Time recently published its list of Top 10 college and university presidents. Featured on that list is one of the most extraordinary individuals I have ever had the honor to know — Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, the president of UMBC. The article highlighted Dr. Hrabowski’s achievements in increasing the number of underrepresented minority students who pursue advanced degrees in science, engineering, and medicine. His accomplishments in this regard have been tremendous — and his work has proven that if we want students to be successful, then we must continually raise the bar, force them to aim high, surround them with highly motivated mentors and peers, hold them accountable for their own success, and require them to give back to others even more than they took along the way.
For Dr. Hrabowski, there are no excuses and no exceptions — just opportunities to work harder and accomplish more the next time. Every student at UMBC benefits from the culture of excellence and environment of support that Dr. Hrabowski has created, and our nation benefits from the contributions that so many Meyerhoff Scholars have made and will continue to make to advancing science and improving health-care delivery.
Sadly, however, the Time story doesn’t even begin to touch on the depth of Freeman’s character, spirit, compassion, brilliance, and energy that inspire all who know him to work harder and become better. I earned my master’s degree in applied molecular biology at UMBC during the BF (Before Freeman) years, and I returned a decade later, during the early Hrabowski presidency, to enroll in the Ph.D. program in cellular and molecular biology. The change in campus culture was literally breathtaking. I’ll never forget the first time I saw Freeman taking his daily power-walk through campus. He was definitely a man on a mission, his brisk pace making it clear that he had somewhere to be and that he was probably running a bit late. Nonetheless, Freeman made time to talk to every student he passed, asking with sincerity and interest how things were going, what the student’s major was, if he or she needed any help, and what he or she wanted to do in the future. Even more remarkable than his effort to ask the right questions was his focus on listening — really listening — to the answers. Weeks after my first encounter with Freeman, I ran into him again in the campus quad, and he picked up where the earlier conversation had ended — even remembering the names and ages of my children.
And then there was the day that Freeman took me to the roof. Anyone who has ever visited the UMBC campus probably knows what I mean about the visit to the roof, but for the rest of you, I will explain. From the day Dr. Hrabowski became president, he had a vision for what this tiny, red brick campus could become, and to fully understand the magnitude of that vision, one was required to trek up to the top of the administration building where Freeman would explain it all … sometimes in four-part harmony! A research park will go here, a new engineering building there, a public policy building over there, an expanded library, a new center for the arts, and so on, and so on. Sometimes I wondered if this man ever took time to breathe.
Dr. Hrabowski is not an “office president” who sits behind a desk, or limits himself to meetings with his intellectual equals and deep-pocketed donors. Sure he has those meetings, but I doubt they are the highlight of his day. Dr. Hrabowski is not a pomp and circumstance president who shows up at the right campus events, with the right 3-minute speech, not really knowing why the event is significant or how it got onto his calendar in the first place. He does show up, but with sincere interest and heart-felt comments that make one realize how much can be said in such few words. Dr. Hrabowski is (and I say this with great respect and admiration) a rooftop and sidewalk president. His is an active and vibrant part of the academic community and his motivating presence is felt by all, both literally and figuratively, given that the daily power walk has continued to be a key part of Freeman’s very full schedule.
Dr. Freeman Hrabowski is a leader among leaders because he shows with his actions and not just his words that there is value in dreaming big, in working day and night to realize that dream, and in sticking with it over the long haul. In this time of short-term presidencies, Dr. Hrabowski’s long commitment to UMBC is both admirable and instructive.
Sure, Freeman can raise money, and sure he can lure accomplished faculty and smart students to give his campus a Top 10 listing with U.S. News, and sure he can tell the rest of the world what they really need to do if they want to increase participation by underrepresented minorities in mathematics, science, and engineering, but these accomplishments are but a few of the Hrabowski successes that are so meaningful to UMBC’s students, alumni and neighbors. Among other things too numerous to list here, Freeman Hrabowski has been a driver of local economic development, he has been a supporter of the arts and humanities, he has worked tirelessly to improve the preparation of teachers for the unique challenges of urban K-12 schools, he has advanced entrepreneurship, and he has emphasized to students their civic responsibility to give back through community service.
But I think the reason that Freeman deserves recognition as a leader among leaders is his humility, his concern for others, his absolute belief in the power and capabilities of his students, and his willingness to have a long-term view and make a long-term commitment to the success of others. I commend Time for recognizing Freeman Hrabowski as a top-10 university president, and might suggest that next year they move him up to the rightful position of number one.
