October 3, 2023

The award recognizes chief financial officers or top financial managers at Baltimore-area organizations who have a strong record of achievement.

Dawn M. Rhodes, DBA,  senior vice president and chief business and finance officer, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), has been recognized as a Best in Finance: CFO Award honoree by the Baltimore Business Journal. The award, which is given out every other year, recognizes chief financial officers (CFOs) or top financial managers at Baltimore-area organizations who have a strong record of achievement.

As a senior vice president of administration and finance with UMB, Rhodes oversees a department with more than 800 employees and a campus-wide budget of over $1.6 billion. Since joining UMB in 2016, she has brought transparency to university finances, launched a revitalized Live Near Your Work Program, created several new offices in the Administration and Finance division including the offices of Emergency Management and Sustainability, and hired the division’s first executive director for diversity, equity, and inclusion.

In addition to her work with UMB, Rhodes is on the board of directors of the Maryland Food Bank and is a member of the Eastern Association of College and University Business Officers and the National Association for Colleges and University Business Officers.

The Baltimore Business Journal editorial team selected this year’s winners with the help of dozens of public nominations. The honorees were featured in a special print edition of the journal, as well as online, on Oct. 13. There was a celebratory event Oct. 10 at the Center Club (100 Light St.) to recognize the winners and their accomplishments.