James D. Mullen Named UMaine Business School Distinguished Alumnus
Contact: George Manlove at (207) 581-3756
ORONO — James D. Mullen, a prominent Bangor businessman and a 1972 graduate of the University of Maine, is the 2004 recipient of the second annual UMaine School of Business Distinguished Alumnus Award.
The award honors an alumnus of the university who has demonstrated leadership, achievement in business, service to the community, the university and its business school and whose career development exhibits a commitment to and demonstration of life-long learning.
Mullen, a Bangor native, is an owner and the president of Creative Print Services in Bangor. He has been is a member of the University of Maine System Board of Trustees since 1996 and was chairman of the board from 1999 to 2003. In 1993, the UMaine Alumni Association awarded him the annual Pine Tree Emblem Service Award.
Daniel Innis, dean of the College of Business, Public Policy and Health, says Mullen exemplifies true leadership abilities and visionary thinking in all of his professional and community-oriented endeavors.
Mullen says the time he has devoted over the years to the University of Maine System is based on his belief that it is “under-marketed and under-appreciated, yet it’s a source of tremendous benefit for the people of the state of Maine.”
The university system, always pressed for money, has been “an enormous economic development force, and for a number of years was a favorite target for legislators to take pot shots at,” he says. The system’s value to Maine is now better understood, according to Mullen.
In more than seven years he’s served on the board of trustees, Mullen says the university has tackled substantial challenges, including reevaluating its need to improve as budgets have shrunk and also bringing a system-wide reorganization plan closer to fruition.
“The strategic plan we’ve come up with