June 2007

Former Two-Sport Athlete "Flunks" Retirement

H. Mebane (Meb) Turner (BS ’53) is one of the most distinguished former Virginia student-athletes of all time. Turner served as the president of the University of Baltimore for 33 years, from 1969 to 2002. His contributions during his tenure at U.B. were many and varied. The University of Baltimore, now a member of the University System of Maryland, was transformed from a private institution to a public institution in 1975 under Dr. Turner’s leadership. He helped to grow that University’s reputation and built its foundation assets to more than $30 million.

Upon his retirement in June 2002, the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland named Turner President Emeritus, and that year, for his long time contributions to the Baltimore community, the mayor and city council named the newly renovated Charles Street Bridges the “H. Mebane Turner Bridges.” In recognition of his ongoing support of athletics programs at the University of Baltimore, Turner was inducted in May 2007 into the U.B. Athletic Hall of Fame.

As an offensive guard for the Cavaliers football first-year and varsity teams from 1949-’52, Turner is honored to have been a part of Virginia teams that won all but five games during the four years he played. Turner was also a member of the Cavaliers wrestling team, serving as captain his fourth year. Though Turner was not a scholarship athlete – his father was able to put him through school – he still feels a debt of gratitude toward the program. “I got a great deal out of Virginia athletics,” says Turner.

His character and leadership ability were developed on the football field and wrestling mats at Virginia. “I had the wonderful opportunity to play a team-dependent sport, like football,” says Turner, “where you have to learn to work closely with 10 other fellows on the field.”

“Wrestling is different because, while it is a team sport, you crawl out on the mat all by yourself. But you always have your teammates rooting for you.”

While each sport provided Turner with different experiences, “the personal rewards of both are great, so long as you have the confidence and ability to accept the challenge and realize that what you do affects other people.”

After graduation, Turner wrestled for the New York Athletic Club and was an AAU Wrestling champion in 1957. He earned postgraduate degrees from Union Theological Seminary in 1957 and Teachers College of Columbia University in 1960. He was a Chaplain in the U.S. Army Chaplains Corps at Fort Knox, Ky. and Fort Story, Va. from 1957-59.

But with all he’s accomplished, Turner says he owes his job to Virginia wrestling. In 1963, when longtime coach Frank Finger retired, Meb Turner got the call to return to Charlottesville. “Frank Finger was a great influence on my life,” Turner says of his mentor. Turner led the Cavaliers wrestling program for two seasons.

Since he’d need a “real” job, too, Turner worked as an assistant financial aid officer and the field secretary for the U.Va. Alumni Association. After two years in that role, the Chancellor asked him to move to northern Virginia to become dean of students and director of admissions at the University’s then-George Mason College, which he did until joining the University of Baltimore administration in 1968 as provost. Turner earned a Doctor of Education degree from American University in 1974.

In 2004, he was inducted into The Raven Society at U.Va. Two years later he was inducted into the Maryland Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in recognition of his lifetime accomplishments. “Baltimore and the state of Maryland have been very kind to me,” Turner says modestly of his long list of achievements.

While it seems Turner has fully earned the opportunity to relax and put his feet up, in actuality, the 76-year-old has spent his recent retirement as the headmaster at the Boy’s Latin School of Maryland. After serving on the Board of Trustees of the private boy’s school for a decade, Turner was coaxed out of his short-lived “retirement” by some former U.B. graduates who comprised the school’s current Board of Trustees. Turner took the helm in December 2005.

“I flunked retirement,” he says laughing.

–Sara Hunt

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