Four UMD Leaders Among 30 Most Influential Figures in Maryland Higher Education 2023 Power List

Four University of Maryland (UMD) leaders made the 2023 Higher Education Power List produced by The Daily Record.

The list - which names President Darryll J. Pines, President of the University of Maryland as well as the Glenn L. Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Senior Vice President and Provost, Jennifer King Rice, Vice President for Research, Gregory F. Ball, and the Director of the Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) Michel Cukier—highlights 30 of the most influential figures in Maryland higher education, each selected for their vision and impact.

For the third consecutive year, President Darryll J. Pines was recognized for his contributions both as president and former Dean of the Clark School of Engineering. The Daily Record notes his dedication to improving the student experience, his expansion of innovation and entrepreneurship, and his leadership in a groundbreaking nationwide initiative to provide pre-college engineering education.

Senior Vice President and Provost, Jennifer King Rice was awarded for her second consecutive year and labeled a national expert on education finance and policy. The list quotes President Pines calling Rice “an esteemed researcher, a strategist, and an advocate” with an “extraordinary commitment to measurable impact policies and practices [and] diversity, equity, and inclusion.”

First-time awardee Gregory F. Ball, Vice President for Research, was named for his oversight of the joint research enterprise between the University of Maryland, College Park, and the University of Maryland, Baltimore. In his interview with The Daily Record, Ball said that higher education will play a critical role in training the workforce of the future, and highlighted the need for experiential learning to augment traditional approaches to education. “This should include basic, applied, or even clinical research, but also programs that promote experiences in business and entrepreneurial contexts,” Ball said. “Forming learning communities can enhance educational experiences."

Michel Cukier, a professor of reliability engineering with a joint appointment in the department of mechanical engineering, was also a first-time awardee. He was recognized for his significant contributions to cybersecurity research and his over 20-year tenure at UMD. Cukier has served as the Director of the Advanced Cybersecurity Experience for Students (ACES) program, an undergraduate Honors College program that has provided students with the opportunity to explore cybersecurity and its real-world applications for more than a decade. We celebrate these leaders for their immense contributions to education.