Smith, Edwards to Receive UMaine Honorary Degrees
Contact: Joe Carr at (207) 581-3571
ORONO — Two men with connections to Brunswick are among four who will receive honorary doctor of humane letters degrees at the University of Maine’s May 12 commencement.
Native American Studies scholar Nicholas Smith of Brunswick will be honored for his work documenting the history of Native peoples in Maine and neighboring states and provinces. Smith’s scholarly record includes more than 60 publications, numerous translations and the development of a widely used bibliography related to Wabanaki studies. He is a 1950 UMaine graduate.
Robert Edwards of Edgecomb, president emeritus of Bowdoin College, will also receive an honorary doctorate. An educational leader who also served as president of Minnesota’s Carleton College, Edwards also has broad experience working in developing nations around the world. Edwards is a member of the UMaine Board of Visitors, and he was the featured speaker at UMaine President Robert Kennedy’s September 2005 installation.
Humanitarians and community leaders Richard and Mildred Giesberg of Los Angeles, Cal., both UMaine graduates, will also receive honorary doctorates.
“We are pleased to be able to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of these remarkable individuals,” Kennedy says. “In each case, they have applied their talent, intellect and compassion to making the world a better place. Their lives serve as great examples for our graduating students.”
Edwards will be the commencement speaker at UMaine’s 10 a.m. commencement ceremony on May 12. Mystery writer Tess Gerritsen of Camden will address the graduates at the 2 p.m. ceremony. UMaine holds two separate ceremonies inside Alfond Arena, to accommodate the large number of graduates and visitors. An estimated 1,950 people will graduate from UMaine in the Class of 2007.