ForUMES Sues Maryland Over Land-Grant Funding
A federal complaint seeks billions for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, alleging decades of state underfunding.
Updated on Nov. 14, 2026 in Financial Aid
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The group ForUMES filed a complaint on October 26 in U.S. District Court in Maryland against Gov. Wes Moore, University System of Maryland officials and Maryland Higher Education Commission officials. The suit seeks billions of dollars in relief for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES).
Why it matters
The complaint argues the state has deliberately underfunded UMES since it became a land-grant institution in 1890, and says the school was meant to be a separate but equal land-grant college. The case could shape how Maryland funds its historically Black public university and its land-grant mission.
State funding per full-time equivalent UMES student rose from $19,640 in fiscal 2022 to more than $26,000 in each of the next three fiscal years, according to the complaint's figures. The complaint's characterization of those figures as evidence of deliberate underfunding has not been tested in court.
The players
Wes Moore
Wes Moore is the Governor of Maryland, named as a defendant in the complaint over state funding for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
ForUMES
ForUMES is the group that filed the lawsuit seeking billions in relief for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, based in Princess Anne, is a historically Black public university and a land-grant institution founded in 1886 as Delaware Conference Academy.
The details
ForUMES alleges the state has deliberately underfunded the school since 1890 and that UMES was supposed to be a separate but equal land-grant college. The complaint notes that the 1890 designation followed the exclusion of Black students from the University of Maryland, College Park. In April, the University System Board of Regents approved nearly $15 million for renovations and new construction of the UMES School of Veterinary Medicine.
Timeline
1890: UMES became a land-grant institution.
Fiscal 2022: State funding per student was $19,640.
October 26: ForUMES filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Maryland.
June 2027: The UMES School of Veterinary Medicine is scheduled to open.
Legal Context
UMES is one of 19 historically Black colleges and universities designated as land-grant institutions under the 1890 Morrill Act, a designation that followed the exclusion of Black students from the University of Maryland, College Park. The lawsuit asks a federal court to treat that 1890 designation as a binding commitment to equal state support.
Students and families considering UMES may watch how the lawsuit affects state support for its programs and facilities. The UMES School of Veterinary Medicine began accepting applications the week before this report, with a scheduled opening in June 2027.
The takeaway
The lawsuit asks whether a land-grant designation from 1890 still carries enforceable funding obligations today. Readers tracking college costs in Maryland may want to follow how the court responds.
What happens next
A news conference on the lawsuit is scheduled in Baltimore on Tuesday.
Further reading
For related coverage, explore more on Financial Aid in Maryland.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Maryland Matters.
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