$1 Million L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Chair Established at USM

The University of Southern Maine School of Business will increase its capacity to provide business education thanks to a $1 million gift from L.L Bean and from Company Chairman Leon Gorman and his wife Lisa Gorman, Jim and Maureen Gorman, and Tom Gorman.
The gift will be used to create an endowed chair in the memory of Leandro "Lee" Surace, longtime L.L. Bean senior vice president and chief financial officer, who died in March of 2001. The L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Chair in Accounting will allow USM to recruit nationally and hire a senior faculty member in accounting.

Leon Gorman, L.L. Bean chairman of the board, commented, "It’s a fitting tribute to a good friend who contributed so much to the university and to L.L. Bean. I know he’d be pleased to be remembered this way and proud to see the school’s continued growth."
"USM is honored that L.L. Bean and the Gorman family have created an endowed chair in Lee's name," said USM President Richard L. Pattenaude. "The chair is a living asset in the name of an alumnus who was extraordinarily generous to USM with his time and expertise. And the L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Chair," added Pattenaude, "greatly enhances our ability to attract students, faculty and institutional support."

"This wonderful gift affirms the contributions of Lee Surace and will give an immeasurable boost to USM's rise as a top-ranked, comprehensive university," said Rosalyne S. Bernstein of Portland, chair of the USM Board of Visitors.

Surace, who was born in Brunswick and lived in West Bath, joined L.L. Bean in 1970. He served on the L.L. Bean Board of Directors and in 1991 was voted "Bean's Best" for his contributions to the company.

Surace was the 1998 recipient of the USM Alumni Association's Hilltop Award for outstanding service to the university. Surace, who earned an undergraduate degree in business from USM in 1973 and a USM master’s of business administration in 1981, served as chair of the USM School of Business Advisory Council. He was a frequent guest lecturer and participated in reviews of the accounting curriculum to ensure that course work met the needs of graduates and businesses.

Surace also offered guidance to the school during a four-year process that led to its accreditation in 1999 by the AACSB, a selective organization that accredits fewer than 25 percent of the nation's business schools.

“The new chair,” noted John Bay, interim dean of the School of Business, “will strengthen the school's standing with the AACSB and will improve USM's delivery of a new master's program in accounting.” Earlier this year, USM opened the master's program to meet increased demand for accountants, and new state policies that require students to have 150 credit hours before taking the CPA exam.

Additional donations in memory of Lee Surace will be dedicated to a special program fund used to support activities associated with the chair.

The $1 million gift from L.L. Bean and Gorman family members also takes USM closer to its goal of completing the $21 million "21st Century Campaign for Excellence," the largest fund-raising effort in USM's history. With the L.L. Bean/Gorman gift, USM has raised $18 million for instructional purposes, scholarships, the libraries and other purposes. This summer and fall, USM will focus on raising funds needed to complete the Glickman Family Library on the Portland campus.