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DENTON – Chesapeake College has named Milton Nagel its next vice president for administrative services. He will assume his new role in June 2026, succeeding Karen Smith, who will retire next year after a long career in college leadership.
“I am honored to return to Chesapeake College in this new capacity,” Nagel said. “As both a Caroline County native and a former trustee, I’ve long admired the college’s role in shaping opportunity for students and supporting our regional workforce. I look forward to working with Dr. Coppersmith and the college’s talented team to advance that mission.”
Nagel, 59, brings to his new position over 30 years of experience in financial management and administrative leadership within Maryland’s public education system. He served on the Chesapeake College Board of Trustees for seven years.
“Milton’s deep experience in education, fiscal stewardship, and public service makes him an exceptional addition to Chesapeake’s leadership team,” said Chesapeake College President Dr. Clifford Coppersmith.
Nagel currently serves as executive director of the Maryland Association of Boards of Education (MABE), based in Annapolis, where he oversees statewide initiatives supporting school system governance, advocacy and member services.
Before his work at MABE, Nagel built a 29-year career with Caroline County Public Schools, advancing from accountant and internal auditor to assistant superintendent for administrative services. He served as interim superintendent of schools during the 2014–2015 academic year.
He said he wasn’t looking for a new job, but Coppersmith approached him when Smith announced her retirement. Nagel was already familiar with the scope of her job.
“As an active trustee, I had been the chair of the finance and facilities committee on the Board and worked closely with Karen Smith … as well as others on her team,” he said.
Nagel recalls his first year on the Board of Trustees and the unanimous decision to hire Coppersmith in 2018. “One of the attributes that he brought to the table was his experience with developing skilled trades programs. One of the things that Chesapeake continues to work on is enhancing and increasing the skilled trades offerings,” he said. “The college is in the planning phases right now for a new skilled trades building.”
Nagel’s new position is “basically, operations,” he said. Although it’s higher ed instead of K-12, “it’s pretty similar supervisory responsibilities. It's everything from finance, payroll and benefits to facilities and maintenance, construction, campus safety.” Because the college “has auxiliary programs like the bookstore, cafeteria, food service contract, athletics and the theater, “those are run like small businesses – enterprise businesses, if you will.”
“It's not about doing a lot of the day-to-day, as much as it is being a good teammate and helping support those that are running those individual programs,” he said.
Nagel also sees himself contributing to a culture of enhancing collegians’ and guests’ experiences on campus. Operations should function in the background, as far as possible. Repairs and maintenance should “never negatively influence the student day, the college experience, but to enhance it,” he said.
He earned a bachelor of science degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware, where he also completed ROTC and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Early in his career, he worked as a certified public accountant for Jefferson, Urian, Doane and Sterner, P.A. in Delaware, while serving as a military police officer in the U.S. Army Reserves.
Nagel is active in several civic and professional organizations. He is past president of the Association of School Business Officials for Maryland, former chair of the MABE Group Insurance Pool, and former chair of the Eastern Shore of Maryland Educational Consortium Health Insurance Alliance. He currently serves on the boards of University of Maryland Shore Regional Health and Channel Marker, Inc.
A 1984 graduate of Colonel Richardson High School and a member of Leadership Maryland’s Class of 2007, Nagel and his wife, Christina Lorenz Nagel, reside near Federalsburg. They have two sons, both graduates of Colonel Richardson High School and Chesapeake College.
Nagel “understands our community and the importance of maintaining both financial accountability and institutional growth,” Coppersmith said. “We are thrilled to welcome him back to Chesapeake.”
