Women of Influence in Higher Education

May 22, 2024

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Dr. Valerie Shears Ashby, President, UMBC

Did you know that half of the community colleges in Maryland are led by women?

That’s right. According to the website of the Maryland Association of Community Colleges, eight of the 16 schools throughout the state have women presidents. Four-year colleges and universities in the state are also seeing the value of female leadership, with a significant number of women in top and other high-ranking positions.

Maryland is part of the national trend of women achieving presidential status in education. The American Council on Education reports that women held 30 percent of top jobs in colleges and universities in 2017. Looking at other data on demographics in education from Zippia, an online organization known as “the career experts,” the number of female college presidents nationwide in 2021 was 47.6 percent.

I95BUSINESS caught up with a few of our local education leaders, with profiles in this issue. They are dynamic, energetic and focused. They’re not only changing the traditional structure of personnel in higher education, but they are also impacting the entire education sector and the community at large.

Dr. Valerie Shears Ashby, President, UMBC

I95: How would you describe your leadership style?

Dr. Ashby: “Leadership is a privilege. Leadership is in service to others. Draw a triangle, and turn it upside down, so the point is at the bottom, and the wide base is at the top. If you’re the leader, you’re at the bottom, in service to everyone else in that organization. At UMBC, I am in service to thousands of students, and our faculty and staff. And it is a privilege. That is a core value.”

I95: What helped you the most to get to this point of leadership?

Dr. Ashby: “Mentors—starting with my parents—have been essential to me. I have several mentors, and most of them are very different from me, but they all share values I saw in my parents: They are authentic and relentlessly guided by their values, and they are intentional in their service to others. One of my favorite parts of each week is having office hours with my students. I see in them the possibilities they may not yet be able to see for themselves, and it is our role as mentors and sponsors to hold those possibilities for them until they can see and realize them.”

I95: What is your “one word” for this year?

Dr. Ashby: “I am inspired by the UMBC community, which is incredibly caring and deeply committed to our mission, and whose members have welcomed me so warmly. I am awed by the power of what this community has already achieved… I am driven to serve this extraordinary community and partner with its members to write the next chapter of UMBC’s story.”

Nora Demleitner, Esq., President, St. John’s College

I95: How would you describe your leadership style?

Demleitner: “It’s important for me to keep a good pulse on what’s happening within our student, faculty, and staff communities and to be on top of the higher education landscape to be able to set strategic priorities. At St. John’s I am lucky to be surrounded by people who are very skilled in their respective areas of experience, so I like to be as supportive and collaborative with them as possible as we implement practices to execute on strategies and goals. I find their collective feedback is essential to being able to offer thoughtful guidance and make good decisions that have a positive impact on our campus culture.”

I95: What helped you the most to get to this point of leadership?

Demleitner: “I’ve always believed in doing well by doing good. As someone working in higher ed, I credit much of my drive to that end to my own academic experience, the people with whom I’ve worked, and also to teaching law. I’ve also lived in a lot of different places…interfacing with different kinds of people from diverse cultural and geographic backgrounds. It wasn’t a single person but mentors, guides, friends, and my students over the years who have had faith in me and made me a better person and a better leader over the years.”

I95: What is your “one word” for this year?

Demleitner: Responsive to the needs of our students and their wellbeing, and ultimately, to what will best result in academic, career and personal successes for them. At St. John’s, I want us also to be responsive to the demands of our time in history, but with a deep respect for our institutional legacy.”