$150,000 Gift to Benefit the Arts at UMaine

Contact: Media contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571

ORONO —  The legacy of Richard Paquette. who attended the University of Maine for one year in 1922, will benefit generations to come thanks to a $150,000 gift from his estate.

“This is one of those stories that could only be better if Mr. Paquette, who died earlier this year, had been with us to help celebrate his generosity” says Jeffery N. Mills, UMaine’s vice president for advancement and president of the UMaine Alumni Association.

Perhaps the next best thing happened on Oct. 16 evening when Paquette’s nephew, Tom Cavanaugh, joined by his wife Cynthia and daughter Catharine, presented the gift to UMaine Executive Vice President and Provost Robert Kennedy.  The presentation came during a reception attended by some 20 students, faculty members and administrators. 

“We are honored to have the opportunity to present this gift and know that it will go toward areas that Uncle Richard would have seen as important,” Cavanaugh says.

The gift was evenly divided between three areas: the University of Maine Museum of Art Campaign, the Visual Arts Building Project Campaign and the School of Performing Arts Music Department. 

“It was a great experience to discuss the numerous university priorities with the Cavanaughs and to find those that they felt matched their uncle’s interests,” says Chris Cox, UMaine’s director of major gifts, “Mr. Paquette’s name will become an important legacy to these three areas of the university.”

“The university has numerous priorities, but it is always great when such a significant gift can affect three areas at one time,” Mills says. “Mr. Paquette’s gift will help to complete the art museum’s campaign, move the art department’s building campaign forward and help to purchase a world class concert piano for the music department.”