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The University of Maine welcomed students, alumni and visitors to its annual Homecoming celebration this past weekend to celebrate everything UMaine has provided for its students and all the ways it continues to move forward.
“It’s a time to come together as a campus and acknowledge our accomplishments,” said Danny Williams, the Alumni Association’s director of annual and reunion giving.
Homecoming kicked off Friday with a luncheon at the Buchanan Alumni House for the Senior Alumni Association, which is composed of members who graduated from UMaine 50 or more years ago.
Robert Kennedy, UMaine’s interim president, spoke at the event and expressed his appreciation for everything the members give to the university and its students.
Kennedy also thanked the association for helping in UMaine’s growth and prestige, citing examples such as a university record of $18 million in fund-raising in the past year and the increasingly successful Honors College.
Later that day, the fourth annual Spirit of Maine Award reception was held at the Bear’s Den. The award is presented to a person who has already accomplished a great deal in their field or community since graduating for UMaine fifteen or less years ago, according to Williams.
“It’s important for students to see it doesn’t take 40 years to make your mark,” Williams said.
The recipient this year was Linden H. McClure, a 1989 graduate and Kingfield, Maine native.
In McClure’s acceptance speech, he spoke of his many accomplishments and remarkably impressive resume. McClure graduated valedictorian of his class at Mount Abram and decided to attend UMaine for its hands-on approach to his chosen field, engineering.
“I’m very glad I came to the University of Maine,” McClure said. “The technical education I received [here] treated me well.”
After receiving degrees in electrical and computer engineering, McClure decided to attend graduate school in order to one day become a professor and give back to the educational community.
While maintaining a 4.0 GPA all through graduate school, McClure worked three part-time jobs, which he says paid off because he gained a lot of experience in many different fields. He went on to do work for Hewlett Packard and NASA, and is currently a professor at the University of Colorado but says he very well may teach at UMaine some day.
Many groups and organizations use Homecoming Weekend as a time to hold open houses and meet with past alumni. For one group in particular, however, this weekend was particularly special.
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the Beta Theta Pi chapter at UMaine and the 100th anniversary of the construction of their fraternity’s house.
About 300 Beta alumni attended the homecoming celebration, according to Beta President Dallas Phillips.
The alumni look at the Beta house as a home they can always come back to and spoke about the sense of family among all the members and alumni, he said.
Ed Stevens, who became a Beta over 30 years ago, is now president of the Beta Alumni Chapter House Association.
“The group in this house right now – they’re really outstanding,” Stevens said.
He said Beta Theta Pi is the oldest fraternity in continuous existence at the university and members have made a huge impact on the campus. A few buildings on campus are named after Betas, including the Buchanan Alumni House.
Fred Brown, a fellow Beta alumni who now teaches at the University of Maine at Augusta, said one of the most prominent Betas from UMaine was David Lamb, a brother in the sixties.
Lamb was once the business manager of The Maine Campus, went on to work for the Los Angeles Times and was even nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Also on Friday, a new program called the Galaxy of the Stars was officially opened at the Buchanan Alumni House. Created by ASAP Media Services with technical and financial support provided by IBM, the Galaxy of the Stars is a computer touch screen system which enables students, alumni and staff to look up information about UMaine alumni, said Jeff Mills, president of the Alumni Association.
One of the highlights of Homecoming weekend, the Alumni Association Craft Fair, was held at the UMaine Field House on Saturday and Sunday.
According to Chris Corro, the Alumni Association’s coordinator of the fair, about six to seven thousand people were expected to see the 220 Maine crafters presenting their products.
There was a huge range of food and items being sold at the fair, such as Christmas ornaments, jewelry, candles, baby clothes, strawberry shortcake, kielbasa and practically everything else a glue gun, some string and oven can help create.
“It wouldn’t be homecoming weekend without it,” Corro said. “It brings alumni in, draws people back.
The fair has also become an important event for local residents as well. Jennifer Curtis from the Swanville area says she’s gone for the past six or seven years with her mother and sisters to purchase Christmas gifts and enjoys the many bakery items.
“It’s a family thing,” Curtis said. “There’s a lot of neat things to see and a lot of great food.”
Also on Saturday a Go Blue! Homecoming celebration tent was set up on the north end of Morris Field with face painting by the Student Alumni Association and product information from IBM, a major sponsor of Homecoming weekend.
IBM also raffled off ThinkPad notebooks and gave away T-shirts and other gifts at the tent. IBM has also started giving UMaine alumni the same discount students are provided with when purchasing IBM products. The products will be slightly more expensive, but the difference will count towards the Alumni Association fees for membership, according to Rob Willey, client executive for IBM’s Northeast Education program.
“We really view the University of Maine as a partnership school and we value that partnership a great deal,” Willey said.
All during Homecoming Weekend UMaine alumni were provided with “I’m Connected” pins to wear on campus, which promote the Alumni Association’s new ReMAINE Connected slogan.
“Homecoming is meant [for alumni] to come back and reconnect with the campus and connect with people from other classes.” Williams said. “It’s to have a good time.”
