Maryann Hartman Awards and Maine Women’s Hall of Fame Nominations
The University of Maine seeks nominations for the 2024 Maine Women’s Hall of Fame and Maryann Hartman awards. In 2023, UMaine partnered with the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame to sustain our common tradition of honoring exceptional Maine women. The awards will be jointly presented on March 8th at Buchanan Hall. We define ‘woman’ broadly so to include any person who lives life as a woman. We also define achievements broadly, and in recognition that much important work in and for Maine communities may lie outside traditional standards for achievement and across all walks of life. We hope to inspire nominations of candidates across a wide range of professions and industries, including but not limited to those who are already publicly recognized across the state.
Maine Women’s Hall of Fame
The Maine Women’s Hall of Fame, established in 1990 by the BPW/Maine Futurama Foundation, is dedicated to women whose achievements have had a significant statewide impact and have significantly improved the lives of women, and whose contributions provided enduring value for women. The University of Maine at Augusta maintains a permanent Maine Women’s Hall of Fame display of photographs and citations for all honorees in the Bennett D. Katz Library. The list of those inducted into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame is available here.
Nominee eligibility: Entry into the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame recognizes a lifetime of achievement. Nominees should be mid- to late-career Maine women whose outstanding accomplishments have had a significant statewide impact and have significantly improved the lives of women, and whose contributions have provided enduring value for women.
Maryann Hartman Awards
After receiving a Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University in 1969, Maryann Hartman joined the University of Maine faculty as an assistant professor and director of forensics. A pioneer in the field of oral interpretation, Hartman studied communicative arts from historical, rhetorical, and aesthetic perspectives. Her research included comparisons of language patterns of Maine women and men born before 1900; oral autobiographies of Maine women born before 1900; and the use of oral interpretation to influence public policy. Teacher, scholar, advocate, friend, mother, a woman of courage and vitality, Maryann Hartman died of cancer in 1980 at the age of 53.
Named for the late Professor Maryann Hartman, the Maryann Hartman awards honors the spirit, achievement, and zest for life that Hartman epitomized. The award recognizes distinguished women in Maine and their accomplishments in the arts, politics, business, education and community service. The work of the women selected provides inspiration to others. Presented annually, the awards increase campus and community awareness of contemporary women’s accomplishments.
Nominee eligibility: Nominees should be women with a significant relationship to Maine, but eligibility is not limited to Maine women. We look for the diversity in interests, service, geographic location, and culture that best represents Maine. Strong leadership and role modeling in the nominee’s work are also important. Nominees should reflect and honor Maryann’s commitment to women, her values, and her community. Anyone who self-identifies as a woman of any age is eligible. No current
UMaine employees can be recipients.
Nomination Process
(Note: Please make sure to check our listing of prior Maryann Hartman Award winners before nominating someone. A complete list of past recipients can be found here.)
The deadline for nominations for the next awards cycle is December 18, 2023. Nominations can be emailed to um.apfaafd@maine.edu and should consist of the following:
1. An explanation (300-600 words) of why the nominee’s accomplishments merit recognition with a Maryann Hartman award, selection for the Maine Women’s Hall of Fame, or both;
2. A descriptive list of the nominee’s most significant achievements or contributions (maximum of six items, 100 words each);
3. Email address and phone number for both nominator and nominee.
Late nominations may be set aside for the next awards cycle. Please do not submit materials other than those listed above. Nominators may be contacted for additional information if necessary.
Questions about the nomination process may be emailed to um.apfaafd@maine.edu.
Award Selection and Ceremony
Review of the nominations begins after the December 8, 2023 deadline. We will then select the award winners and notify them by January 2024. If your nominee is accepted, we will notify you at this time. If she is not, her nomination will automatically be carried over for one additional year. We want to thank all who went through the time and trouble of making a nomination. While we will acknowledge receipt of all nominations in a letter, we regret that we cannot thank everyone for their submissions once we have made our choice of recipients.