Associate Vice President for Center Development
Contact Information
- ruginski@umbc.edu
- 410-455-2851
- Office – ITE Building, Rm 218
Professional Experience
- since 2023 — Associate Vice President for Center Development — UMBC
- 2019-2023 — Executive Director for Cybersecurity Initiatives — UMBC
- 1998-2018 — Founder and CEO — SAINT Corporation
- 1996-2018 — Chief Operating Officer — Carson Inc.
- 1988-1996 — Senior Vice President — Carson Inc.
Short Biography
Donna Ruginski is Associate Vice President for Center Development in the Division of Research and Creative Achievement (ORCA) at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). She is an International Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (INCS-CoE) community fellow, recipient of the 2021 Maryland Cybersecurity Award–Cyber Warrior Woman of the Year, and named in The Daily Record’s 2023 Cybersecurity Power List.
Donna is responsible for strategic positioning and growth of UMBC’s research portfolio, working with faculty PIs and Center Directors providing key strategic support to establish, operate and grow Research Centers and Institutes. She works closely with research leadership in growing and aligning UMBC’s research, education, and entrepreneurship activities with government and industry needs. Donna serves as Executive Director for the UMBC Center for Cybersecurity (UCYBR), Associate Director for the Center for Research in Emergent Manufacturing (CREM), and Collaborator for the NSF HDR Institute for Harnessing Data and Model Revolution in the Polar Regions (iHARP). She is co-PI for workforce development grants aimed to improve Cybersecurity for Manufacturing Operational Technology (CyMOT), co-PI for the Digital Enterprise Technology for the XM30 Infantry Fighting Vehicle program, and co-developer of the UMBC Operational Technology Cyber Range. Donna serves on the Cyber Advisory Board for bwtech@UMBC Research Park and is a mentor in the Maryland New Venture Fellows bwtech program working with teams of entrepreneurs and technologist to create new cybersecurity companies. She is an advisor and mentor to start-up companies in the MACH37™ Cyber Accelerator program.
Donna joined UMBC in March 2019 and served through May 2023 as Executive Director for Cybersecurity Initiatives, responsible for the strategic positioning and growth of UMBC’s cybersecurity initiatives. Donna is a senior technology executive with extensive experience in building a start-up business. She was a founding partner of SAINT Corporation, a cybersecurity software company providing vulnerability management solutions. She served as COO for a cybersecurity consultancy and was responsible for business operations.
Donna received her Master of Science in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins Whiting School of Engineering, and Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Towson University.
https://umbc.edu/stories/crem-manufacturing-research-army/
https://umbc.edu/stories/cyber-training-for-manufacturing-workers/
https://www.urbanmfg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Industry-and-Inclusion-MxD-Profile.pdf