Press Release - Chancellor Forms Search Committee for New UMES President

November 8, 2001

Chancellor Forms Search Committee for New UMES President 

Donald N. Langenberg, chancellor of the University System of Maryland (USM), today announced the formation of a search and screening committee to consider candidates for president of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES). The president will succeed Dolores R. Spikes, who announced her retirement in September. Since her departure, Jackie (Jack) Thomas, executive vice president of UMES, has served as interim president.

"As is always the case when we must fill a presidency, the committee has been directed to conduct a very thorough, comprehensive national search to find the best leadership possible," said Langenberg.

Jesse Williams, an alumnus who is chairman of the university's Board of Visitors, will chair the 17-member search committee, which includes members of the faculty, staff, student body, and community.

The committee's task is to develop a broad and deep pool of strong candidates, conduct interviews with the candidates it deems most qualified for the presidency, and forward to the USM Board of Regents the names of three to five finalists. The Board of Regents has the responsibility of making the final selection. (The process is outlined in "Guidelines for the Selection of Presidents," approved by the Board of Regents in 1991 and revised in 2001.)

Following is a list of Search and Screening Committee members:

UMES Faculty, Staff:
Bettie Blakely
Bill Chapin
Charlotte Crawford
Ali Eydgahi
Richard Keenan
Kelly Mack
Okeleke Nzeogwu
Ernest Satchell
George Shorter,
Nelson Townsend
Agnes Waters

UMES Students:
John Mullen
Kristin Richardson

Community Representatives:
Jesse Williams, Search and Screening Committee chair; chair, UMES Board of Visitors
Tony Bruce, member, UMES Board of Visitors
Richard Jones, president, Alumni Association
Virginia Layfield, member, UMES Board of Visitors

Marianne Horrigan, director of Corporate-Foundation Relations for the USM Office, will serve as the search committee's liaison to Chancellor Langenberg. A liaison to the Board of Regents will be named as well.

UMES is a land-grant, historically black university founded in 1886. The university grants degrees in the arts and sciences, agriculture, and business. The campus offers a number of unique programs geared to the region's needs, in keeping with its land-grant mission, including construction management, airway science, and hotel and restaurant management. Its 10
graduate offerings include doctoral programs in toxicology and marine-estuarine and environmental sciences.

Contact:

Chris Hart
Phone: 301/445-2739
E-mail: chart@usmd.edu