Chinese UMD-GEOG Alumni Donate Facial Masks to the Department

A group of Chinese scholars who either graduated from Geographical Sciences, or worked in the Department as visiting students or scholars, recently donated 17,550 surgical masks to the Department, to help with the COVID-19 emergency. The majority of these masks have been forwarded to the Prince George’s County Hospitals and the local Fire Department on behalf of the Department. The group members come from different universities, research institutes, and private companies in China. In the letter to Chris Justice, the Department Chair, they wrote that, “Our experiences at UMD Geography have greatly benefited our personal and institutional academic and engineering research development. We want to take this opportunity to express our appreciation.”

The UMD Department of Geographical Sciences has an excellent international reputation, and is particularly popular in China, attracting many Chinese students and visitors each year. We have established solid long-term collaborations with multiple Chinese universities and research institutes. Dr. Shunlin Liang from the Department has been helping with coordinating with our Chinese colleagues on the mask delivery. On receiving this news, Chris Justice said, “This very kind and generous gift from our Chinese colleagues is a touching example of our strong and continued international academic relationships with China in these globally challenging times."

The full list of universities and research institutes the donors are associated with or graduated from: