1. William English "Brit" Kirwan was born on April 14,1938 and is an American university administrator and mathematician who is chancellor emeritus of the University System of Maryland and professor emeritus of mathematics at the University of Maryland, College Park.
Previously, William Kirwan worked at the University of Maryland, College Park from the 1960s to 1990s as a professor, administrator, and eventually president and was president of the Ohio State University from 1998 to 2002.
William Kirwan had two stints as the interim president of the university in 1982 and 1988 before being formally elected by the board of regents as president in 1989, a position he would hold before leaving to become president of Ohio State University in 1998.
William Kirwan returned to Maryland in 2002 to serve as chancellor of the USM before retiring in 2015.
William Kirwan chaired the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics from 2007 to 2016.
The son of former University of Kentucky football coach and president Albert D Kirwan, Kirwan was born in Louisville, Kentucky and raised in Lexington, Kentucky.
William Kirwan graduated from Henry Clay High School in Lexington in 1956.
William Kirwan played one year on the freshman football team before leaving the sport to focus on his studies.
William Kirwan started at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1964 as an assistant professor of mathematics.
At Maryland, William Kirwan was promoted to associate professor in 1968 and full professor in 1972; William Kirwan would remain on the mathematics faculty until 1998.
From 1963 to 1992, William Kirwan had 26 articles published in peer reviewed journals on topics such as real functions, bounded functions, and conformal maps.
From 1977 to 1981, William Kirwan was chair of the Department of Mathematics.
William Kirwan served as the chief academic officer at Maryland from 1981 to 1988, with the title of vice chancellor for academic affairs from 1981 to 1986, provost from 1986 to 1988, and vice president for academic affairs in 1988; From August to November 1982, William Kirwan served as acting chancellor between the administrations of Robert Gluckstern and John Brooks Slaughter.
At Ohio State, William Kirwan focused his attention on improving the academic standings during his tenure.
William Kirwan left Ohio State on June 30,2002 to become chancellor of the University System of Maryland.
On May 13,2014, William Kirwan announced publicly that he would step down as USM chancellor after twelve years of service.
William Kirwan retired effective June 30,2015, and was succeeded by Robert Caret.
William Kirwan has had executive-level positions relating to college athletics, including with the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
In May 2006, William Kirwan joined the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics.
In 2002, William Kirwan was among 21 appointees by President Bush to the Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
From 2004 to 2008, William Kirwan served on the board of trustees of the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute.
William Kirwan is a past board chair of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and of the American Council on Education.
William Kirwan is a member of the CuriosityStream Advisory Board.
William Kirwan's nickname, "Brit," was a play on his middle name English.