Inspired to Give 2014–15 Annual Report of Private Giving Winter carnival, snow sculptures, Maine Bound trips to Sugarloaf, snowshoeing on campus trails, hockey and basketball games, Greek events such as Beta Theta Pi’s annual February sleep out, and Yuletide concerts are just some of the many winter traditions that have inspired UMaine alumni and friends for generations. Cover image: Class of 1952 cupola, Buchanan Alumni House Inspired to Give Contents Letter from President Susan J. Hunter 3 Fundraising Partners 4 Letter from Jeffery N. Mills and Robert Q. Dana 5 2015 Endowments/Holdings 37 Ways of Giving 68 Giving Societies 70 FY15 Giving Society Members 72 2014–15 Annual Report of Private Giving 2 University of Maine Letter from President Susan J. Hunter Dear Friends, Private support has never been more important to the University of Maine. Your gifts make the UMaine experience possible for thousands of students every year. Thanks to you, we are able to attract and retain outstanding faculty and staff, and engage with communities throughout and well beyond our state. Without generous alumni and friends, our campus would look very different. Our grounds, research and teaching laboratories, concert and lecture halls, museums, sports facilities, and student living and learning spaces have been transformed as a result of personal generosity and thoughtfulness. As President, my hours on campus range “Whether you have been widely, including very early in the morning on my way to our New Balance Student inspired by your own student Recreation Center. At that time of day, the experience, a passion for a campus is almost perfectly still. I always welcome the chance to reflect upon not only particular program, the the busy day ahead, but also upon those of you, memory of a loved one or individually and collectively, who make such a something altogether different difference for UMaine. The company we keep, indeed, could not be better. — we are thankful for your commitment to us.” Warm regards, President Susan J. Hunter ’50H, Ph.D. Susan J. Hunter ’50H, Ph.D. President Inspired to Give 3 Fundraising Partners University of Maine Foundation Inspired by the sea Jeffery N. Mills ’82, Ph.D. President and CEO Buchanan Alumni House The faculty, staff and students at the Darling Marine Center have Two Alumni Place been conducting research on the Damariscotta River Estuary, the Gulf Orono, ME 04469-5792 of Maine, and the world’s oceans for 50 years. The Darling Marine 207.581.5100 Center celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015 with special seminars, 800.982.8503 walking tours, an open house and more. Private support is important [email protected] to the center and its scientific diving program, laboratory and facility umainefoundation.org improvements, student and faculty support, and community outreach. Office of University The center was established in 1965 through a generous estate gift Development from Ira C. Darling. Robert Q. Dana ’80, Ed.D. Vice President for Student Life and Dean of Students Interim Vice President for University Development 5748 Memorial Union Orono, ME 04469-5748 207.581.1406 [email protected] University of Maine Alumni Association John N. Diamond ’77, ‘89G President and Executive Director Buchanan Alumni House One Alumni Place Orono, ME 04469-5792 207.581.1131 800.934.2586 [email protected] umainealumni.com Maine 4-H Foundation Susan Jennings ’82 Executive Director 5717 Corbett Hall, Room 310 Orono, ME 04469-5717 207.581.3739 800.287.0274 (in Maine) [email protected] umaine.edu/4hfoundation University of Maine Pulp & Paper Foundation Carrie Hurd Enos ’99 President 5737 Jenness Hall Orono, ME 04469-5737 207.581.2298 [email protected] mainepulpaper.org 4 University of Maine Letter from Jeffery N. Mills and Robert Q. Dana Greetings from Orono. It is our pleasure to provide you with our 2014–15 Annual Report of Private Giving. The support of alumni and friends has averaged $20 million per year over the past seven years. We are humbled by such generosity and often find ourselves asking the same question — what inspired these gifts? Some donors wish to honor mentors or loved ones — husbands, Jeffery N. Mills ’82 wives, parents, children, classmates, teammates, friends and neighbors. Their gifts help to keep memories and feelings alive. Other donors describe personal passions that fuel their giving — Black Bear athletics, our museums, and diverse student activities and academic programs. Philanthropy also serves as a means of making the world a better place, helping to reduce hunger, environmental degradation, poverty, illiteracy, disease, and other problems that concern many of our faculty, students and staff. For some donors, including our corporate partners, private support is a vehicle for economic development, strengthening UMaine resources that are essential to the growth of individual companies and entire industries. Robert Q. Dana ’80 It is exceptionally rewarding when we can forge a match between our donors’ passions and values and UMaine’s needs and opportunities. The match is rarely static; donors’ interests grow just as our university grows. We look forward to growing together with you, our donors, bettering our university, our state, our nation, and the world we live in. Thank you for inspiring us. Yours for the University of Maine, Jeffery N. Mills ’82, Ph.D. Robert Q. Dana ’80, Ed.D. President and CEO Vice President for Student Life University of Maine and Dean of Students Foundation Interim Vice President for University Development Inspired to Give 5 2015 Stillwater Presidential Awardees The Stillwater Society recognizes the University of Maine’s most generous donors and loyal advocates whose philanthropy reflects deep and diverse passions. Since 2001, UMaine has presented a number of alumni and friends with a prestigious Stillwater Presidential Award. The university’s 2015 honorees included Sandra Blake Leonard ’65, Norman Minsky ’52H, and Alan ’58 and Sheila Menchen Merritt ’66G. 6 University of Maine Inspired by passion “Our university is a powerful Sandra “Sandy” Blake Leonard ’65 has supported force, reaching into every part a number of campus needs over the years, but her of our state. It is a center for philanthropic passions are now directed to the University of Maine Museum of Art. Avid art collectors, Sandy and arts, entertainment and her late husband, Edward D. “Ted” Leonard ’65, led an athletics. It is a place of effort to facilitate the museum’s move to Bangor and subsequent growth. Sandy has served as chair of the academic excellence and a museum’s board and established the Edward D. Leonard powerful economic engine. III ’65 Lecture Series Fund in 2008. George Kinghorn, Above all, it is a creator of director of the University of Maine Museum of Art says, “Sandy is a tremendous advocate for our museum. Her opportunity.” generosity, wisdom and vision have changed the visual Sen. Susan M. Collins ’11 Hon. LHD arts scene in our region.” Like Sandy, Alan ’58 and Sheila Menchen Merritt ’66G hold degrees from the University of Maine. Athletes, coaches and fellow fans recognize the Merritts as loyal fans and supporters of UMaine Athletics. In addition to their passion for the Black Bears and UMaine’s Hudson Museum, the Merritts note that their philanthropy has been inspired in part by Alan’s parents and by the conviction that giving is “the right thing to do.” Norman Minsky ’52H also received a Stillwater Presidential Award in 2015. An alumnus of Boston University, Norman appreciates all that a land grant university brings to the community, including many opportunities for cultural and intellectual enrichment. Highly regarded for his record of public service in and well beyond Bangor, Norman is an enthusiastic donor to Judaic Studies and other programs at UMaine. More broadly, he is a vocal proponent for studying the world’s religions as a means of understanding complex global issues. Sen. Susan M. Collins ’11 Hon. LHD joined UMaine President Susan J. Hunter ’50H, Ph.D. in presenting Norman Minsky ’52H with his Stillwater Presidential Award. Inspired to Give 7 8 University of Maine Inspired by a forestry partnership “UMaine students come ready to work with a great work ethic and a can-do Plum Creek Timber Company is the largest and most geographically diverse public landowner in the nation. attitude. We want to Based in Seattle, Plum Creek owns more than 6 million support the University acres in major timber producing regions of the United of Maine because it is a States, including 961,000 acres in Maine’s Piscataquis, Somerset, Franklin and Penobscot counties. Recently, valuable resource for the company entered into a definitive agreement to the state and the forest merge with Weyerhaeuser, an international forest products company. products industry.” Mark Doty ’86, Community Affairs Manager Plum Creek’s support of UMaine’s students, research Plum Creek Timber Company, Northeast Headquarters and programs is broad and deep. Thanks to a recent gift, for example, UMaine was able to renovate a large conference room in Nutting Hall, home to UMaine’s School of Forest Resources. The new Plum Creek Conference Room is a hub for student presentations, seminars, classes and visiting scholars. Plum Creek Timber Company is an active member in the Cooperative Forestry Research Unit. This group of forestland owners and managers funds scientific research at UMaine, developing new information to improve sustainable forest management practices throughout and beyond Maine. The relationship between Plum Creek and UMaine goes both ways. Plum Creek has found some of its best and brightest summer interns and employees through UMaine’s forestry programs. Mark Doty ’86 is the community affairs manager for Plum Creek’s Northeast headquarters in Fairfield. Noting that Plum Creek’s priorities include a strong commitment to the environment, conservation and community, Doty shared that at least 18 UMaine graduates are employed The Plum Creek Forestry Summer Camp Safety Fund provides safety equipment for the five with Plum Creek in Maine.