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KURT SCHMOKE
Listen to this articleKURT SCHMOKE
PRESIDENT
UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE
Kurt Schmoke has served as the president of the University of Baltimore for eight years, helping students, faculty and staff understand the present challenges facing the school and future opportunities that await it.
Schmoke appreciates tradition while accepting change, something he believes is an important skill to have in higher education. This ability was instilled in him by someone he calls his “most significant mentor”: Kingman Brewster, former president of Yale University, where Schmoke earned his undergraduate degree in history.
Schmoke received a Rhodes scholarship for his graduate studies at Oxford University and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School.
Prior to joining the University of Baltimore, Schmoke held several positions at the Howard University School of Law, including general counsel, interim provost and dean, a role he served as for nine years.
Schmoke has also held public office in Baltimore, serving as the city’s state’s attorney for five years in the 1980s and then mayor for 12 years.
If you weren’t in this industry, what would you be doing?
I would be pursuing elective office in the hope of improving the quality of life of people living in this country.
