USM's 124th Commencement
May 15, 2004
Ray C. Anderson, the University of Southern Maine's commencement
speaker, told nearly 1,000 graduates and 7,500 guests, "I
think the world of 2054 will be better, safer, and healthier
than the world of 2004, because so many of you 'get it' already
... you know about the need to walk lightly on Earth," during
his address on May 15 at the Cumberland County Civic Center,
Portland.
Anderson, CEO of Interface, Inc., one of the nation's leading
advocates for sustainability, received an honorary degree
shortly before his address. Anderson, and his company, have
received many awards, including the inaugural Millennium Award
from Global Green, and the George and Cynthia Mitchell International
Prize for Sustainable Development. Interface, Inc. was twice
named one of the top 100 companies to work for in America
by Fortune magazine. Guilford of Maine, a manufacturer of
commercial fabrics with headquarters in the Piscataquis County
town of Guilford, is part of the Interface Fabric Group.
A Distinguished Achievement Award was presented to Southport
Island's Ruth Lepper Gardner, a Maine artist who, even as
she approaches her 99th birthday, continues to attend drawing
classes and is an active member of the Boothbay Region Art
Foundation. Gardner spent more than 60 years drawing the Maine
coast and recently donated several of her maps to USM's Osher
Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education.
The student commencement speaker, Sandra Hamel Rivard of
Brunswick, is a social and behavioral science major at USM's
Lewiston-Auburn College. She also addressed the issue of environmental
sustainability as she stated, "Sustainable behavior is our
chance to make a difference. Living sustainably offers the
opportunity for change in our lifestyle." She has been accepted
to USM's summer Stonecoast Writers' Conference, is working
on a book, and plans to work with AmeriCorps in the coming
year.
The oldest student to graduate was Ruth Thomas, age 76, of
Port Clyde, Maine, who graduated from Maine Central Institute
(MCI) in Pittsfield, in 1946 and dreamed of earning an art
degree. Lack of money for tuition, marriage, and a family
of five postponed Thomas' dreams of an art degree for 58 years.
Today, she received her bachelor of fine arts degree. Thomas
rented an apartment in Gorham for three years while she earned
her degree with a double concentration in drawing and painting.
Another non-traditional age student, Richard Whitaker, earned
a D.V.M. from the University of Georgia in 1979, and has been
practicing veterinary medicine in Maine since 1987. A large
animal vet, he owns a practice specializing in embryo transfer
in cattle, and has ownership interest in a small animal practice
in Turner. Realizing that he was a skilled vet, but less skilled
in managing his businesses, Whitaker turned to USMÕs School
of Business to earn his M.B.A. degree because it was Òlocal,
accredited, and user-friendly for people who have full-time
jobs.Ó He was cheered on today by his six-year-old daughter.
On a more solemn note, a posthumous degree was awarded to
Christopher D. Gelineau, the Maine Army National Guardsman
killed April 20 near Mosul, Iraq. Gelineau was a senior information
technology communication major in USMÕs School of Applied
Science, Engineering and Technology. He was one semester short
of graduating. His mother, Victoria Chicoine, and his wife,
Lavinia Onitiu-Gelineau accepted his degree as the audience
gave a prolonged standing ovation. Onitiu-Gelineau made two
other trips to the stage while receiving her own degrees in
business and English.
The ceremony opened to the march, "Processional for Spring,"
during which 26 members of the Class of 1954 entered. The
music was composed by Robert Ek, of Brockton, Mass., a member
of the Class of 1967, and a 1957 graduate of Deering High
School, Portland. Ek won a competition sponsored by the Class
of 1954, open to all USM alumni and students, to find a march
to be played each year as the 50-year class processes into
the ceremony.
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