Hall of Fame 6.7.26 - Flipbook - Page 31
Hall of Fame | Sunday, June 7, 2026 31
BRUCE
JARRELL
The first thing visitors may notice at Dr. Bruce Jarrell’s office at the University of Maryland, Baltimore are the examples of wrought iron artwork, large and small.
He crafted them all himself. The second they are certain to recognize is that for such a well-regarded transplant surgeon and academic leader, UMB’s president
sure is modest, with a down-home, self-effacing style that quickly puts his colleagues and graduate students at ease.
“He is just one of those guy that just because he
has a big job doesn’t mean he’s too ‘up there’ to engage with students,” marvels Dr. Jay Perman, chancellor of the University System of Maryland and
Jarrell’s predecessor at UMB. “He’s very comfortable, very casual and humble. But he’s also a bigpicture guy, which is what a CEO has to be.”
Jarrell, 78, didn’t start out life intending to become an academic or even a physician. He grew up
on a farm in rural Caroline County on the Eastern
Shore, where he got a firsthand look at engineering
from the family’s small cannery.
He graduated from the University of Delaware
with a degree in chemical engineering, intrigued by
the growing effort to apply engineering to medicine
through emerging technologies like kidney dialysis.
After earning his medical degree from Jefferson
Medical College in Philadelphia, he completed a renal transplant surgery fellowship at the Medical College of Virginia, went into private practice in Dover,
Delaware, then returned to MCV, where he would
spend a decade transplanting livers and kidneys.
Still, academia beckoned, and Jarrell taught at
the University of Arizona, where he chaired the
surgery department before returning to Maryland
in 1997 to chair the University of Maryland School
of Medicine’s surgery department. Six years later,
he was executive vice dean, later becoming UMB’s
executive vice president and provost in December
2017 and president three years later.
“When I was in private practice, I missed the students and residents, and there was no research,”
Jarrell recalls. “The practice of medicine is wonderful, but academics offered that and more.”
As president, Jarrell isn’t just responsible for the
medical school. The state’s graduate schools for law,
social work, dentistry, pharmacy and nursing also
fall under his mantle. And it’s not just about training the next generation of high-quality professionals. Running UMB also means seeking research dollars and sometimes advising elected officials in
Annapolis. And here’s where Jarrell has especially
made his mark: UMB is also at the forefront of an
effort to upgrade downtown Baltimore’s west side,
Dr. Bruce E. Jarrell
Age: 78
Hometown: Goldsboro
Current residence: Severna Park
Education: North Caroline High School, 1965;
B.Ch.E., University of Delaware, 1969;
M.D., Jefferson Medical College, 1973;
surgical residency and transplantation
fellowship, Medical College of Virginia, 1978
Career highlights: General surgeon
at Kent General Hospital in Dover, Delaware,
transplant surgeon at Jefferson Medical College,
chair of surgery at University of Arizona.
Served as chair of surgery, executive
vice dean of the School of Medicine,
provost and president of UMB. Co-lead
of the MPower partnership between UMB and
University of Maryland, College Park.
Civic and charitable activities:
Former board member of the
Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of
North America. Board member of
Hippodrome Foundation, Downtown
Partnership of Baltimore, Greater
Baltimore Committee, University of
Maryland Medical System and Center.
Family: Married to wife Leslie Robinson, M.D.;
three children and six grandchildren.
where the campus is located, so that the school’s
neighbors prosper as well.
“Maybe the piece that is most rewarding and inspiring is Bruce’s deep, deep commitment to the
community,” says Dr. Mohan Suntha, University of
Maryland Medical System president and CEO, who
has known Jarrell since his own medical school
days. “You can see how UMB has been purposeful
in caring for globally defined communities, but specifically for West Baltimore. He tries to demonstrate
over and over again how to be a good neighbor.”
That has included not just offering medical, legal
or social work services to nearby residents or even
expanding the University of Maryland BioPark, the
biomedical research park on campus, but also supporting local institutions from Lexington Market
to the Hippodrome Theatre at the France-Merrick
Performing Arts Center, where UMB has provided
security services during performances. After all,
the more jobs and economic stability brought to the
neighborhood, the better.
“I look at Hippodrome ticket renewals with great
pride,” he says. “It says people feel safe and welcome coming to the city.”
Freeman A. Hrabowski III, the former president
of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County,
says Marylanders can be proud not only of UMB as
a leading health research center but also for producing professionals who care deeply for the people they serve. That sensibility comes from the top,
the longtime educator says, and especially from an
“unsung hero” who has “given his life and career to
the citizens of Maryland in so many ways.”
“Often, we only hear about our leaders when
things are going wrong,” Hrabowski says. “Bruce’s
legacy is his unselfish commitment to the state, to
the people of this state and the amazing institutions
that he and others have built. He’s just been a remarkable leader.”
Such accolades may embarrass Jarrell, but it’s undeniable he’s proud to see UMB succeed even when
it must overcome adversities – including federal research dollars that have become such an unreliable
funding stream. But perhaps one of the advantages
of such a long, multifaceted career is also being able
to roll with the punches along with the plaudits.
“I’m not sure I can even define the skill set” to run
UMB, Jarrell admits. “You have to know a lot about
everything, and you have to be able to sit down and
understand other people’s points of view. That ability to sit and talk to people — in the end, that’s a key
function.”
And, of course, a little ironworking skill probably
doesn’t hurt either. Both require redirecting considerable heat and pressure — with a generous supply of patience.
— Peter Jensen
