H. Rutherford Turnbull III

H. Rutherford Turnbull, III earned his degrees at The Johns Hopkins University (B.A.), Maryland Law School (Ll.B.), and Harvard Law School (Ll.M.) and served as a professor of special education and former courtesy professor of law at The University of Kansas, having previously practiced law in Baltimore and then been professor of public law and government at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been president, American Association on Mental Retardation (AAMR); director and treasurer, The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps; director and secretary, The Arc of the USA; chairman and trustee, Judge David L. Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law; chairman, commission on mental disability law, American Bar Association; and recipient of the international leadership awards from The Arc, AAMR, Council for Exceptional Children, and Camphill Association of North America. He has been recognized as one of 36 people who have changed the course of history in the field of mental retardation during the 20th Century and as one of 50 people who have made the greatest contributions to the professorate in special education during the last 200 years. He co-founded and co-directs the Beach Center on Disability at The University of Kansas. He is married to Ann and has three children: Jay, Amy, and Kate.