Harvey Aft Award for Excellence In Chemistry

After his retirement from UMF, Harvey Aft, professor emeritus of chemistry, was searching for a way to recognize outstanding chemistry students at UMF. Along with his wife Lorna, he established the Harvey Aft Award for Excellence in Chemistry.

"Initially the scholarship was meant to celebrate student achievement in chemistry, but since that time it has grown to represent so much more," said Aft. "As the costs of a college education continue to rise, I want the scholarship to help students pursue graduate degress in chemistry. Our country needs more scientists, and if this scholarship helps to elevate the field and motivate young people, then I'm doing my part."

Aft is pictured with the 2008 recipient, Christopher Durkin, a biology major who credits small classes and close student-faculty mentoring as reasons for his success.

Ruth Webber McGary (1950) Scholarship

Ruth Webber McGary, a home economics graduate of 1950, shared her recipe for planned charitable giving at September's annual Donor Recognition luncheon. The main ingredient, explained McGary, is gratitude–and lots of it.

"People ask us how we can afford to make generous gifts. After all, we’re not wealthy,” McGary told an audience of more than 100 donors and scholarship recipients. "We are frugal. Our motto is 'use it up, wear it out, make it do, or go without.'" McGary explained that she and her husband, Carroll, (both first-generation college graduates) have been thrifty so that they can help others. And they have, by endowing the Ruth Webber McGary Class of 1950 Scholarship and establishing a deferred gift.

"As I approach my 80th birthday, I can't help but think about how I'd like to be remembered,” said McGary. “I like the thought that my name will be here at UMF forever and that perhaps some young UMFers will see it and think, 'That old grad must have really liked this place and thrived.'"

Libra Grant Develops Alpine Ski Team

The development of a UMF Alpine Ski Team received a boost in fall of 2007 when the program received a grant from the Libra Foundation, a Maine-based organization that has made significant contributions to worthy initiatives throughout the state.

In past years UMF has enjoyed a successful student-led ski club, which was supported by UMF Student Senate, the UMF Ski Industries Program and volunteer coach Harry Ricker. "The Libra grant, combined with funds from UMF's Student Senate, has allowed us to launch the expansion from a student-led club sport to a more competitive ski team with increased infrastructure and support for coaching,” said Julie Davis, director of athletics, recreation and fitness.

The team competes in both Alpine and Nordic disciplines in the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association's Reynolds Division and will face University of Maine at Orono, University of Maine at Fort Kent, University of Maine at Presque Isle, and the Bates College "B" team.

Not only is the ski team expected to have lifelong benefits for its student-athletes, it is also projected to have positive impacts on the western Maine mountain region. The importance of the economic vitality of the region was recognized by UMF in its Libra grant proposal, which highlighted the university's existing strong partnerships with the area's ski mountains and outlined future opportunities to strengthen those relationships.

Undergraduate Research At Work In Africa

In fall of 2006, ten UMF students, conducting eight undergraduate research projects, were named the inaugural Michael D. Wilson Scholars and were awarded funding to help underwrite an original undergraduate research project.

The funding was made possible due to a generous gift from Michael and Susan Angelides, Stonington, Conn., in honor of their good friend and UMF alumnus Michael D. Wilson, class of 1976, who died shortly after graduating.

Since that time, The Wilson Scholar program has distributed monetary awards to 56 single-semester Wilson Research Scholar projects, and has since been expanded to include two additional full-year Wilson Research Fellow awards to support more substantive research projects.

Pictured is Abby Pettitt, '09, biology and chemistry major, who travelled to a village in Kaoma, Zambia in southern Africa to conduct her undergraduate research project on drinking water safety and E coli bacteria.

Michael D. Wilson Symposium Day

Michael and Susan Angelides have also pledged funds to underwrite the annual Michael D. Wilson Symposium, a university-wide event where UMF students have the opportunity to present their original projects and independent research.

This artistic and academic event brings together over 400 students working in collaboration with faculty mentors to display their scholarly work through papers, oral and poster presentations, readings, art gallery exhibits and performances.