Dear Colleagues:

I'm delighted to announce the promotion of James L. Hughes, MBA, to senior vice president and chief enterprise and economic development officer. For the past decade, Mr. Hughes has overseen UMB's Office of Research and Development, managing about 9,000 grant proposals, contracts, and awards each year related to research, clinical trials, service, and education. As I've noted before, FY 2018 was a record-breaking year for us in extramural funding—$667.4 million in grants and contracts. 

But this success is just one aspect of Mr. Hughes' work. In the past five years, he's cultivated entrepreneurial success within UMB and within the University System. He's transformed our tech transfer enterprise, and under his leadership, UMB had its best commercialization year ever in FY 2018: 145 inventions disclosed for patenting; 43 technologies licensed and $5.3 million in licensing revenue; eight startups launched from UMB's intellectual property and three startups acquired by multinational corporations. Success of this magnitude generates considerable revenue, enhances UMB's reputation, and amplifies our economic impact in Baltimore and in Maryland. 

Building on UMB's experience, Mr. Hughes established two tech transfer collaborations with the University of Maryland, College Park—UM Ventures and the Center for Maryland Advanced Ventures—which expands our joint research and commercialization capacity. He then helped launch the Maryland Momentum Fund and the Baltimore Fund, providing investment, incentives, and business development resources to companies affiliated with any University System institution.

Mr. Hughes also leads our BioPark in West Baltimore, which has grown to account for more than 1,000 jobs and $450 million in private capital investment. The BioPark has become a primary catalyst for additional development and external investment in West Baltimore. 

Mr. Hughes is clearly deserving of this promotion, and I know you join me in congratulating him on this recognition of his work.

Sincerely,

Jay A. Perman, MD
President