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Kurt Schmoke to Retire as University of Baltimore President in June 2027

His year-long notice gives the Board of Regents time to plan new leadership as the university confronts steep enrollment losses, a structural budget gap and an unresolved plan to absorb Baltimore City Community College.

University of Baltimore President Kurt Schmoke speaks ahead of a mayoral debate held at at the school’s H. Mebane Turner Learning Commons on April 30, 2024.
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Overview

  • Schmoke informed the University System of Maryland Board of Regents on Friday that he will step down as UBalt president effective June 2027, and the university announced the retirement via an official news release.
  • He has led the university since 2014 and will leave after 12 years at the helm, a period that included steering UBalt through the COVID-19 pandemic and the university’s 2025 centennial.
  • UBalt faces deep institutional strain, with total enrollment falling from 6,422 to 3,232 over the past decade, more than a 50 percent drop in undergraduates, a structural budget deficit, and recent consolidation of majors and departures of three academic deans.
  • This year Schmoke began work on a proposal for UBalt to absorb Baltimore City Community College, a move that BCCC faculty said surprised them and that led Schmoke to resign as chair of BCCC’s board; the proposal’s future is unresolved.
  • The retirement starts a formal transition that will test how the system addresses immediate needs — selecting a successor, stabilizing finances, and resolving the community college proposal — all of which will affect students, faculty and the university’s long-term viability.