President Lepre Named to 2023 Higher Education Power List

SALISBURY, MD---Salisbury University is consistently recognized by U.S. News, The Princeton Review and other guides as one of the top higher education institutions in the nation.

Now, another publication has named its leader among the top higher education officials in Maryland. The Baltimore-based Daily Record recently announced SU President Carolyn Ringer Lepre as one of the members of its 2023 Higher Education Power List.

Selected by the newspaper’s editorial team, with input from readers, the list celebrates the state’s most influential college and university presidents, policy makers and other senior administrators for their oversight of “some of the finest institutions of higher education in the nation,” according to the publication.

“As one of the newest presidents in the University System of Maryland, I am very honored to be included with many of my colleagues on this list,” said Lepre. “Higher education does not operate in a vacuum. I am proud that we can do our part to continue upholding the USM’s reputation as an economic driver and producer of leaders throughout the state and beyond.”

“I’m certainly not surprised that President Lepre made the Daily’s Record’s Power List,” said USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman. “Dr. Lepre has an ambitious vision for Salisbury, and she has a clear roadmap for making that vision real. I can’t imagine there’s anything more powerful than that, and I congratulate her on this well-deserved honor. I’m sure it’s the first of many.”

Lepre came to SU from Radford University in Virginia, where she formerly served as interim president. At Salisbury, she has set goals of increasing enrollment and retention rates; creating a campus-wide diversity, equity and inclusion plan; making SU a top 25 campus in U.S. News & World Report rankings; and placing a greater emphasis on study abroad and study away programs.

She also has placed an emphasis on creating a facilities plan to attract students and support high-quality educational experiences; restructuring the SU budget to ensure the University’s spending is the most strategic it can be.

In addition, she has announced priorities including adding new varsity sports including men’s and women’s, creating 100 new endowed scholarships as part of fundraising efforts for the University’s 100th anniversary in 2025, and continuing to tell the SU story through its “Make Tomorrow Yours” brand.

Beyond to her service to SU, Lepre is a member of the Leadership Maryland Class of 2023. The Daily Record also named her among this year’s list of Maryland’s Top 100 Women.

Learn more about opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at the SU website.