Dr. Anne Khademian Named Executive Director of Universities at Shady Grove
As Experienced Administrator and Scholar of Leadership and Organizational Change, Khademian Joins USG After 17 Years at Virginia Tech
Baltimore, Md. (Sept. 14, 2020) – Dr. Anne Khademian, a Presidential Fellow and professor at Virginia Tech, has been appointed executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove, the University System of Maryland (USM) regional higher education center offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs from nine USM institutions at its campus in Rockville, Md.
USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman announced the selection of Khademian after an extensive, nationwide search co-chaired by University of Maryland (UMD) Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin and Ellen Herbst, USM Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance. In her new role with the system, Khademian will serve as executive director of the Universities at Shady Grove and USM Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs. Her USG tenure will begin on October 19.
Khademian has served as a Presidential Fellow in Virginia Tech’s Research Center in Arlington, near Washington, DC. Appointed to her role by President Timothy Sands in March 2018, Khademian has supported the collaborative implementation of Beyond Boundaries initiatives, working across the university’s campuses and stakeholder committees to support organizational innovation and growth.
With more than 20 years in higher education, Khademian is a nationally recognized scholar and author in the areas of inclusive leadership and organizational change. As director of the School of Public and International Affairs in Virginia Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies for seven years, Khademian led the school through a period of significant growth and transformation, including the introduction of new academic degrees and programs; increased student enrollment; new faculty hires; forging of new global partnerships and initiatives; and extended outreach into the local community.
Khademian’s research focuses on leadership and organizational culture, inclusive management, policy networks, and the work of organizations involved in homeland security and financial regulation. She is the author of three books: Working with Culture: The Way the Job Gets Done in Public Programs (CQ Press, 2002); Checking on Banks: Autonomy and Accountability in Three Federal Agencies (Brookings, 1996); and The SEC and Capital Market Regulation: The Politics of Expertise (University of Pittsburgh Press 1992). She has also published numerous articles on public management and public policy.
Khademian is a fellow and member of the Board of Directors of the National Academy of Public Administration, an independent, nonprofit, and nonpartisan organization established by Congress to assist government leaders in building more-effective, efficient, accountable, and transparent organizations.
“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Anne Khademian to the USM and to this important role leading the Universities at Shady Grove,” said USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman. “And I offer my thanks to Provost Rankin, Vice Chancellor Herbst, and the search committee for identifying such an outstanding appointee. Dr. Khademian brings the right mix of expertise and leadership needed to build on USG’s prominence as a national model in innovating how we serve students in our state and open their access to higher education.”
“The Universities at Shady Grove is an innovative space in higher education that thrives through partnerships with K-12, higher education, business, nonprofit and government partners,” Khademian said. “For two decades the Center has expanded high quality educational and career opportunities for students in Montgomery County. They graduate prepared to succeed in high-demand fields in the region. I am excited to begin working with our USG partners to push the envelope of innovation in education, research and engagement.”
USG is one of three USM regional higher education centers and offers approximately 80 undergraduate and graduate degree programs from nine different USM universities at its convenient, full-service campus in Rockville. Students who attend USG—primarily upper-level undergraduates—pursue and earn their bachelor’s degrees directly from the partner universities that offer the programs on the USG campus. Most students attending undergraduate programs at USG transfer from Montgomery College or another college, after completing the first two years of their coursework.
In November 2019, USG celebrated the opening of its fourth academic building, a $175 million, state-of-the-art Biomedical Sciences and Engineering (BSE) education facility. As the state looks forward to a long-term recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the building will provide USG with the opportunity to expand educational offerings and degrees in the STEM fields, including new programs from University of Maryland, Baltimore County in life sciences, cybersecurity and engineering; from the University of Maryland, College Park, including the Clark School of Engineering; and from the School of Dentistry at the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Khademian will succeed Stewart Edelstein, who began as executive director in 2002 and in 2007 was named to the dual title of Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the University System of Maryland. Under his leadership, USG has expanded its number of participating universities, as well as the breadth and depth of its undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and enrollment has grown to more than 3,000 students. Edelstein has agreed to remain at USG until Khademian arrives in October.
USM regional centers—which include USG as well as the University System of Maryland Hagerstown (USMH) and University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland (USMSM)—are the result of a visionary partnership between USM and campus leaders, elected officials, and business professionals.
Established more than 20 years ago, the concept of the USM regional centers is unique nationally: These are not “satellite” campuses of a single university, but rather conveniently and strategically located sites where multiple universities deliver their most in-demand undergraduate, graduate, professional degree, and certificate programs. They are nimble, full-service extensions of the USM that respond to meet the educational needs of students and workforce needs of employers and that are—above all—an affordable alternative to traditional 4-year pathways.
The USM regional centers offer degree programs through partner universities that allow students the opportunity to live, work, and study close to home. Students at USM regional centers are taught by the same professors, take the same courses, and have the same curriculum as those enrolled in the same program at the 11 different participating universities and receive their degree from the university where they are enrolled.
Degrees available range from bachelor’s through doctorate depending on the program. For accredited programs, those offered at the regional centers are visited separately by the respective accreditation agencies to be accredited.
The USM comprises 12 institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; the University of Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore; the University of Maryland, Baltimore County; the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science; the University of Maryland, College Park; the University of Maryland Eastern Shore; and the University of Maryland Global Campus. The USM also includes three regional centers—the Universities at Shady Grove, the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown, and the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland—at which USM universities offer upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.
Systemwide, student enrollment exceeds 172,000. The USM and its institutions compete successfully nearly $1.5 billion in external grants and contracts annually. USM institutions and programs are among the nation's best in quality and value according to several national rankings. To learn more about the University System of Maryland, visit www.usmd.edu.
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu
