Baltimore, Maryland: Calvin Ball to Leave Howard County Job and Lead Baltimore City Community College

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball will step down on November 16 and take over as interim president of Baltimore City Community College, returning him to the college where he worked before he won the county job in 2018.

Ball will succeed Debra McCurdy, who has led the college since 2019 and told faculty and staff on Friday, October 30, that she will step down on December 31. Ball takes over on January 1, 2027. Maryland Matters and The Business Monthly reported the November 16 step-down date, and The Baltimore Banner first reported the appointment on Monday, November 2, after interviewing Ball alongside WJZ-TV.

"Being an educator is who I am," Ball said in the interview. "Empowering our current and future generations through higher education has always been something that's important to me." He added: "I'm excited to go back to my roots."

The college he takes over

Baltimore City Community College is the only two-year college in Baltimore, Maryland. Its campus sits in northwest Baltimore, up the road from Mondawmin Mall and Coppin State University. Founded in 1947, it offers 30 associate degree programs and enrolls about 3,700 students. About 48 percent of its students receive Pell Grants, and two-thirds of its students are Black.

Ball knows the building. Before county office, he oversaw the college's Complete College Baltimore program, which worked to remove barriers for students finishing associate degrees. He holds a doctorate in education with a focus on community college leadership from Morgan State University, and degrees from Towson University and the University of Baltimore. Roger Ward, vice chair of the college board, said in a statement on Monday that Ball "brings an exceptional combination of executive leadership, experience in higher education and deep roots in the Baltimore community."

An audit, shrinking enrollment and a union welcome

He arrives with a hard list. A state audit released this summer found that the college awarded about $264,000 in financial aid to 145 fictitious students whom staff had already flagged as possibly fraudulent, and that the college also received $126,901 from the Maryland Higher Education Commission tied to those students. The audit also found the college paid more than half a million dollars for equipment and services it never used, including surveillance cameras and door access controllers that were never installed and sat unused for three years.

Enrollment has fallen by nearly 20 percent since 2019, while national enrollment grew by an average of 6 percent. Ball said a priority will be working with Governor Wes Moore, Mayor Brandon Scott and the community to address the audit findings and concerns raised by the college unions. The faculty union ratified its first contract this summer, with a raise of nearly 9 percent. Laura Pope, president of the faculty union, said faculty are hopeful the new leadership will work with them, and AFSCME Local 1870, which represents college staff, also welcomed the appointment.

Ball, a Democrat, served on the Howard County Council before he became the county's first Black executive in December 2018. Over two terms he led the county through recovery from back-to-back floods in Ellicott City, the coronavirus pandemic, a federal government shutdown and long fights over school funding. He is term limited, and Howard County voters are picking his successor on the November 3 ballot.