The search for a new Coppin State University president will begin Thursday as the University System of Maryland chancellor announced a 19-person team tasked with finding Maria Thompson’s replacement.
In a news release, the system wrote that Chancellor Robert Caret “will give the Chancellor’s official Charge to the newly appointed search and screening committee for the new president of Coppin State University.”
In January, Thompson announced that she would retire as the university’s president, effective July 1.
According to the system, the Chancellor’s Charge “establishes parameters, best practices, and general guidelines to ensure a successful appointment of the university’s next president.”
The committee and Academic Search, an executive search firm, will hold a public forum in the James Weldon Johnson Auditorium on Thursday from 3 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Committee members are “from the broader Coppin community as well as representatives from Coppin’s leadership, faculty, staff, students and alumni.”
Committee members
• Katrina Dennis, regent (chair)
• Ellen Fish, regent
• Aisha Almond, principal, Coppin Academy High School
• Reginald Exum, vice president/community development officer, Citi Community Development
• Sandi Green, director, First-Year Experience Program
• Synethia Green, program specialist, Records and Registration and President of the Adjunct Faculty Association
• Ellen Herbst, USM vice chancellor, Finance and Administration (chancellor’s liaison)
• Dawn Kirstaetter, vice president for advancement and strategic partnerships, Baltimore City Community College
• Pamela Love Manning, USM Foundation, Coppin State University Alumni
• Milton Mayo, Coppin State alumnus
• Mary Owens-Southall, dean, School of Graduate Studies
• F. Michelle Richardson, assistant professor, Sport and Entertainment Management, College of Business
• Johnny Rice, assistant professor, Criminal Justice, College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
• Alicia Ritchie, attorney, Coppin State University alumna and athlete, chair of Coppin State University Development Foundation
• Steven Sandler, graduate student
• Hany Sobhi, associate professor, Organic & Clinical Chemistry, Natural Sciences, College of Arts, Sciences & Education
• Aerian Tatum, assistant professor, Health Information Management, School of Allied Health
• Mary Wanza, director, Parlett L. Moore Library
• Arynne Wilburn, undergraduate student
The search is expected to take about six months to complete, the system wrote, with the committee to make recommendations to the chancellor and Board of Regents. The board will make the final decision.