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Convocation 2016 Speaker Announced

Freeman Hrabowski
Dean James Ryan and the Harvard Graduate School of Education Speakers Committee announced today that Freeman Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), will address graduates and their families at the 2016 Convocation ceremony on May 25.

“Freeman Hrabowski is a singularly successful scholar and education leader. He has dedicated his career to improving opportunity for students from all racial and socioeconomic backgrounds, and is an outspoken advocate for science and math education,” Ryan said. “As president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, he has embraced an entrepreneurial and ambitious mindset that has rightly earned him a place as one of the country’s most innovative and influential education leaders. We are fortunate to have him as our Convocation speaker, and I’m truly looking forward to hearing him address the HGSE Class of 2016.”

"These graduates will shape the lives of thousands of young people and the future of our country. I am honored to be addressing these leaders as they begin this next phase in their lives,” said Hrabowski.

Hrabowski — a child of prominent Civil Rights activist of the 1960s — has long advocated for minority rights and education throughout his career as an activist, educator, administrator, author, and consultant. 

He began his higher education career in 1976 when he became associate dean of graduate students and associate professor of statistics at Alabama A&M University. He quickly worked his way up in the higher education field, becoming vice provost at UMBC at age 37.

Since becoming UMBC president in 1992, Hrabowski has transformed the public university, once known as a commuter school, into an institution lauded for its innovation and research. In 2015, U.S. News ranked UMBC fourth among the nation’s “most innovative” national universities. In 2011, Hrabowski received the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Academic Leadership Award, one of the highest honors given to an educator. The award included a $500,000 grant, which he has dedicated to the Hrabowski Fund for Innovation to support and promote a culture of innovation; entrepreneurship through course design and redesign; development of unique classroom learning environments that support active learning, team-based learning, and entrepreneurial skill development; lab- and project-based capstone courses; faculty fellowships; and peer-learning initiatives.

A mathematician, Hrabowski has focused many efforts on the country’s need for more scientists and engineers, earning UMBC a reputation for producing professionals in the field. With philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff, he co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program in 1988, which draws and supports high-achieving students committed to pursuing advanced degrees and research careers in science and engineering, and advancing underrepresented minorities in these fields.

Hrabowski is also renowned for his leadership skills, for which he was named one of America’s 10 Best College Presidents in 2008, and one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2012 by Time. In 2011, he received both the TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence and the Carnegie Corporation of New York’s Academic Leadership Award, recognized by many as the nation’s highest awards among higher education leaders. Also in 2011, he was named one of seven Top American Leaders by The Washington Post and the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. In 2012, he received the Heinz Award for his contributions to improving the “human condition” and was among the inaugural inductees into the U.S. News & World Report STEM Solutions Leadership Hall of Fame.

Hrabowski has authored numerous articles and co-authored two books, Beating the Odds and Overcoming the Odds, focusing on parenting and high-achieving African American males and females in science, and the most recent, Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement, which describes the events and experiences that played a central role in his development as an educator and leader.

During his lengthy career, he has consulted with many universities and school systems, served on several boards, and was also named as chair to President Obama’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Additionally, he has received dozens of awards including the McGraw Prize in Education and the U.S. Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring, as well as 20 honorary degrees.

Hrabowski was suggested by the HGSE Speaker’s Committee, a committee consisting of faculty, students, and staff who make speaker recommendations for Ed School events including Askwith Forums and Convocation. Speakers are nominated and considered based on their experience and ability to offer a meaningful reflection for students and their families.

“We are so fortunate to have Freeman Hrabowski joining us this year.  He is not only one of the nation’s top higher education leaders and foremost equity advocates, but he has as impressive an equity track record as any university president in America,” said Professor Paul Reville, chair of the Speakers Committee.   

Note: Due to capacity constraints, the event is restricted to HGSE faculty, students, staff, alumni, and guests of our 2016 graduates.

Press Note: Reporters interested in covering Hrabowski’s speech should contact Jill Anderson.

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