CATONSVILLE, Md. — UMBC has announced its new president, who will replace 30-year president Freeman Hrabowski.
Dr. Valerie Sheares Ashby will start at UMBC on Aug. 1. She is currently dean of Duke University's Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, and will be UMBC's first woman president.
The USM is proud to announce that the Board of Regents has named Dr. Valerie Sheares Ashby as the next president of @UMBC! She is currently the dean of @DukeTrinity at @DukeU & will begin her presidency at #UMBC on August 1. Welcome Dr. Ashby! https://t.co/O53EXTFDWg pic.twitter.com/2vIW9EfQEi
— University System of Maryland (@Univ_System_MD) April 4, 2022
Ashby has been dean at Duke since 2015, where she helped Trinity earn $45 million more than its $435 million goal for the "Duke Forward" campaign, according to a press release from the University System of Maryland.
She previously chaired the chemistry department at University of North Carolina, where she got her degrees originally. Her chemistry research focused on designing and synthesizing materials for biomedical applications, and she received a National Science Foundation Career Development Award, the DuPont Young Faculty and 3M Young Faculty Awards.
Ashby said in a statement: "It is an incredible honor to be asked to lead a university that has excelled in so many ways that are essential both nationally and to me personally – particularly in regards to foregrounding inclusive excellence. I have tremendous respect for all the members of the UMBC community and am looking forward to working in partnership with the students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends who are the heart of this institution."
