APLU President to Address UMaine’s 213th Commencement on May 9

M. Peter McPherson, the president of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), will receive an honorary doctorate and share remarks on May 9 at the 213th Commencement at the University of Maine.

In 1865, the University of Maine became the Maine’s land grant university and this year’s Commencement ceremonies are part of the celebration of that 150th anniversary.

McPherson will deliver a keynote address during the 10 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. ceremonies, and will receive his honorary degree in the morning.

“In 2015, with UMaine celebrating its 150 years of leadership in Maine and beyond, it’s particularly timely and important to have Peter McPherson join us,” said UMaine President Susan J. Hunter. “His reflections and insights will add to our anniversary observance and inform our perspective on the role of the land grant university in the 21st century.”

Since 2006, McPherson has been president of the Washington, D.C.-based APLU. The association, founded in 1887, is North America’s oldest higher education association, comprised of public research universities, land-grant institutions and universities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, four territories, Canada and Mexico. APLU is the leading research, policy and advocacy organization for public research universities like UMaine.

McPherson also chairs the Partnership to Cut Hunger and Poverty in Africa, an organization he cofounded to address agricultural production and rural income issues. He is also chair of advisory committee for HarvestPlus, an organization funded at approximately $40 million annual to research the biofortification of crops grown by workers in poor countries. Biofortification is the genetic improvement of crops to fortify them with vitamin A, iron and zinc.

From 1993–2004, McPherson served as president of his alma mater, Michigan State University. Prior to that, he was a group executive vice president with Bank of America, based in San Francisco. He also served as deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). McPherson is a former chair of the board of directors of Dow Jones and Company, publisher of The Wall Street Journal.

Contact: Margaret Nagle, 207.581.3745