Dingman Gives $2 Million To Maryland Business School

College Park, MD - March 19, 1997 - Michael D. Dingman, president and CEO of Shipston Group, Ltd., has donated $2 million to the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship to enhance programs and support new initiatives. A part of the University of Maryland Business School, the Dingman Center is a focal point of entrepreneurial activity in the mid-Atlantic region.

Over the past 10 years, Dingman has committed a total of $6 million to the Maryland Business School. His first gift of $2 million established the Dingman Center in 1987. In 1995, he announced his second $2 million gift to expand the center's support of emerging growth companies, to establish the James E. Dingman Entrepreneur Scholar program in the MBA curriculum, and to fund an Entrepreneur-In-Residence for the center.

Dingman's most recent gift of $2 million will be donated in $200,000 increments over 10 years, like his second gift. The new gift will be used to build up the Dingman Center staff to meet the growing demands for services. It also will seed an international program in entrepreneurship and support development of an undergraduate entrepreneurship curriculum to mirror the center's nationally ranked MBA curriculum.

"Michael Dingman's continuing support of the business school is extraordinary," said William E. Kirwan, president of the University of Maryland at College Park. "Because of his generosity, we have been able to develop an entrepreneurship program that is both recognized as one of the nation's best and as having a significant impact on Maryland's economy."

"We are privileged to have Michael Dingman's continuing interest and support to help us build a model for academic and outreach programs in entrepreneurship," said Judy D. Olian, acting dean of the business school.

"Thanks to his generosity, our students, employers of our graduates, and the business community draw on the Dingman Center as a critical resource and knowledge center for entrepreneurship."

"Michael Dingman's vision is enabling us to move the Dingman Center to a new level," said Charles O. Heller, director of the center. "His gift will allow us to meet the growing regional demand for our services and let us expand into new, exciting areas."

The Dingman Center assists the region's entrepreneurial community through a mentor program; an investment network; the Baltimore-Washington Venture Group; and various types of educational, training, and networking activities. It also offers the Maryland Business School's academic programs in entrepreneurship. For three consecutive years, including 1996, SUCCESS magazine has ranked the Maryland Business School as one of the nation's 25 "Best Schools for Entrepreneurs."

About the Robert H. Smith School of BusinessThe Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research for the digital economy. The school offers cross-functional study options in its six academic departments, which include accounting and information assurance; decision and information technologies; finance; logistics, business, and public policy; management and organization; and marketing. More information about the Robert H. Smith School of Business can be found at http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu.