On First Day, New Provost Expresses Optimism, Excitement, Gratitude

Jennifer King Rice, senior vice president and provost, sent the following email to the campus community this morning:

Today, as I begin my new role as senior vice president and provost at the University of Maryland, I am humbled, excited and filled with optimism. I have been given the awesome responsibility of leading the academic enterprise of this amazing public, research-intensive, land-grant, flagship institution. The incredibly strong and dedicated faculty, staff, students and alumni who make up our university community reflect a diversity of backgrounds, perspectives, expertise and talents. It is our excellence and diversity that position us to continue to make extraordinary contributions to the common good through our teaching, research and service.

I am excited to re-engage our students, faculty and staff in our rich academic environment on campus in the fall. Since March 2020, our shared experiences have challenged established norms of higher education. As we resume on-campus activity in the upcoming academic year, I want to acknowledge the apprehension, grief and trauma that many in our community have experienced. At the same time, our resilience, empathy and creativity have been, and continue to be, the resources we draw on to collectively overcome the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges to democracy and racial justice over the past year. As much as we have lost, these experiences have also challenged us to learn more about ourselves than we ever could have imagined. We have innovated with new ways of learning, teaching and working. This is truly a time for reimagining and recreating a new normal that takes advantage of our residential campus while using advanced technologies to foster a culture of equity, access and inclusive excellence.

There are so many reasons to be optimistic about the many new directions and opportunities that lie ahead for our university. As we engage as a community to develop a strategic plan for the next decade, we are recognizing the incredible opportunities to build on the strengths of our academic enterprise to address the grand challenges facing our communities, state, nation and world. I look forward to working with President Pines and the entire campus community to leverage our strengths and potential in ways that will advance the mission of this great institution and expand our global impact.

I am grateful for the flexibility, hard work and accomplishments of everyone in our community during this challenging year. Your dedication is exceptional and is the driving force that inspires me to help lead us into our next chapter. I feel privileged to serve this institution and I am committed to partnering with all of you in creating a world-class academic experience at the University of Maryland.

Warmly,

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