After about seven years as the University of Maryland’s assistant vice president of marketing and communications, Brian Ullmann will step down from his position May 26.
“He is eager to pursue a personal challenge and take time to reflect on the next chapter of his professional career,” University President Wallace Loh wrote in a statement to campus officials April 5. “I accept his decision with a real sense of loss, mixed with deep appreciation for his 13 years of exceptional service to UMD.”
After leaving this university, Ullmann will take a “solo adventure” and spend this summer climbing the highest points in all 50 states — an activity known as highpointing — including Mt. McKinley, Mt. Whitney and Mt. Rainer, he said.
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He also plans to write a book about his experiences, he added.
“I’ve got it in my head that I really wanted to try that one day, to see the entire country and to try and do these hikes,” Ullmann said. “It’s a stripped-down type of existence — it’s just me and my truck and the trail.”
As of May 2016, 273 people had successfully climbed all 50 points, while 523 people climbed the lower 48 points, according to the Highpointers Club.
Ullmann, who graduated with a journalism degree from this university in 1992, has led the communication department and served on Loh’s cabinet since April 2010. Before that, he spent about six years in the athletics department as the senior associate athletic director for external operations.
In his current position, Ullmann has led many of this university’s creative projects, including ads, videos and digital products, university spokeswoman Katie Lawson wrote in an email. He also spearheaded designing different parts of the campus, including light pole banners and the messages on Shuttle-UM buses.
“Through boundless creativity, [Ullmann] has reimagined the way the university presents itself to the world,” said Peter Weiler, vice president of university relations. “For every Terp who is proud to proclaim our fearless message, you have Brian to thank for elevating the university’s brand and fiercely defending it in a way that only a Terp can. I am proud to call him a colleague and friend.”
Assistant President and Chief of Staff Michele Eastman said as a leader of marketing and communications, “it’s no surprise that [Ullmann] has an exceptionally creative mind.”
“He is also thoughtful, wise and a man of integrity,” Eastman said. “I will miss his quick-wit and sense of humor. Thankfully, he’s a Terp through and through, so I know he will never be far.”
Ullmann said his longstanding personal connection to this university motivated him to keep his job for so many years.
“I was so happy in my role that I was able to work toward improving [this university’s] reputation across the country and also protect it when it needed protecting,” he said. “There’s something special about being able to do what you do well and do it for something that you care about so deeply.”
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Loh said he and Ullmann “really bonded” through working together closely, adding he will be “extremely hard to replace.” And while finding Ullmann’s successor will be difficult, Loh said he looks forward to adding a fresh face to his team.
“It’s a lot of work, but on the other hand, I’m almost excited because every new person who comes in brings different skills and a different mindset,” Loh said.
Ullmann said he isn’t sure what his plans will be after his cross-country journey, but Loh said this university would always have a place for his colleague should he decide to return.
“I told Brian that the door is always open to him here at the University of Maryland, where creative minds and new opportunities are joined,” Loh wrote in the statement. “And, I pray that in the quiet of some mountaintop or hilltop in this vast land, he will experience an epiphany that will bring him back to his Alma Mater.”
