The University of Maine at Presque Isle honored the memory of former UMPI President Donald N. Zillman and First Lady Linda G. Zillman with the unveiling and dedication of a memorial sculpture at the Central Campus Park near the President’s House on Friday, Oct. 9. The unveiling event, which continued with a reception in the Campus Center Multi-Purpose Room, included a special dance performance, dedicated to the Zillmans, by members of Portland Ballet.
“The Zillmans were beloved members of our UMPI family. Thanks to the Zillman estate, we have a tangible tribute to Don and Linda’s lives and their work,” Rice said. “It is both a celebration of art and a memorial to the ways we can impact the world around us when we put our minds and our hearts into the work.”
During an outdoor ceremony framed by fall foliage, President Rice addressed a gathering including faculty, staff, students, community members, and others whose lives were touched by the Zillmans. Remarks were delivered by Jim Munch, executor of the Zillman estate; Nell Shipman, Portland Ballet artistic director; and Léo-Paul Cyr, artist and UMPI professor emeritus of art education. The Portland Ballet dance performance was presented by dancers Allison Bryant and Eugene Mesheryakov.
The sculpture installation, titled “Embrace”, was created by Cyr, who taught at UMPI when Zillman served as the institution’s president. During his 40-year teaching career, Cyr taught art at every level, from kindergarten to the doctoral level, in the public schools of New Brunswick, at UMPI, and at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York, where he was presented with “The Outstanding Teacher Award” recognition in 2003. Cyr holds a master’s degree in art education from the Nova Scotia College of Arts and Design, in Halifax, Canada and a doctorate in Art from Columbia University, Teachers College. He has shown his work in Eastern Canada and in the United States. His primary medium is stone, sometimes combined with wood and metal, in a non-figurative style. He lives in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada.
The mahogany-colored granite sculpture he created, with polished sides and carved edges, stands at just over 8 feet tall. “Embrace” is composed of what looks like two curving forms that join at the center, but is carved from a single piece of granite. Its shape speaks to partnership, support, and connection—words that resonate for the many people and organizations impacted through the Zillmans’ decades of service to community.
Donald Zillman served as UMPI’s 10th president from 2006 to 2012, and held leadership positions on multiple campuses within the University of Maine System, including Dean of the University of Maine School of Law from 1991-1998, Interim Provost and Academic Vice President at the University of Maine from 1999-2000 and Interim President of the University of Maine at Fort Kent from 2001-2002. In 2012, he returned full time to academic pursuits and his wide-ranging writing projects. During his time at UMPI, he led several major campus initiatives, including more than $4 million in renovations to UMPI’s major classroom buildings, Pullen and Folsom Halls; the establishment of several renewable energy systems on campus; the addition of a state-of-the-art GIS laboratory; and the establishment of a scholarship fund for new students. In his civic life, during his time in Presque Isle, he also served on the boards of directors for Aroostook Partnership for Progress, Maine School of Science and Mathematics, Leaders Encouraging Aroostook Development, and United Way of Aroostook.
Linda Zillman, a trained art historian, was involved in UMPI’s Reed Art Gallery activities, serving as an integral part of one of the university’s most prestigious acquisitions–153 original Andy Warhol photographs gifted in 2008 by the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program. A strong advocate of the arts, she served on the Board of Portland Ballet for several years. Together, the Zillmans established the Zillman Family Professorship in 2013 through a designated fund at the Maine Community Foundation. As UMPI’s first rotating professorship, it allows faculty to conduct in-depth research over a two-year period. They also provided the very first gift to the Zillman Family Greenhouse—expanding the institution’s capacity for on-campus agricultural research. The building has served as an important agricultural research space since 2019. Together, the Zillmans gave more than $3 million to UMPI over the last 15 years.
Donald Zillman passed away July 27, 2023 and Linda Zillman passed away Sept. 4, 2025.
In December 2025, UMPI announced a $2.16 million gift from the Zillman estate, the largest single donation in the university’s history. UMPI officials will announce at a later date the campus project the estate gift will fund.