Edington named next UDC president

Maurice Edington

Special to the Outlook

Maurice Edington, Ph.D., has been named the next president of the University of the District of Columbia. 

Edington served in several positions at FAMU, his most recent being Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. His start date at UDC is Aug. 1.

“Maurice is deserving of this opportunity, and I’m sure he will lead with the same capacity as he has done here at FAMU,” said FAMU President Larry Robinson, Ph.D., in response to the announcement last Thursday. “We wish him well as he begins this new chapter in his career.”

Meanwhile, Robinson said FAMU will look internally for an interim COO. He suggested there could also be a national search to find Edington’s successor.

In his 25 years at FAMU, Edington rose from assistant professor to being the second-highest-ranked administrator at the Tallahassee campus. After the Berkeley, Calif., native completed his bachelor’s in chemistry at Fisk University, he enrolled at Vanderbilt University, where he completed his Ph.D. in physical chemistry in 1997.     

From 2013 to 2017, Edington served as the founding dean of the College of Science and Technology. He was then promoted to fill the newly created position of VP for Strategic Planning, Analysis, and Institutional Effectiveness. 

Edington served as provost/VP for academic affairs for several years before being named executive VP/COO in December 2022. He becomes the 10th president in UDC’s history.  

The only public university in the nation’s capital and the only urban land-grant university in the United States, UDC is committed to a broad mission of education, research, and community service.