UMES students and visitors to the university often ask: “Why is there a cemetery on campus?” The truth is … little is known about its origins but official Methodist Church documents offer one explanation. The campus cemetery is the final resting place for three early instructional leaders when the institution was known as Princess Anne…Read more Hallowed ground
The foundation for the present-day University of Maryland Eastern Shore was laid during the mid-20th century. In the midst of the Great Depression, the state agreed to purchase Princess Anne Academy for $100,000 from Morgan College in Baltimore, which had operated it since 1886 as a satellite campus. The transaction was an important milestone. Although private and…Read more From Academy to College
No educator left a more indelible mark on the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in its first half-century than Thomas Henry Kiah. He is the first Eastern Shore and Maryland native to head the institution. He is the first alumnus to be its chief executive. He held the post for 26 years, the longest tenure in the school’s first…Read more Thomas H. Kiah
Musician. Writer. Minister. The remarkable Daniel L. Ridout, a Princess Anne Academy alumnus, holds a special place in the institution’s history as composer of its jaunty alma mater . The Ridout name was synonymous with music in the early 20th century. A third-generation Methodist pastor, Ridout was born March 10, 1898 in Chestertown, Md. His innate musical talent was cultivated by his…Read more The Alma Mater
The second 25 years The second 25 years of Princess Anne Academy could easily be called the “Kiah era.” Thomas Henry Kiah became the school’s fifth principal in 1911 and served in that role until he died in 1936, making him the longest-serving instructional leader in the institution’s first 125 years. Fifteen years before his…Read more The Kiah era
‘A once-in-a-lifetime athlete‘ Art Shell’s imposing size instantly made him a memorable figure when he arrived on campus in 1964 to play football. What could not be known that fall day would be his impact on the game — and his alma mater. The son of a railroad worker, Arthur L. Shell was a two-sport, all-state…Read more Art Shell
Barack Obama’s ability to inspire young people to turn out at the polls in 2008 was crucial to his election as the nation’s first Black president, historians and political pundits agree. Feb. 11, 2008 at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore was a shining example of that strategy. At the invitation of UMES student…Read more The Day Michelle Obama Visited UMES
Maryland State College placed a full-page ad in the Afro-American newspaper in early August 1955 hoping to attract prospective students and the attention of their parents. “The growth of Maryland State, the historic college on the Eastern Shore,” the advertisement reads, “has developed into a remarkable institution since its founding sixty-nine years ago.” Along with…Read more Honoris causa charter class
Grambling State University football coach Eddie Robinson didn’t lose many games over a 55-year career; 165 to be exact. Four came at the talons of Maryland State College coached by Vernon “Skip” McCain. In fact, Robinson’s Tigers never beat a McCain-led squad. That impressive statistic is perhaps the culminating credential in an impressive resume that…Read more Vernon ‘Skip’ McCain
Shortly after Princess Anne Academy opened to provide Blacks a formal education that included instruction in algebra, Latin and rhetoric, Congress enacted the second Morrill Act of 1890 that would transform the rural prep school into a land-grant institution. Young women whose goal was earning an industrial certificate in “domestic science” could expect to learn “the…Read more Potato Flour Muffins
