University of Southern Maine

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USM Alumni Association Honors Education Commissioner and Business and Community Leaders

June 28, 2006

Maine Commissioner of Education Susan Gendron has been named the 2006 recipient of the University of Southern Maine's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award. 

The USM Alumni Association honored Gendron, along with community leaders Anne and W.R. "Dick" Jackson of Yarmouth, and Kenneth A. Ross of Scarborough, at a luncheon held Thursday, June 29 in USM's Glickman Family Library, Portland.

Governor John E. Baldacci appointed Gendron Maine's Commissioner of Education in 2002. Gendron, the second woman to hold the post, has been an educator for more than 30 years, and was named Maine's Superintendent of the Year in 2002.

Previously, Gendron spent the first 10 years of her career as a kindergarten teacher. She later held positions in the Scarborough School Department as assistant superintendent, director of learning and coordinator of instruction. In 1985, Gendron was selected by the Maine Department of Education to present the Education Reform Act to school systems throughout the state. During this time, Gendron maintained her duties as a primary school principal for the Windham School Department.

Prior to joining the Baldacci administration, Gendron served as superintendent of schools for Windham. Gendron, a resident of Raymond, earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in education from USM in 1973 and 1984, respectively.

Anne and W. R. "Dick" Jackson Jr. of Yarmouth were named recipients of the Community Service Award. The Alumni Association established the award to recognize significant contributions to the community, region, and state in professional, business, political, civic, or other public service.

Anne Jackson, a member of the USM Foundation Board of Directors, is a past member of the Portland Museum of Art Board of Trustees. She works with numerous nonprofits on strategic development, board/staff relations, and fund raising. She is a trustee of Hurricane Island Outward Bound, and is co-founder and board chair of The Board Network in Portland, an organization established to help build stronger nonprofit boards of directors in Maine.

Her husband, Dick Jackson, is founding chair and current member of USM's School of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology's (ASET) Executive Advisory Board, and is active in the USM Corporate Partners. He also served on the steering committee of ASET's capital campaign.
Dick is a former president of Pitt-Des Moines Inc., a Pittsburgh maker of steel structures and other products. Since moving to Maine, he has served as chair of the local chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE). He also is co-founder and current chair of the Maine Heritage Policy Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research and educational organization based in Portland.

Kenneth A. Ross of Scarborough is the 2006 recipient of the USM Alumni Association's Hilltop Award in recognition of outstanding commitment to USM.

Ross, a longtime USM supporter, is a member of USM's Board of Visitors and a former chair of the Board. He also served as chair of the USM Corporate Partners.

He is a past president of the Scarborough Jaycees, Habitat for Humanity of Greater Portland, Inc., and is a past member of the Scarborough Board of Education. He is a member of the First Congregational Church of Scarborough and the Portland Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Ross, who earned his bachelor's in business administration from USM in 1974, is vice president, treasurer, director, and a stockholder of Clark Associates, the largest, privately owned insurance company in Portland. 

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