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BHEF Member Brit Kirwan Wins 2010 Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence
Award recognizes leadership and commitment to higher education and contributions to the greater good
Contact: Pamela Lessard 202-367-1284, Alex Sittig 202-367-2393
William E. (Brit) Kirwan, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and a member of the Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF), has been recognized with the 2010 TIAA-CREF Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Leadership Excellence.
TIAA-CREF Institute Vice President Madeleine d’Ambrosio presented the award March 8 at the American Council on Education’s Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.
“Chancellor Kirwan brings a collaborative and cooperative leadership style to higher education welcoming all viewpoints,” said Stephanie Bell-Rose, managing director and head of the TIAA-CREF Institute. “This coupled with his forward thinking makes him one of the nation’s most dynamic and effective higher education leaders and we are so pleased to honor him.”
Established in 1993, the TIAA-CREF Hesburgh Award is named in honor of Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, nationally renowned educator and world humanitarian. Father Hesburgh also served on the TIAA and CREF Boards of Overseers for 28 years.
“Father Hesburgh stands as the symbol of leadership of what a university president can and should do,” said Kirwan. “To have my name in any way associated with him is the greatest professional honor in my life.”
Kirwan has served as chancellor of the University System of Maryland, which comprises 11 universities, since 2002 and previously served as president of the University of Maryland, College Park and The Ohio State University. His ongoing efforts have improved higher education and increased the general public’s appreciation for the role colleges and universities play in advancing society.
Kirwan’s effective leadership is most evident in the collaborative partnerships he has established between the University System of Maryland and the state’s leaders. It’s partnership that has achieved excellence both within the university system and for the greater good. His efforts have produced notable results including increased state funding that has promoted enrollment growth, and supported nanotechnology and biotechnology to further enhance the system’ pivotal leadership role in the knowledge economy. Kirwan has a relentless focus on improving access and affordability in higher education and has also been a proponent of strengthening relationships between the system and community colleges, and Maryland is known as a model of collaboration between the two-and four-year sectors. With respect to controlling costs without compromising quality, Kirwan’ Effectiveness and Efficiency initiative has emerged as a national model for higher education. It was launched with a systematic examination and reengineering of all the System’s academic and administrative processes.
“Chancellor Kirwan’s visionary leadership enables students, faculty and the USM community to realize full potential for success, and his commitment is shared by TIAA-CREF as we take pride in helping to advance the goals of higher education, whether in teaching, research or service,” added Bell-Rose.
About the Business-Higher Education Forum
The Business-Higher Education Forum (BHEF) is an organization of Fortune 500 CEOs, prominent college and university presidents, and foundation leaders working to advance solutions to the nation’s education challenges in order to enhance U.S. competitiveness. BHEF brings together an extraordinary coalition of corporate, academic, and foundation members to influence public policy and to inspire other corporate, academic, and foundation leaders to act. Online at www.bhef.com.
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