Dear Community,

It is with mixed emotions that I write to share that William (Bill) LaCourse will be leaving his post as dean of the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences (CNMS) when his current contract expires at the end of the 2025 – 26 academic year. At that time, Bill plans to take a one-year sabbatical before returning full time as a faculty member in the fall of 2027. An interim dean will be appointed later this academic year to serve for the 2026 – 27 academic year.

Bill is a steady, forward-looking leader who has shaped the lives of countless CNMS students through his commitment to cultivating every student’s potential, starting by meeting them where they are. He speaks often of his own academic experience as a first-generation student who started his journey with an associate’s degree from a technical college before earning a Ph.D. in analytical chemistry from Northeastern University. Through his example, he has inspired countless others to pursue dreams they may have otherwise thought impossible.

Bill joined UMBC in 1992 and steadily advanced in both his field and the classroom. He stepped into the role of interim dean of CNMS in 2011 and was named permanent dean in 2012. In his 15 years in this role, Bill has overseen $57.8 million in grants awarded to the college and a nearly 10-fold increase in the diversity of tenured and tenure-track faculty in CNMS.

Many of those grants supported transformational training programs in support of student success, including the 10-year, NIH-funded STEM BUILD program and NSF-funded Improving Undergraduate Science Education (IUSE) initiative. Bill also spearheaded the new Translational Life Sciences Technology (TLST) bachelor’s degree offered at The Universities at Shady Grove, strengthening UMBC’s STEM presence in the heart of the Capital BioHealth Region. All of these and other efforts have also contributed to enriching the college’s relationships with regional community colleges.

As dean, Bill has excelled at generating, funding, and guiding implementation of ideas that have improved outcomes for thousands of students and provided resources so faculty can thrive; the above are but a few examples.

Bill has also been published 128 times, including 26 chapters, authored the book Pulsed Electrochemical Detection in High Performance Liquid Chromatography, and holds two patents. His research interests include basic and applied research on hydrodynamic electroanalytical techniques in liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis, adsorption phenomena at noble metal electrodes, and advanced sample preparation techniques (e.g., microdialysis and pressurized-fluid extraction).

While it will be a change for many of us to see Bill in a role outside of the dean’s office, I am grateful that UMBC students will continue to benefit from his enthusiasm and expertise in the classroom and laboratory. Please join me in thanking Bill for his selfless dedication, visionary leadership, and steadfast commitment to UMBC and inclusive excellence.

Sincerely,