The University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is awarding honorary degrees this year to six individuals who’ve made an impact through their work or philanthropic efforts in the fields of dentistry, law, medicine, nursing, and pharmacy. The recipients will be featured on The Elm during Commencement week May 17-21.
Honorary Doctor of Laws
Shale Stiller, LLB, MLA
Adjunct Professor, Univeristy of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law, and Partner, DLA Piper LLP
Shale Stiller has shown a deep commitment to the Francis King Carey School of Law since 1963. He is not an alumnus, but Stiller has adopted the law school as his own and supported its mission as an adjunct professor for 57 years.
“Shale has taught federal estate and gift taxation, constitutional law, commercial law, federal jurisdiction, and the law of nonprofit organizations,” said Carey School of Law Dean Donald B. Tobin, JD. “Decades of our students have been fortunate to learn from this legal giant. His work in service to the Baltimore community and the legal profession is extraordinary. Shale is a committed and steadfast advocate for Maryland Carey Law and the greater Baltimore area.”
The school also has benefited from the generosity of Stiller and his wife, Ellen M. Heller, JD ’77. The couple established the Judge Ellen M. Heller and Shale D. Stiller, Esq. Scholarship Endowment, which provides support for Carey School of Law students who demonstrate high academic achievement and financial need. In addition, friends of Stiller established the Shale D. Stiller Public Interest Fellowship Endowment to provide endowed support for summer public interest grants to students who show a commitment to public interest law.
Stiller is one of Baltimore's best-known and well-respected lawyers. He is a longtime partner at DLA Piper LLP, specializing in litigation, business law, and tax law. He has a distinguished record of legal work and advocacy in Maryland and was the principal writer of the state’s statutory laws on estates and trusts. Stiller has been included in every edition of “The Best Lawyers in America” since it was first published in 1987.
Stiller has shown a great commitment to Baltimore and community service. He has served on many prominent philanthropic boards, including five years as president, CEO, and chairman of the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world with over $2 billion in assets.
Stiller received his LLB degree from Yale University and has a Master of Liberal Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). In 2016, JHU recognized him with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. He is on the Board of Trustees of JHU as well as Johns Hopkins Medicine and is an emeritus member of the Health Advisory Board at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.