WELCOME TO STUDENTS AND PARENTS

Karen Johnson Shaheed, Esq. currently serves as Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. Previously, she was Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Bowie State University. In this role she was responsible for providing legal and policy advice to the President and members of his cabinet. As VP and General Counsel she coordinated government relations for the university.

Ms. Shaheed has over 20 years of experience in law, higher education, and public administration. Prior to coming to Bowie State, Ms. Shaheed served for four years as General Counsel and Vice President for Government Relations at the National Labor College in Silver Spring, MD where she assisted the private institution in obtaining initial accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

She served as Bowie State's Interim Provost from January 1, 2010 to June 30, 2010. From 2000 to 2003, Ms. Shaheed served as Secretary of Higher Education for the state of Maryland and was the chief executive officer for the Maryland Higher Education Commission, the statewide coordinating body for postsecondary education. As Secretary of Higher Education, she worked to secure operating and capital funding increases for Maryland's public and private four-year institutions and community colleges; led a statewide task force that examined college readiness for disadvantaged students; worked to increase need-based financial aid; expanded outreach to middle of high schools in the state; and helped negotiate a five-year partnership agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights aimed at eliminating the vestiges of segregation in public higher education in Maryland.

Prior to her appointment as Secretary of Higher Education, Ms. Shaheed served as deputy chief of staff under Governor Parris N. Glendening. She has also served as Assistant Attorney General and Assistant Secretary for Regulatory Policy and Programs and Assistant Attorney General for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation where she was responsible for over twenty licensing and regulatory boards and commissions including the Real Estate Commission, Racing Commission, and the Financial Regulation Commission.

Ms. Shaheed began her career in private law practice in Baltimore. A native of Baltimore, Ms. Shaheed received her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) and her law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. Throughout her career, she has served on various boards and received numerous awards and honors, including being named one of Maryland's Top 100 Women by The Daily Record.

In 2008, Governor Martin O'Malley appointed her to the Prince George's County Hospital Authority, a seven-member board established by law to oversee the process of securing new ownership for the Prince George's County health care system.

Karen Johnson Shaheed, Esq. 
Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs