The recognition honors 100 men and women who are shaping Maryland’s businesses, governments, nonprofits, law firms, and other key institutions.
University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, was named to The Daily Record’s Power 100 list for 2024-25, the fourth consecutive year he has been included on the list.
The recognition honors 100 men and women who “are shaping our businesses, governments, nonprofits, law firms, and other key institutions … and play an outsized role in the culture, lifestyle, civic conversations, and economic fortunes of Maryland,” according to the newspaper, which focuses on business, law, and government in the state.
In announcing its list Dec. 31, The Daily Record said it “sought to explore how these men and women see their accomplishments, the lessons they’ve learned, and what they think are the biggest challenges facing Maryland.”
Jarrell, a kidney and liver transplant surgeon by trade and native of Caroline County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, has been UMB president since September 2020, when he was appointed after serving as interim president for eight months.
Before that, he held a number of executive positions at UMB, including executive vice president and provost, chief academic and research officer, senior vice president, and dean of the School of Graduate Studies.
Jarrell arrived on campus in 1997 as chair of the University of Maryland School of Medicine’s (UMSOM) Department of Surgery. He expanded UMSOM’s surgical programs and developed innovative research studies and clinical trials. In 2003, he moved to the UMSOM Dean’s Office, where he served as executive vice dean, directing the school’s education and research enterprises.
Jarrell also served as the institutional official for human research protection and animal research protection, and he has remained actively involved in research and medical student education throughout his career.
The newspaper asked Jarrell three questions:
What is your biggest accomplishment?
“One big accomplishment as it relates to the field of education-championing and enriching both the educational experience of the students and expertise of the faculty that I’m proud of is the Leaders in Education: Academy of Presidential Scholars [LEAPS] at UMB. LEAPS works to promote and graduate leaders who will shape social justice, legal justice, and health care education.”
What is the most encouraging new development in higher education?
“UMB is meeting a need in higher education with our health professions education graduate programs, offering a master’s and a doctorate in health professions education. These programs are focused on providing faculty with advanced training in education with topics such as educational theory and using educational research to advance knowledge in teaching and the learning in health professions.”
What do you do to unwind?
“Besides spending time with my grandchildren, I’m an artistic blacksmith as a hobby. Metal, especially iron, allows me to create artistic sculptures. It requires the development of skills similar to the skills I used as a surgeon.”
Three other presidents of University System of Maryland (USM) institutions were recognized — Darryll J. Pines, PhD, MS, University of Maryland, College Park; Valerie Sheares Ashby, PhD, University of Maryland, Baltimore County; and Mark R. Ginsberg, PhD, MS, Towson University — as well as USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman, MD, and University of Maryland Medical System President and CEO Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA.
Read more about the Power 100 list at this link.