Presidential Distinguished Lecture

The Presidential Distinguished Lecture is a series presented by the Office of the President to encourage community discussions and civic engagement.

The 2024 Presidential Distinguished Lecture will be presented in conjunction with the President’s Medal for Science and Innovation at the Spring Bicentennial Symposium on February 28.

Freeman A. Hrabowski III

Freeman A. Hrabowski III, president emeritus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), led the institution from 1992 to 2022. His research and publications focus on science and math education, with special emphasis on minority participation and performance. Hrabowski chaired the National Academies’ committee that produced the 2011 report Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads. He was named in 2012 by President Obama to chair the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. His 2013 TED Talk highlights the “Four Pillars of College Success in Science.” In 2022, Hrabowski was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. He also was named the inaugural ACE Centennial Fellow, to be served upon his retirement from UMBC. In addition, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) launched the Freeman Hrabowski Scholars Program ($1.5 billion) to help build a scientific workforce that more fully reflects our increasingly diverse country. In October 2022, Hrabowski was named the inaugural Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture speaker by Harvard University. In April 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.