Program Highlights

Lee Friedman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, where he typically teaches both large labs and large lecture courses.  

He started at the University of Maryland in 2007.  In his time here, he has served on the University Senate and various Senate subcommittees, and he has worked with the Office of Student Conduct.  He also works with first year chemistry and biochemistry graduate students to help them become effective TAs.

He earned his B.A. in chemistry from The Johns Hopkins University, his M.S. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Virginia.  Prior to coming to the University of Maryland, he was a teaching postdoctoral fellow at Princeton University and an assistant professor at Longwood University.

Jennifer King Rice began her appointment as senior vice president and provost in July 2021.

She was previously dean of the College of Education, where she focused her efforts to align educational resources with initiatives to advance excellence, equity and social justice in preschool through graduate school. Rice has served on the faculty and in college leadership roles at UMD for more than 25 years, and has been recognized as a UMD Distinguished Scholar-Teacher. 

Before coming to Maryland, she was a researcher at Mathematica Policy Research in Washington, D.C. Rice’s research draws on the discipline of economics to study policy questions concerning excellence and equity in K-12 education systems. An expert on school finance and teacher policy, she regularly advises state and federal agencies. 

A prolific scholar, she has served on the editorial boards of American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis and Education Finance and Policy. In addition to positions as a National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation postdoctoral fellow and a visiting fellow at the Urban Institute, she is a past president of the Association for Education Finance and Policy. 

She completed her B.S. in mathematics and English at Marquette University and earned her M.S. and Ph.D. in educational administration and social foundations from Cornell University.

John B. King Jr. is president of The Education Trust, a national nonprofit organization that seeks to identify and close educational opportunity and achievement gaps. He is also Professor of the Practice at the University of Maryland. King served as U.S. Secretary of Education in the Obama administration. Prior to that role, King carried out the duties of Deputy Secretary, overseeing policies and programs related to P-12 education, English learners, special education, innovation, and agency operations. King joined the department following his post as New York State Education Commissioner. King began his career as a high school social studies teacher and middle school principal.

Darryll J. Pines became UMD president in July 2020 and serves as the Glenn L. Martin Professor of Aerospace Engineering. He arrived on campus in 1995 as an assistant professor, then served as chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering from 2006–09 and for the following 11 years as dean and Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the A. James Clark School of Engineering.

As dean, Pines revamped teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses; encouraged participation in national and international student competitions; emphasized sustainability engineering and service learning; and expanded innovation and entrepreneurship activities. Pines made diversity a hallmark of his tenure, increasing the number of faculty and students from underrepresented populations. With his leadership team, he secured a historic $219.5 million investment from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation in 2017 to fund need-based scholarships campus wide, as well as graduate fellowships, faculty positions, infrastructure and other initiatives.

A member of the National Academy of Engineering, Pines focuses his research on structural dynamics, smart sensors and adaptive, morphing and biologically inspired structures as well as the guidance, navigation and control of aerospace vehicles.

He is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, American Society of Mechanical Engineers and Institute of Physics; chairs the Engineering Advisory Committee for NSF’s Engineering Directorate; and sits on the Board of Trustees for Underwriters Laboratory not-for-profit arm. Pines received a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.