UMD Alumni Hall of Fame

Since 1995, the University of Maryland Alumni Association has inducted 68 distinguished alumni into the Alumni Hall of Fame. Each of the Hall of Fame members has given something to society—educating, entertaining, serving and defending us. Their efforts are fearless, bold and innovative, proudly showing the world what it means to be a Terp.

B.M. 1971
Arts & Humanities
Inducted April 22, 1995

Critics have described soprano Carmen Balthrop’s voice as “pure silver.” She debuted with the Metropolitan Opera as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte by Mozart, and has performed throughout North America, Europe, Russia and the Far East. A national advocate for the arts, she has even sung an aria for the U.S. Senate. Not only does Balthrop give voice to a world of beautiful music, she shares her expertise as both teacher and mentor to aspiring vocalists at the University of Maryland. As a professor of voice, she has taught master classes for more than two decades.

M.A. 1967
Behavioral & Social Science
Inducted June 5, 2015

A highly decorated Army veteran, Lt. Gen. Julius Becton served over 35 years in the military, including tours during the Korean and Vietnam wars. He received his second star in 1978, taking command of VII Corps in Europe during the Cold War. His decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Stars and two Purple Hearts. Becton continued in public service after his Army retirement, including a term as the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency from 1985 to 1989. He was named president of his alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, in 1989, and in 1996 took over as superintendent of public schools in Washington, D.C. An active Maryland alumnus, Becton received the 2008 President’s Distinguished Alumnus Award and continues to engage in many volunteer efforts.

B.S. 1978
Computer, Mathematical, & Physical Sciences
Inducted June 5, 2010

Chuck Bennett always reached for the stars. His work as a leading scientist on NASA’s Background Explorer mission resulted in the first detection of tiny fluctuations in the afterglow radiation from the Big Bang. He later led NASA’s Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe mission, which quantified the age, content and history of our evolving universe. Science magazine recognized this success as the 2003 Breakthrough of the Year. He was named the “Most Highly Cited Researcher” in space science, among many other honors. As a professor at Johns Hopkins University, Bennett, together with his students, continues to research our vast universe.

B.A. 1978
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 5, 2010

Gail Berman-Masters co-produced the original Broadway production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” earning seven Tony Award nominations. Following Broadway, she produced several successful television series. As Fox Broadcasting Company’s president of entertainment, she developed such hit series as “American Idol,” “24” and House. She took the network to No. 1 before becoming president of Paramount. She was the first woman, and only to date, to be president of a television broadcast network and film studio. Berman was named one of Fortune’s “50 Most Powerful Women in American Business” and “100 Most Powerful Women in the World.”

Ph.D. 1971
Engineering
Inducted June 10, 2000

With his doctorate in hand, Adisai Bodharamik set about creating several telecommunications companies in his native Thailand during the 1970s. In 1982, he consolidated his various enterprises under the name Jasmine International Group. In 1995, the Maryland Alumni Association named him Outstanding International Alumnus of the Year. His leadership role in the telecommunications industry served as a springboard to public service in the Thai government, where he has held senatorship and numerous ministerial positions: minister to the prime minister’s office in charge of tourism, minister of commerce and minister of education. Bodharamik has been a special lecturer at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.

M.S. 1959, LL.D. (Hon.) 1976
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Inducted June 5, 2010

Lester Brown, described as “one of the world's most influential thinkers” by The Washington Post, founded the Worldwatch Institute in 1974 and the Earth Policy Institute in 2001. During a career that started with tomato farming in New Jersey, he authored or co-authored some 50 books, including “Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization.” Widely published, his books have appeared in more than 40 languages. Brown is a MacArthur Fellow with 24 honorary degrees. He received many awards, including the 1987 United Nations Environment Prize, Japan's Blue Planet Prize and the 2009 Lindbergh Award.

B.S. 1949
Business
Inducted June 10, 2000

After graduating from Maryland in 1949, Waldo Burnside joined Woodward & Lothrop’s—“Woodies”—in Washington, D.C. Over 30 years with the legendary retailer, he rose to president and CEO. The conglomerate comprised of six department store divisions and a specialty store division, including Neiman Marcus. He retired in 1991 and continued to be a leading member of the business community. An active alumnus, he created the Regents and Banneker/Key Scholarships at Maryland, was president of the Terrapin Club and director of the Maryland Education Foundation. Burnside has served as a trustee of the University of Maryland, College Park Foundation.

B.S. 1908
Engineering
Inducted April 22, 1995

Curley Byrd entered Maryland in 1905 as an engineering student. His 43-year professional career at the university began as a two-week coaching stint in 1911 and concluded with an 18-year presidency, ending in 1954. Byrd was Maryland’s athletic director until becoming its president in 1935. Under his leadership, the university became one of the largest in the country, both in size and student population. Among Byrd’s many legacies: the campus’ handsome red brick Georgian structures, an innovative American studies program and the worldwide educational extension program, University College.

Ph.D. 1934, D.Sc. (Hon.) 1975
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Inducted June 10, 2000

During the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, world food production increased substantially, thanks in part to Robert Chandler. In 1954, after a prestigious career in academia and four years as president of the University of New Hampshire, Chandler joined the Rockefeller Foundation, researching ways to increase global agricultural output. He helped establish the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines in 1959 and led a team of scientists in developing new varieties of rice that tripled harvests. Chandler received the 1988 World Food Prize—just one of his many awards—that recognizes major contributions to the science of food production.

B.S. 1969
Journalism
Induction June 4, 2005

In 1969, Connie Chung started writing copy for Washington, D.C.’s WTTG-TV before becoming an on-screen reporter. Chung left her hometown station to cover national politics for Walter Cronkite’s evening broadcast on CBS. In 1976, she became an anchor on KNXT-TV in Los Angeles. Chung went on to serve as anchor on three different networks, covering many of the most gripping stories and interviewing leading newsmakers. The first Chinese American and only the second woman to anchor a major network news program, Chung has received three Emmys, a Peabody Award and four honorary doctorates.

B.A. 1963
Behavioral & Social Science
Inducted Nov. 10, 2023

The Honorable James R. Clapper served the United States for more than half a century in various intelligence roles, culiminating in his 2010-17 tenure as director of national intelligence under President Barack Obama. His 34-year military career began in the Marine Corps Reserve, and following his graduation from the University of Maryland, he was commissioned as an Air Force second lieutenant. He served two tour in Southeast Asia, flying 73 reconnaissance missions in EC-47s over Laos and Cambodia. His last active-duty position was as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, and he retired in 1995 as a lieutenant general. Following several years as a private advisor and consultant to the intelligence community and Congress, he returned to the government two days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, serving for almost five years as director of what is now the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. He then served as undersecretary of defense for intelligence before beginning his term as director of national intelligence. Lt. Gen. Clapper is the author of The New York Times bestseller, “Facts and Fears: Hard Truths From a Life in Intelligence,” and is a national security contributor for CNN.

B.S. 1950, D.Engr. (Hon.) ’92
Engineering
Inducted April 22, 1995

A. James Clark began as a field engineer with the Washington-based George Hyman Construction Company in 1950. By 1969, he was president and CEO, and by 1987, chairman of the board. He transformed the small regional construction firm into one of America’s largest building contractors: the Clark Construction Group, builder of more than 25 university buildings, Washington, D.C.’s, L’Enfant Plaza, Baltimore’s Camden Yards and New York’s Lincoln Center. Clark, a former member of the university’s Board of Regents, generously contributed time and financial resources to his alma mater. The A. James Clark School of Engineering is named in his honor. He died in 2015.

B.S. 1910
Engineering
Inducted April 22, 1995

After graduation from Maryland, William P. Cole studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1912. He served as an infantry officer in World War I before returning to legal practice in Towson, Md. Cole was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1927, serving until 1929, then again from 1931 to 1942, when he was appointed to a U.S. Customs Court judgeship. In 1952, he moved to the Customs and Patent Appeals Courts in New York. Cole spent 25 years on the university’s Board of Regents—12 as board president—beginning in 1931. Cole Field House was named in his honor in 1956.

B.A. 1935, LL.D. (Hon.) 1978
Arts & Humanities
Inducted April 22, 1995

As an undergraduate, Mary Stallings Coleman was the university’s first Miss Maryland, singled out for her community service. As a Michigan judge, she served 12 years on the Probate and Juvenile Court, drafting legislation that created the state’s Children’s Protective Services and Office of Youth Services. Coleman was elected Michigan’s first female Supreme Court justice in 1972 and its first female chief justice in 1979. A member of the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame inaugural class, she received the Champion of Justice Award from the state’s bar association in 1993.

B.A. 1936, D.Sc. (Hon.) 1976
Computer, Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Inducted June 5, 2010

Mathematician George Dantzig formulated the general linear-programming problem and invented the simplex method for solving it. This work, recognized as a major scientific development of the 20th century, was a principal force behind the mathematical science of decision-making. In addition to mathematical and computer science, his research has been applied to business, industry and government—from airline scheduling to cancer screening, from production scheduling to inventory control and from refinery operations to the financial world. Dantzig, who taught at the University of California-Berkeley and Stanford University, was awarded the National Medal of Science and nine honorary degrees.

B.A. 1970
Arts & Humanities
Induction June 4, 2005

Four years after graduating with a history degree, Larry David began his stand-up comedy career, developing a reputation as the "comic’s comic" on stage while building an extensive list of credits on the big and small screens. Between 1979 and 1982, he served as writer and actor on the late-night sitcom "Fridays." In 1984 he wrote for "Saturday Night Live." Between 1983 and 1987, David appeared in several films including Woody Allen’s "Radio Days." In 1988, he teamed with Jerry Seinfeld to create the hit sitcom “Seinfeld,” earning two Emmy awards. Today, David plays himself in HBO’s critically acclaimed, Curb Your Enthusiasm.

B.S. 1937, M.S. 1940
Chemical & Life Sciences
Induction June 4, 2005

Raymond Davis served with the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and spent two years in private industry before joining the Brookhaven National Laboratories in 1948. He built the first neutrino detector in 1963 and began the research that earned him a 2002 Nobel Prize in Physics. Retiring from Brookhaven after 36 years, he joined the faculty at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984 as a research professor of physics and astronomy. Davis, a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, received the 2000 Wolf Prize in Physics and the 2001 National Medal of Science.

M.A. 1952, Ph.D. 1955
Computer, Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Inducted June 10, 2000

Ruth Davis, one of the first women to receive a doctorate in mathematics from Maryland, helped design some of the earliest computers and satellites. She went on to serve in the federal government as Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Advanced Technology; Assistant Secretary of Energy for Resource Applications; and the first director of the National Center for Biomedical Communications in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. In 1981, Davis founded her own technology management company. The university honored her with the 1993 President’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, and in 2003 Davis endowed the Ruth M. Davis Professorship in Mathematics in the College of Computer, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. She died in 2012.

B. 2002
Inducted April 29, 2022

Affectionately known as 'Awesome Dawesome,' Dominique Dawes was a 10-year member of the U.S. national gymnastics team, a three-time Olympian and a gold medal winner as a member of the "Magnificent Seven" during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Dawes also won a bronze medal on floor exercise during these games. She was the first African-American woman to win an individual medal in gymnastics, and the first Black person of any nationality or gender to win an Olympic gold medal in gymnastics. Dawes is also one of only three female American gymnasts to compete in three Olympics, winning medals each time: Barcelona 1992 (bronze), Atlanta 1996 (gold), and Sydney 2000 (bronze). Owner of the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academy, Dawes opened her first location in Clarksburg, MD and is slated to open her second location in Rockville, MD in the Fall of 2023. Dawes also holds minority ownership of the Washington Spirit of the National Women's Soccer League, and served as the co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition under the Obama administration. 

B.S. 1927, M.S. 1940
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Inducted June 5, 2010

Mylo Downey devoted his life to encouraging rural youth to pursue their educational opportunities. As a leader of the Maryland and then federal 4-H programs, he influenced thousands of young people to choose careers in the agricultural field and to accept leadership roles. He achieved the position of national director of 4-H and later developed 4-H-style programs in countries around the world for the U.S. State Department, served as consultant for the Peace Corps and co-founded the International Farm Youth Exchange. Leaving his mark on his alma mater, Downey established the University of Maryland Agricultural Scholarship Fund.

B.A. 1978
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 10, 2000

Many remember Len Elmore for his rebound records in the 1973–74 college basketball season. The first at Maryland to amass 1,000 rebounds in a career, Elmore was named to the All-ACC team three times and the 1974 All-American team. That same year, Elmore was selected in the first round of the NBA draft. Elmore retired in 1984, after 10 stellar years in the league. In 1987, while working as a sports commentator for ESPN, he received his law degree from Harvard University. Lawyer, businessman, commentator and active alumnus, Elmore was the university’s winter commencement speaker in 1997. That same year he was inducted into Maryland Athletics’ Hall of Fame.

B.S. 1920, M.S. 1926
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Inducted April 22, 1995

Geary “Swede” Eppley arrived as a Maryland freshman in 1914. After a hiatus to serve as a cavalry lieutenant in World War I, he finished his degree and became assistant professor of agronomy in 1922. An undergraduate track and football star, Eppley later coached Maryland’s track team to two national championships. Both director and faculty chairman of athletics, he helped found the Atlantic Coast Conference and was its first president. Recalled to duty in World War II, Eppley earned the Legion of Merit. He ended his 42-year career at Maryland in 1964 as dean of men and director of student activities. In 2006, the Campus Recreation Center was named in his honor.

B.G.S. 1984
Undergraduate Studies
Inducted June 10, 2000

Norman “Boomer” Esiason presided over a golden era in Terrapins football, leading his team to the ACC title and the Citrus Bowl in 1983. An All-American quarterback, Esiason set 17 school records for passing and total offense. He spent 14 years with the NFL, earning the league’s 1988 Most Valuable Player award and taking the Cincinnati Bengals to Super Bowl XXIII. After retiring, he has served as a commentator for several networks. When his son was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1993, he founded the Boomer Esiason Foundation to raise awareness of the disease and support research for its cure.

B.S. 1926, M.S. 1927, Ph.D. 1937
Chemical & Life Sciences
Inducted Post-Humously June 10, 2000

Jack Faber left his mark on the University of Maryland as head of the Department of Microbiology and head lacrosse coach. Faber coached the team for 33 years beginning in 1928. He led the Terps to nine national championships, eight ACC titles and 249 victories. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Army, returning to Maryland in 1945 to launch a 15-year tenure as head of the microbiology department. After retiring in 1963, Faber continued to support his alma mater. In 1992, he received the Ralph J. Tyser Medallion for his exemplary volunteer service to the university and the alumni association.

B.S. 1966, D.Sc. (Hon.) 1979
Computer, Mathematical, & Physical Sciences
Inducted April 22, 1995

Charles Fefferman, a child prodigy, graduated with honors from Maryland at age 17, taking degrees in math and physics. Three years later, he earned his doctorate from Princeton University. At 22, he was named full professor at the University of Chicago—the youngest in that institution's history. He returned to Princeton in 1974 and in 1978, he became the youngest recipient of the prestigious Fields Prize, mathematics’ equivalent of the Nobel. Today, Fefferman is the Herbert E. Jones, Jr. Professor of Mathematics at Princeton. He lectures and publishes extensively on topics previously considered too difficult to be understood at this stage in the development of mathematics.

MBA 1980
Business
Induction June 4, 2005

Carly Fiorina earned an undergraduate degree in medieval history and philosophy, spent a semester in law school and taught English in Italy before coming to the University of Maryland for her MBA. She worked as an executive for AT&T and Lucent Technologies, joining Hewlett-Packard as president and CEO in 1999—the first outsider and the first woman to head the company. Fiorina has served on numerous boards and has advocated for the development of impoverished regions around the globe, winning the "Seeds of Hope" Award in 2003. In 2004, she was nominated to the U.S. Space Commission. She is the author of a best-selling memoir, Tough Choices. Fiorina also was a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat in California in 2010 and for the GOP nomination for U.S President in the 2016 election. She was chosen as a vice presidential candidate by Ted Cruz in the same election.

M.S. 1953, D.Sc. (Hon.) 1996
Computer, Mathematical, & Physical Sciences
Inducted June 10, 2000

Robert Fischell is a pioneer of medical technology. He worked at the U.S. Ordnance Lab while earning his masters in physics from Maryland. After applying his research into long-lasting spacecraft batteries to those in pacemakers, Fischell became interested in inventing medical devices. He invented the rechargeable cardiac pacemaker and the implantable insulin pump, which functions as an artificial pancreas. This creation earned him the U.S. Inventor of the Year Award in 1984. He went on to develop the BX Velocity Stent, a device that helps to prevent blocked arteries. In 2016, he received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the highest honor for technological achievement bestowed by the president of the United States. Today, Fischell holds some 200 U.S. and international patents.

B.S. 1970
Journalism
Inducted June 4, 2005

Jon Franklin served in the U.S. Navy between 1959 and 1967, including five years writing for All Hands Magazine. Afterward, he took a job at The Prince George’s Post and enrolled at Maryland, where he earned his journalism degree with honors. He then joined The Baltimore Evening Sun as science writer, winning Pulitzer Prizes in 1979 and 1985. Franklin has headed Oregon State University’s Department of Journalism and the University of Oregon’s creative nonfiction and creative writing programs. Today, he is professor emeritus in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at Maryland.

B.A. 1953
Education
Inducted June 5, 2015

Alma Gross Gildenhorn is recognized as a leader in many civic, cultural and charitable organizations. Among her efforts, she serves on the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Board of Trustees, was chair of the campaign to build the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and was a co-chair of the university’s Great Expectations campaign. She was named the outstanding alumna of the year in 1988 by the College of Education and received the Tyser Gottwals alumni award in addition to numerous honors and citations for community service. Alma Gildenhorn is an honorary trustee of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she has served as vice chair and interim co-chair of the board. She is a lifetime trustee of the Aspen Institute, a commissioner of the National Portrait Gallery and chair of the supporting board for the Center for Hypertension, Kidney & Vascular Research at Georgetown Medical Center. She also is co-chair of the Wilson National Cabinet at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and a member of the Overseas Schools Advisory Council at the U.S. State Department.

B.S. 1951
Business
Inducted June 5, 2015

After graduating from the University of Maryland, former U.S. Ambassador to Switzerland Joseph B. Gildenhorn earned his law degree at Yale Law School. Returning to Washington after serving in the Army, he practiced law as a partner at Miller, Brown & Gildenhorn and was a founder of the JBG Companies, a diversified real estate development and management company. In 1989, President George H.W. Bush appointed him U.S. ambassador to Switzerland. In 1996, the University of Maryland honored Gildenhorn with the President's Distinguished Alumnus Award. He participated with his wife, Alma, in naming the Gildenhorn Recital Hall at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center. Together, they also established the Gildenhorn Institute for Israel Studies in the College of Arts and Humanities. In 2008, he was elected chairman of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Board of Trustees, and also serves as a board member of the University System of Maryland Foundation. Gildenhorn was president of what is now called the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington from 1987 to 1989, and in 1996, Washingtonian magazine named him and his wife Washingtonians of the Year. He also served as chair of the board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars from 2002–13.

Ph.D. 1977
Engineering
Inducted June 5, 2015

After earning his doctorate at Maryland, Michael Griffin went on to rise in the ranks of government, industry and academia. He was appointed administrator of NASA in 2005, following a career in which he was the Space Department head at the Johns Hopkins University’s Applied Physics Laboratory, served as president of In-Q-Tel Inc. and held several top positions at Orbital Sciences Corporation. He also held other leadership roles within NASA, including chief engineer, and had been deputy for technology for the U.S. Defense Department's Strategic Defense Initiative Organization. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and has received numerous awards, including the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal and the 2007 President’s Distinguished Alumnus Award at the University of Maryland. In addition, Griffin became a commercial pilot and a multiengine and instrument-rated flight instructor.

B.A. 2006
Criminology & Criminal Justice
Inducted April 26, 2019

As a U.S. Army captain, Florent “Flo” Groberg earned the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military decoration, for extraordinary bravery during combat operations in Afghanistan in 2012. When multiple suicide bombers attacked a troop formation he was guarding, Groberg tackled one of them, minimizing the loss of life when the bombs exploded, but leaving Groberg with disabling wounds. After his medical retirement from the Army, he worked as an operations officer at the Pentagon, and today, as chief of staff for Boeing Commercial Airplanes as well as an in-demand motivational speaker, Groberg remains dedicated to supporting veterans throughout the United States.

Ph.D. 1955, D.Sc. (Hon.) 1985
Computer, Mathematical, & Physical Sciences
Inducted April 22, 1995

While earning his doctorate in mathematics, Herbert Hauptman began a 23-year career at the Naval Research Laboratory, working with physical chemist Jerome Karle to develop a method of determining the three-dimensional shapes of molecules. By solving a problem that had perplexed chemists for 40 years, the pair enabled researchers to design new drugs for heart disease, cancer and high blood pressure. For their work, they won the 1985 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Hauptman was the only non-chemist—and the first Maryland alumnus—to receive the prize. He was later president of the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute and research professor at SUNY Buffalo.

B.S. 1960, D.F.A. (Hon.) 1978
Arts & Humanities
Inducted April 22, 1995

Jim Henson introduced Washington, D.C., to "muppets" (his amalgam of marionette and puppet) on WRC-TV’s "Sam and Friends" in 1955 during his freshman year at Maryland. In the decades after graduation, Henson’s creations performed for a global audience on television’s
“Sesame Street” and “The Muppet Show” and in feature films. His creations included Bert and Ernie, Big Bird, Oscar the Grouch, Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog, whose likeness joined Henson’s on a statue located in front of the Stamp Student Union. The Jim Henson Statue and Memorial Garden are gifts of the classes of 1994, 1998 and 1999.

B.S. 1963, D.P.S. (Hon.) 1988
Behavioral & Social Sciences
Inducted April 22, 1995

Steny Hoyer graduated from the University of Maryland in 1963 with high honors and was chosen Outstanding Graduating Male. He was elected to the Maryland Senate in 1966 at age 27, and became the youngest Senate president in state history at 35. In 1981, Hoyer was elected to the U.S. Congress. He was the lead House sponsor of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990 and the Help America Vote Act in 2002. He served on the Board of Regents from 1999-2003. In 2006, he was elected House Majority Leader, becoming the highest-ranking Member of Congress in Maryland's history.

B.S. 1949, D.P.S. (Hon.) 1987
Business
Inducted June 10, 2000

Harry Hughes, the 57th governor of Maryland, served two terms between 1979 and 1987, leaving a record of progress in social reform, environmental protection and fiscal responsibility. Under his administration, Maryland launched a program to save the Chesapeake Bay and he restored integrity in the state government. Capital investment by new and expanding businesses averaged $1 billion a year, while unemployment remained below the national average. Hughes balanced the state’s budget while launching the greatest tax-relief program in Maryland’s recent history. He also appointed more women and minority citizens to the judiciary and key government posts than any previous governor.

B.A. 1937
Education
Inducted April 22, 1995

During World War II, Carlisle Humelsine reached the rank of full colonel at 29, earning the Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star. Following the war, he spent six years at the State Department, serving four secretaries of state, including Dean Acheson and John Foster Dulles. In 1958, he began a 27-year tenure as president, then chairman, of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Under his leadership, Williamsburg became one of America’s most popular historical attractions. Humelsine was chairman of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and a trustee for the National Geographic Society, the National Gallery and the Smithsonian Institution.

B.A. 1951, D.F.A. (Hon.) 1993
Arts & Humanities, Architecture
Inducted June 10, 2000

Since starting his own architecture firm in 1958, Hugh Newell Jacobsen has built commercial and institutional structures in countries around the world, including the American University in Cairo, Egypt; an addition to the U.S. Capitol; and the American embassies in Paris and Moscow. Jacobsen is perhaps best known for his modern houses that abstract traditional styles. The prolific architect has built some 400 houses during his career, including a campus home for Maryland alumni: the Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center. He has earned more than 140 awards for design excellence. Architectural Digest has repeatedly named him one of the world’s top 100 architects, and he has collected many honors from the American Institute of Architects-Washington Chapter.

B.S. 1954
Business
Inducted June 5, 2015

Cliff Kendall has been recognized for his success in business and his involvement in broader economic development issues, as well as for his strong support of higher education. As one of the original principals and CEO and chairman of Computer Data Systems Inc., he grew the company from four to 4,000 people. The firm was repeatedly recognized by Forbes magazine as one of America's 200 best small companies, and grew to become one of the top 25 government contractors. Kendall has contributed to the economic development of the region by serving as chairman of the Greater Washington Board of Trade and of the Technology Council of Maryland. He currently serves on the University of Maryland College Park Foundation board, the Wesley Theological Seminary Board of Governors and the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. He previously served as chairman of the University System of Maryland Board of Regents, the Montgomery County Community Foundation, VSE Inc., a top defense contractor and as a member of the George Washington University Board of Trustees.

Ph.D. 1991
Engineering
Inducted June 5, 2010

Jeong H. Kim gained huge success as an entrepreneur in communications technologies. His innovations in wireless technologies, optical networking systems, computer design, nuclear engineering, satellite systems and data communications were hallmarks of his career. Kim developed a device that helped revolutionize telecommunications systems and battlefield intelligence. His business acumen launched him into leadership positions at global communications companies where he continued to develop ground-breaking products. Kim also taught at Maryland's Clark School of Engineering before returning to serve as president of Bell Labs. The Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building was named in his honor.

B.A. 1993
Behavioral & Social Science
Inducted April 29, 2022

A talented author and cartoonist, Jeff Kinney created a cultural phenomenon with his #1 New York Times bestselling cartoon fiction series Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Kinney is widely credited with converting children into readers, an achievement which has recognized him as one of Time magazine’s most influential people in the world. In addition to writing the Wimpy Kid series, Kinney has written and illustrated the New York Times bestselling Awesome Friendly Kid series. He is also the creator of Poptropica, which was named one of Time’s 50 Best Websites.

B.S. 1938, M.S. 1939, Ph.D. 1948
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Inducted June 10, 2000

Thanks in large part to Albin Kuhn, the University of Maryland System has thriving campuses in Baltimore City and County. In 1965, Kuhn was appointed vice president at both locations then chancellor, serving at Baltimore County through 1971 and at the city campuses through 1979. During that time, he constructed new buildings to provide more space for teaching and research. Kuhn went on to become executive vice president of the University System of Maryland in 1979, retiring in 1982. That year, UMBC named the Albin O. Kuhn Library and Gallery in honor of his career-long devotion to the University of Maryland System.

B.S. 1951
Engineering
Inducted June 10, 2000

After graduating from Maryland, George Laurer joined IBM as a junior engineer and worked up the ranks to senior engineer. In 1969, he returned to the technical side of engineering and was later assigned the monumental task of designing a code and symbol for product identification for the Uniform Grocery Product Code Council. His solution—the Universal Product Code—radically changed the retail world. Since then, he enhanced the code by adding a 13th digit. Laurer retired from IBM in 1987. He holds some 25 patents and is a member of the university’s A. James Clark School of Engineering Innovation Hall of Fame.

B.A. 1927
Arts & Humanities
Inducted April 22, 1995

Munro Leaf, author and illustrator of dozens of children’s books, is best remembered for “The Story of Ferdinand,” named for its signature character, the Spanish bull who preferred smelling flowers to fighting matadors. Composed in less than an hour one Sunday afternoon in 1935, the book sparked controversy. With the Spanish Civil War raging, political critics charged that it was a satirical attack on aggression. In Germany, the book was burned; in India, Ghandi called it his favorite. Even today, Ferdinand continues to charm children around the world—the story has been translated into over 60 languages.

B.S. 1940, D.P.S. (Hon.) 1990
Business
Inducted April 22, 1995

As chairman of the LeFrak Organization, Samuel LeFrak presided over one of the world’s largest private building firms. LeFrak also counseled all levels of government, foreign and domestic, on urban planning and housing technology issues. He received many awards for his work, including the John F. Kennedy Peace Award; numerous honorary doctorates; and recognition from scores of civic institutions, foreign governments and the United Nations. Among the many projects the LeFrak Organization developed are New York’s LeFrak City; Gateway Plaza in Battery Park City; and the $10 billion Newport, one of the world’s most successful mixed-use planned communities, located on several hundred acres along the Hudson River waterfront of Jersey City, N.J. The LeFrak organization has pursued global gas and oil exploration, international financing, and publishing and entertainment ventures.

B.A. 1970
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 4, 2005

Before arriving at Maryland in the late 1960s, Liz Lerman attended Bennington College and Brandeis University. In College Park, she found the inspiration for her future in dance. Lerman has operated the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, first as a school of dance, then as a traveling company. In many performances, she invites young and old, experienced and novice to express themselves through movement. Lerman has received commissions from the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center and BalletMet. For her work, she has earned a MacArthur fellowship, an American Choreographer Award and the American Dance Guild Lifetime Achievement Award,, among many others.

B.A. 1960
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 5, 2015

Cassie Mackin, who made her mark in national political coverage, was a pioneering female journalist in U.S. network broadcasting. After nearly a decade working in print news, she received a Nieman Fellowship to Harvard, where she studied the history of political institutions. Hired at NBC in 1969, Mackin worked as an anchor and reporter at WRC-TV in Washington and became regarded as a tough-minded and tenacious interviewer. She first received national attention in 1972 as NBC’s first woman floor reporter covering national presidential conventions—coverage that helped the network win an Emmy award. In 1976, she took over the “NBC Sunday Nightly News” as the first woman to regularly anchor an evening newscast solo. Mackin later moved to ABC, where she continued to cover presidential campaigns and won another Emmy. She died in 1982.

M.Ed. 1972
Education
Inducted June 10, 2000

Kathleen S. Magee, B.S.N, M.Ed., M.S.W., a former nurse and clinical social worker, founded Operation Smile in 1982 with her husband, William P. Magee Jr., D.D.S., M.D. Operation Smile is a worldwide children’s medical charity, whose network of global volunteers is dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults suffering with facial deformities. Kathleen Magee serves as president of Operation Smile on a full-time, volunteer basis and is a lifetime member of the Board of Directors. A dedicated advocate for children around the world, Magee participates in many of Operation Smile’s annual international surgical missions to the developing world and travels overseas extensively to nurture and maintain key corporate, diplomatic and medical partnerships that enable Operation Smile to carry out its surgical missions.

Ph.D. 1976
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 4, 2005

In May 1973 while working on his Ph.D. in American history, Manning Marable won the Gwher Award for the Department of History’s best graduate paper. That award foreshadowed countless others that he would earn while defining the black experience in America, from the slave trade era to a political election cycle. Marable was a professor of public affairs, political science and history at Columbia University and a lecturer for the Sing Sing Prison Inmates’ Master’s Degree Program. He raised awareness of issues related to civil, prisoners’ and labor rights through his nationally syndicated column, “Along the Color Line,” first published in 1976. His biography, “Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention,” was awarded the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for History, after his death.

B.S. 1923, M.S. 1924, D.Sc. (Hon.) 1987
Chemical & Life Sciences
Inducted June 4, 2005

Although best known for his contributions to steroid chemistry, in 1925 Russell Marker developed the octane rating system for gasoline. Later, at the Rockefeller Institute, he developed the optical rotatory dispersion method for studying organic molecules. In 1934 he joined the faculty of Penn State University, where he developed a chemical synthetic technique called the Marker Degradation. This led him to a general method for preparing steroidal hormones from a Mexican yam. He left Penn State in 1944 and went to Mexico where he co-founded Syntex Corporation to produce synthetic steroid hormones cost-effectively. This spawned the growth of the hormone industry worldwide.

B.S. 1966
Chemical & Life Sciences
Inducted June 4, 2005

Tobin Marks, the Vladimir N. Ipatieff Professor of Catalytic Chemistry, has been teaching at Northwestern University since 1970. His research has been used in the development of new plastics and the improvement of high-speed data transmission. Marks has held named lectureships and visiting professorships at universities from British Columbia to Israel. A member of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he has registered nearly 80 patents. He has received scores of awards, most recently, the 2015 Materials for Industry-Derek Birchall Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry for his pioneering work on the industrial application of new organic, inorganic and hybrid materials for electronics and photonics.

B.S. 1966, MBA 1967
Business
Inducted June 5, 2015

After receiving his degrees from the University of Maryland, Bill Mayer joined the First Boston Corporation (now Credit Suisse), a major investment bank, where he rose to become president and CEO. After leaving First Boston, he moved into academia and became dean of the Simon Graduate School at the University of Rochester. In 1992, he returned to Maryland as dean and professor in the College of Business, where under his leadership, the business school achieved a top 25 ranking for the first time. Mayer has served as a trustee and vice chairman of the University System of Maryland Foundation and endowed the William E. Mayer Chair in Finance, and has been recognized by the Robert H. Smith School of Business as its alumnus of the year. Additionally, he is a past trustee and chairman of the University of Maryland College Park Foundation and was a co-chair of the Great Expectations campaign for the university. In 2011, he was awarded the President’s Distinguished Alumnus Award. Mayer has been closely involved with the Aspen Institute, where he served eight years as chairman and now serves as chairman emeritus. He is also the founding partner of Park Avenue Equity Partners. He continues to serve on numerous public, private and nonprofit company boards. In addition, Mayer served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force.

B.S. 1974
Chemical & Life Sciences
Inducted June, 5 2010

At the time of his induction, Tom McMillen was the University of Maryland’s only Rhodes Scholar and held the all-time career scoring average for Maryland men’s basketball. He was a three-time All-American Athlete and played on the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team. McMillen played 11 years in the NBA, retiring in 1986 when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (4th District, Maryland) where he served three terms. After Congress, he was a presidential appointee and a successful businessman. Throughout his career, McMillen continued to serve the University and the State, including terms as a Trustee and Maryland Regent. He is chairman and CEO of the investment firm Washington Capital Advisors. He serves as a director of RCS Capital, a full-service investment firm, and of Nexstar Broadcasting Group. He chairs the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition and leads the Division 1A Athletic Directors’ Association.

B.S. 1964
Business
Inducted June 4, 2005

Mike Miller has been serving the citizens of Prince George’s County in Annapolis since 1970 as a member of the House of Delegates and the State Senate. He has held the Senate presidency since 1987—the longest tenure in Maryland history. Miller is a member of the national, state and local bar associations. He has been in private practice for 40 years with offices in both Prince George’s and Calvert counties. Miller has won the Bulger Award for Outstanding Legislator in the United States and Johns Hopkins University’s William P. Coliton Community Service Award for Excellence. In 2001, the Senate named the new Thomas V. “Mike” Miller Jr. Senate Building in his honor.

M.A. 1952
Behavioral & Social Sciences
Inducted April 22, 1995

Parren Mitchell spent a lifetime battling inequities. In 1950, at age 27, he forced the university to end its policy of segregation and admit him as a graduate student in sociology. Later, in 1970, he became the first African American elected to the U.S. Congress from Maryland, serving six terms and chairing the Congressional Black Caucus. He was director of the Baltimore City Community Action Agency, a part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty. Mitchell also chaired the Washington, D.C.-based Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund that he founded to protect minority businesses against discrimination. The Art-Sociology Building at the University of Maryland was named for him in 2015.

B.A. 1981
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 4, 2005

Renaldo Nehemiah is known around the world for his record-setting track and field performances and his years with the Super Bowl Champion San Francisco 49ers. In 1978, he set a world record that still stands today in the 55-meter hurdles. Between 1978 and 1982, he was the world’s No. 1 high hurdler—the first to break 13 seconds in the 110-meter event, running a 12.93 in 1981. Nehemiah was a wide receiver for San Francisco from 1982–85, winning the 1986 Jim Thorpe Award for excellence in two or more sports. He returned to track in 1986, achieving world rankings four more times from 1988 to 1991. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Maryland Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 1998.

B.S. 1967
Behavioral & Social Sciences
Inducted June 4, 2005

As a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy’s elite SEAL commando unit during the Vietnam War, Tom Norris took his five-man team deep into enemy territory in search of two downed Air Force fliers, finding only one. Due to losses from enemy mortar fire and fear of large enemy concentrations, Norris set out the third day with only one Vietnamese team member. He located the second flyer that night and brought him home, despite a fierce firefight with enemy troops. He earned the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery. Later, Norris was wounded in action and endured six years of surgery before launching a 20-year career as a special agent with the FBI.

B.A. 1962, Ph.D. 1980
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 4, 2005

Michael Olmert holds degrees in medieval literature, but his research examines everything from prehistoric man to British colonialism and from architecture to Einstein. He has written for screen, stage and print, while spending 25 years as a lecturer in Maryland’s Department of English. In every case, his endeavors have brought critical acclaim. Three of his Discovery Channel documentaries have won Emmy Awards, television’s highest tribute. He has also been recognized by organizations like the American Bar Association and the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. When he’s not writing or teaching on campus, Olmert can be found giving public lectures or guiding tours in England and Europe.

B.A. 1970
Arts & Humanities
Inducted June 5, 2010

One sip of wine changed Robert Parker’s life. His innate ability to sense the essence of every wine he tasted made his palate perfect. His passion for writing independent reviews of those wines made him one of the most respected wine critics in the world. His newsletter, The Wine Advocate, along with dozens of books and articles, rated both famous and obscure wines. Parker inspired a significant improvement in wine quality and renewed interest in wine and wine making. Respected around the world, he received many awards, including France’s highest honor, the Legion of Honor, and Italy's top civilian honor, the National Order of Merit.

B.A. 1954, Litt.D. (Hon.) 1979
Arts & Humanities
Inducted April 22, 1995

Jane Cahill Pfeiffer, a student of speech and dramatic arts at Maryland, joined IBM in 1955 as a systems engineering trainee. She rose through management, serving as IBM’s vice president of communications and government relations before becoming an independent consultant to educational institutions and private companies two decades later. Pfeiffer was the first female recipient of a prestigious White House Fellowship in 1966. In 1978, when NBC named her as its chairman of the board, The Los Angeles Times called her “perhaps the most powerful woman in America.” Pfeiffer returned to consulting in organization management, communications and government relations in 1980.

Ph.D. 1977
Engineering
Inducted April 22, 1995

Judith Resnik joined America’s astronaut program in 1978, a year after receiving her doctorate in electrical engineering from Maryland. Previously, she had worked as an engineer at RCA and the Xerox Corporation and studied the physiology of human sight at the National Institutes of Health. Resnik became America’s second female astronaut in space in 1984. She contributed to the space program through experimental software development and work on the shuttle’s remote manipulator system. In 1986, Resnik and six crewmates died aboard the space shuttle Challenger. To honor her pioneering spirit, the university established the Judith A. Resnik Memorial Scholarship.

Ed.D. 1969
Education
Inducted June 5, 2010

Bernice Resnick Sandler, an extraordinary advocate for equal rights for women and girls in education and the workplace, is known as the godmother of Title IX. The 1972 landmark law prohibits sex discrimination at all levels of education and affects millions of students and employees. Sandler testified before the U.S. Congress 13 times. She was responsible for the first national reports on campus sexual harassment, gang rape and the chilly climate facing women in education. Sandler wrote extensively and gave more than 2,500 presentations, helping countless institutions and individuals to develop better policies, practices and strategies for improving equity. Sandler is a senior scholar at the Women’s Research and Education Institute in Washington, D.C., where she consults with institutions and others about achieving equity for women, and is an adjunct associate professor at Drexel University College of Medicine.

Ph.D. 1961
Computer, Mathematical, & Physical Sciences
Inducted April 22, 1995

Chun-Shan Shen arrived at the university from Taiwan in 1957 to pursue a doctorate in physics. After graduation, he held positions at NASA, Princeton University and Purdue University, before returning to Taiwan in 1971 to become a professor of physics and later president at the National Tsing-Hua University. As a minister in the Taiwanese cabinet, Shen has played a major role in modernizing Taiwan’s science and technology infrastructure. He also implemented political reforms aimed at improving relations with mainland China while serving on the Central Election Commission and the National Unification Council. He retired from academic life in 1997, and served as president of the University of Maryland Alumni Association’s first international chapter.

B.S. 1895, D.Sc. (Hon.) 1917
Agriculture & Natural Resources
Inducted April 22, 1995

William Woolford Skinner launched a 40-year career at the U.S. Department of Agriculture by investigating the mineral makeup of underground and surface waters at the Arizona Experiment Station in 1904. He retired as chief of the department’s Bureau of Agricultural and Industrial Chemistry. One of the first to study the impact of agricultural chemicals on water quality, Skinner chaired a committee studying the effects of pollution on the Potomac River’s and Chesapeake Bay’s oyster production in 1910. The university gave him an honorary doctorate in 1917. Skinner served on the Board of Regents from 1923 to 1941, seven of those years as chair.

B.S. 1950
Business
Inducted June 4, 2005

Through his professional and philanthropic activities, Robert H. Smith created vibrant communities spanning two states and the nation’s capital. After graduation, Smith began working with his father’s business, the Charles E. Smith Companies, which merged with two national Real Estate Investment Trusts. He served as chairman of the Charles E. Smith Residential, a division of Archstone-Smith. Tapping into rapid growth in Northern Virginia, Smith conceived and led the development of Crystal City. He served as a trustee of multiple institutions, including the National Gallery of Art and the Board of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. In 1998, Smith endowed and placed his name on Maryland’s business school, renewing his commitment to the university with a record-breaking gift in 2005. His generosity extended to the arts, Jewish causes and other academic institutions as well. President George W. Bush awarded Smith the National Humanities Medal in 2008, a year before his death.

M.A. 1924
Behavioral & Social Sciences
Inducted April 22, 1995

Adele Hagner Stamp’s one-year stint in 1922 as Maryland’s first dean of women stretched to 38 years. During that time, Stamp watched female enrollment grow from 103 to 3,618. She started the first women’s student government organization, the Mortar Board Honor Society and a branch of the American Association of University Women while serving as teacher, counselor, philosopher, administrator and role model for countless coeds. When Stamp retired, the Board of Regents granted her emeritus rank, making her the first woman to receive this faculty honor. The student union was renamed for her in 1983 in recognition of her achievements.

B.S. 1914, M.S. 1922
Chemical & Life Sciences
Inducted April 22, 1995

Reginald Van Trump Truitt was the founder and first director of the university’s Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. A leading naturalist, marine biologist and Maryland faculty member, he began investigations into issues affecting the bay during the 1920s, calling attention to its mismanaged resources long before environmentalism became popular. Later, he helped establish regional marine laboratories in states on the East and West coasts. Following retirement in 1954, Truitt led the campaign to convert Assateague Island into a National Seashore. He was awarded Maryland’s Rachel Carson Award in 1981 for his efforts to preserve the Chesapeake Bay and its environment.

B.S. 1910
Engineering
Inducted April 22, 1995

Millard E. Tydings enlisted in World War I as a private and rose to lieutenant colonel, earning the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal. In 1920, while speaker of the Maryland House of Delegates, he introduced legislation merging the Maryland Agricultural College with the professional schools in Baltimore, creating the modern University of Maryland. Later, he sat on its Board of Regents. From 1923 to 1950, Tydings was one of the U.S. Congress’ most powerful leaders, authoring the Philippine Independence Act and serving as first chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and on the committee that censured Sen. Joseph McCarthy.

M.S. 1967, Ed.D. 1986
Health & Human Performance, Education
Inducted June 10, 2000

Evelyn Pasteur Valentine held nearly every title in the education profession, serving in a variety of roles in Baltimore’s public school system. In 1974, she was elected Maryland’s Teacher of the Year and received a National Teacher of the Year Merit Award. Her doctoral dissertation, a strategic model for education, paved the way for the Pasteur Center for Strategic Management, which Valentine founded in 1987. In 1988, she helped the University System of Maryland manage the formation of the University of Maryland College Park Alumni Association, which honored her with its 1997 Ralph J. Tyser Medallion in recognition of her service to the university and the association.

B.S. 1968
Business
Inducted June 4, 2005

As an undergraduate business major, Gary Williams played point guard for the Terps. After graduation in 1968, he coached Woodrow Wilson High School in Camden, N.J., to an undefeated season and a state championship before moving on to Lafayette, American University, Boston College and Ohio State University. In 1989, he returned to Maryland as head coach and advanced his team into post-season competition during his inaugural year—a university first. Between the 1993­–94 and 2003–04 seasons, Williams took the Terps to 11 consecutive NCAA tournaments, winning the 2002 national title and that year’s ACC Coach of the Year Award. In 2004, his Terps won the ACC championship. Williams stepped down after the 2010–11 season, and is now senior managing director for alumni relations and athletic development at the university.

B.S. 1956
Health & Human Performance
Inducted June 4, 2005

Morgan Wootten began his epic coaching career at St. Joseph’s Home for Boys in Washington, D.C., during the early 1950s. He transferred to the University of Maryland to finish his degree, then became basketball coach at DeMatha High School in Hyattsville, Md. While winning 1,274 games from 1956–2002, Wootten’s teams finished No. 1 in Washington, D.C., 20 times—twice they went undefeated. His streak of 42 winning seasons is the longest on record. The Naismith Foundation named him Coach of the Century in 2000, the same year it inducted him into the Basketball Hall of Fame.