Laurence A. Jones, Jr. Memorial Service

Jones Memorial PlaqueThe annual memorial service held at the University of Maine honoring the life of Laurence A. Jones, Jr. was held on Nov. 20. A 1992 UMaine graduate who held a psychology degree, Jones was killed while he was a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University. Jones’ mother, Yong Jones, established a scholarship in his memory to be awarded to students who demonstrate excellence in psychology. This year’s recipient, Amber Rowley, spoke at the event that was held near the Laurence A. Jones, Jr. memorial tree on campus. “The recipient today — Amber Rowley — is also planning to study and also work in the field of psychology, we are hoping that she will continue on the living memory of Laurence,” said Jeffery Mills, president and CEO of the University of Maine Foundation. Yong Jones attended the memorial.

WABI covered the story.

Announcing the Sandy and Bobby Ives Fund

Ives ReceptionA new fund has been established at the University of Maine Foundation in honor of the late founder of the Maine Folklife Center Edward “Sandy” Ives and his wife Bobby.

The Sandy and Bobby Ives Fund will be used to provide financial assistance to full-time UMaine students engaging in ethnography, folklore or oral history fieldwork in Maine and the Canadian Maritime Provinces. The UMaine Humanities Center director will oversee the awards to students.

The fund was established in 2014 with a gift from David Taylor and LeeEllen Friedland in recognition of Ives’ mentorship and friendship throughout Taylor’s academic experience at UMaine.

Ives was a popular UMaine English and anthropology professor from 1955–99, an internationally known folklorist and founder of the Maine Folklife Center. He was married to Bobby Ives for 57 years before his death in 2009.

Two undergraduate students who are studying folklore — Hilary Warner-Evans and Taylor Cunningham — recently spoke at a reception to announce the fund.

Warner-Evans of West Bath, Maine, is an undergraduate Honors student in anthropology and one of the first UMaine students to take the new folklore minor. Since 2012, she has volunteered at the Maine Folklife Center, where she has contributed to the center’s community outreach efforts by conducting research for its Maine Song and Story Sampler on Fogler Library’s Digital Commons.

Warner-Evans will present her fieldwork on songs written about the North Pond Hermit at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in Denver this November. She also presented her folkloric research on Geoffrey Chaucer’s, “The Franklin’s Tale,” at Plymouth State University’s Medieval and Renaissance Forum last spring.

Taylor Cunningham of Massachusetts is an English major and Honors student with a minor in folklore studies. She is the coordinator of a new interdisciplinary humanities series of lectures on linguistics and culture, and has been working on the Maine Hermit Project for two years.

The Maine Hermit Project is a collaborative interdisciplinary humanities lab venture involving a team of undergraduate researchers working with Sarah Harlan-Haughey, an assistant professor in UMaine’s Honors College and  Department of English.

Cunningham has presented her work on greening the humanities in Honors at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference in New Orleans.

Both students are conducting research on songs and ballads written about the North Pond Hermit, as well as conducting interviews, for a book on the topic. The book — co-written by members of the Maine Hermit Project lab using the Maine Folklife Center archives, Fogler Library’s Special Collections and new fieldwork — will explore different facets of Maine’s interest in and valorization of hermits and outlaws, according to Harlan-Haughey.

 

$1 Million Savage Challenge Fund Announced

Hockey PuckA $1 million donation to the University of Maine by alumnus Tom Savage and his wife, Sally, of Key Largo, Florida, will launch the Savage Challenge, a five-year endowment drive for the men’s ice hockey program.

The donation will be used to match up to $1 million in gifts from UMaine hockey alumni and former coaches to the endowment fund, which will be held at the University of Maine Foundation.

Complete story from UMaine NEWS

13th Annual Geddes W. Simpson Lecture Featured William B. Krohn, Ph.D.

William Krohn, Ph.D.

The 13th Annual Geddes W. Simpson Lecture featuring distinguished wildlife biologist William B. Krohn, Ph.D. was entitled “Using Historical Information in Wildlife Science: A Personal Journey.”  Dr. Krohn explored his use of historical documents to understand ever-changing wildlife distributions, and the ways that contemporary wildlife scientists may be under-utilizing the historical record.

William B. Krohn is a retired wildlife biologist who served 39 1/2 years in administrative and research positions for the U.S. Department of the Interior, and has held positions in both the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the US. Fish and Wildlife Service.  During the last 27 years of his career, Krohn was leader of the Maine Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, an office of the U.S. Geological Survey at the University of Maine.  In the later part of his career, Dr. Krohn became interested in understanding the historical changes in wildlife populations.  He continues to lecture about Maine’s changing wildlife populations and outdoor heritage, and is currently researching Maine’s early fishing lures and their makers.

The Geddes W. Simpson Lecture Series was established in 2001 at the University of Maine Foundation by family and friends in honor of Geddes Simpson, a distinguished researcher and teacher at the University of Maine. The annual lecturer is an individual who has provided significant insight into the intersection of science and history.

 

Former Professor Gifts Over $2M for Scholarships, Professorship

Nickerson Announcement Photo

Jeffery N. Mills, President/CEO of the University of Maine Foundation, Emily Haddad, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, James W. Warhola, Department Chair of Political Science and Jeffrey Hecker, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost accept the bequest from the estate of John M. Nickerson

An endowed scholarship fund and political science professorship have been established at the University of Maine Foundation with more than $2 million in gifts from John Nickerson, a University of Maine alumnus and professor emeritus at the University of Maine at Augusta who died in May 2013.

University of Maine Foundation President/CEO Jeffery Mills made the announcement in UMaine’s North Stevens Hall, where the John Mitchell Nickerson Room was dedicated in honor of the member of the UMaine class of 1959.

“Dr. Nickerson’s gift will forever remind us of his love of higher education and his firm belief in its role in changing students’ lives,” said University of Maine President Dr. Susan Hunter.

“UMaine was fortunate to know him as an alumnus, scholar and teacher. With this gift, Dr. Nickerson will continue to touch the lives of students, this time through his vision and generosity.”

The room, decorated with Nickerson’s collection of fine furniture, artwork, oriental rugs and silver, was his gift to UMaine faculty and staff as a place to relax. Along with that thoughtful gesture to his former colleagues, Nickerson made a generous gift to future UMaine political science faculty and students with an endowed professorship and an endowed scholarship fund. Both will be held at the University of Maine Foundation.

The professorship will be known as the John Mitchell Nickerson Professorship of Political Science and will provide support for an accomplished UMaine political science professor.

The endowed John M. Nickerson Scholarship Fund will make merit awards to UMaine juniors and seniors who are residents of Maine and are majoring in political science or participating in the prelaw program. The fund is expected to generate approximately $100,000 per year for scholarships, starting in 2016.

“This substantial gift will result in one of the largest scholarship funds managed by the University of Maine Foundation,” said Mills. “Dr. Nickerson was a dedicated political science professional and scholar, with this significant and ongoing support for UMaine students and faculty his work will continue to advance in Maine and beyond.”

Although Nickerson was a UMaine alumnus and longtime graduate faculty member, most of his career he taught political science at UMA, where he left a $180,000 endowed scholarship fund, which will be held by the University of Maine System.

“I worked with John for over 14 years, and there isn’t anyone who was more dedicated to his students. He expected a lot from them, and he gave all of himself to his work,” said Brenda McAleer, Dean of Professional Studies at UMA. “The scholarship he has left for UMA could not be a more fitting tribute or legacy to his work here.”

Before he passed away, Nickerson described his life as “devoted to the teaching of his students” whose careers he followed and spoke often of. His gifts were a manifestation of his devotion to education.

Nickerson was born in Lewiston, Maine on July 1, 1937, the son of Elmer Winfield Nickerson and Marion Gertrude Howard. He lived his early life in Auburn, Maine, and graduated from Edward Little High School in 1955.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in political science in 1959 at the University of Maine, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Army. While in the Army, he earned a master’s degree from Washington State University in 1966. He was awarded his Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Idaho in 1971.

Nickerson was a member of several academic honor societies, including Pi Alpha Alpha and Pi Sigma Alpha, the national honor societies for public affairs and administration, and political science, respectively.

He was a member of the many professional organizations, including the American Academy of Political and Social Science; the American Political Science Association; the American Society for Public Administration; the Maine Magistrates Council; the New England Political Science Association; the Northeastern Political Science Association; and The Academy of Political Science.

He was active in the community and was a member and officer of many organizations. He is listed in Who’s Who in America; Who’s Who in American Politics; and Who’s Who in the World.

The University of Maine Foundation was established in 1934 to encourage gifts and bequests to promote academic achievement, research and intellectual pursuit at the University of Maine. Currently, the foundation manages more than 1,500 endowed funds that benefit UMaine.

UMaine Foundation Hosts Scholarship Reception in Southern Maine

Dr. Jeffery Mills/Dr. Susan J. Hunter photographUniversity of Maine President Susan J. Hunter and UMaine Foundation President Jeffery N. Mills hosted the University of Maine Foundation Scholarship Recognition Reception on August 20, 2014 at the Portland Country Club in Falmouth. The reception was held to thank scholarship donors and honor recipients from Southern Maine.

Kimberly Dao, who graduated from UMaine in May 2014 was the guest speaker. Dao spoke about her personal experiences with scholarship support and her transition to medical school at Tufts University.

Gorham Savings Bank President Chris Emmons represented the SMECUM (Southern Maine Executives Club of the University of Maine) in welcoming everyone.

A similar event is planned on the University of Maine campus in Orono on October 17 during Homecoming weekend.

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