Stephen M. Schanwald and Hon. Ryan D. McCarthy, MBA, to Speak at 2025 Commencement

Undergraduate Commencement

Stephen M. Schanwald ’77 will return to College Park to deliver the keynote address during the 2025 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on May 22. Schanwald is the former Executive Vice President of Business Operations with the Chicago Bulls and a trailblazer in sports marketing. His 40-year career as a sports management executive was filled with success, setting attendance records, innovating new ways to generate revenue and even establishing the NBA’s first-ever Community Relations Department. 

Schanwald began his successful career in sports when, as an undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, he worked for Russ Potts, the first sports marketing director in the history of collegiate athletics. From there, Schanwald became the first-ever director of sports promotions at the United States Air Force Academy before moving to Major League Baseball, winning his first world championship ring with the 1979 Pittsburgh Pirates. In 1981, he joined the Chicago White Sox and owner Jerry Reinsdorf as assistant vice president of marketing. When Reinsdorf acquired the Chicago Bulls, Schanwald followed to help transform all aspects of the team’s business operations. 

Schanwald recently made a generous $8 million gift to establish the Stephen M. Schanwald Sports Management Program. The gift was part of a larger, $18 million commitment that also supports Maryland Athletics. 

“It’s a great blessing at this stage of my life to be able to have the opportunity to try to help young people grow and achieve their dreams,” Schanwald said at the time. “The most rewarding thing to me is mentoring people and helping people climb the ladder the way I was helped.”

Schanwald returned to campus in the fall to meet with students in the program and is also a member of the program’s Advisory Board. 

Graduate Commencement

Honorable Ryan D. McCarthy, MBA ’13 will deliver the keynote address at the 2025 Graduate Commencement Ceremony. McCarthy has deep experience across the defense and policy space. 

In September 2019, he was confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate and sworn in as the 24th Secretary of the Army under President Donald J. Trump and served in the role until January 20th, 2021. In August 2017, he was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate and appointed as the 33rd Undersecretary of the Army. Prior to his confirmation as the Undersecretary of the Army, McCarthy worked for Lockheed Martin Corporation in sequential vice president roles responsible for the sustainment, customer solutions and program integration of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. Previously, McCarthy was a special assistant to the 22nd Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates, under Presidents George W. Bush and Barack H. Obama. McCarthy served in the U.S. Army from 1997 to 2002 and deployed in combat operations during the invasion of Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom with the 75th Ranger Regiment, U.S. Army Special Operations Command.

McCarthy is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and holds an MBA from the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of business. McCarthy currently serves as Operating Partner for AE Industrial Partners and is on the Board of Directors of CACI International. He is a member of the Board of Visitors of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, a member of the Board of Directors of the Medal of Honor Museum Foundation, and is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Advisors of the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. In 2019, McCarthy was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame.