UMB StaffDuring his inauguration in November 2021, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) President Bruce E. Jarrell, MD, FACS, talked about how the University would meet the challenges of the future. He announced that his lifelong friend, Lawrence Hayman, chairman of H&M Bay, Inc., a logistics and storage company based on the Eastern Shore, where they both grew up, had pledged nearly $18 million to create two endowments at UMB.
“That is a wonderful gift,” Dr. Jarrell said. “That’s a commitment to UMB. That’s a commitment to Maryland.”
CATALYST magazine asked Dr. Jarrell to talk about the friendship with Hayman that inspired this gift to UMB.
I grew up in a small farming town on the Eastern Shore. My parents were a farmer and a teacher, and I went to school in a two-room schoolhouse in Goldsboro. When the county closed the schoolhouse, I transferred schools. It was there in the fourth-grade classroom that I met Lawrence Hayman. Many of my classmates — like Lawrence — had to miss class to help take care of things on the farm. There was little to no industry around that wasn’t farming. My parents instilled in me a commitment to education. Yes, I had chores to do at home, but my education was a priority. People worked hard. School was the glue in our community.
Lawrence and I went to elementary school, junior high, and high school together. In high school — where Lawrence and I played basketball together — my world opened up when my physics teacher, Mr. Walsh, engaged me. He helped me realize that everyone has the capacity to think, question, and solve problems.
I firmly believe that today. In fact, many of the values that came from my small-town community guide me today:
- Hard work
- Determination
- Humility
- Commitment to each other
In 1965, Lawrence and I went our different ways. I went off to college and he went into, in his own words, “the world of hard knocks.” He started a career as a long-haul transporter of frozen and refrigerated food products. After 15 years, he carved a niche in the brokerage market when he started his own business. His work ethic guided the business to great success. He and a partner formed H&M Bay, Inc., and together they built one of the premier brokerage operations in the industry.
It was at one of our high school reunions where Lawrence and I reconnected. That began a 30-year conversation about how we could give back and really make an impact where we were raised. Our shared values and commitment to supporting others led Lawrence to announce his extraordinarily generous gift of nearly $18 million to create two endowments at UMB. The first fund will provide scholarships to Eastern Shore students who want to study at UMB while also supporting incentives to attract health care providers to practice in Caroline, Talbot, Dorchester, Kent, and Queen Anne’s counties. The second endowment will allow the UMB president to allocate funds to support research seeking the cure or advanced treatment of cancer.
I could not be prouder of my dear friend, who after achieving great success in business remains committed to Maryland and to improving the lives of others. I’m thankful for our friendship.
