The Department of African American Studies is excited to have Dr. Gregory F. Ball, Vice President for Research and Former Dean for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, recognized alongside President Darryll J. Pines, Provost Jennifer King Rice, and ACES Program Director Michel Cukier for Daily Record's 2023 Higher Education Power List. 

"For the third consecutive year, President Darryll J. Pines was recognized for his contributions both as president and as 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, awarded for her second consecutive year, was labeled a national expert on education finance and policy. The list quotes President Pines in 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, highlighting a 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 in entrepreneurial contexts,” Ball said. “Forming learning communities can enhance [educational] experiences.”

Michel Cukier, also a first-time awardee, was recognized for his over 20-year tenure at UMD. Cukier has served as the director of the ACES program—an undergraduate Honors College program which provides students the opportunity to explore the world of cybersecurity and its real-world applications—for more than a decade. Additionally, he serves as a professor of reliability engineering with a joint appointment in the department of mechanical engineering, and was noted for his significant contributions to cybersecurity research."

Source Article: Link