Honoring Bob Cobb, former dean of the College of Education and Human Development

Bob-Cobb-celebration

Well before he became the longest serving dean of University of Maine’s College of Education and Human Development, Bob Cobb grew up on a dairy farm in Winthrop, Maine, where his parents instilled in him a desire to do well in school and play sports.

“I always wanted to be a teacher and a coach,” says Cobb, who retired from UMaine in 2007 after 38 years with the university, 30 of them as dean.

“Every spring, we would covert one of the pastures at the dairy farm into a baseball field,” he recalls. “And hard work and education were always the watchwords.”

On Friday April 7, the College of Education and Human Development will celebrate Cobb’s nearly 40 years of service to the university. The event will also be the formal launch of the recently established Robert “Bob” A. Cobb Scholarship Fund, which will provide financial aid to undergraduate students in need.

Read the full story here.

David Sklar’s $1M planned gift to the University of Maine Foundation

University of Maine President Susan J. Hunter, David S. Sklar ’63 , University of Maine Foundation President/CEO Jeffery N. Mills at the Colombia Restaurant in Tampa, Fl.

David Sklar, a product of this time, grew into a survivor after life handed him a trying hand of cards. “The two biggest things I’ve tried for in life are fighting anti-Semitism and, now, supporting students –- giving them a chance to go on to UMaine, whether it’s for forestry or mechanical engineering — I’ve made no restrictions,” said Sklar of his estate bequest to the University of Maine Foundation.

Sklar’s father had come to the United States from Poland and opened a clothing store, which housed fine fabrics and luxury brands. Sklar attended the University of Maine in 1959 and became a brother of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. After graduation, Sklar took over his family’s business, “my father died when I was 21,” said Sklar, “and I could have dumped the whole business and given up, but I didn’t.”

In 1963, right out of school, Sklar continued his father’s legacy. This led Sklar on to a forty-year-long career as a successful local clothier of the Brewer-Bangor area, including outfitting many of the brothers of Beta Theta Pi and other UMaine fraternities. The first venture Sklar took beyond his father’s store was a contemporary-style boutique at the Bangor Airport mall. This store stocked clothing that ranged from men’s suits to women’s formal dresses, and everything in between. Then, in 1981, he started Coat Town, which was stocked with discount outerwear, and a Big & Tall store in the 1990s. Eventually, discount stores like Sears and J.C. Penny moved into the mall and offered very competitive prices to Sklar’s stores, and, in 2002, Coat Town closed.

“In the end,” said Sklar, “it’s not about the amount of money, but about how I got to where I am. I wanted to do something to make a lasting legacy, and I think this $1 million gift will do that.”

Sklar worked with giving officers at the University of Maine Foundation to figure out a way to give that fit his budget and lifestyle. He is now a member of the Charles F. Allen Legacy Society, and will be creating a lasting gift to benefit generations of UMaine students. His successes began, however, with a Bachelor’s degree in marketing and advertising from the University of Maine, which he credits, along with his experiences at UMaine and Beta Theta Pi, as shaping his life and career.

Now, Sklar lives in Florida full-time, and spends many afternoons working as a wine specialist in local grocery stores. June 2016 marks his 75th birthday.

University of Maine Political Science Department announces first class of Nickerson Scholarship recipients

University of Maine Nickerson Scholarship recipients are, left to right, Allyson Eslin ’17, Madison Waterman ’17, Miranda Roberts ’18 and Jaymi Thibault ’17. Not pictured: Isabella DiPhilippo ’17, currently studying in Madrid, Spain. Photo by Heidi Martinson

The University of Maine Department of Political Science has announced the first awardees of the John M. Nickerson University of Maine Scholarship. The five selected students will each receive close to one year of in-state tuition for the 2016–17 academic year.

Each of the students was awarded scholarship support after being chosen by the faculty of the UMaine Political Science Department based upon their overall GPA and faculty evaluations.

For the 2016–17 year, the recipients of the John M. Nickerson University of Maine Scholarship are: Isabella DiPhilippo of Scarborough, Allyson Eslin of Bangor, Miranda Roberts of Hermon, Jaymi Thibault of Lisbon and Madison Waterman of Eliot.

“I am so beyond humbled and thankful to have been selected as one of the inaugural recipients of the John M. Nickerson University of Maine Scholarship,” says Allyson Eslin, a third-year student at UMaine. “I am thrilled to be representing a person of such profound integrity, dedication and scholarship as John Nickerson, and am deeply inspired to embody the spirit of public leadership in his memory.”

The John M. Nickerson University of Maine Scholarship was established in 2014 at the University of Maine Foundation with a gift of more than $2 million from the estate of Dr. John M. Nickerson. This endowed scholarship annually supports UMaine students who, among other requirements, study political science, have attained a junior standing, are Maine residents and have made an impact in their communities.

Nickerson also established the John Mitchell Nickerson Professorship of Political Science and the John M. Nickerson Quiet Room to benefit the members, faculty and staff of the UMaine Department of Political Science.

“Dr. Nickerson devoted his life to his work and it was his desire to continue to support a strong political science community in Maine,” says University of Maine Foundation President Jeffery Mills. “The foundation is grateful for his commitment, which will provide significant support to UMaine students for generations.”

Nickerson, a Lewiston native, was a member of the UMaine class of 1959. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in political science, he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Idaho in 1971 and taught for many years at the University of Maine and the University of Maine at Augusta.

Nickerson authored numerous books and other publications during his career and remained active in the political science community until his death at age 75.

Maine Day of Giving student contest winners

As a result of their use of the #mainedayofgiving hashtag during Maine Day, the University Singers have won $500 from the University of Maine Annual Fund.

The University Singers accept a $500 check from Christina Caron of the UMaine Annual Fund

Christina Caron, Director of the University of Maine Annual Fund presented the $500 check to Molly Abrams, Singers President, and Director Fran Vogt on Friday, May 6, 2016.

The Singers will be travelling to Europe next semester, and this money, along with other gifts will help support their trip.

https://umainefoundation.org/about-the-foundation/mainedayofgiving/

UMaine’s 2016 Valedictorian is Foundation Scholarship Recipient

Nick Fried

Nicholas Fried of Millerstown, Pennsylvania, is the 2016 University of Maine valedictorian.

Fried majored in animal and veterinary sciences, with a minor in chemistry. This fall, he will be an MD/Ph.D. student at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Schools of Medicine and Graduate Studies in New Orleans. He plans to become a primary care physician in a medically underserved community and conduct research in zoonotic epidemiology.

Fried’s numerous academic honors include a J. Franklin Witter Undergraduate Research Grant from UMaine, the Helen Louise Stinchfield ’18 Memorial Scholarship from the University of Maine Foundation, and the Inez Boyd Environmental Research Award from the Penobscot Valley Chapter of Maine Audubon.

Read the full story on umaine.edu/news