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UMGC Global Media Center
Media Advisory: President Gregory W. Fowler's Inauguration

Inauguration of University of Maryland Global Campus President Gregory W. Fowler to be Held Thursday, March 10, 2022

Bob Ludwig
By Bob Ludwig

MEDIA ADVISORY

Adelphi, Md. (Feb. 28, 2022)—University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) will celebrate the inauguration of Gregory W. Fowler, PhD., as its seventh president on March 10, 2022. The investiture will serve as a hallmark event of the university’s 75th anniversary, opening a new chapter in the UMGC story while honoring its proud history, and will include representatives from the global UMGC community and the University System of Maryland, as well as other state and national leaders. 

What: Inauguration of UMGC President Gregory W. Fowler, PhD 

When: 10 a.m., Thursday, March 10, 2022 

The ceremony, which will be broadcast online beginning at 10 a.m., includes:  

  • Inaugural Procession
  • Greetings and Video Presentations: Inaugural Committee Honorary Chair William R. Roberts, DPS, chair, UMUC Ventures Board of Directors; academic officials from other institutions; elected officials from local and state government, including Governor Larry Hogan, U.S. Sen. Christopher Van Hollen and Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks; members of the global UMGC community.
  • History of the University: Lawrence E. Leak, PhD, Administrator Emeritus, UMGC.
  • Reflections from Colleagues: a video presentation 
  • Investiture and Charge to the President: Linda R. Gooden, DPS ’06 & ’09, chair, University System of Maryland Board of Regents and Jay A. Perman, MD, chancellor, University System of Maryland. 
  • Inaugural Address: Gregory W. Fowler, PhD, president, University of Maryland Global Campus

Where: College Park Marriott Hotel and Conf. Ctr., 3501 University Blvd. East, Hyattsville, Md. 

To register for the online broadcast, click HERE

MEDIA CONTACT:
Bob Ludwig, 301-887-7614
robert.ludwig@umgc.edu

Background:

Dr. Fowler was selected to serve as president by the University System of Maryland Board of Regents and began his tenure on January 4, 2021. 

Raised in a family of modest means, President Fowler knows first-hand the power of education to transform lives, and his leadership is shaping UMGC’s next chapter marked by an evolutionary shift in higher education that places the needs of students first. As he has often said, his goal—and the university’s goal—is to fulfill the university’s mission “by bringing the right learning experience to the right students at the right time and in the right way.” 

Read Dr. Fowler’s full biography

UMGC’s 75th anniversary represents an opportunity to celebrate its rich history of service to students in the workforce and the military, and its expanding mission providing students around the globe access to a quality, workforce-relevant education. Dr. Fowler’s inauguration serves as a welcome and celebration of an innovative higher education leader with a dynamic vision for UMGC.  

About University of Maryland Global Campus

Celebrating its 75th anniversary, University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) was established in 1947 to serve adults in the workforce, including military servicemembers and veterans in Maryland and around the world. Today, UMGC enrolls some 90,000 students annually, offering bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, as well as certificates in more than 90 fully online and hybrid programs and specializations.  

UMGC has a long history of innovation in reaching students where they are, including as a pioneer of internet instruction, piloting its first online classes in 1994. The university has received numerous awards for its groundbreaking work in developing fully online degree programs, including in high-demand fields such as cybersecurity, business, data analytics, health care and education.  

UMGC was the first university to send faculty overseas to teach active-duty military personnel stationed in Europe, beginning in 1949 and expanding to Asia in 1956 and the Middle East in 2005. University faculty have taught in the war zones of Vietnam, Kosovo, Kuwait, Afghanistan and Iraq.  

In addition to education centers in Maryland and across the metropolitan Washington, DC, area, UMGC offers in-person classes or services to military personnel and their families at 175-plus locations in more than 20 countries. More than half of the university’s student body are active-duty military personnel, reservists, members of the National Guard, veterans, and dependents.