Student Affairs Leadership Transition

Dear UMBC Community,

I write to inform the campus community that I will be launching a national search for the vice president of student affairs in partnership with the search firm Isaacson, Miller. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Nancy Young, who will be leaving the role on June 30, 2023, for more than 35 years of service to our UMBC community.   

Young joined UMBC in 1986 and has served as the vice president for student affairs since 2007. Grounded in an exceptional commitment to our students, Young's visionary perspective and service to the UMBC community has been instrumental in recruitment, retention, and student outcomes.

Under Young's leadership, the resident community grew to 4,000 beds, furthering the development of the residential campus. In recent years, Young advocated for and opened the Center for Well-Being and played a pivotal role in bringing the American Council on Education's Internationalization Lab to the campus. A champion for our core values of diversity and inclusive excellence, she established a director of inclusive excellence within the Division of Student Affairs and expanded support, programming, and resources for our diverse student population. Young served as a key leader in the campus response to the global pandemic and its impact on our community.

Young's leadership has been recognized in the broader higher education community. In 2021, she served as chair of the Council of Student Affairs for the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, collaborating with other student affairs leaders across the U.S. to develop and promote practices that enhance students' experiences and well-being during one of the most challenging times in higher education and student affairs. In October, she traveled to France as the recipient of a 2022 Fulbright International Education Administrators award. Young attended a seminar helping U.S. international education professionals and senior higher education officials create empowering connections with their counterparts and the higher education systems of other countries. She was also recognized as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women for 2022 by the Daily Record.

Please join me in thanking Vice President Young for her commitment and service to our community.  

Sincerely, 

President Valerie Sheares Ashby