Director of Libraries and Professor
University of South Carolina Beaufort
Bluffton, SC
Kimberly Kelley is a native of Maryland, a lifelong educator and academic administrator, and an avid supporter of public higher education. Dr. Kelley received her undergraduate degree from Emory University. Subsequently, she completed her master’s in library science at Emory University, a master’s in legal studies at Drexel University, and a Ph.D. in higher education policy, planning, and administration at the University of Maryland. Dr. Kelley completed her second master’s degree and her doctoral degree while working full-time. She is uniquely attuned to the struggles students face in achieving their educational goals.
Dr. Kelley started her professional career as a library branch manager at Columbia University in the City of New York. She went on to work at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. After joining the University of Maryland Global Campus, she worked across the state to gain support for the State of Maryland’s virtual library to serve the academic needs of students across the two- and four-year spectrum. Dr. Kelley's work to establish a statewide virtual library resulted in a proclamation by the Governor of Maryland saluting her service to the state. Dr. Kelley became the dean of library and information science at the Catholic University of America where her success led to her role as the associate vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin, Parkside.
Most recently, Dr. Kelley was the vice president and provost at Montgomery College (MC). At MC, Dr. Kelley oversaw the Rockville Campus which serves 19,000 for-credit students annually. In addition to her responsibility for the Rockville Campus operations, Dr. Kelley was also responsible for the curriculum, faculty, staff, and students in the arts, business, education, English, and the social sciences disciplines collegewide. Dr. Kelley’s responsibilities also included overseeing the Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center. Further, she led MC's guided pathways initiative providing new pathways from high school to transfer to a four-year institution to help students finish a college degree. Dr. Kelley also served as the chair of the Rockville Chamber of Commerce, and as a board member for the Rockville Economic Development Inc. (REDI) including chairing the REDI education sub-committee supporting the educational needs and economic vitality of Rockville, Maryland, and the region.