnered a whopping 32,000 registrants.
Terps fans around the country had plenty to cheer about duringMarch Madness, the first time the men and women’s squads made it together to the Sweet Sixteen. Buzz Williams was named head coach of the men's basketball team, and Jim Smith became the Barry P. Gossett Director of Athletics on July 15, just after a landmark NCAA agreement to compensate student-athletes went into effect. In the fall, the men’s soccer team capped an undefeated regular season with a No. 1 national ranking and a Big Ten title, then a run in the NCAA tournament to the Elite Eight.
And in great signs for 2026, the No. 7 women’s basketball team stormed toward winter break with a perfect 12-0 record, and teen track sensation Quincy Wilson, the 2024 Olympic gold medalist and under-18 400-meter world record holder, signed with the Terps.
Students, faculty and staff had other reasons to celebrate, including the introduction of a Fall Break in October. A student team won $250,000 in the xFoundry’s inaugural Xperience competition for young UMD entrepreneurs to create a tech solution to a societal issue, and the forensic accounting club helped Prince George’s County solve a murder. And UMD racked up its largest number of freshmen applications and the most competitive class of incoming students, including a National Spelling Bee winner who holds two Guiness World Records.
The university’s photo team faced its own dilemma in selecting favorite images from the year. Enjoy the views:
From left, Mckinley Jovanovic ’28, Maggie Faloom ’28 and Natalie Ramirez ’28 sled down a hill on McKeldin Mall during a February snow day, the first in four years. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
Head coach Brenda Frese strategizes with the women’s basketball team during its Sweet Sixteen run in March. No. 4 seed Maryland advanced by defeating No. 5 seed Alabama, 111-108, in a double overtime thriller at the Xfinity Center. With the opening of the Barry P. Gossett Basketball Performance Center just a few months later, the men’s and women’s teams now have a dedicated 45,000-square-foot facility for training and practice. (Photo by Allison Mize)
Shown at sunrise, Stanley R. Zupnik Hall next to the IDEA Factory is scheduled to be completed in July 2026. It will be home to the departments of civil and environmental engineering and mechanical engineering, the Quantum Technology Center, as well as student organizations. It’s one of several projects opening next year on and around campus, including graduate student housing and the Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Maryland Hillel Center. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
At UMD’s observatory, Chaitanya Garg '25 (right) works with students taking his astrophotography Student Initiated Course (STIC). From left: Mackenzie Samartzis ’25, Jorge Argueta ’25, Oliver O’Brien ’26 and Sofia Merchant-Dest ’26. Since 2017, the program has allowed students to follow their interests and create one- or two-credit STICs they teach with guidance from a faculty adviser. (Photo by Riley N. Sims)
Two kids (of the four-legged variety) were born just before Maryland Day at the Campus Farm, part of a new Oberhasli dairy goat herd. While a wide variety of livestock have called the farm home over the decades, it’s the first time for these ruminants. Students in the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences helped bottle-feed the kids during the first few weeks. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
UMD’s first traffic signal in the campus core started operating this summer at the intersection of Campus Drive and Regents Drive. It was added as part of the state’s Purple Line light-rail project; the tracks are now complete, and train testing will begin this winter in anticipation of going live in late 2027. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
The buzz at Commencement wasn’t just about Kermencement. A new honey bee colony was settling in on Reckord Armory’s iconic white columns. It’s common for a swarm, led by a freshly hatched queen, to split from an overcrowded hive each spring. But this unusual location about 24 feet up required UMD Apiary Manager Eric Malcolm to get certified by Facilities Management so he could use one of its lifts to remove the 30,000 bees. In late June, fully covered in a bee suit, he spent hours in the blazing sun slowly chipping away at the comb, carefully extracting pieces into a hive box as golden honey dripped down. Today, the colony is settled among the UMD Bee Lab’s 42 hives. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
Abba Gumel, a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Mathematics, created groundbreaking mathematical models to help guide how a genetically engineered fungus developed by a UMD entomologist could be used to control malaria in field testing in West Africa. The Nigerian-born researcher had several bouts early in life with the disease, which kills some 600,000 people annually. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
Cyclist Ryan Collins ’16, MBA ’20 was once an Olympic hopeful, with his bags packed and ready for training camp. Then a car accident derailed his dreams—and doctors told him that odds were against him ever riding a bike again. “And I’m thinking, ‘Well, just watch me,’” Collins said. A decade later, he's breaking records as an ultracyclist, racing for six to 12 hours at a time and winning national and European championships. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Students explore immersive media projects during the weeklong NextNOW Fest, a weeklong annual arts experience presented and produced by The Clarice that encourages UMD community members to engage in creativity of all forms. From poetry lounges and student film premieres to gallery exhibitions and indie concerts, Terps enjoyed 40 free events across campus. (Photo by Dylan Singleton)
President Darryll J. Pines listens as students explain their challenge of designing vehicles to carry a payload 20 linear feet during a visit to Eastern Tech, named Maryland’s top public high school by U.S. News & World Report. The class is taught by UMD alumnus Peter Glaudemans ’87. (Photo by John T. Consoli)
Homecoming 2025 featured record-breaking crowds and perennially popular events, including Student Entertainment Events’ sold-out comedy show starring “Saturday Night Live’s” Marcello Hernández, Teddy’s Pup Parade full of dogs dressed as sharks and cowboys, and Terp Carnival with a laser show. Grand marshals Dominique ’04 and Ashley Foxworth ’06 gave out scoops of a limited-edition ice cream flavor to guests, and the former NFL star also took pictures with Terps. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Topics
Campus & Community