Freeman A. Hrabowski III has served as the president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, since 1992. The author of Holding Fast to Dreams: Empowering Youth from the Civil Rights Crusade to STEM Achievement, he served as chair of the President's Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans under President Barack Obama. Philip J. Rous is the provost, the senior vice president for academic affairs, and a professor of physics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Peter H. Henderson is the senior advisor to the president at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, where he is a policy fellow of the School of Public Policy.