GW Law is proud to announce Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III, President Emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country, will be the keynote speaker at the 2026 Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 17.
A child leader in the Civil Rights Movement, Hrabowski is former president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a position he held for 30 years, until 2022. As a mathematician and national leader in STEM education, Hrabowski has advanced participation and performance in science and engineering among minority populations.
“I am proud to welcome Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, President Emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to GW Law this May,” GW Law Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew said. “His extraordinary career as a transformational university leader, national champion for STEM education, and tireless advocate for expanding opportunity will be an inspiration to our graduates, all of whom aspire to careers in public service, the private market, public policy, and leadership roles that strengthen our democratic institutions.”
Hrabowski has directly advanced public policy in education, chairing the National Academies’ committee that produced the report, Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. President Barack Obama also named him chair of the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans in 2012.
“I am honored to be speaking at the GW Law School commencement to the class of 2026,” Hrabowski said. “These new lawyers are entering society at a time when we need strong ethical leaders more than ever.”
In 1988, Hrabowski partnered with philanthropist Robert Meyerhoff to co-found the Meyerhoff Scholars Program, which supports high-achieving students who go on to pursue graduate and professional degrees and research careers in STEM. The program is recognized as a national model and inspired Hrabowski to author numerous articles and co-author five books. In 2022, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) launched the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program with a commitment of $1.5 billion to help build a scientific workforce that more fully reflects our increasingly diverse country. In 2023, the National Academy of Sciences awarded him the Public Welfare Medal, the Academy’s most prestigious award, and inducted him as a member of the Academy for his extraordinary use of science for the public good.
His books, Beating the Odds, Overcoming the Odds, Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement, The Empowered University: Shared Leadership, Culture Change, and Academic Success, and The Resilient University: How Purpose and Inclusion Drive Success, explore ways to improve educational systems and outcomes from K-12 to higher education.
His latest book, The Resilient University, was written with three UMBC colleagues and focuses on how leaders can use openness, resilience, courage, passion, and hope to drive student success, even in challenging times.