Generous Gift from McKeldin-Wayner Family Extends Legacy of McKeldin Library’s Namesake, Expands UMD Libraries’ Information Literacy Outreach

The University of Maryland Libraries is pleased to announce the generous commitment of the McKeldin and Wayner families to establish the McKeldin-Wayner Family Student Success Fund for the Libraries.

This endowed fund will bolster the work done by the Libraries to provide outreach and instruction in information literacy, using strategies that reach all students.

“My grandfather, Theodore McKeldin, was a first-generation college student and civil rights advocate who understood the importance of a liberal arts education for every Marylander,” said Caroline McKeldin Wayner (parent ’25). “Our family would like to honor his legacy by enthusiastically supporting the Libraries in their role as a campus leader in promoting student success.”

UMD librarians instruct over 20,000 students each year and provide specialized programs to students who are first-generation, veterans, international and/or are transferring from other institutions or participating in programs offered by the Fostering Terps Success initiative or the Office of Multi-ethnic Student Education (OMSE). The McKeldin-Wayner Student Success Fund will advance this type of integrative, results-focused programming as the university seeks to reimagine teaching and learning.

“Our campus’s main library bears the name of Theodore McKeldin, the former Governor of Maryland who secured the funds to build our flagship building,” said Adriene Lim, Dean of Libraries. “Together with its companion libraries around campus, McKeldin Library has served generations of Terps. I am grateful to the McKeldin-Wayner family for continuing to advance the Libraries and the university’s shared vision.”