University System of Maryland Foundation Names New Board Members, Including Harry S. Johnson
Adelphi, MD -- University System of Maryland (USM) Foundation has announced the addition of four new members to its Board of Directors: Harry S. Johnson, Ralph L. Lary, III, William H. Murphy, and Donald C. Scheeler.
“I am so pleased to welcome Harry S. Johnson, Ralph L. Lary, III, William H. Murphy, and Donald C. Scheeler to the USM Foundation Board of Directors. Their long-term service to their communities and their industries, combined with their knowledge and experience makes them excellent partners in our work to support our higher education institutions in Maryland. We could not ask for better or more qualified individuals to serve on our board,” says Leonard Raley, president of the USM Foundation.
The new members bring deep and wide-ranging experience to the USM Foundation's board. More details on each new member follow below:
Harry S. Johnson is a Litigation Partner at Whiteford, Taylor and Preston, LLP. His practice focuses on complex litigation, with an emphasis on product liability. For over 10 years he was one of the principal counsels for Baltimore City in Thompson v. HUD, a federal civil rights action concerning public housing. He was named one of America's Top Black Lawyers by Black Enterprise Magazine in 2003 and was recognized with The Daily Record's 'Leadership in Law' award the same year.
Mr. Johnson has a long history with both the Maryland State Bar Association, where he served as the first African American president, as well as the American Bar Association. He also served as chair of the board of directors of GBMC Healthcare from 2011 to 2014, in addition to being a member of the Baltimore Community Foundation board and the Office of the Public Defender. He is also a graduate of the GBC Leadership Program.
A native of Havre de Grace, Maryland, Mr. Johnson received an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and his Juris Doctor at the University of Maryland School of Law.
Ralph L. Lary, III is the Managing Partner/ Founder of Arena Technical Resources, LLC (ATR). He is responsible for the executive management of a full service information technology consulting and staffing company. ATR's areas of focus include the sourcing, recruitment, and placement of information technology professionals for small and large organizations, primarily in the DC Metro area. Prior to ATR, he was the Vice President and General Manager, DC Region, for Spherion, a global technology services company; a Senior Consultant with Price Waterhouse; and a Wind Tunnel Project Engineer at the University of Maryland's Glen L. Martin Wind Tunnel.
Ralph is a University of Maryland, College Park graduate, with a Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering and Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing. Ralph also played safety for the Maryland football team during the 1976-1981 seasons, and was the first four-time All ACC Academic Football Player in the history of the league. He is active in several University of Maryland organizations, including the M-Club, Terrapin Club, and is a Trustee with the University of Maryland, College Park Foundation.
William “Hassan” Murphy has been the managing partner of Murphy, Falcon & Murphy since 1999, while also remaining an active trial attorney and negotiator. He has served as lead and co-lead counsel in cases which have resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars for his clients. He has also been the recipient of a number of accolades, such as Trial Lawyers for Public Justice's “National Trial Lawyer of the Year” (2002), one of The Daily Record's “ Top 50 Most Influential Marylanders” (2012), a member of On Being a Black Lawyer's “Top 100 Black Lawyers in America” (2012), and more.
In addition to being on the USM Foundation's board of directors, Mr. Murphy has served as past president of the Monumental City Bar Foundation, and also currently serves on the board of the Batter Up Foundation, Mount Vernon Place Conservancy, Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship and the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland School of Law. He received his undergraduate degree from Williams University in 1990 and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1994.
Donald C. Scheeler has over 25 years of finance, human resources, operations and M&A experience and an extensive background with start-up, private, and publicly traded firms with up to $250M in revenues. Don currently oversees all of Learn It Systems special education programs. Previously, Don was General Manager for post-secondary start-up 2U (formerly 2tor), which grew to $20M in revenue in its second year of operations. Additionally, Don spent 15 years with the Sylvan/Educate education family of companies, where he last served as President and CEO of Progressus Therapy LLC. During his four years as president, Don doubled the revenue and positioned Progressus as the premiere quality provider for therapy services in the K-12 market.
Don graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park and received his masters from Johns Hopkins University. Don is also a board member to a non-profit, Mariposa, that focuses on bullying prevention programs in K-12 school districts. Additionally he is very active in the local business community.
About the USM Foundation
The USM Foundation supports the mission and ambitions of the University System of Maryland by advocating and supporting the advancement of public higher education in Maryland through visionary leadership in philanthropy, asset management, and stewardship. Assets under management currently exceed $1 billion.