Provost Named to Washington's List of Most Powerful Women

Senior Vice President and Provost Jennifer King Rice has been recognized on Washingtonian's list of “Most Powerful Women” in the publication’s October 2025 issue.

The list, published every two years, celebrates 250 women who are leaders in the D.C. area on both the local and national stages, shaping fields like government, business, law, education, media, nonprofits, the arts and more.

Rice is featured in the “Education Powers” section alongside five fellow education leaders, including the presidents of Marymount University and George Washington University. This honor acknowledges the critical role such leaders play in the greater Washington area.

As a faculty member, dean of the College of Education and now provost, Rice has consistently shown a commitment to elevate the university as a powerful force for progress in the Washington, D.C., area and beyond.

She has championed transformative initiatives for the university that expand educational opportunity, fuel innovation and strengthen community partnerships. Examples include the $20 million need-based Terrapin Commitment scholarship program for Maryland students, the $30 million Grand Challenges Grants program to spark problem-solving research, the Artificial Intelligence Interdisciplinary Institute at Maryland and the Center for Community Engagement. Through the university’s strategic plan, Fearlessly Forward, she is helping to position UMD as a national leader in tackling society’s grand challenges while preparing students for lives of meaning and impact.

This is not the first time Rice has been spotlighted as a higher ed leader in the capital region; for each of the last four years, she has been named to The Daily Record’s “Higher Education Power List,” which recognizes local leaders who are guiding their institutions through an ever-changing field.