Vice Provost Jenny Owens Departing UMB
Dear UMB Colleagues,
We write today to share that Jenny Owens, ScD, MS, has been named the University System of Maryland’s (USM) next senior vice chancellor for academic and student affairs following an extensive search spanning several months. Her last day as the 91大神, Baltimore’s (UMB) vice provost of academic affairs will be June 30, 2026.
Reporting directly to the USM chancellor, Dr. Owens will champion student success and the academic mission across all 12 USM institutions — shaping systemwide policy by convening and partnering with the system's provosts and vice presidents for student affairs and serving as a key advisor to the chancellor and the Board of Regents.
Throughout her time at UMB, Dr. Owens has cultivated a diverse career path in academia. She joined UMB in June 2010 as assistant director of fitness for University Recreation and Fitness, in what is now UMB’s Division of Student Affairs. While progressing to increasingly senior roles within student affairs and, later, the School of Graduate Studies (UMSGS), she used tuition remission to earn her doctorate in information and interaction design at the University of Baltimore in 2015. Dr. Owens then went on to serve as founding executive director of UMB’s Graduate Research Innovation District as well as faculty academic program director for the Master of Science in Health Science program.
From 2019-2022, she served as UMSGS assistant dean of academic programs before earning a promotion to associate dean of academic affairs. In these roles, she steered the school’s strategic development of new academic programs and provided executive leadership of admissions, enrollment, and communications, ultimately overseeing the launch of more than 20 self-sustaining graduate programs and expanding the school’s reach.
Since her appointment as vice provost in 2024, Dr. Owens has led Universitywide academic affairs and strategic initiatives, including co-chairing institutional strategic planning, advancing new academic program development, and guiding cross-functional efforts spanning enrollment, student systems, and academic operations. With UMB’s Issues Management Advisory Group, she has worked tirelessly to coordinate multiple task forces responding to federal funding disruptions and policy shifts and executive orders. Her work has proven instrumental in helping UMB leadership navigate an increasingly complex higher education landscape while ensuring UMB’s long-term institutional sustainability.
Throughout her time here, Dr. Owens has also served as a passionate educator and dedicated scholar practitioner, focusing much of her research on how patients and caregivers navigate access to health care, particularly when it requires traveling long distances. As a mentor and colleague, she has dedicated many hours to coaching emerging faculty and staff leaders — as well as dozens of graduate and professional students — across the University.
Her many contributions — and the impact of her new role at USM — will be felt at UMB for years to come. Please join us in thanking her for 16 years of extraordinary service and in wishing her every success in this next chapter.
Sincerely,
Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS
President
Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA
Provost and Executive Vice President