Foundation honors donors with reception

Jeff Mills ’82, UMaine Foundation President/CEO, Annemarie Albiston & Bruce Albiston ’72

The Speech Therapy Telepractice Program at the University of Maine has provided support and experience for students who study communications sciences & disorders. Led by Dr. Judy Walker, the Telepractice Program offers students opportunities for hands-on learning with clients in the Orono and greater Bangor areas.

In August 2017, the Telepractice Program was awarded a generous donation by Bruce and Annemarie Albiston. Bruce, a member of the UMaine Class of 1972, and Annemarie reside in Carrabassett Valley and are co-founders of the Aphasia Center of Maine. Their annual aphasia retreat, the Andre R. Hemond Aphasia Retreat Weekend, is held at Oceanwood in Ocean Park, Me. The retreat is named for Annemarie’s late father, Andre, who was diagnosed with aphasia due to complications from a stroke.

The Aphasia Center of Maine’s mission is to enhance the lives of persons living with Aphasia, and to help them grow. The goal is to provide recreational, educational and emotional support to those affected by Aphasia and their families.

Their most recent gift to Dr. Judy Walker’s program will aid in yet another remarkable expansion of the Telepractice Program, over the next three years. In order to show the Albiston’s what a positive effect their generosity has, the University of Maine Foundation and Dr. Walker invited them to campus on December 1, 2017 for an intimate reception for those who have been positively affected by their most recent gift. Dr. Jeffery Mills ’82, President/CEO of the UMaine Foundation emceed the event.

Fred Servello, Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, Forestry & Agriculture attended the event and noted that private support like the Albiston’s gift provides incalculable effects on students and the surrounding speech therapy community.

Maine Hello 2017

DSC_1433movingThe University of Maine campus is preparing to welcome its’ largest incoming freshman class in university history. On Maine Hello day this year, over 2,500 students are expected to be moving into their homes for the academic year. As a UMaine tradition, many alumni from the area participate in the festivities of the day, along with current students, faculty and staff.

 

Harry Ellsworth (pictured right), Class of 1965, DSC_1434HarryEllsworth65attended Maine Hello last year as a move-in-day volunteer from Massachusetts!

The Maine Hello and welcome weekend signify the start of a new year at the University of Maine. For a complete list of all upcoming events, such as Homecoming and Reunion, please check our events listing here: 2017 UMaine & Foundation Events

If you are interested in participating in Maine Hello, please visit the University of Maine website at this link: Maine Hello

Humanities Center named for generous donors

Photo of Clem McGillicuddy

The University of Maine Humanities Center has a new name, reflecting the generous support of Clement McGillicuddy ’64 and his wife Linda of Hobe Sound, Florida and Northeast Harbor, Maine.

The McGillicuddys support the Humanities Center through a fund they established at the University of Maine Foundation. The two met in New York City while working in the computer industry, and are committed to “giving back” to a state that means a great deal to their family.

Clement McGillicuddy appreciates the Humanities Center’s diverse activities in Orono and across the state. He is especially appreciative that the Center’s outreach extends well beyond classroom learning and opens new horizons for high school students and other Maine citizens. He cites poetry as a long-time, personal interest that is celebrated by the Center, and lauds the Center’s director, Jennifer Moxley, as “a splendid poet and inspirational speaker”.

The UMaine alumnus adds that the Center’s mission resonates with his own experience as an undergraduate who grew up in Houlton, Maine. “The University of Maine exposed me to many new situations, including an introductory course that required us to pick up and read The New York Times every day. To this day, The New York Times feeds my deep interest in the human condition and how the world works.   Many of my courses at UMaine, unrelated to my major, contributed to my curiosity and created a foundation for lifelong learning.”

“An important role of the University of Maine is to advance — and advocate for — the humanities,” says UMaine President Susan J. Hunter. “Humanities teaching, research and engagement are critical to fulfilling our statewide mission. In collaboration with private and community partners, we help ensure that culture enriches the human experience.”

“The McGillicuddys are champions of the arts and humanities,” says Jeffrey Hecker, UMaine vice president for academic affairs and provost. “Their support for the Humanities Center will impact students and faculty, but also countless people of all ages who benefit from the partnerships the center has built with humanities organizations throughout the state. Their commitment to the arts and humanities, especially here in Maine, is inspiring.”

The Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Humanities Center advances teaching, research and public knowledge of the humanities. By developing and supporting programs that engage art, literature, history, philosophy, politics and diverse cultures, the MHC aims to enrich the lives of all Maine citizens.

 

Photo above: Clement McGillicuddy ’64

Read more about the Clement and Linda McGillicuddy Humanities Center 

 

 

Trust gift to help Orono Bog Boardwalk campaign

 

Check presentation for Orono Boardwalk Campaign

In life, Katharine Kirkpatrick was an avid community member, an adventurer, and a dedicated volunteer. Her commitment to adventure continues after her 2016 death with a gift of $141,826 from the Katharine M. Kirkpatrick 2002 Trust to the Orono Boardwalk Campaign Fund held at the University of Maine Foundation. Kit’s generous donation will provide 97 new boardwalk sections, including two interpretive stations and two wheelchair turnouts, to replace sections with new, longer lasting materials. In October 2017, volunteers will remove old sections and install new ones, bringing increased longevity of about 30 years to the boardwalk.

Kit1editThe Orono Bog Boardwalk Reconstruction Campaign started in 2010 with a goal to raise the funds necessary to replace the entire, wooden boardwalk with composite decking, stainless steel footings, and aluminum sidings. After the sections from Kit’s donation are installed, only 114 will be left to be replaced at a cost of $226,148.  Fundraising efforts are ongoing. Boardwalk volunteers are committed to raising the funds to complete the boardwalk reconstruction project by the end of 2018.

According to her father, Thomas Mumford, “Kit died August 25, 2016, 74 years of an active life, learning, loving, doing for others and fighting for those things in which she believed. Her illness was mercifully short and she was not alone in death as family members watched over her.”

 

 

If you would like to make a donation to the remaining balance of the Boardwalk Campaign, please follow this link: DONATE

 

Pictured above: Orono Boardwalk Director James Bird, University of Maine Foundation President Jeff Mills and Orono Land Trust Representative Jerry Longcore

Pictured left: Katharine Kirkpatrick

Sarah Holbrook, The Making of a Neuroscientist

Sarah Holbrook moved to Fort Fairfield, Maine as a young girl with her mother and siblings, and immediately began to feel welcomed and supported in their new community. Soon, volunteerism and community connections served to bolster her place as a valuable and influential member of the town. Sarah credits much of her support to the people of Fort Fairfield, whom she served in outlets such as the local soup kitchen. “Someone else who also volunteered for the food pantry bought me my first graphing calculator for a calculus class, and I still have that with me,” Sarah said, sitting in her lab in Little Hall, working over spring break.

“I’d just love to thank everyone for helping me out so much. I hope to continue making you proud in grad school and in my further studies. I will give back in any way I can.”

— Sarah Holbrook, Class of 2017

As a first-generation college student, Sarah gained most of her knowledge and context for college readiness from the Upward Bound program at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. “Upward Bound [at UMPI] really prepared me a lot for college — meeting motivated, like-minded individuals and preparing for college life,” said Sarah. The Fort Fairfield Class of 2013 consisted of 30 graduates, and the 300-person, BIO 100 class during Sarah’s freshman year proved to be a bit of a shock. Now, Sarah says the friendships she made here will continue throughout the rest of her academic career and lifetime.

Along with the support she received from programs like Upward Bound, Sarah credits scholarship support from Foundation-held scholarships as a key factor in her success at the University of Maine. Since her freshman year, Sarah’s scholarship support has come from funds that help students like her flourish in their programs at the university.

Sarah was awarded the Smith & Charlene McIntire Scholarship, and the Edward and Lea Anne Cote Scholarship. The majority of the recipients of these scholarship funds are natives of the County, as per the wishes of the donors, allowing them to give back to one of their own. Sarah has been studying the effects of ethanol alcohol on the brains of mice. Her research focuses on the way mice respond to withdrawal symptoms when alcohol is introduced, and subsequently taken away. The ways that alcohol affects circadian rhythms and anxiety symptoms are also facets of her findings.

Now, as she approaches graduation, Sarah is looking forward to further education. “I was just accepted into the biology master’s program here [at UMaine],” said Sarah. Sarah has accepted her spot in the UMaine Master’s program, and she will continue to study neuroscience. “We could go on studying the brain for centuries and still not know exactly how everything works. It’s such a mystery,” Sarah said, “Really, I just love learning, and the more we can learn about how we think about what we think, and understand how we understand through neuroscience, that will benefit everyone.” Sarah’s experiences have been influential on her little sister, a UMaine first-year student who is taking advantage of the path that her sibling has forged.

Emera Maine Honors UMaine Professor Dick Hill through Scholarship Fund

Emera Maine Prof. Richard C. Hill Scholarhip check

L-R: Dana N. Humphrey, P.E., Ph.D., College of Engineering, Dean, Jeffery N. Mills, Ph.D., University of Maine Foundation, President/CEO, Alan Richardson, Emera Maine, President/COO, Susan J. Hunter, Ph.D., University of Maine, President

As part of the Maine Day of Giving on May 3, 2017, Emera Maine, in collaboration with the University of Maine Foundation, announced its creation of the Emera Maine Professor Richard C. Hill Scholarship Fund. Alan Richardson, President and COO, Emera Maine, spoke fondly of his memories in meeting and working with Dick Hill, and of the impact he hopes Emera’s gift will positively impart on the University of Maine. “Professor Hill’s dedication and leadership were integral to the fabric of the energy community in Maine,” said Richardson, “He made a lasting impression on many throughout the industry. We are honored to continue to support and inspire those curious engineering minds that are yet to follow.”

Prof. Richard C. Hill was a member of the engineering community at the University of Maine from 1946 until his retirement in 1992. During his distinguished career, Dick served as Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Dean of the College of Technology, and Director of the Department of Industrial Cooperation.

“Prof. Dick Hill influenced generations of UMaine Engineers, and helped broadly inform Maine citizens on energy issues,” said Dr. Jeff Mills, President, University of Maine Foundation, “We couldn’t be more pleased that Alan Richardson wished to establish the Emera Maine Prof. Dick Hill Scholarship at the University of Maine Foundation, to encourage students to apply their talent to power our state and country.”

Emera Maine has pledged $110,000 to provide two scholarships annually and endow them in perpetuity. The awards will be made to engineering students who exhibit the innovative spirit and natural leadership qualities embodied by Professor Hill. In the spirit of the Maine Day of Giving, additional gifts in Dick’s honor may be made online, our.umaine.edu/hill.