Dear Colleagues:
I’m delighted to announce that the University System of Maryland (USM) Board of Regents has named Darryll J. Pines, PhD, the 34th president of the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). Dr. Pines is dean of the university’s A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Nariman Farvardin Professor of Aerospace Engineering.
Dr. Pines’ service to UMD is long and distinguished. He first arrived at the university in 1995 as an assistant professor and later served as chair of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, before assuming the deanship in 2009.
His leadership of the Clark School has been shaped by important priorities: improving teaching in fundamental undergraduate courses, thereby boosting student retention; achieving success in national and international student competitions; emphasizing sustainability engineering and service learning; promoting STEM education among high school students; and amplifying the impact of the school’s expansive research programs.
His success in these same priorities is remarkable. For instance, the Clark School’s one-year undergraduate retention rate is 91 percent; its five-year graduation rate is 75 percent—both of which rank among the top at public flagship universities nationwide. UMD’s Solar Decathlon team placed first worldwide in the 2011 competition, the Clark School’s Engineers Without Borders chapter is considered one of the best in the country, and the Engineering Sustainability Workshop launched by Dr. Pines has become a marquee campus event.
Under Dr. Pines’ leadership, the number of tenured and tenure-track women faculty in the Clark School has more than doubled, and the number of underrepresented minority faculty has grown as well. He’s attracted significant philanthropic support to the school, ending the university’s last campaign with more than $240 million raised, 30 percent over the school’s $185 million goal. In UMD’s current campaign, Fearless Ideas, the Clark School has raised nearly $504 million, eclipsing its goal of $500 million.
Dr. Pines’ work is esteemed by his academic and industry colleagues. During a three-year leave of absence from UMD, he served as a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. While there, he initiated five programs related to the development of aerospace technologies, for which he was awarded the Department of Defense’s Distinguished Service Medal. In 2019, Dr. Pines was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for his “inspirational leadership and contributions to engineering education.”
Of course, I’ve known Dr. Pines for a long time. I’ve known him as an outstanding teacher, a dedicated mentor, a brilliant researcher, and an extraordinary leader. It’s fitting—and gratifying—that UMD will be led by a member of its own family, by someone who knows so well its people and programs, its considerable strengths and enormous potential. I’m especially delighted that Dr. Pines and I share a passion for ensuring that any Marylander who desires a higher education has the opportunity to receive one.
I’m deeply grateful to UMD President Wallace D. Loh, PhD, JD, for his decade of exceptional service to the university, for his committed work in moving UMD into the top tier of the nation’s public research universities, and for positioning the institution for still greater success to come. President Loh and I shared years of close partnership in MPowering the State, and I know we’re both extremely proud of what that partnership has yielded in terms of education, research, and technology commercialization.
I thank the members of the search committee, led by USM Regent Gary Attman, for their hard work and long hours throughout this process, and for helping to select such a worthy candidate in Dr. Pines.
Additional information will be available in a news release posted later this evening. Dr. Pines’ tenure as UMD president begins on July 1. I know you join me in welcoming him on this new and exciting role.
Sincerely,
Jay A. Perman, MD
Chancellor
