ORONO — With a gift of $1 million, E. James “Jim” Ferland ’64 and Eileen P. Ferland have boosted the scholarship support available to Skowhegan Area High School students who plan to study engineering at the University of Maine. The E. James & Eileen Ferland Engineering Excellence Scholarship Fund at the University of Maine Foundation now totals $2.2 million.
In 2009, the Ferlands created this fund with the hope that students will apply their talent to solving society’s challenging problems, as Jim Ferland did throughout his career.
The Ferlands are both graduates of Skowhegan Area High School. Jim Ferland received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at UMaine in 1964 and began his career as an engineer with the Hartford Electric Light Company, a subsidiary of Northeast Utilities in Connecticut. In 1967 he joined the initial operating staff of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station and in 1976 became station superintendent, the same year he achieved an M.B.A. from the University of New Haven. He completed the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration’s Program for Management Development in 1977 and shortly thereafter was named executive vice president and chief financial officer of Northeast Utilities. He became NU’s president in 1983. In 1986, he was recruited by Public Service Enterprise Group as chairman, president and CEO, positions he held through retirement in 2007, making him the longest-serving CEO in the industry.
“Jim and Eileen’s support is life-changing for Skowhegan area students who wish to pursue a degree in engineering at UMaine,” said Maine College of Engineering and Computing Dean Giovanna Guidoboni. “This scholarship provides access and opportunity to students who might otherwise see the cost of education as a barrier to achieving their dreams.”
Distributions from the fund will support 16 annual awards of $3,500 each. Four awards will be given per class year to support students through their degree completion, as long as they remain academically qualified. Since the Ferlands established their scholarship fund in 2009 at the Foundation, 125 awards to 64 recipients have been made to SAHS graduates, 29 have successfully graduated and 18 are current engineering students.
To be considered for the scholarship, students must have strong academic potential, be enrolled as undergraduate students at UMaine with a major in engineering and graduate from Skowhegan Area High School. More information can be found through the guidance counselor’s office at the high school or by searching Scholarship Universe, UMaine’s online scholarship portal for accepted students.
Scholarship recipient Eben Lenfest graduated from Skowhegan in 2015 and earned two mechanical engineering degrees from UMaine: a bachelor’s degree in 2019 and a master’s degree in 2021. He works as a numerical modeling engineer at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at UMaine.
“Being a recipient of the Ferland Engineering Excellence Scholarship helped reduce the financial burden of attending college, allowing me to focus on succeeding in my classes. It also made the decision to attend UMaine that much easier, a choice that has set me up well for a career path I’m excited about in off-shore wind energy,” said Lenfest.
The Ferlands are also major benefactors of the E. James and Eileen P. Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center, which opened in 2022 at UMaine.
The University of Maine Foundation is dedicated to supporting the University of Maine by securing and managing private gifts to enhance the University’s mission of teaching, research, and public service. Through the generosity of alumni and friends, the Foundation strives to ensure the continued growth and success of the university.As Maine’s only public research university and a Carnegie R1 top-tier research institution, the University of Maine advances learning and discovery through excellence and innovation. Founded in 1865 in Orono, UMaine is the state’s land, sea and space grant university with a regional campus at the University of Maine at Machias. Our students come from all over the world and work with faculty conducting fieldwork around the globe — from the North Atlantic to the Antarctic. Located on Marsh Island in the homeland of the Penobscot Nation with UMaine Machias located in the homeland of the Passamaquoddy Nation, UMaine’s statewide mission is to foster an environment that creates tomorrow’s leaders. As the state’s flagship institution, UMaine offers nearly 200 degree programs through which students can earn bachelor’s, master’s, professional master’s and doctoral degrees as well as graduate certificates. For more information about UMaine and UMaine Machias, visit umaine.edu/about/quick-facts/ and machias.edu/about-umm/umm-facts/.
