Husson University Honors Six at Alumni Hall of Fame Event

Published on: October 11, 2017

BANGOR, MAINE - On Friday, October 13, Husson will recognize six prominent graduates as part of the university’s prestigious Alumni Hall of Fame Recognition Dinner. The dinner will take place at 5 pm in the G. Peirce Webber Campus Center in Peabody Hall on the University’s Bangor, Maine campus.

Husson University President Dr. Robert Clark said, “All of these special individuals have made significant contributions to their professions. They have also demonstrated leadership in their communities. The distinction they have brought to themselves and to Husson, as well as their support for our university and its mission, have made them worthy of recognition.”

Individuals to be honored this year include:

Anne and Edward Baker '63, '83, '90G /'65. This husband and wife duo will receive the Presidential Outstanding Service Award. Anne Baker got her medical secretarial diploma in 1963 and was a member of the Delta Sigma Delta Sorority. In 1983, she graduated from Husson with a Bachelor of Science in public accounting. Seven years later, she received her Master of Science in business. Anne is a retired Bookkeeper at Gross, Minsky & Mogul and has served as the president of the Alumni Board. She married Ed Baker, a 1965 Husson graduate with a Bachelor of Science in business administration. Immediately following graduation, Ed served with the Maine Air National Guard until 1972. In 2009, Ed retired from Rencol Components.

Jamie Jackson '02. Jackson will be honored as this year’s young alumnus. He earned his Bachelor of Science in computer information systems from Husson in 2002. While attending, he was a member of the Mu Sigma Chi Fraternity. He started his career at Bangor Hydro as a web developer and quickly progressed in his field. Jackson has over 15 years of diverse experience in information technology including time spent as a web developer at UNUMProvident; data warehouse consultant at Strategic Information Systems Group and Wright Express; founder and senior consultant at eVolusive Inc.; senior consultant at Capgemini; solution lead at TD BankNorth; founder and senior data warehouse consultant at Jackson Consulting; senior data architect at Direct Capital Corporation; and his current position as founder and CEO at Arkatechture, based in Portland, Maine and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

 

Tracey Whitten '92. Whitten will also be inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame. She earned her Bachelor of Science in public accounting from Husson in 1992 and graduated as the salutatorian with a grade point average of 3.98. Immediately following graduation she began working with Coopers & Lybrand as a senior associate. In 1995, she became the chief financial officer of Alternative Energy, Inc. After six years with this organization, Whitten left to enter the hospitality industry. She purchased the successful hotel, University Inn Academic Suites in Orono in 2001. In October 2014, she and her husband purchased the Black Bear Inn and Conference Center in Orono.

 

Stephen "Jake" Jacobs '68. Jacobs will be another Husson graduate inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame this year. He earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Husson in 1968 and was a member of the Mu Sigma Chi Fraternity. Following graduation, Jacobs began a career with Shell Oil. In July 1973, he leased a gas station from Shell. Six years later, he was able to purchase the property and land. Jacobs expanded his business holdings in subsequent years with the purchase of the Speedy White Company in 1980, the formation of The Lobster Trap seafood operation in 1985, and the purchase of Dave’s Locker Clams Casino in 2005. He expanded The Lobster Trap to include a take-out restaurant, catering, and concessions stands at various fairs and events. Jacobs continued his seafood ventures with a large seafood operation at the Rochester Public Market, which lasted for six years. He and his businesses have received media attention from newspapers, magazines, online, and television news. Along with his wife Sunny, who he married 2000, Jacobs is the owner of ten condominiums in the Naples, Estero, and the Bonita Springs, Florida areas. While Jacobs and Sunny have homes in Fairport, New York and Florida, they continue to vacation in Maine during the summer.

 

Arlene Clifford '44. Clifford will be recognized as this year’s Honorary Alumnus. A native of Unity, Maine, Clifford lived on her family farm until she attended Husson and earned her stenography diploma in 1944. She was a member of the Epsilon Tau Epsilon Sorority during her time at the University. Clifford retired from the Eye Care Surgery Center as an administrator in 1990 and moved to California where she lived for seven years. Preferring Maine seasons, she moved back to Maine in 1998 and currently lives in a retirement community in Falmouth called OceanView. While at the Eye Care Surgery Center, Clifford was dedicated to bringing a unique quality to practice administration with a focus on excellent patient care. She was a member of the National Medical Group Managers Association and the Maine Medical Practice Management Association. Clifford was also on the advisory board for the Medical Assistant program at Westbrook College, director and treasurer of the Western Prom Townhouse Association, and certified in administration and clinical skills by the American Association of Medical Assistants. She first joined the Red Cross as a volunteer national disaster worker in 1990 after she received a phone call from her sister about a tornado. Clifford soon began training in mass care, feeding, and damage assessment. While working in family services for the Red Cross, she interviewed victims of disasters, learned what they had lost, and dispensed orders based on a set of regulations to replace those lost items. One of the most memorable volunteer opportunities that Clifford recounts is her time following the World Trade Center disaster.

Plaques honoring this year’s Alumni Hall of Fame recipients will be displayed prominently, along with plaques of other past honorees, in a hallway adjacent to the Campus Center on the ground floor of Peabody Hall on Husson University’s campus in Bangor, Maine. This hall features every Alumni Hall of Fame recipient since the award’s inception. 

For more than 100 years, Husson University has prepared future leaders to handle the challenges of tomorrow through innovative undergraduate and graduate degrees. With a commitment to delivering affordable classroom, online and experiential learning opportunities, Husson University has come to represent superior value in higher education. Our Bangor campus and off-campus satellite education centers in Southern Maine, Wells and Northern Maine provide advanced knowledge in business; health and education; pharmacy studies, science and humanities; as well as communication. In addition, Husson University has a robust adult learning program. For more information about educational opportunities that can lead to personal and professional success, visit Husson.edu.