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The University of Maine was unexpectedly hit by tragedy on Sunday, March 17, when UMaine professor Arthur O. Guesman passed away.
Arthur Guesman was from Pennsylvania, where he served in the state legislature. He later came to the University of Maine from Chicago, where he had worked as a journalism professor, providing students with first-hand knowledge about careers in the media.
Once at UMaine, Guesman taught in the advertisement sequence within the communication and journalism department during the 1970s. He later became the adviser to The Maine Campus newspaper and helped shape it into what it is today.
Guesman also served as a golf coach during the 1980s, and was once named coach of the year. In the late 1990s, Guesman retired from his job as coach and professor and was named Professor emeritus, a title given to outstanding retired professors.
In addition, every spring break Guesman took a group of students to England for a study tour, and in the 1980s led a group of students and faculty members on a media study trip to Moscow and Leningrad [now St. Petersburg]. Kathryn Olmstead, a professor of journalism and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, was one of the members who went with Guesman on the trip.
“[Guesman] was one of the pillars of the journalism department along with Alan Miller and Brooks Hamilton,” Olmstead said. He was “deeply committed to the education and success of his students and I know his memory lives with most of them.”
John Diamond, the executive director of external affairs for the University of Maine System, was a student during the time Guesman taught at UMaine. “Arthur Guesman was well respected by many journalists and was considered a prominent member of the journalist community,” according to Diamond. “Guesman was a great guy and very well liked by many people.”
Guesman is predeceased by his parents, Robert and Evelyn Guesman, but is survived by his wife, Ann, as well as his son Jeffrey Guesman and daughter-in-law, Gail Guesman; daughter Lee Szelog and son-in-law, Tom Szelog; grandchildren, Erin, Kerri and Bryan Guesman; and two nieces, Kim Laird and Janet Snyder.
The funeral service for Guesman is private, but gifts and donations can be given in Art’s memory and may be made out to: Almost Home Dog Rescue, P.O. Box 9421, No. 377, South Portland, ME 04116 or Manna Ministries, 629 Main St., Bangor, ME 04401.
