Wallace Loh Pens Farewell Letter in Final Day as Maryland President

The day has come for the official retirement of University of Maryland president Wallace Loh as he penned his final letter before parting.

"Today is my final day as president of the University of Maryland.

It has been the honor of my lifetime to serve in this role for the past ten years. My wife Barbara and I are most grateful for your welcoming of us as members of the UMD family. We will be proud Terps forever.

Over the past decade, I have given out thousands of turtle pins to students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of UMD, as a token of appreciation for your dedication to, and support of, our University. And so, as I bid you farewell, I have one more Terrapin pin to give.

From the bottom of our hearts, Barbara and I thank you, and we wish you all the best in the years ahead."

Loh's time at Maryland brought plenty of turbulence to the school with the move from the ACC to Big Ten in 2014, but his hire of Kevin Anderson led to instability for the football program for much of the decade as Maryland had four different head coaches in that span that generated just three bowl appearances--all losses. The agreement for Loh to retire came following the investigation over the death of former Maryland lineman Jordan McNair that exposed the cultural problems under former head coach DJ Durkin. Loh announced his initial plans to retire on June 30 of 2019, while also recommending Durkin and athletic director Damon Evans to remain in their positions before Durkin was fired days later and Loh announced six months later that he's postponed retirement one more year.

But today marks the final day for Loh in office as Maryland announced Darryll Pines, professor and dean of the A. James Clark School of Engineering, would step in as the university's new president effective July 1. “The Board is delighted to welcome as president of our flagship institution a leader of the caliber of Dr. Pines,” Board of Regents Chair Linda R. Gooden said in a statement at the time. “The University of Maryland, College Park is a world-class institution, and Dr. Pines brings to the position a wealth of experience.”

Note: Maryland also announced on Monday that the University's Main Administration Building is now named after state Senate President Emeritus Thomas V. "Mike" Miller Jr. 

"He transformed our physical campus. He was instrumental in securing stat investment for the Physical Sciences Complex, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, Xfinity Center, the Bioscience Research Building, and Cole Fieldhouse," the school said in a campus-wide email. "He also transformed our academic and research programs by leading the efforts to forge a strategic partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore--named MPower, now codified in legislation--that has doubled our research enterprise and created new and collaborative educational opportunities for students and faculty on both campuses."