University, Cecil College form partnership involving business, economics programs

NORTH EAST, Md. - A state border and a 30-minute drive separate the university and Cecil College in Maryland, but officials from both schools bridged the distance earlier this month through a new partnership.

University Provost Tom Apple and Cecil College President Stephen Pannill signed two articulation agreements at a June 9 ceremony at Cecil College that will allow students in Cecil's supply-chain program to purse bachelor's degrees in the Alfred Lerner College of Business & Economics after completing their freshman and sophomore years at Cecil College. Seventy credits from their coursework at Cecil College would be transferable to the university

Apple said the university's partnership with Cecil College will allow both schools' academic programs to improve.

"To reach out and partner across state lines will truly add value to both of our institutions," Apple said.

Pannill agreed, saying the agreement reflected the Cecil College's existing positive relationship with the university. The partnership, he said, will allow Cecil College students to obtain a more diverse education by participating in programs and classes at the university.

"Truth be told, these agreements through the work of the School of Engineering and Alfred really clear the way for our students to get a clearer, much better pathway through pretty much anything the University of Delaware has to offer," Pannill said.

He said the agreement would also increase the affordability of education for some students.

Pannill said at the signing that Cecil College shares an interest with working with the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground, a military facility located in Maryland that is currently partnered with the university through its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, which was signed in January.

David Weir, director of the university's Office of Economic Innovation and Partnerships, said at the event that the universities should not be concerned with developing research opportunities with the army. Weir helped develop the academic agreement between the two schools.

"This is not Delaware vs. Maryland, it is the region vs. other regions and the U.S. vs. other countries," Weir said.