The College of Southern Maryland will celebrate its 52nd spring commencement at the La Plata Campus, May 12, with the keynote address to be provided by Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Hrabowski has served as president of UMBC since May 1992. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with a special emphasis on minority participation and performance. In 2008, Hrabowski was named one of Americas Best Leaders by U.S. News & World Report and in 2009, Time magazine named him one of Americas 10 Best College Presidents.
Hrabowski graduated at 19 from Hampton Institute with highest honors in mathematics. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he received his masters degree in mathematics, and four years later his doctorate in higher education administration/statistics at age 24.
Hrabowski serves as a consultant to the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the National Academies, and universities and school systems nationally, serves on the boards of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, France-Merrick Foundation, Marguerite Casey Foundation, as chair, The Urban Institute as well as on the boards for Constellation Energy Group, McCormick & Company, and the Baltimore Equitable Society. He is a past member of the board of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Maryland Humanities Council as member and chair.
With philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff, Hrabowski co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program in 1988. The program is open to all high-achieving students committed to pursuing advanced degrees and research careers in science and engineering, and advancing minorities in these fields. The program has become a national model, and based on program outcomes, 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. Both books are used by universities, school systems and community groups around the country.
CSMs spring commencement activities will begin with an Honors Convocation on May 11 at 6 p.m. on the Administration (AD) lawn. A nurses recognition program begins at 1 p.m., May 12 in the Physical Education (PE) Center, with a reception immediately following in the PE Center, upper level. The colleges commencement ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. on the AD lawn. Rain location will be in the PE Center.
A reception will follow the ceremony in BI-113.
CSM, founded in 1958, is the fifth largest community college in Maryland, and has grown to be the centerpiece of Southern Maryland. An integral part of the community, it has campuses in Calvert, Charles and St. Marys counties and serves nearly 23,000 credit and continuing education students annually. From a first graduating class of four in 1960, the college celebrates more than 17,000 graduates.
For information on commencement activities, visit http://www.csmd.edu/commencement/.