Freeman A. Hrabowski III

Freeman Alphonsa Hrabowski III is a prominent American educator, advocate, and mathematician. In May 1992 he began his term as president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County , one of the twelve public universities comprising the Maryland university system. Hrabowski has transformed a noname, commuter university into a research institution recognized as one of the most innovative in the country. His administration continues to build a campus thats firstrate in research and instruction, and that prepares students of all backgrounds for career success. Under his adept leadership, UMBC has been ranked theUp and Coming University in the USA for six consecutive years by U.S. News and World Report magazine.

Hrabowski was born in segregated Birmingham, Alabama, the only child of busy, hardworking parents, both of whom were educators. His mother was an English teacher who decided to become a math teacher, and she used the young Hrabowski as a guinea pig at home. His father had been a math teacher and then went to work at a steel mill because, as Hrabowski is quoted as saying, frankly, he could make more money doing that. Frequently asked about the origin of his unusual surname, Hrabowski explains that he is the greatgreatgrandson of Eaton Hrabowski, a PolishAmerican slave master who lived in rural Alabama, and his wife Rebecca McCord. In a CBS television interview, Hrabowski recounted that he is the third Freeman Hrabowski his grandfather was the first Freeman Hrabowski born a free man, as opposed to having to be freed.

Source: Wikipedia