Before 1960, the United States didn’t have a shock trauma center. That was until the construction of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland, which marked a turning point in emergency medical treatment—the first facility of its kind in the world to treat shock. 

Before 1980, the United States didn’t have a bachelor’s or master’s program in health services. That was until UMBC launched a revolutionary new program, Emergency Health Services, today known as Emergency and Disaster Health Systems (EDHS), awarding the world’s first bachelor’s degree in health services in 1984, and first master’s degrees in 1986.

John W. Ashworth, III,had a hand in shaping both.

Now, the man who helped build so many life-saving programs is being honored with the John W. Ashworth, III, Professorship in Emergency Health Services, another first. This time, the first named professorship in UMBC’s EDHS program.

“The University System of Maryland [USM] is known as a pioneer in emergency care and trauma care, and a great deal of that has to do with John Ashworth,” said USM Chancellor Jay A. Perman.

Ashworth was a vital leader in Maryland’s public health and emergency services community for more than four decades. Ashworth’s early career focused on emergency services and trauma. He was the director of the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where he oversaw the construction of the Gudelsky Building and the Weinberg Building, helping bring the vision of the country’s first shock trauma unit to reality. 

His career spanned critical leadership roles, including director of development and special projects for the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services, COO and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical Center, senior vice president for network development at the University of Maryland Medical System, and associate dean of hospital networks at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He also helped build and taught at UMBC’s program in EDHS.

“There is no one, no one in this state who has done more for shock trauma, more for the University of Maryland Medical System, and more for the University of Maryland Medical Center,” said Maryland State Senator Francis X. Kelly. “There is just nobody that can even come close to him.”

Ashworth’s leadership helped develop a statewide network of care that continues to serve Marylanders to this day. But perhaps his most enduring contributions are the ones that began in the classroom.

“I enjoyed so much being with the students,” said Ashworth. “I learned so much from the students. It was so rewarding.”

The world’s first bachelor’s degree in health services

The EDHS baccalaureate program launched in 1980 to educate practitioners, clinicians, scholars, and leaders to support community and emergency health and disaster management, eventually awarding the world’s first bachelor’s degree in health services in 1984. The graduate program, also the first in the nation, followed a year later and remains the largest such program in the United States. 

“From the start, the [EDHS] department has been a leader in EMS and related fields with a track record for innovation,” said Manfred H. M. van Dulmen, UMBC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “EDHS is a department grounded in excellence and built for the future.”

From 1989 to 2012, Ashworth taught undergraduate and graduate courses at UMBC, including EHS 400, the capstone management course for the undergraduate program. Today, Ashworth is an emeritus clinical assistant professor with the EDHS program, which serves more than 150 students across its undergraduate and graduate majors and minors with a robust curriculum that includes paramedic training, disaster health management, and emergency leadership.

Photo right: The faculty member, center, helps students practice emergency health techniques. (University Archives. Special Collections, UMBC)

“You have influenced and affected so many people in your career,” said Matthew Levy ’00, M.S. ‘08, EDHS medical director,of Ashworth, “and the impact you’ve had…goes further than you will ever know.”

In recognition of his tremendous work shaping the emergency health landscape, not just at UMBC, but throughout the state of Maryland, a group of Ashworth’s former colleagues and friends banded together to establish the John W. Ashworth, III, Professorship in Emergency Health Services. 

“This is a significant milestone that honors John’s enduring legacy and his tremendous contributions to the EDHS department,” said van Dulmen.

This investment will enhance faculty excellence, expand research in emergency health systems, and elevate the academic experience for students in one of UMBC’s most impactful programs.

“This is a big deal in terms of furthering emergency health in Maryland, the nation, and the world,” saidPerman.

Friends, family, colleagues, and former students of Ashworth gathered together on Tuesday, May 13, to celebrate the tremendous legacy of Ashworth and the establishment of this new professorship—a tribute to a man whose career helped shape emergency care in Maryland and whose teaching left a lifelong impression on his students.

“Having an endowed professorship named for you is eternity,” said Thomas Scalea, physician-in-chief at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, among other titles. “As long as there is a UMBC, there will be a John Ashworth Professor.”