University of New England

University of New England President Sandra Featherman, Ph.D., was recently awarded two prestigious awards on the same day - one from the Westbrook College Alumni Association and one from the Maine Osteopathic Association.

Tower Award
The Westbrook College Alumni Association presented President Featherman with the Tower Award, the association's highest honor, at its Annual Meeting and Awards Assembly held on the morning of Saturday, June 11, on the Westbrook College Campus of the University of New England in Portland. The event was part of Westbrook College's annual Alumni Reunion Weekend.

The Tower Award is presented "to those who have distinguished themselves by a high level of performance in business or professional life, by services of unusual quality in civic activities, or by extraordinary, devoted and loyal service to Westbrook College."

Westbrook College merged with UNE in 1996, one year after Sandra Featherman became UNE president. President Featherman oversaw the successful merger of the two schools, creating a larger, more diverse educational institution. Under her leadership the College of Health Professions was established on the Westbrook College Campus and more than $11 million invested in Portland-based campus.

Over her decade-long tenure as president of the University of New England, President Featherman has made major contributions to UNE and to higher education in Maine and the nation. When she joined UNE in 1995, total student enrollment was fewer than 2,000 students. Today UNE's student population is 3,200-and growing. Over the same period, full-time faculty grew from 81 to 158; the school's operating budget grew from $26 million to $93 million; and endowment has grown from $2 million to $23 million. She put UNE on track to become a pre-eminent, comprehensive university committed to significant research, especially in biomedicine and marine science.

In 1998, Featherman was made an honorary alumna of Westbrook College.

MOA Award
President Featherman with Bruce Bates, D.O., chair of the UNECOM Department of Family Medicine, and Thomas DeLuca, D.O., who was inducted as the Maine Osteopathic Association president at the awards ceremony.
The evening of the same day, President Featherman received the Maine Osteopathic Association's Board of Directors Award at the association's annual summer conference held in Rockport. The award is given to an individual who has had a tremendous impact on the osteopathic profession. In a citation, Featherman was described as "a vital mover and shaker in the osteopathic medical education arena. For the past 10 years, she has been dedicated to creating the best learning environment for osteopathic medical students."

President Featherman has served as secretary-treasurer of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine.

The MOA's mission is "to serve the Osteopathic profession of the State of Maine through a coordinated effort of professional education, professional advocacy and member services in order to ensure the availability of quality osteopathic health care to the people of this State."

(Press release issued 6/17/2005)