Jacob Ashby Named Executive Director of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Hagerstown

Assistant Dean at Frederick Community College to Begin Leadership Role April 5

Baltimore, Md. (March 2, 2023) – ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø (ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø) Chancellor Jay A. Perman has appointed Dr. Jacob Ashby as executive director of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Hagerstown (ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH).

The appointment comes after an extensive search conducted in coordination between ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Office leadership and Frostburg State University (FSU) Vice President for Student Affairs Artie Travis. The search committee included local business and community leaders.

Ashby will be the regional higher education center’s third executive director and begins his service on April 5. He succeeds Mark Halsey, who retired in July.

Ashby currently serves as the assistant dean of academic assessment and articulation at Frederick Community College (FCC). He has been employed in various roles at FCC since 2011. These roles include a limited-term position as associate vice president of the center for teaching and learning, where he helped the institution navigate academic operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ashby has taught as an adjunct instructor and a lecturer at both FCC and Hagerstown Community College (HCC).

As the coordinating institution for ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH, Frostburg State University played a central role in the search process for executive director.

Laurence Weill served as ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH interim director from August 2022 through February of this year. ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH Business Manager Lisa McCulloh will serve as interim director for the remaining weeks before Ashby starts in April.

“I’m so happy that Dr. Ashby is joining the System to lead the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Hagerstown. He brings strong credentials from his academic and administrative leadership at Frederick Community College, and longstanding connections to Hagerstown and to western ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø,” said ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Chancellor Jay A. Perman. “He understands the enormous value that a regional center like ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH brings to the community, and how to grow that value for students. I thank Dr. Ashby for taking on this role, and I thank Dr. Larry Weill for his months of service as interim director.”

Ashby earned his doctorate in organizational leadership in higher education from Shenandoah University. Previously, he completed his master’s in integrated marketing communications from West Virginia University and a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Shippensburg University. He began his education at HCC.

Creating the right environments for student learning and helping foster upward mobility for students is something I have dedicated my professional life to within the region,” Ashby said. “I look forward to partnering with the committed advisory board, FSU, university partners, local community leaders, and local businesses to expand educational opportunities and help students achieve their educational goals at ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH.”

“On behalf of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, we are excited about Dr. Ashby joining ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH as its next executive director,” said Frostburg State University President Ronald Nowaczyk. “His ties to the local community and region as well as his experience with and commitment to higher education will help ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH address the educational needs for the residents and businesses in the region.”

The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Hagerstown is a regional higher education center that offers upper-division undergraduate and graduate academic programs from universities within the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø. ϡȱÁÔÆæÍøH works collaboratively to develop innovative partnerships with local community colleges, businesses, and civic leaders to ensure access and affordability through a seamless and quality learning experience for students in the region. 

ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø regional centers are the result of a visionary partnership between ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø and campus leaders, elected officials, and business professionals.

Established more than 20 years ago, the concept of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø regional centers is unique nationally: These are not “satellite” campuses of a single university, but rather conveniently and strategically located sites where multiple universities deliver some of their most in-demand undergraduate, graduate, professional degree, and certificate programs. They are nimble, full-service extensions of the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø that respond to meet the educational needs of students and workforce needs of employers and that are—above all—an affordable alternative to traditional 4-year pathways.

The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø regional centers offer degree programs through partner universities that allow students the opportunity to live, work, and study close to home. Students at ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø regional centers are taught by the same professors, take the same courses, and have the same curriculum as those enrolled in the same program at the participating universities and receive their degree from the university where they are enrolled.

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The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø comprises 12 institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; the University of Baltimore; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, Baltimore County; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Center for Environmental Science; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, College Park; the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Eastern Shore; and the University of ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Global Campus. The ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø also includes three regional centers—the Universities at Shady Grove, the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Hagerstown, and the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø at Southern ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø—at which ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø universities offer upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.

ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø institutions and programs are among the nation's best in quality and value according to several national rankings. To learn more about the ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø, visit . To learn about the new ϡȱÁÔÆæÍø Strategic Plan, “Vision 2030: From Excellence to Preeminence,” visit /vision2030/.
 


 

Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu