November 8th, 2019 by WCBC Radio

The University System of Maryland Board of Regents on Thursday named University of Maryland, Baltimore President Dr. Jay A. Perman the system's next chancellor.

Chancellor Robert L. Caret will step down next June, after deciding not to seek another five-year contract.

“In our search for a new USM chancellor we were looking for a nationally recognized leader — ideally someone who had run a large and complex institution, an innovator committed to economic growth and development — but above all a person with a passion for education and committed to shared governance, transparency, and diversity.," USM Board chair Linda Gooden said in a statement. "Fortunately for us that we found all of those things right in our own backyard."

Perman, a pediatric gastroenterologist, has led UMB since 2010. In that time, he has worked to strengthen the institution's ties to the city through projects led by the Office of Community Engagement, which he established in 2014. In 2015, the university opened a community engagement center in  West Baltimore. The center, which was expanded last year, works to provide health, employment and legal services to residents.