Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA, serves as Provost and Executive Vice President of University of Maryland, Balitmore (UMB). Provost Ward also leads UMB's Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Program as it continues evolving to embed, sustain, and support an entrepreneurial, collaborative, and responsible risk-taking culture across UMB. Provost Ward also has been teaching on-site, online, and in a blended environment since 2004 and has taught graduate courses in ethics, the history of higher education, leadership and organizational behavior, legal issues in higher education policy, and cybersecurity policy, among others.

Previously, Provost Ward served as UMB vice president for operations and institutional effectiveness. In that role, which began in January 2018, he served as UMB’s chief operating officer, directing a portfolio of departments and initiatives that promote institutional effectiveness and assure accountability including human resources, strategic planning, enterprise risk management, and institutional accreditation. Ward joined UMB in March 2009 as the associate vice president for academic and student affairs. He served as chief academic officer and interim dean of the Graduate School during the 2011-2012 academic year. In June 2012, Ward was named UMB’s first chief accountability officer and was promoted to vice president for academic affairs in October 2013 and to vice president of operations and planning in June 2015. He served as interim chief human resources officer from October 2014 to November 2015. Before joining UMB, Ward served as assistant vice president for student affairs at the New School in New York City and also held senior administrative positions in the City University of New York system. Provost Ward earned an associate’s degree in data processing/computer programming from Kingsborough Community College, a bachelor’s degree in government and a master’s in public administration, both from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He holds two law degrees: a Doctor of Law degree from New York Law School, and a Master of Science in Law (cybersecurity law) from the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law. Ward also holds a Doctor of Education degree (with distinction) in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Jenny Owens, ScD, MS, was named the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s (UMB) vice provost of academic affairs and strategic initiatives in April 2024. She previously served as associate dean of academic affairs and associate professor in the University of Maryland Graduate School as well as executive director of the Graduate Research Innovation District (Grid). 

As an educator and scholar practitioner with a diverse career path in academia, Owens has a record of effective strategic planning, leadership, and management resulting in innovative new services and academic programs. Before becoming vice provost, she was instrumental in the Graduate School’s growth strategy and successfully launched over 20 self-sustaining graduate programs, responsive to the evolving needs of the health and human services workforce in the state. Owens further has experience in student and academic affairs, admissions and enrollment, and accreditation, and she enjoys building new ventures from the ground up through creative partnerships and with a commitment to quality. 

Owens is a former Warnock Social Innovation Fellow, an alumna of the Johns Hopkins University Social Innovation Lab, and was named a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leader. She actively contributes to research on health equity, health-related social needs, and health care access, focusing on housing. She co-leads an awareness and advocacy committee in a national housing organization. 

Owens earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a master’s in management and leadership from East Stroudsburg University, and a doctor of science degree in information and interaction design from the University of Baltimore. With experience teaching across in-person, online, and hybrid environments, she has taught graduate courses in leadership and communications, health science capstone, and human-centered design, among others.  

Victoria Meadows, MS, serves as Assistant Director of the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) program at UMB. As Assistant Director, Victoria is leading the way in the development of the ERM program to bring it to new heights through program development, data analytics, project management, strategic plan connection, relationship building across UMB schools and units, and related tasks. Previously, Victoria worked in the University of Maryland School of Medicine as lab manager and research specialist in the Center for Epigenetic Research in Child Health and Brain Development in the Department of Pharmacology. Victoria originally joined UMB in 2016 in the School of Medicine as a research assistant in the Department of Anesthesiology.

Victoria is very honored and proud to have been recently recognized as one of the 2024 Daily Record Leading Women Under 40 for her tremendous accomplishments she has made so far in her career, for her community involvement, and for her commitment to inspiring change. Victoria earned her MS in Management (specialization in Interdisciplinary Studies) from University of Maryland Global Campus and her BA in Biology (minors in Chemistry and Mathematics) from Notre Dame of Maryland University. Victoria is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Law with a focus in Homeland Security and Crisis Management Law at the University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law.

One cool item about Victoria is that she is former marine mammal assistant trainer at the National Aquarium. where she worked alongside seven Atlantic bottlenose dolphins. She currently volunteers at the National Aquarium as an Assistant Animal Trainer working alongside reptiles that include turtles, lizards, and snakes.