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"The Blueprint for Maryland's Future has the potential to transform Maryland's public school system to be among the best in the world and to provide every child in the State, no matter their zip code, the opportunity for a world-class education.
– William (Brit) Kirwan
William E. (Brit) Kirwan, PhD is chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland. He is a nationally recognized authority on critical issues facing higher education. He served as chancellor of the University System of Maryland (2002-2015), president of the Ohio State University (1998-2002) and president of the University of Maryland, College Park (1988-1998). Prior to his presidency he was a member of the University of Maryland mathematics faculty for 24 years. Dr. Kirwan received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from the University of Kentucky in 1960, and his master's and doctoral degrees in mathematics from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, in 1962 and 1964, respectively. He is the recipient of honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Kentucky, the Ohio State University and the John Hopkins University.
Dr. Kirwan is past chair of, among other boards, the American Council for Higher Education, the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities, the American Association of Colleges & Universities, the Business Higher Education Forum and the National Research Council Board on Higher Education and Workforce. He also served as the co-chair and chair of Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics from 2004 to 2016. Among Dr. Kirwan's many honors is the 2010 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Award, which included a $500,000 grant to support USM academic priorities. Dr. Kirwan was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2002 and inducted into the Baltimore Sun's Maryland and Civic Hall of Fame in 2017. Dr. Kirwan served as Chair of the Commission on Innovation and Excellence in Education from 2016 through 2019, which made recommendations that are encapsulated in legislation known collectively as the Blueprint form Maryland's Future.
