ORONO – Dr. Mary Rumpho-Kennedy, professor of biochemistry at the University of Maine and wife of President Robert A. Kennedy, has been honored with the creation of a scholarship fund presented by alumni and friends.

Russell Bodwell, Class of 1944, and Barbara Bodwell, Class of 1945, spearheaded the fund with a gift to the University of Maine Foundation to express their esteem for Rumpho-Kennedy after the recent Stillwater Society dinner.

The fund will benefit UMaine students pursuing degrees in biochemistry, microbiology or molecular and cellular biology, and will be awarded through the university’s Office of Student Aid.

Rumpho-Kennedy received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Winona State University in Minnesota in 1978. She earned a doctorate in horticulture in 1982 from Washington State University.

She served as a member of the graduate faculty of Texas A&M University before coming to the University of Maine in 2000. She teaches chemistry to more than 200 students each fall, and a graduate course in biochemistry in the spring.

Rumpho-Kennedy’s research team is focused on biochemical and molecular studies of symbiotic “solar-powered” sea slugs. These mollusks steal chloroplasts from algae and live like green plants. They serve as a unique model organism for studying any number of biological phenomena, but especially photosynthesis and the production of natural anti-cancer compounds.

The Kennedys are the parents of four sons, and both are avid gardeners. Rumpho-Kennedy also enjoys playing women’s ice hockey. Recently, she raised funds for cancer research as a participant on the Mad Scientists team in the American Cancer Society-Relay for Life held at Old Town High School.

Rumpho-Kennedy also serves as a board member for Special Olympics Maine and is an active volunteer and parent with the Orono Special Olympics team.

Friends may support the scholarship fund by directing gifts to the University of Maine Foundation, 2 Alumni Place, Orono, ME 04469-5792.