BALTIMORE COUNTY — There's a new face leading the Retrievers.
As she makes her way through UMBC's campus, you can see her bright smile and hear her southern accent. President Valerie Sheares Ashby is from North Carolina.
"I'm a chemist. and I tell people I love teaching organic chemistry. You could wake me up in the middle of the night to teach organic chemistry. I just love it," Sheares Ashby said.
The former dean of Duke's College of Arts and Sciences comes from a background of science.
She replaces a legend, Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, he led the institution for 30 years. A man many credits with putting UMBC on the map.
"First of all, I said who follows Freeman Hrabowski. Nobody does that, that's insane. Who signs up for that, so my first answer was no thank you," said Sheares Ashby.
Hrabowski was a mentor to Sheares Ashby. He thought she would be a perfect fit for the institution. After learning more about the mission statement and the vision here, she says it's the core who she is.
"It's just even in the first line. It says its going to redefine excellence through an inclusive culture. Who says that. We're going to really decide we're not excellent if we're not inclusive as an institution of higher education. That's not the leading sentence for anyone vision statement in the country and we actually mean it," Sheares Ashby said.
The diversity drew her to UMBC.
"There's a sign that I pass by it every morning that says we are welcoming and inspiring inquisitive minds from all backgrounds. I don't know what else there is to say. When you walk across our campus look who's studying with each other. Look who's playing with each other," said Sheares Ashby.
On challenges, UMBC's are similar to other institutions of higher learning.
"We need to make sure that every student who wants to come to UMBC, can come to UMBC. Higher education is not cheap as you know," Sheares Ashby said.
She also wants to level the playing field when it comes to higher paying careers.
"Why is it that the things that are the least diverse are the most lucrative so if I'm trying to do a change in economic trajectory for my students I need more diverse students in computing," Sheares Ashby said.
She is thrilled to be the first woman to lead UMBC.
"Every job I've ever had has been my favorite job at the time. And that's because I've had the fortune of going places where the values and the commitment match my values and commitment. For me waking up every day and thinking we are in the life-changing business that's the joy for me," Sheares Ashby said.
