News and Events - Alumni
Rendle and Pat Jones Support Honors College
|
Rendle and Pat Jones |
Alumni Rendle and Pat Jones wanted
to support the University of Maine with a gift that would
encourage pre-law students who plan on going into public
service.
Excited that the Honors College enables
motivated students to receive a private school type of education
at a public school price, the Camden couple decided this was
where they would direct their support.
They established the Rendle A. &
Patricia K. Jones Honors Thesis Fellowship Fund for students who
express an interest in legal service in the public arena. A
preference will be offered for students who wish to explore the
history of the law or current affairs related to public health
and human services, community development, and conservation or
policy issues on a wide range of topics. In addition, a “Legal
Quad” will be designated within the renovated Colvin Hall Honors
Residence to inspire students to consider the legal profession.
The generous gift from Rendle, an
attorney who graduated in 1964, and Pat, a real estate agent who
earned her bachelor’s degree in 1965, will be endowed in the
University of Maine Foundation and perpetuated through a trust
in the Maine Community Foundation.
“This is our way of helping the
University nurture the bright people who hopefully will stay in
the state and help Maine grow,” says Rendle. “The Honors College
provides a special niche in the education market. It’s like
having an Ivy League school within the public university. It
helps elevate the whole institution.”
Reinforcing the noble role played by public service
lawyers also was important to Rendle, who knows something about
the satisfaction that comes from helping ensure that everyone
has equal access to justice. After earning a bachelor’s degree
in history and government from UMaine and a law degree from the
University of Maine School of Law, he served as a staff attorney
and director of Pine Tree Legal Assistance, an organization that
provides free legal services to low income people. In 1968, he
joined the Camden law firm of Gilbert Harmon, which later became
Harmon, Jones & Sanford, LLP, where he is the senior partner.
“People in private practice can take of
themselves financially and don’t need coaxing,” he says. “Those
going into the public arena need a little encouragement to
choose a life of public service. Whether they decide to work for
an organization like Pine Tree or the U.S. Department of
Justice, or become a district attorney or judge, they ought to
be encouraged.”
Established in 2003, the Honors College
wasn’t around when Rendle and Pat were undergraduate students.
But they recall the enthusiasm generated by its predecessor, the
Honors Program, headed at the time by Professor Bob Thompson,
Rendle’s advisor and one of his favorite teachers.
“He was terrific. He made the subject
interesting. I took every course I could get from him because I
enjoyed him so much,” says Rendle.
The couple was thrilled to discover
that the small Honors program they were familiar with had
blossomed into a full-fledged Honors College with its own dean,
curricula, and living and learning environment. Today, more than
700 motivated students are enrolled in the Honors College where
they investigate diverse academic areas and engage in
thoughtful, provocative discussion with fellow students and
enthusiastic, distinguished faculty.
Honors College Dean Charlie Slavin says
the thesis fellowship fund will enable students to be “more
committed” to the time-consuming, difficult task of writing
their Honors Thesis. He was especially pleased with the gift
because it reinforces the academic goals of the Honors College.
“The study and practice of law require an ability to think
critically and to read carefully. Those are two skills that are
the hallmarks of the Honors curriculum, and we think our
students excel in those areas. In addition, law requires the
ability to research carefully – and that’s what the thesis is
all about.”
Rendle and Pat, who met when they were
in their first year at UMaine, credit their alma mater with
giving them the foundation that enabled them to launch
successful careers.
Personal motivation, along with the
support and guidance of his professors helped him graduate in
three years, says Rendle, who grew up in Richmond. A history and
government major, he planned on going into law ever since
graduating from high school.
Pat, a Deer Isle native, took a more
roundabout route to what would become a thriving real estate
career at Town and Country Realtors in Camden. A microbiology
major, she recalls the small, yet “stimulating” program that
enabled her and seven classmates to interact with faculty,
graduate students and each other. They even were involved in the
same cutting edge plant research being done at the time by The
Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.
With a bachelor’s of science degree
from UMaine, Pat had no problem landing numerous jobs at labs in
hospitals throughout southern and eastern Maine. After staying
home with the couple’s two children for a time, she went to work
in Rendle’s firm as a real estate paralegal. She found the work
so fulfilling that she enrolled in real estate courses at what
is now University College in Rockland.
“From there, I decided to become a real
estate broker. I’ve been a realtor for 20 years and I enjoy
meeting people, seeing homes, and walking a lot of land.”
Pat and Rendle, who keep in touch with
a number of their classmates, frequently are reminded of their
Black Bear connections. “It’s a small state, and we’re always
bumping into people who went to UMaine,” Rendle says.
Drawing on their deep sense of
community spirit, the pair is active on a variety of boards and
organizations. Chair of the Camden National Corporation, one of
the largest banks in the state, Rendle has served as member and
chair on the board of Penobscot Bay Health Care and is
former president of the Knox County Bar
Association and governor of the Maine State Bar Association. He
also is past chair of the Real Estate Section of the Maine State
Bar Association. In 2003, he received the Townsperson of Year
award from the Camden-Rockport-Lincolnville Area Chamber of
Commerce.
Selected “The Best of
the Best” in real estate in 2005, Pat also was named Realtor of
The Year by the Penobscot Bay Board of Realtors for her
community involvement and service to the board.
The couple’s days are
jam-packed as they attend to their respective businesses and
meet their community service obligations. On weekends they kick
back and enjoy reading, skiing and attending UMaine hockey
games. From May through October they can be found cruising
Penobscot Bay in their Back Cove power boat, Blue Magic.
Their home state has
given the couple just the life they wanted.
“After
graduation, a lot of our classmates left to find employment
elsewhere,” says Pat. “But we decided we wanted to stay here and
we’ve never regretted it.”
Back to News
and Events
