The University of Southern Maine takes great pleasure in honoring colleagues who have retired and on whom Chancellor Terrence J. MacTaggart will confer emeritus status at Commencement. Emeritus Status recognizes significant contributions to the University and community and encourages continued service from these valued colleagues. (more complete biographies available in the commencement program)
Irving D. Fisher, professor of political science, came to the University of Southern Maine in 1967, following faculty appointments at CUNY-Brooklyn College and Bowdoin. His exemplary record of community service includes work with the Maine Council for the Humanities and Public Policy, the Commission on Maine's Future, the Maine Senate Reapportionment Study Committee, and the New England Political Science Association. Professor Fisher earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Connecticut, and a master's degree and Ph.D. at Columbia University.
The career of associate professor of nursing Dorothy Woods Smith has been built upon a commitment to excellence in scholarship, service and teaching, on campus as well as in the larger community. A former staff nurse, she has earned a national reputation for research and teaching surrounding the issues of post-polio syndrome and holistic health. Professor Smith holds a bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins, master's degrees from the University of Southern Maine and New York University, and a Ph.D. from New York University.
In his more than 30 years at the University of Southern Maine, Franklin D. Hodges, associate professor of geography, has taught nearly 7,200 students. He joined USM in 1966, following completion of Ph.D. coursework at Clark University. His research includes continued analysis of Maine's population as well as Maine geography and cartography. In addition, he is a founding member and coordinator of the Maine Geographic Alliance, an outreach organization designed to provide in-service training for teachers of geography and related subjects. He holds a bachelor's degree from Farmington State College and a master's degree from Clark.
William A. Brown, associate professor of mathematics, retired from the University of Southern Maine in 1992 after 32 years of teaching. He has been cited as "one of the giants on whose shoulders the current Mathematics and Statistics Department was built." He has been lauded for providing many solutions to math problems published by the Mathematical Association of America. He earned his bachelor's (Cum Laude) from Bowdoin College, and a master's from the University of Maine at Orono.
Julia C. Tiffany, associate professor of nursing, retired in 1999 after serving on the University of Southern Maine's faculty for 18 years. She has been noted as an expert in psychosocial nursing and her expertise has been sought throughout the region. She has been a major contributor in the national debate on advanced practice roles for psychosocial nurses. Professor Tiffany received her bachelor's from the University of Washington, a master's from Rutgers University, and her Ed.D. from Vanderbilt University.
Martha M. Skoner, associate professor of nursing, retired from USM's faculty last year. She had worked 22 years as a nursing educator and had been honored by the American Nurses Association when she was selected to be project director of the National Survey of Nurses with Doctoral Degrees from 1979-1981. She came to USM in 1987 and was elected chair of the Graduate Department in 1988. She received her bachelor's, a master's, and her Ph.D., all from from the University of Pittsburgh.