University of New England

Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson to speak at UNE Commencement, May 13th

Olympic gold medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson will give the commencement address at the University of New England’s College of Art and Sciences and College of Health Professions Commencement on Saturday, May 13, 2006, beginning at 3:00 p.m. at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

The University will award more than 700 associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees – in health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, human services, education, business and the liberal arts. Thousands of family members and friends will gather to witness and participate in UNE’s 36th Commencement Ceremony.

Frank Howard, a biology major at Xavier University in New Orleans, has accepted the University’s invitation to march with his UNE classmates at this year’s commencement. Howard joined the University for his senior year following Hurricane Katrina, which devastated his hometown and temporarily closed his university. During the hurricane, his family's home in Avondale, Louisiana was flooded but not destroyed. The family moved back into the house in late October.

Howard will return to Xavier University, which reopened in January, to finish his course work this summer and graduate in August. After graduation, he plans to apply to dental school, possibly at Tufts University.

Howard said his experience at UNE and in Maine has been, "Wonderful, wonderful! Everyone here has been very nice. I got attached to a lot of people." He said if he could, he would love to start his college education all over again and spend four years at UNE.

Commencement Speaker: Joan Benoit Samuelson
Joan Benoit Samuelson became the first American woman to win the gold medal in the marathon at the Olympics in 1984. An athlete for most of her life, Samuelson has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the International Women’s Sports Foundation Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame in 2000. In both 1978 and 1983, she set the New World Best Time at the Boston Marathon, and in 2000, was named the Top Athlete in State for the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated.

Among her many achievements off the track are the honorary degrees she has received from colleges and universities across the country, including Williams and Thomas Colleges, as well as her induction into the University of New England’s Deborah Morton Society in 1986. She has also received the Girl Scouts of America, Kennebec Council, Women of Distinction Award in 2002 and the Selma Black New England Hero Award from Northeastern University in 2005. She has also published two books, 1987’s autobiography, Running Tide, and the 1995 Joan Samuelson’s Running for Women.

Samuelson has also been involved with many civic and community programs and organizations. She has worked with the Special Olympics, the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute and the M.S. Society, and currently she serves on Bowdoin College’s Board of Trustees, the Advisory Board for the Maine Women’s Fund, is co-chair of the Maine Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness, Sports, Health and Wellness. In 1997 she founded the TD Banknorth Beach to Beacon 10K Road Race which she continues to chair.

Samuelson is a life-long resident of Maine and currently resides in Freeport. She earned Collegiate All American Honors from 1972 to 1975 during her time at Cape Elizabeth High School, and in 1979 earned a bachelor’s degree in history and environmental studies at Bowdoin College. She is married to Scott Anders Samuelson and has two children, Abigail and Anders.

Honorary Degree: A. Leroy Greason, Ph.D.
Arthur Leroy Greason of Brunswick, Maine will be one of two honorary degree recipients this year. Former University of New England Trustee and former President of Bowdoin College, Dr. Greason has had a long and distinguished career of service to both higher education and his community.

After earning his Ph.D. from Harvard, Greason returned to Maine in 1952 and took a position as an English professor at Bowdoin College and maintained this role until leaving there in 1990. During his career at Bowdoin he subsequently became dean of students, dean of the college, and finally, president from 1981 until 1990.

He also has been involved in numerous professional associations and community organizations as a consultant, as well as sitting on and chairing several state, regional and national committees. Just a few organizations he’s worked with include the University Press of America, the Brunswick Chamber of Commerce, Portland Stage Company and the Mid-Coast United Way. He has also been the recipient of several awards, including being named Citizen of the Year by the Brunswick Area Chamber if Commerce. Greason has close ties to the University of New England as he served a vital role on Westbrook College’s board from 1988-1996 and then after the two schools merged, for UNE from 1996 to 2004.

Honorary Degree: Paul A. Wescott
Paul A. Wescott has served on the University’s governing boards since 1977. He began as a Director of NECOM Corporation, the original oversight authority for the College of Osteopathic Medicine and has been a Trustee of UNE since the merger of the medical school and St. Francis College in 1986. He has chaired several Board of Trustees committees, most notably as longtime chair of the Facilities Committee overseeing the $100 million on new buildings and other capital improvements on both the Biddeford and Portland campuses. He currently is chair of the Audit Committee.

Wescott graduated with a bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Colby College in 1953 and from New York University School of Law, cum laude, in 1956 where he was an editor of the Law Review. He practiced law on Wall Street and in Pittsburgh before returning to Maine in 1960 to join a Portland law firm. In 1965 he and two other colleagues formed the firm of Drummond, Wescott & Woodsum.

In 1977 Wescott became President and CEO of Howell Laboratories in Bridgton. He has also served on several Portland area non-profit boards and on the Colby Alumni Council. He has been particularly active in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine both at the parish and Diocesan levels. He and his wife, Peggy, now live in South Portland. They have eight grown children.

(Press release issued May 10, 2006)