A UMD graduate and a Terp parent with distinguished careers and who have named university scholarships have been added to the University of Maryland College Park Foundation Board of Trustees, with terms starting July 1.
James Cantor ’81, M.S. ’84, executive vice president and performance excellence and strategic partnership officer for Leidos, and Laura I. Scheeler, founder and CEO for Resource Solutions, were elected at the board’s annual meeting on May 8, its first-ever all-virtual meeting.
As trustees, they will help grow the level of philanthropic support for the university, oversee the investment and distribution of private funds, serve as ambassadors on behalf of the foundation and the university, and advise university leadership.
“We are thrilled to add Jim’s and Laura’s professional expertise and passion for the university to the ranks of the Board of Trustees,” said Paul Mandell ’95, chair of the board. “We look forward to introducing them to their new roles as advocates and ambassadors on behalf of the foundation and university.”
Cantor joined SAIC/Leidos in 1990, and before taking his current role in 2019, served in roles such as chief technology officer, national security sector chief engineer and corporate chief engineer. A former principal engineer for Computational Engineering, he was a research fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory and worked at the Department of the Army Ballistic Missile Defense Program Office.
A member of the Board of Visitors for the A. James Clark School of Engineering and advisory board for the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Cantor graduated from UMD with a bachelor’s in mathematics and master’s in electrical engineering before earning his doctorate in mathematical statistics from the George Washington University. In 2020, he and his wife established the James. L. Cantor & Linda S. Gilbert Maryland Promise Scholarship.
Scheeler’s company has provided accounting support to startups and small to mid-sized businesses since 1994, from handling accounting set ups to fraud investigation and remediation. Prior to starting RSI, she was in the banking industry, working through the retail branch system to commercial finance.
Scheeler earned her bachelor’s degree in business and management from University of Maryland University College in 1989. She and husband Don ‘85 established the Scheeler Family Maryland Promise Scholarship in support of the university’s Incentive Awards Program and are supporters of the UMD Basketball Performance Center. The couple has two children, Michael ’13 and Natalie ’15.
“Jim and Laura have already demonstrated their commitment to serving our institution and investing in the future success of our students and university community,” said Jackie Lewis, vice president for university relations and president of the foundation. “We are grateful they will lend their talents to the foundation and look forward to welcoming them more officially next month.”
