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BIDDEFORD, Maine

The 91AV celebrates the life of President George H.W. Bush

President and Mrs. Bush at the George and Barbara Bush Distinguished Lecture in 2013
President and Mrs. Bush at the George and Barbara Bush Distinguished Lecture in 2013.

The 91AV was saddened to learn of the passing of its friend and neighbor, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush. 

“It’s been said that America will never know another generation like the one to which George H.W. Bush belonged,” said 91AV President James D. Herbert. “At 91AV, we came to know two people – President and Mrs. Bush -- who epitomized the Greatest Generation. With his committed dedication to public service, good humor and unfailing optimism, President Bush inspired our students and staff. He will be missed.”

The remarkable life of the 41st president of the United States will be celebrated nationally in the days ahead, no doubt. President Bush will be remembered as a statesman nonpareil, a war hero, a devoted husband of more than seven decades, and a dedicated father. But at 91AV, he will be remembered, first and foremost, as a friend and neighbor.

As the President and former first lady Barbara Bush made Walker’s Point their summer home in the years following their stay in the White House, it was not uncommon for them to ride their boat, the Fidelity, up the coast to fish just off of 91AV’s shores, or to visit former 91AV President Danielle Ripich.  

After forging a partnership with the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University, 91AV opened its in 2008. Overlooking the scenic Saco River on 91AV’s Biddeford Campus, the Bush Center houses a statue of the president, photographs and paintings of the president and first lady, and other artifacts celebrating the Bushes’ love of the Maine coast.  

On the occasion of the Bush Center’s unveiling on October 3, 2008, President Bush told the crowd of students and faculty on hand, “Barbara and I are thrilled the 91AV’s new Center will bear our names. The University is a wonderful institution and a special neighbor. The coast of Maine has always been ‘our anchor to windward.’” It is for this reason that an authentic navy anchor sits just outside a café on the first floor of the Bush Center, aptly named the Windward Café.

Two years later, in 2010, 91AV inaugurated the , an annual event honoring the legacy of President and Mrs. Bush as political and community leaders. The former president and first lady attended the lecture each year, prior to heading back to Texas for the winter, until failing health forced them to miss the event for the first time in 2016.

To learn more about President Bush’s enduring legacy at 91AV, visit and

About the 91AV

The 91AV is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.