After conducting a national search, I am pleased to share that Courtney Jones Carney, MBA, will serve as the inaugural Executive Director of the Intercultural Leadership and Engagement Center. The Center, now more than ever, will play a pivotal role in advancing our institutional values and priorities. Under Jones Carney’s leadership, the vision outlined by the multicultural center taskforce, informed by feedback from students and campus partners, and the realignment of leadership and engagement areas within the Division of Student Affairs will be realized.

Ms. Jones Carney has over 16 years of professional experience working in institutions of higher education, which includes multiple positions at UMB, Internship Advisor at the Career Center at Towson University, and several opportunities within Intercollegiate Athletics at Morgan State University. Since December 2011, she served as the inaugural Director of the Office of Interprofessional Student Learning and Service Initiatives (ISLSI). She created the vision for this comprehensive interprofessional office focused on student diversity, engagement, leadership, learning, and service. Ms. Jones Carney developed many initiatives that are well-regarded and known across campus, including the recognition of Diversity Celebrations; a Safe Space program to ensure a welcoming and affirming space for LGBTQ students, faculty and staff; the President’s Symposium & White Paper Project; and the President’s Student Leadership Institute. She is an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School and serves as the Program Director for the Intercultural Leadership certificate program, which she has coordinated since its inception in 2018.

As the Executive Director, Ms. Jones Carney will provide oversight and management of a comprehensive Intercultural Leadership and Engagement Center focused on advancing student success and the development of cultural competencies to inform students’ professional practice. The Executive Director will advance the mission of this student-centered office, which includes conducting outreach to underrepresented populations; creating an inclusive office and campus environment; and developing and implementing interprofessional experiences for all students designed to advance outcomes associated with UMB’s Core Values and cultural competence statement. She will also work in collaboration with University leaders on programmatic, administrative, and policy issues designed to enhance the campus climate for diversity for students and the campus community. Ms. Jones Carney will provide strategic leadership in realigning staff in the Division of Student Affairs focused on promoting interprofessional student engagement, learning, leadership, and service opportunities under this new area.

Ms. Jones Carney actively promotes diversity, inclusion, and equity through the UMB Diversity Advisory Council. She has facilitated countless trainings and presentations on campus, regionally, and nationally. In addition, she is a qualified administrator of the Intercultural Development Inventory. In 2017, Ms. Jones Carney received the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Award from UMB. Ms. Jones Carney has a bachelor of science degree in Communications and an MBA from Morgan State University. She is currently working on her dissertation focused on the impact of microaggressions on employee engagement as a doctoral student in the Public Administration program at the University of Baltimore. She will start in this new position on June 15.

Ms. Jones Carney and I look forward to collaborating with many of you on the development of the Center. We will also provide updates later this summer regarding the new organizational structure and other items involving staff from ISLSI, Student Development & Leadership, and liaison positions from Educational Support & Disability Services and the Office of International Services.   

Thank you to the over 200 members of our campus community who participated in the interview process and provided feedback. My sincere appreciation to the search and screen committee (listed below) for the time and care that they dedicated to this process.

Thank you,

Patty Alvarez, PhD
Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs

Executive Director of the Intercultural Leadership and Engagement Center Search and Screen Committee

• Patty Alvarez, PhD, MS, Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs, Office of Academic Affairs (chair)
• Erin Golembewski, PhD, Senior Associate Dean, Graduate School
• Margaret Hayes, Director, Student Services, School of Pharmacy Deans Administration
• Ava Hawkinson, School of Social Work Student
• Kirandeep Kaur, M.A., LGPC, Assistant Director, Student Services, University of Maryland School of Nursing
• Ann Kim, J.D., Associate Director of Student Services, Office of Student Affairs, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
• Andrea Morgan, D.D.S., School of Dentistry, Dental School Assistant Professor, Department of General Dentistry l Division of Operative, Director of Student Advocacy and Cultural Affairs l Office of Student Affairs
• Kristin Reavis, MD, Director of Student Diversity and Inclusion, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, Associate Residency Program Director, Director of Maternal-Child Health for the Residency Program
• Dawn Shafer, LCSW-C, Associate Dean for Student Affairs, University of Maryland School of Social Work