USM Board of Regents Appoints Darryll J. Pines as President of University of Maryland, College Park

BALTIMORE, Feb. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents has appointed Darryll J. Pines, PhD, as the 34th president of the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). Pines has spent 25 years on the College Park campus and is dean of the university's A. James Clark School of Engineering. His appointment is effective July 1.

Pines has served as both dean and the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the Clark School since January 2009. He first arrived in 1995 as an assistant professor and later served as chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering from 2006 to 2009.

As dean, Pines has led the development of the Clark School's 2020 Strategic Plan and achieved notable successes in key areas, such as improving teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses and raising student retention, achieving success in national and international student competitions, placing new emphasis on sustainability engineering and service learning, promoting STEM education among high school students, increasing the impact of research programs, and expanding philanthropic contributions to the school.

Thanks in part to these efforts, the Clark School's one-year undergraduate retention rate and five-year graduation rate are 91 percent and 75 percent, respectively—which rank among the top at public flagship universities in the United States. In addition, the university's Solar Decathlon team placed first worldwide in the 2011 competition, the Clark School's Engineers Without Borders chapter is considered one of the best in the nation, and the Engineering Sustainability Workshop launched by Pines has become a key campus event.  

Pines has testified before Congress on STEM education and created the Top 25 Source Schools program for Maryland high schools. On the national level, he has led an effort as part of the P–12 Engineering Education Committee of the American Society for Engineering Education's Engineering Deans Council to develop a first of its kind, nationwide, pre-college course on engineering principles and design. The pilot program, Engineering-For-US-All (E4USA), will implement a standardized educational curriculum across multiple states. The course, made possible through a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), is intended to provide the equivalent of placement and credit for an introductory college course. Pines is also the secretary for the Executive Committee of the National GEM Consortium, a national nonprofit providing programming and full fellowships to increase the number of domestic underrepresented minority graduate students pursuing STEM fields.

"The Board is delighted to welcome as president of our flagship institution a leader of the caliber of Dr. Pines," Board of Regents Chair Linda Gooden said. "The University of Maryland, College Park is a world-class institution, and Dr. Pines brings to the position a wealth of experience. He knows intimately the strengths of the faculty, the energy of the students, and the circle of legislative and philanthropic support both in the State of Maryland and beyond. I can't think of a better person to build on the excellence at the university and take it to even higher levels. I know I speak for the entire board when I say we've found precisely the right person for this important job—College Park will indeed be in good hands."

Pines will succeed President Wallace Loh, PhD, JD, who has led UMD since 2010. As the flagship university of the state, Maryland is a global leader in research, entrepreneurship, and innovation, and is home to more than 40,000 students, 10,000 faculty and staff, and 280 academic programs. UMD is one of the nation's top producers of Fulbright scholars, and the university's faculty includes two Nobel laureates, three Pulitzer Prize winners, and 58 members of the national academies. The institution has a $2.1 billion operating budget and secures more than $1 billion annually in research funding together with the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

"It is an honor to take on the leadership role at the University of Maryland, College Park—clearly one of our nation's finest Research I universities—and one that I know and love so well," said Pines. "As professor and dean of engineering, I am well acquainted with and have long admired the outstanding faculty, the executive leadership, and the passionate and civically engaged alumni and students who make Maryland such a special place. I'm excited by this new challenge and can't wait to listen, learn, and lead this incredible university."

Chancellor Jay A. Perman, MD, said the selection of Pines should be well received across the System.

"This is the first major appointment since I became chancellor, and it's something that I felt we had to get absolutely right—so I couldn't be more pleased to see Darryll Pines appointed as the next president of the University of Maryland, College Park," Perman said. "I've known Dr. Pines and his work for quite some time, and I believe he's exactly the right kind of leader at exactly the right time for an institution of College Park's prominent stature and incredible growth potential. I'm especially grateful that Darryll and I share a passion for ensuring that any Marylander who desires a higher education has the opportunity to receive one. We all expect great things, and I look forward to working with him in the months ahead. I know his colleague USM presidents will warmly welcome him to this new position."

"I should also express my deep gratitude to the entire presidential search committee for helping to make this important choice," Perman said. "The committee worked diligently throughout the search process and made sure that a wide range of voices from the greater UMD community was heard."

Under Pines, the Clark School was a key player in the successful conclusion of the University of Maryland's most recent $1 billion campaign, raising more than $240 million—well over the school's initial fundraising goal of $185 million. The funds raised by the Clark School came from 14,945 donors and support critical areas: $47 million for scholarships and financial support of undergraduate and graduate students; $48 million to help recruit and retain faculty; $27 million in support of innovation; and $89 million for building and classroom upgrades.  In the current $1.5 billion Fearless Ideas: The Campaign for Maryland, the Clark School has already raised $503.9 million, or 0.8 percent over its fundraising goal of $500 million.  Most notably, Pines and his leadership team were instrumental in securing a $219.5 million investment—which was in 2017, the sixth largest gift ever to a public university—from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation.

During Pines' leadership as dean, the A. James Clark School of Engineering has been ranked as high as 18th among all institutions in the U.S. News and World Report graduate school rankings. He has served and continues to serve on the boards of several major corporations and not-for-profit organizations, including Engility Corp., Aurora Flight Sciences, and Underwriters Laboratory. In 2015, Pines was awarded the Maryland House of Delegates Speaker's Medallion, presented to a citizen who has made an outstanding contribution to the state. In 2018, Pines was recognized with the University of Maryland President's Medal, which is the highest honor that can be bestowed on a member of campus community by the President of the University. In 2019, Pines was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his "inspirational leadership and contributions to engineering education."

Pines has also made diversity at the student, staff, and faculty levels a hallmark of his tenure as dean. Under his leadership and as a co-principal investigator, the university became an NSF ADVANCE grant recipient under the theme of developing "A Culture of Inclusive Excellence," which is focused on improving work environments, retention, and advancement of tenured and tenure-track women faculty in ways that improve the culture for all faculty. At the Clark School, the number of tenured and tenure-track women and underrepresented faculty has more than doubled under Pines' leadership.

During a leave of absence from the University from 2003 to 2006, Pines served as program manager for the Tactical Technology Office and Defense Sciences Office of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). While at DARPA, Pines initiated five programs primarily related to the development of aerospace technologies, for which he received the Department of Defense's Distinguished Service Medal. He also held positions at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Chevron Corporation, and Space Tethers, Inc. At LLNL, Pines worked on the Clementine spacecraft program, which discovered water near the south pole of the moon. A replica of the spacecraft now sits in the National Air and Space Museum.

Pines' current research focuses on structural dynamics, including structural health monitoring and prognosis, smart sensors, and adaptive, morphing, and biologically-inspired structures, as well as the guidance, navigation, and control of aerospace vehicles.  As a faculty supervisor, he has mentored over 50 MS and PhD students, and six postdoctoral scientists.  Many of his graduates hold key positions in academia, industry and government. He is a fellow of the Institute of Physics, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and has received an NSF CAREER Award. Pines received a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. He earned MS and PhD degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

As the new UMD president, Pines takes leadership of the university after a decade of tremendous growth and advancement under President Loh. Over the past 10 years, Maryland became the nation's first "Do Good" campus, engaging the entire student body in doing good in their communities and around the world; rolled out the $2 billion public-private investment known as Greater College Park; joined the Big Ten Conference, bringing academic and athletic benefits to the entire university community; solidified its strategic partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore through the MPowering the State initiative; and launched a $1.5 billion fundraising campaign—Fearless Ideas: The Campaign for Maryland—slated to end next year.

The university is well poised to bolster its global leadership in key areas of research and innovation, such as quantum science, advanced computing, language and culture, terrorism, neuroscience, remote sensing, energy, transportation, and biomedical engineering. The university is committed to investment in the arts, building upon its partnership with The Phillips Collection and the long-time success of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Later this decade, the university will welcome the Purple Line light rail to campus, connecting students, faculty, and staff to surrounding communities and transportation hubs like never before.

The University of Maryland has earned high national and international rankings. The university is consistently recognized by numerous publications for its value, including its rank as No. 10 among U.S. public institutions in Kiplinger's Best College Values. The university is also widely recognized for its diversity and progress in closing the achievement gap. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education named UMD the No. 1 college in Maryland for conferring doctoral and master's degrees to minority students.

The USM comprises 12 institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; the University of Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies; the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; and the University of Maryland Global Campus. The USM also includes three regional centers—the Universities at Shady Grove, the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, and the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland—at which USM universities offer upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.

Systemwide, student enrollment exceeds 172,000. The USM and its institutions compete successfully nearly $1.5 billion in external grants and contracts annually. USM institutions and programs are among the nation's best in quality and value according to several national rankings. To learn more about the University System of Maryland, visit www.usmd.edu.

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SOURCE University of Maryland