ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ mourns the passing of former university president Sandra Featherman

Sandra Featherman

The ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ was saddened to learn of the passing of former university president Sandra Featherman. The fourth president of ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ, Featherman served from 1995 through June 2006, presiding over ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ’s merger with Westbrook College in 1996 to create today’s ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ Portland Campus. She was made an honorary alumna of Westbrook College in 1998 and of the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ in 2004.

β€œIn addition to being a trailblazer for women in higher education administration, Dr. Featherman was a trailblazer for ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ,” said current ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ President James D. Herbert, Ph.D. β€œAt a time when low enrollment and limited physical resources were major concerns for small colleges and universities, she acted decisively to help ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ grow. Her vision helped create the foundation for the modern university that has blossomed in the years since her time at the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ helm.”

The merger between the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ and Westbrook College took place on July 31, 1996, creating the opportunity for ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ to grow into a larger, more diverse institution of higher learning. It took place under the original 1831 Westbrook College charter.

β€œMore than growing our student body and facilities,” Herbert explained, β€œwhen ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ merged with Westbrook College, we gained a dedicated alumni body, the members of which have been some of our most generous and influential partners as we have built the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ of the twenty-first century.”

Today’s ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ Portland Campus is home to three of the university’s premiere colleges, including the College of Dental Medicine, College of Pharmacy, and the Westbrook College of Health Professions. These colleges, combined with the University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine in Biddeford, have allowed ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ to become Maine’s leading provider of health professionals.  

Featherman, who arrived at ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ with a background in political science, will be remembered mainly as a champion of the liberal arts. Prior to serving ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ, she held positions at the University of Minnesota-Duluth as vice chancellor for academic administration and professor of political science, and at Temple University as assistant to the president, director of the Center for Public Policy, and president of the Faculty Senate.

 

About the ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ

The ΒιΆΉΒγΑΔ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.