Salisbury, MD — Since becoming Salisbury University’s 10th President last July, Dr. Carolyn Ringer Lepre has made her mark not only on SU, but on the state at large.
For her contributions and leadership, The Daily Record has named her among Maryland’s Top 100 Women for 2023.
The Baltimore-based business newspaper selected honorees “who are making an impact through their leadership, community service and mentoring.” The list is selected by past Top 100 Women recipients and business leaders.
“I am truly honored to be included among such a prestigious group of leaders from the worlds of education, health care, business, government and beyond,” said Lepre. “Together, the work we do makes Maryland a strong and special place to live, work and learn.”
Lepre came to SU from Radford University in Virginia, where she formerly served as interim president.
At Salisbury, she has set goals of increasing enrollment and retention rates, creating a campus-wide diversity, equity and inclusion plan, making SU a top 25 campus in U.S. News & World Report rankings, and placing a greater emphasis on study abroad and study away programs.
She also has placed an emphasis on creating a facilities plan to attract students and support high-quality educational experiences; restructuring the SU budget to ensure the University’s spending is the most strategic it can be.
In addition, she has announced priorities including adding new varsity sports including men’s and women’s golf have been announced, creating 100 new endowed scholarships as part of fundraising efforts for the University’s 100th anniversary in 2025, and continuing to tell the SU story through its “Make Tomorrow Yours” brand.
Lepre began her academic career as a faculty member at California State University, Chico; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; and Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY. During her tenure at Marist, she served as chair of the Department of Communication and director of the college’s Honors Program. In 2013, she was named assistant dean of Marist’s School of Communication and the Arts, advancing to interim dean in 2014 and then dean in 2016. She joined Radford as provost and vice president for academic affairs in 2020 and was appointed interim president in 2021.
Beyond her work in education and administration, Lepre has extensive professional experience in the communication industry, having worked for various national publications and media outlets.
Her research has focused on media representation of gender and diversity, health communication and mass communication education, and she has published more than 40 book chapters, refereed journal and conference articles. She also is the co-author of U.S. Media and Diversity (Wiley-Blackwell), now in its second edition, with a third edition in progress.
In addition to her service to SU, Lepre is a member of the Leadership Maryland Class of 2023.
Lepre earned her B.A. in English and journalism at Miami University (OH), her M.S. in journalism from Ohio University and her Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Florida.
An awards celebration for this year’s Top 100 Women honorees is scheduled Monday, May 8, in Baltimore. For tickets or more information visit https://thedailyrecord.com/top-100-women.
Learn more about SU and opportunities to Make Tomorrow Yours at www.salisbury.edu.
