Stephen L. Pruitt, Ph.D., President
592 10th St., NW, Atlanta, GA 30318 - 5776
(404) 875-9211; fax: (404) 872-1477
web: www.sreb.org/
Ex officio: Lawrence J. Hogan, Jr., Governor
c/o Maryland Higher Education Commission
Nancy S. Grasmick Building, 6 North Liberty St., Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 767-3300; fax: (410) 332-0250; tty: 1-800-974-0203 (toll free)
web: https://mhec.maryland.gov/
Nancy S. Grasmick Building, 6 North Liberty St., Baltimore, Maryland, March 2014. Photo by Diane F. Evartt.
The Southern Regional Education Board is the nation's oldest interstate compact for higher education. The Board plans for the use of educational programs and facilities by its member states that enable them to multiply the benefits of cooperative efforts, while dividing costs. The Board operates under the Southern Regional Education Compact of 1949, which Maryland ratified in 1949 (Chapter 282, Acts of 1949). Fifteen other states have ratified the Compact.
Created at the request of southern political and education leaders, the Board brings together educators, government officials, and other regional leaders to advance education and thereby improve the social and economic life of its member states. Working directly with state governments, academic institutions, and other agencies, the Board conducts research and reports on needs, problems, and developments in education; coordinates cooperative programs to upgrade training in undergraduate, graduate, professional and technical education; and administers interstate arrangements for regional educational services and institutions. These reciprocal agreements provide quality education without developing expensive specialized programs in each state.
Sixteen states are Board members: Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The Board's governing body consists of eighty members. These include the governor and four others from each member state, one of whom must be a state legislator and one an educator. All are chosen by the governor for four-year terms (Code Education Article, secs. 25-201 through 25-205).
Maryland members appointed by Governor: two vacancies
Maryland Legislative member: John D. (Jack) Bailey, State Senate
The Legislative Advisory Council meets annually to examine educational issues of immediate concern and to share strategies that work in their state. The Council's members, who all are legislators from member states, also advise the Board and organize the annual Legislative Work Conference.
© Copyright Maryland State Archives