ST. MARY’S CITY — A Baltimore developer who got his start at St. Mary’s College of Maryland is now helping oversee it. Gov. Wes Moore has appointed Jayson T. Williams, a 2003 graduate, to the college’s Board of Trustees, effective Oct. 21.
The college announced the appointment Oct. 26. Williams will serve on the board’s Campus Life Committee and its Technology, Buildings, and Grounds Committee, according to the college.
“His experience in public service, business and community development, together with his connection to the College as an alumnus, brings a valuable perspective to the Board,” Board Chair John J. Bell, a 1995 graduate, said in a statement.
From West Baltimore to development
Williams is president and CEO of BreakGround Enterprises, a Mid-Atlantic community development firm that handles real estate development, project management and strategic consulting. He also founded Mayson-Dixon Companies and serves as its CEO.
Raised in West Baltimore, Williams has focused his work on expanding housing, supporting small businesses and connecting public and private investment with community needs, the college said.
Before moving to the private sector, he worked for U.S. Sens. Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin, the late Maryland Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. and former Prince George’s County Executive Rushern L. Baker III.
His civic work includes service with the National Aquarium, The Nature Conservancy and Morgan State University’s Construction Management Advisory Council. He sits on the board of the Maryland Building Industry Association and serves at Levindale Hospital, part of LifeBridge Health.
At St. Mary’s, Williams earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in environmental studies.
What the board does
St. Mary’s College, Maryland’s designated public honors college, enrolls about 1,650 students. Its trustees set policy, approve budgets and hire and evaluate the president.
Under Section 14-402 of Maryland’s Education Article, the board has 26 members. Twenty-three are appointed by the governor on the board’s recommendation, with the advice and consent of the state Senate, for staggered six-year terms. The remaining seats go to the chair of the Historic St. Mary’s City Commission or a designee, the president of the Alumni Association and one student who serves a one-year term.
The release did not say whose seat Williams is filling or when his appointment will go before the Senate, which next convenes in January.
He joins the board weeks after trustees revised the college’s budget and adopted new hiring rules at their October meeting. His seat on the buildings and grounds committee comes as the college reshapes campus operations, including its recent decision to outsource its money-losing bookstore. The college was also recently ranked No. 6 among public liberal arts colleges.
