“I realized I could do much more with a degree. The same year I graduated, I was offered a higher-level job. My UMUC degree gave me more confidence to compete.”
- Walter Somerville Jr., UMUC Alumnus '70
Business Administration
School of Undergraduate Studies
MyUMUC Story:
After a lifetime of service, Walter Somerville turned to UMUC to find a way to continue his legacy of doing good.
By Allan Zackowitz
The Walter R. Somerville Endowment Scholarship Fund at UMUC will one day provide tuition assistance for several worthy UMUC students each year. But that’s not what makes it remarkable. Many UMUC alumni choose to support the university and future students with similar gifts. What makes the Somerville endowment remarkable is the man behind it.
Walter Raleigh Somerville Jr. is 77 now and retired from a distinguished 42-year career with the U.S. government. During that time, he worked tirelessly to make certain that those with skill and ambition had the opportunity—and the right—to advance as far as they wanted in their chosen professions without having to overcome artificial barriers due to race, upbringing, or financial means. Along the way, he rose to the highest levels of government service, earned awards and accolades as a leader in the civil rights community, and merited listings in Who’s Who in Government and Who’s Who in America.
Read the complete article in the Fall 2007 edition of Achiever, UMUC's alumni magazine.
- Achiever - Fall 2007 Issue (PDF 8.6 MB)
- Achiever - Fall 2007 (Interactive Flash Version)
