The Beginnings of UMGC Asia

September 17, 1956, may have started in a somewhat bland manner for most. The day is famous in some regards as it was when the US Constitution was ratified in 1787. In the Far East, however, it was also important as it was the first day of instruction for the newest addition to the University of Maryland system. While the school has changed names over the years, the basic mission has not. The school has established operations to offer college classes around the globe. While the origins of what is now UMGC Worldwide started in Europe in 1949, UMGC has also been a direct presence in Asia.

Classes had been offered by the University of California system in Asia starting in Spring of 1950, but due to a variety of issues, University of California withdrew and recommended that University of Maryland take over. In July of 1956 negotiations between the school and Gen Lyman Lemmitzer concluded and the contract for University of Maryland was signed. This quick turnaround, combined with the adaptability of the instructors to meet where they were needed, has become a hallmark of UMGC. The first instructor to the region was a full-time history instructor and two administrative aids to assist with the handoff from California. Classes commenced at locations on mainland Japan, Okinawa and in South Korea. It was an immediate success.  Within a year, classes had extended to a total of 52 locations across Asia, including Guam and Taiwan. The first formal cap-and-gown ceremony for graduates was held in 1958. The students referred to the faculty as “portable professors.” An interesting sidenote was that the professors were not allowed to teach in civilian attire.

What many do not know is that UMGC or its iterations have gone to additional places. UMGC instructors have often taught in conditions that were for all intents, active war zones. During the Vietnam War, UMGC maintained locations in U Thant, Thailand, several locations in the Philippines, and even conducted classes in war zones. One story compiled by the Maryland Overseas webpage was that of books being kicked out of a helicopter while taking fire, so that the students might have books to take classes while not involved in combat operations or their support. While UMGC has had the larger student count, the more harrowing instruction under fire has been conducted by the Asia faculty. Some stories from the Vietnam era include bombings in classrooms and an instructor who had a bomb thrown into his bus only to have it be a dud. Some instructors had armed escorts walk them to and from class.

Even more recently, instructors have gone where they have been asked to teach. One instructor, Dr. Alan Berg, once noted flying into Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan while the plane came under fire from ground elements. Dr. Cord Scott noted hearing the broadcast speakers operated by both North and South Korean forces while teaching at Camp Bonifas, which abuts the De-Militarized Zone between the two countries. Be it overturned jeeps on jungle trails heading towards fire bases to teach, or in air-conditioned workshops near airfields far to the rear, the school has accommodated the needs of its warrior-scholars in training.

In the time since the first classes in 1956, the world has changed substantially. Wars have been fought, the areas of housing have come and gone (and in the case of the Philippines and Australia, come again), and the manner of educational delivery has morphed. Many now take classes online, which was unthinkable even a couple decades ago. The faculty and staff continue to support those on the bases and in the adjacent communities. Whether it is the staff, coming in as a dependent, and aiding future students, or the professor with decades of teaching around the world, the desire for education and the need for people to have a face-to-face experience is one that drives UMGC to fulfill that need.