Dear UMB Community,

It is my pleasure to share the news that Nadine M. Finigan-Carr, PhD, will be the inaugural executive director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Center for Violence Prevention. She is currently research associate professor and director, Prevention of Adolescent Risks Initiative, at the University of Maryland School of Social Work (UMSSW) and associate professor, Epidemiology and Public Health, at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).

Dr. Finigan-Carr is a prevention research scientist focused on the application of behavioral and social science perspectives to research contemporary health problems, especially those that disproportionately affect people of color. Her scholarship is grounded in theories and methods found primarily in the field of health behavior change among individuals and the environments that support or impede chronic disease prevention or management, injury, and violence. She is an internationally recognized expert on human trafficking and sexual exploitation of minors.

She is the principal investigator of research projects at the state and federal levels designed to intervene with system-involved youth — those in foster care or the juvenile justice system. These youth have a double vulnerability — adolescence, a critical stage marked by increased risk for negative social and behavioral outcomes including aggression and sexual risk behaviors, and being removed from their families of origin. Dr. Finigan-Carr is the author of "Linking Health and Education for African American Students’ Success" (Routledge Press). She has served as special guest editor for the Journal of Negro Education (2015), the Journal of Violence and Victims (2020), and Children Youth Services’ Review (2021). She also serves as a commissioner of community relations in the Baltimore City Office of Equity and Civil Rights.

The Center for Violence Prevention is housed in the Office of the Provost, and Dr. Finigan-Carr will report to Roger J. Ward, EdD, JD, MSL, MPA, provost and executive vice president, when she begins on May 1. The center is a multidisciplinary initiative that seeks to bridge the activities of those across the University and in the community in a collaborative fashion to conduct community-based participatory research, provide creative and impactful education, and inform and advocate for policies that strengthen our communities to prevent violence and trauma. Its mission is to build resilient and equitable communities for all through the prevention and intervention of all forms of violence and trauma.

I want to thank those who participated in our comprehensive national search, especially the search committee chaired by Judy L. Postmus, PhD, ACSW, dean, UMSSW, and everyone who met with the candidates and provided meaningful feedback. A special thanks to Thomas M. Scalea, MD, the Honorable Francis X. Kelly Distinguished Professor in Trauma and director, Program in Trauma, UMSOM, and physician in chief, R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, and system chief for Critical Care Services, University of Maryland Medical System, for his instrumental work in the creation of the center through the generosity of the $2 million gift from Betsy Sherman and the Sherman Family Foundation.  

I know you will join me in offering congratulations to Dr. Finigan-Carr.

Sincerely,

Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS

President