Mainestream Spring/Summer 2005: Features

1,600 Grads Receive Degrees at USM Commencement

Two alumni receive Distinguished Achievement Awards

The University of Southern Maine recognized the academic accomplishments of a record number of students with the conferring of degrees to more than 1,600 students at its 125th Commencement exercises in May.

U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe gave the Commencement address and received a Distinguished Achievement Award for her public service. Snowe’s election to the U.S. Senate in 1994 made her the first woman ever to serve in both houses of Congress and both houses of the state legislature.

In her address, Sen. Snowe told the Class of 2005 that monumental societal problems remain to be solved and that their role in meeting those challenges will determine the country’s fate.

“America’s success in this new century will require a re-commitment to the principles of cooperation, not confrontation; civility, not hostility; vision, not division,” she noted. “It will demand that, while you express your own unique and powerful voices, you also respect the deeply held beliefs of others. For I am convinced it is that ideal that has been, and will continue to be, the surest instrument for achieving the greatest of accomplishments.”

Also honored with Distinguished Achievement Awards for significant academic or professional achievement and a strong commitment to public service were Theresa Secord ’81, of Waterville, executive director of the Maine Indian Basket Makers Alliance (MIBA), and local business owner and consultant David B. Hawkes ’66, ’69L, of Falmouth.

Secord, a member of the Penobscot Tribe, is credited for helping to save Maine’s oldest surviving art form. Through her efforts the numbers of craftspeople making a living through basketry has more than doubled and the value of the baskets they weave has increased significantly. She received international recognition for her work with MIBA in October 2004 when she became the first U.S. citizen to receive the Prize for Women’s Creativity in Rural Life award in Geneva, Switzerland, from the United Nations Women’s World Summit Foundation.

Hawkes, the founder and owner of the management- consulting firm Triplehawk, is a long-time supporter of his alma mater, generating enormous goodwill for the University. His volunteer activities on behalf of USM include serving on the USM Board of Visitors, the USM Foundation Board of Directors, and the USM Annual Fund, among others. He has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Maine Law School and one of the USM Alumni Association’s top honors, the Hilltop Award. His commitment to making Maine a better place to live and work also is reflected in his commitment to many professional and civic organizations.

USM President Richard Pattenaude conferred honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees upon Barbro Osher, Bernard Osher, and Kirk Pond.

As chair of the board of the Bernard Osher Foundation, Barbro Osher has helped improve the lives of many in Maine and California through the awarding of post-secondary student scholarships, and arts and humanities grants.

Businessman, community leader, and patron of the arts and education, Bernard Osher—through the foundation that bears his name— has supported arts, education, environmental causes, and community projects, including funds for endowment of scholars throughout the world. The Foundation also supports a national network of Lifelong Learning Institutes on university campuses from Maine to Hawaii, including USM.

Kirk Pond, the chairman of the board at Fairchild Semiconductor, guided Fairchild Semiconductor through the industry’s first management-led buyout from former parent company National Semiconductor, public launch of the company on the New York Stock Exchange, and introduction of over 3,000 new products to market.