Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president emeritus of UMBC (The University of Maryland, Baltimore County), works with college, university, K-12, government, and business leaders as a consultant, lecturer, and speaker on such topics as leadership, STEM education, workforce development, and civic engagement.

Dr.  Hrabowski’s research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. He chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced the report, Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. President Obama named him chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans in 2012.  His widely viewed TED talk highlights the Four Pillars of College Success in Science.

With philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff, he co-founded the Meyerhoff Scholars Program in 1988. The program is open to high-achieving students committed to pursuing graduate and professional degrees and research careers in STEM and advancing underrepresented minorities in these fields. The program is recognized as a national model.  Based on program outcomes, Dr. Hrabowski has authored numerous articles and co-authored five books. Beating the Odds and Overcoming the Odds (Oxford University Press), focus on parenting and high-achieving African American males and females in science. Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement (Beacon Press), describes the events and experiences that played a central role in his development as an educator and leader. The Empowered University: Shared Leadership, Culture Change, and Academic Success (Johns Hopkins University Press), written with two colleagues, examines how university communities support academic success by cultivating an empowering institutional culture. His latest book, The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Success (Johns Hopkins University Press), written with three UMBC colleagues, focuses on how leaders can use the qualities of openness, resilience, courage, passion, and hope to drive student success, even in challenging times.