For 20 years now Hrabowski, a native of Birmingham, Ala., has been at the helm of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, a college with about 13,000 students -- 40 percent minority. At age 12 Hrabowski was jailed in the children's marches in downtown Birmingham during the civil rights movement after coming face-to-face with Bull Connor, the infamous segregationist police commissioner, who spat in his face.
Those experiences, the 61-year-old Hrawbowski said, are part of the tapestry woven into him that created an even stronger resolve to succeed. Last week Time magazine named Hrabowski one of its "100 Most Influential People in the World." He's one of only four African Americans on the list this year, which also includes actress Viola Davis from The Help, President Barack Obama and singer Rihanna.
