Gregory C. Spengler, MPA

Beginning his career as a policy analyst and operating budget manager during 12 years with the Maryland Department of Legislative Services, Greg made recommendations concerning health and higher education budgets and programs, established the framework for analysis of the statewide Managing for Results program, and assumed responsibility for the design and production of operating budget documentation during the legislative session.

Greg came to UMB in 2001 as Director of Institutional Research, and as Assistant Vice President from 2002 to 2018 transitioned among the President’s Office, Academic Affairs, and Administration and Finance in support of strategic planning and accreditation activities while also fulfilling the University’s many external reporting requirements.

Since joining Operations and Planning in 2016, Greg has focused on cultivating the capacity of central administration to support institutional effectiveness endeavors.  Greg leads the cross-functional Accreditation and Assessment Unit which serves as a resource for accreditation activities across all schools and programs, prepares for upcoming Middle States midpoint and verification reporting obligations, and catalogs and monitors assessment methods utilized across schools and programs to promote the use of best practices.

In July 2018 Greg assumed the role of Associate Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness, responsible for institutional research, strategic planning, and assessment functions.  The newly created Office of Institutional Effectiveness, Strategic Planning, and Assessment provides guidance to individuals and groups making decisions or establishing policies in support of attaining strategic goals fulfilling the University's mission.  To accomplish this mission the office collects, reports and presents verified data and information using advanced data management techniques, conducts policy analysis, coordinated campus accreditation, assessment and evaluation activities, designs and administers surveys, and facilitates strategic planning and risk management efforts.

Under the guidance of the Provost and Executive Vice President, Greg has deepened UMB leadership’s understanding of the issues of professional program affordability, differential achievement of specific student populations (i.e. Closing the Achievement Gap), methodologies for peer institution selection, and the mechanics of university rankings (e.g. U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools).

Since 2019 Greg has been an active member of the AVP Core Values Council and participates on the President's Core Values Awards Selection Committee.  In February 2020 Greg was named as the University of Maryland, Baltimore's Accreditation Liaison Officer for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, UMB's institutional accreditation organization and currently staffs the Middle States Steering and Logistics Committees as UMB prepares for a peer evaluation site visit in spring 2025.

Greg has served the Middle States Commission on Higher Education as a peer evaluator four times:

• Cornell University - October 2020
• Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine - November 2021
• City University of New York, College of Staten Island - March 2022
• State University of New York, University at Buffalo - March 2024

Greg holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and a master’s degree in Public Administration from The George Washington University and is a past president of the Maryland Association for Institutional Research, as well as an active member of regional and national professional associations for institutional research and assessment.