Renique Kersh is a strategic leader with more than 20 years of higher education experience. Dr. Kersh has been a leader in student success and engagement with a strong commitment to creating experiential equity, providing leadership development, and building strong teams. Prior to her role at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, she served as the Vice President for Student Engagement, Success and Diversity at Simmons University in Boston. In addition, she has held mid-level and senior-level leadership positions at North Central College, Northern Illinois University, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.

Dr. Kersh has provided visionary leadership at both public and private institutions, engaging university stakeholders in the critical and collaborative work required to ensure that students are transformed by their experiences both in and out of the classroom. Her commitment to outcomes has resulted in retention gains, reductions in equity gaps, reductions in barriers to student success, increases in engagement for underrepresented students in undergraduate research, and service learning experiences, as well as the merging of academic support and career services to increase efficiency and the level of service delivery.

Dr. Kersh earned her B.A. in Communications from Oakland University, her M.Ed. in College Student Personnel from the University of Maryland, and her Ph.D. in Community Health from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. She is a wife and a mother of two boys.