Orr Reappointed School of Public Policy Dean Through June 2025

Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice sent the following email to the School of Public Policy community on Thursday:

As you may know, deans at UMD are appointed for five-year terms with review in the fourth year if renewal for a second five-year term is desired. While it is unusual for a dean to serve longer than 10 years, I write today with great pleasure to announce that Dr. Robert Orr will extend his term as dean of the School of Public Policy through June 30, 2025. A search committee will be appointed and a search for a new dean will commence this summer.

Over the past 10 years, Dean Orr has provided visionary leadership to advance the mission of the School of Public Policy. During his first term as dean, he oversaw the development of an undergraduate major — a hands-on, interdisciplinary program that gives students the analytical and decision-making skills they need to make a positive difference.

Dean Orr also has supported impactful research and scholarship for the School of Public Policy, spurring the creation of new centers and institutes focused on philanthropy and nonprofit leadership, sustainability, science and technology policy, and public leadership. The expansion of research also includes three Grand Challenge Grants projects that involve SPP faculty: the Maryland Initiative for Literacy & Equity, the Maryland Democracy Initiative: Building a Better Democracy for All, and the Racial and Social Justice Research-Practice Partnership Collaborative.

Under Dean Orr’s leadership the school has furthered the university’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion, reflecting a leading practice in the field of public policy. The school has benefited from a dramatic increase in donor support during Dean Orr’s two terms, which has helped to grow our Do Good Campus initiatives and has realized the school’s vision for a new home in Thurgood Marshall Hall.

I am delighted to be able to count on Dean Orr’s outstanding leadership of the School of Public Policy for an additional year beyond the end of his second term. Please join me in thanking him for his deep and continuing commitment to inclusive excellence and service to the university.

Sincerely,

Jennifer King Rice
Senior Vice President and Provost
She/Her/Hers