USM Business School to receive L.L. Bean gift

PORTLAND – A longtime L.L. Bean executive and supporter of the University of Southern Maine will be remembered with a $1 million gift in his memory to create the first endowed chair for the USM School of Business.

The gift, from L.L. Bean and several members of the Gorman family, will serve as “a living asset” to Leandro Lee Surace, said USM President Richard Pattenaude. Surace died in March at the age of 63.

The L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Chair will give the business school national recognition and strengthen its new master’s program, said Pattenaude. The money will also help fund scholarships, research and mentoring of junior faculty.

“It’s a fitting tribute to a good friend,” said Leon Gorman, who recently stepped down as L.L. Bean’s president and chief executive officer. “I know he’d be pleased to be remembered this way.”