Valerie Sheares Ashby

Ashby returned to UNC for graduate studies in 1989, working as a research assistant in the lab of Prof. Joseph DeSimone and completing her thesis, entitled Synthesis and Characterization of Thiophene-Based Poly(Arylene Ether Ketones) and Poly(Arylene Ether Sulfones), in 1994. During her graduate studies, Ashby worked as a visiting scientist at IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, in the summer of 1992, where she worked on the synthesis of thiophene-containing polyetherimides.[7] She also spent the summer of 1993 as a visiting scientist at the Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tennessee, where she examined the role of catalysts in the color body origin in poly(ester amide)s.[7]

After graduating with her Ph.D., Ashby worked as a NSF and NATO Postdoctoral Fellow at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz's Institute for Organic Chemistry in Germany. At Mainz, Ashby worked under the direction of Prof. Reimund Stadler on the synthesis of ABC block copolymers.[2]

Ashby began her independent academic career at Iowa State University as an assistant professor in 1996, and was promoted to associate professor in 2002.[5] While at Iowa State, Ashby was a mentor for the Iowa State University Program for Women in Science & Engineering, a summer research program for undergraduate and high school students.

Ashby spent August 2003 to June 2004 on sabbatical leave at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under the direction of Prof. Robert Langer. In August 2003, Ashby also began her appointment as associate professor at UNC Chapel Hill.[8] In 2005, Ashby was awarded an NSF grant[9] that aimed to increase the number of underrepresented minorities receiving doctoral degrees in STEM fields. Her work helped to increase the Ph.D. completion rate for underrepresented minorities from about 60% to 85% at UNC.[10] She was appointed Vice Chair of Undergraduate Studies in August 2005. Ashby was granted the rank of full professor and the Bowman and Gordon Gray Distinguished Term Professor of Chemistry in July 2007. In July 2012 she was named chair of the department of chemistry and the faculty director of the UNC Chapel Hill Graduate School Initiative for Minority Excellence (IME) in July 2014.

Through her career, Ashby has accumulated numerous awards, including the National Science Foundation Career Development Award, the DuPont Young Faculty Award, the 3M Young Faculty Award, the UNC Chapel Hill General Alumni Association Faculty Service Award, the J. Carlyle Sitterson Freshman Teaching Award, the UNC Student Undergraduate Teaching Award, and the Johnston Teaching Award for Undergraduate Teaching.[11]

On Thursday May 7, 2015, Duke University President Richard H. Brodhead and Provost Sally Kornbluth announced that Ashby would be the next dean of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences at Duke University succeeding Laurie Patton, who became the new president of Middlebury.[12] The search committee that nominated and unanimously supported Ashby consisted of faculty members, students, administrators and trustees.

Ashby being sworn in as UMBC president, 2023

On Monday, April 4, 2022, outgoing UMBC President Freeman Hrabowski announced that Ashby would be the next President of UMBC, effective August 1, 2022.[13]