A Leader and a Scholar: Gregory F. Ball Takes the Helm at BSOS

The College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSOS) is honored to join with the University of Maryland community in welcoming Gregory F. Ball, Ph.D., as our new dean. Dean Ball's exemplary track record across the broad spectrum of behavioral and life sciences research and discovery makes him the ideal leader of the College.

"For 20 years, Greg Ball has raised interdisciplinary research to an art, both as an administrator and in his own work in neuroscience and behavior," said University of Maryland President Wallace Loh. "This is a vital leadership trait, and he will pursue important collaborations within the social sciences, across campus, and beyond."

In his new role, Dean Ball will draw upon his prior work as Professor of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Vice Dean for Science and Research Infrastructure in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Dean Ball’s academic research and subsequent theories concerning interrelationships among steroid hormones, the brain and social behaviors has received continuous support from the National Institutes of Health for more than 20 years. He also is the recipient of JHU’s George Owen Teaching Award and its Alumni Association Teaching Award in observance of his exemplary undergraduate instruction.

Dean Ball holds a B.A. in psychology from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in psychobiology from the Institute of Animal Behavior at Rutgers University. He completed his postdoctoral work in Comparative Neuroendocrinology and Ethology at Rockefeller University.

Shaping the Future of the College

Dean Ball prepared for his deanship and demonstrated his dedication to BSOS even before his official duties began. Prior to taking office on Oct. 1, he met with numerous University and BSOS leaders, including Provost Mary Ann Rankin and BSOS Interim Dean Wayne McIntosh, to outline priorities and discuss critical decisions.

“My initial focus will be getting to know the College, learning more about the goals of its departments, centers and programs, and how to support those goals. I’ve been meeting with the department and program chairs and directors, and will continue having open and candid discussions with them and with all the members of the BSOS community,” Dean Ball said. “My central question throughout these discussions is, ‘How can we achieve excellence?’ We should all be pursuing excellence in our teaching, our research, and our student services efforts—in everything we do.”

He also has attended and offered remarks at numerous BSOS events. These included: the closing reception for the Summer Research Initiative Scholars, a program dedicated to increasing the number of underrepresented minorities who pursue graduate degrees in the social, behavioral and economic sciences; the Baha’i Chair for World Peace Annual Lecture, which featured a timely discussion on racism; and a multidisciplinary, campus-wide Brain-Behavior Initiative Workshop. Dean Ball said he was eager to engage in these activities, as they reflect the dynamic nature of the College, which initially drew him to the position. 

“From the very first, I saw that BSOS is an exciting mix of the traditional sciences and the more applied and experimental sciences. The more I learn about the College and talk with members of this community, the more I learn about the breadth of BSOS’s mission and the impact of its research and teaching efforts, and the great work that our students and alumni do,” he said.

In addition getting to know the College he now serves, Dean Ball also is making the promotion of and advocacy for BSOS a priority. “I am honored to be in a position to help BSOS get the recognition it deserves and the resources it needs to advance to even higher levels of greatness,” he said.

In turn, University administrators, faculty, staff and alumni have been eager to welcome Dean Ball, who emerged from a rigorous national search as the clear choice for the BSOS deanship.

"Dr. Ball is an extraordinary scientist, scholar and administrator," Provost Rankin said. "He will be a visionary and inspiring leader for the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences and a catalyst for important interdisciplinary opportunities across campus and beyond. I am absolutely delighted that he will be joining our wonderful team of UMD deans."

Returning to UMD Roots

In many ways, joining BSOS is a homecoming for Dean Ball. He grew up in the D.C. area, and his family moved to University Park to accommodate his father’s position with the Department of Agriculture in nearby Beltsville, Md., and his mother’s position at the University of Maryland as the administrative assistant of what is now the School of Public Health. At the time, the unit focused on recreation and physical education.

School of Public Health Dean Jane E. Clark has fond memories of Dr. Ball’s mother at that time. When Dr. Clark joined the school as a junior faculty member in 1981, Mrs. Ball was one of the first people she met.

“The faculty always addressed her as ‘Mrs. Ball’—never as ‘Angela’. Amongst us young faculty, she was known as ‘Dean Ball’,” Dr. Clark said. “She was a formidable and knowledgeable force in the dean's office, but at the same time, she was extremely helpful and kind.  She would be so proud of her son, Greg, to know that he is ‘officially’ Dean Ball.” 

Dean Ball’s family ties to the University continue today. His brother, Michael O. Ball, is the Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and Professor in the Smith School of Business. And his oldest brother, Joseph Ball, is a Professor of Mathematics at Virginia Tech.

Dean Ball’s sister and his nephew are Maryland alumni, and his niece is a BSOS alumna. His connections with Maryland extend across the University System of Maryland, as his wife, Margaret McCarthy, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore.

Dean Ball has many fond memories of the University, and said he is looking forward to forging deeper connections.

“I remember getting ice cream at The Dairy. I’m happy to hear that while it has moved across campus, it’s still nearby in The Stamp,” Dean Ball said. Dean Ball attended summer camp in Cole Field House when he was 14 and even worked part time on the grounds crew one summer while he was a college student in New York. 

A Groundbreaking Researcher and Teacher

Dean Ball has long served as a leader in academia, both inside and outside the classroom, was attracted to Maryland because of its position at the vanguard of innovative research. The BSOS deanship seemed an ideal fit because of Dean Ball’s focus on the behavioral and social sciences—particularly psychology—and his desire to play a significant role in the evolution of education. 

“Ever since middle school, I’ve wanted to make a living from the life of the mind. At this stage of my career, I’m most interested in shaping an institution of higher learning. I believe that strong universities are an important part of the health and the future of the United States,” he said.

This passion for learning is something he is glad to share with the BSOS student body. “I hope our students are as excited as I am to work with faculty who are knowledge-creators, faculty members who are setting the tone and the standards in their fields,” Dean Ball said. “When you are in college, you learn that the state of a field is a work in progress—and you can be a part of that process.”

Dean Ball’s focus on psychology stemmed from his innate desire to understand what drives people and animals to make decisions and behave in the way they do. He concentrates in the field biopsychology and considers how hormones act in the brain to change behavior. Much of his work is on birds as he studies have seasonal changes in physiological state can results in marked changes in the production of social behaviors and the neural substrate that regulates these behaviors. 

“When I was in college, I was studying the great books and several languages, and then I took on the character of Odysseus. I kept asking my professor, ‘Why did he do that? What is his motivation?’, and she said, ‘We don’t study that; you should go to the psychology department’—so I did. And I found I was very interested in the biological causes of behavior, not just for humans, but for all species,” he said.  

While his primary focus will be on administration and leadership, Dean Ball does plan to continue his laboratory research at UMD. “It is my hope that staying active as a researcher will help me to be a better dean. My colleagues in the Department of Psychology—especially the chair, Dr. Jack Blanchard, and Professor Robert Dooling—have been very welcoming and supportive, and have made the continuation of my lab and research here at Maryland possible,” Dean Ball said.

His lab work will focus on how hormones affect behavior, and how external natural forces affect behavior. “For example, I study the phenomenon of the seasonal changes in brain and behavior of songbirds. In the springtime, their behavioral patterns change—essentially, they go through puberty every spring. These changes involve neuroplasticity and neuron creation,” he said. “To me, it is fascinating how biology and the social environment impact brain function.”

From his work as a teacher, a researcher and a member of the academic council at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Ball developed a deep understanding of how universities work and how important deans and other leaders can be. And now—at an ideal moment when the University is joining the Big 10 and expanding its capacity for innovative research—Dean Ball is eager to help BSOS capitalize on every opportunity to grow in scope and impact.

“Here at Maryland, with the level of research and teaching happening on campus, and through our connections to D.C., we have tremendous capacity to create learning opportunities that are far above and beyond the traditional. We are perfectly poised to be part of the search for new knowledge. We work with people who are pushing the boundaries of their field,” Dean Ball said. “I’m eager to develop synergies both within our unique combination of departments and externally through our new partners in the Big 10 and beyond.”

A Warm Welcome

Now that he is on campus, Dean Ball is enjoying the opportunity to meet more BSOS constituents in person. These activities include handing out cupcakes to students in Tydings Hall on his first day, scheduling national travel to meet alumni in various regions, and attending a public welcome reception on Oct. 8 in the Adele H. Stamp student Union (Click here for more details and to RSVP).

“It’s been a wonderful surprise to hear from so many BSOS alumni and to see just how expansive this community is,” Dean Ball said. “I’ve had people who have e-mailed and reached out—colleagues I’ve known for years, and people at Hopkins—who have said, ‘I’m a BSOS grad.’”

Meeting with members of the College’s broad and diverse community has inspired Dean Ball’s initial plans and areas of focus. He also has been inspired by the College’s mission to enhance international relations, advance global sustainability, understand societies and cultures, and improve the human condition.

“As we say around here, I’m grateful to be in this extraordinary position to ‘Be the Solution’ to the world’s great challenges,” Dean Ball said.

Published on Thu, Jun 12, 2014 - 9:24AM