A former national leader in education has been named the interim president of Coppin State University, University officials announced Wednesday morning.
Mortimer H. Neufville, who was previously the interim president of the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, will become interim president Jan. 23 when current president Reginald S. Avery steps down.
Avery stepped down after he received a vote of no confidence from faculty members last year. He had pledged to increase the university’s low graduation rate when he first became president in 2008, only to see it decline.
Coppin, located in West Baltimore, has recently struggled to stabilize their budget and retain students in the past few years.
The college, which has a student population around 3,900, mainly draws from Baltimore city schools and many of those students need to complete remedial course work after enrolling.

Previously, Neufville spent time at the University of Maryland, Eastern Shore, which, like Coppin, is a historically black university.
Neufville received his doctorate and master’s in animal science from the University of Florida. He is the former executive vice president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities and continues to serve as a consultant for that organization.