Halcott Mebane Turner served as president of the University of Baltimore from 1969 until 2002. He also held the academic rank of professor of history. Prior to assuming the position of president, he previously served as provost of the University of Baltimore for approximately one year.

Dr. Tumer received his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia (where he was elected to Omicron Delta Kappa) in 1954, and eamed postgraduate degrees from Union Theological Seminary in 1957 and Teachers College of Columbia University in 1960. He earned a Doctor of Education degree from The American University in 1974. In June 2002, he was awarded the Doctor of Humane Letters degree by the National Labor College. He served as Chaplain in the U.S. Army Chaplains Corps at Fort Knox, KY, and Fort Story, VA, from I957-59.

After playing football and wrestling as an undergraduate at UVA, where he was Virginia Big6 Al State offensive guard and captain of the wrestling team, Dr. Turner was an Amateur Athletic Union wrestling champion at 174 pounds in 1957 while competing for the New York Athletic Club. He later coached the wrestling team at the University of Virginia and served there as assistant financial aid officer and then field secretary for the UVA Alumni Association from 1963 to 1965. He was dean of students and director of admissions at the University's then-George Mason College from 1965-1968.

Upon his retirement in June of 2002, the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland named him President Emeritus; and, in that year, Mayor Martin O'Malley and the City Council of Baltimore City also named the newly constructed Charles Street Bridges the "H.Mebane Turner Bridges." In 2003, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from hiscolleagues in the Maryland Association for Higher Education; and, in November of 2004, Dr.

Tumer was inducted into the Raven Society of the University of Virginia. In December of2005, he was appointed Headmaster of the Boys' Latin School of Maryland.