Husson University had two reasons to celebrate over the past week, when the Bangor school received its largest-ever individual donation and inaugurated its seventh president and first female CEO.
Donation
The $2.18 million estate gift from a Husson alumnus will support athletics, scholarships and more, according to a news release.
Bob O’Keefe, class of 1967, recently made the donation on behalf of himself and his late wife, Fran, both longtime supporters of the university. Their initial contributions helped create Husson’s softball field.
Last year, the Fran O’Keefe Hitting Pavilion, a softball batting pavilion, was unveiled.
The new gift will be divided among several initiatives:
- The Bob and Fran O’Keefe Endowed Scholarship
- The President’s Priority Fund
- Capital improvements for Husson Athletics
- An endowment to support the softball program
Estate gifts are ones that are allocated for posthumous distribution.
Bob O’Keefe graduated in 1967 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and went on to work in sales for numerous organizations. He retired in 1995.
President
Last Friday, Husson inaugurated Lynne Coy-Ogan in a ceremony that included representatives from other universities, faculty, staff, students and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.
Born in Bangor, Coy-Ogan earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston University, a master’s in school counseling from Johns Hopkins University, and an Ed.D. in educational leadership from Liberty University, where she focused her research on first-generation college students.
She later served as a principal in the Bangor School Department and Regional School Unit 68.
She joined Husson University in 2005 as dean of the School of Education, eventually becoming provost and vice president before being named president.
“To thrive, we must be bold in our thinking to leverage our history to write Husson’s next chapter,” said Coy-Ogan. “The Husson of tomorrow will have a national footprint. We will bring a quality Husson education to new audiences while extending and broadening our reach in emerging fields.
“The Husson of tomorrow will develop a pipeline of innovative ideas that encourage the university to think boldly and creatively about its future, while working with industry leaders to drive new partnership, programs and technologies.”
Husson was founded in 1898 and has a total enrollment of about 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students.
