Erin Golembewski, PhD, is the senior associate dean and chief student affairs officer of the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies (UMSGS).
As senior associate dean, her responsibilities include administering more than 60 certificate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs, and overseeing the development of new programs and courses. These impactful programs are collaborations between the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) professional schools, as well as several joint programs with other institutions such as the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and the University of Maryland, College Park. She also manages new faculty, student issues and academic progress, orientation, commencement, and all the milestones in between.
Golembewski, an associate professor at UMSGS, earned her PhD from UMB in pharmacology and experimental therapeutics and her BS in chemistry from Ursinus College. Upon completing her PhD, she joined the UMSGS administration and was soon appointed assistant dean.
Her research examines the pipeline challenges of diversifying the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) faculty. This research has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). She is the UMB leader on two NSF grants to develop systemwide and consortia-based approaches to improve postdoctoral fellow transitions to STEM tenure-track faculty positions. Her work was recently published in Frontiers in Psychology.
Golembewski is a fierce advocate for graduate education and UMB students on and off campus. Her training as a scientist provides a strong foundation for the analytical thinking, ethical behavior, and empathetic compassion required to navigate the challenges facing the biomedical graduate students she oversees.
An underlying strength of her work in graduate programs is consistent attention to building and nurturing collegial relationships and collaborating effectively at UMB, within the University System of Maryland, and beyond. She has extensive and successful experience in program reviews, graduate student supervision, external partnerships, leadership, and training.
She serves as president of the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools, where she has been a member of the executive board since 2013.