UM professor James Horan dies at 70 after car accident

BANGOR – A longtime University of Maine public administration professor who taught Gov. John Baldacci and served as chairman of the Orono Town Council in the late 1970s and early 1980s has died.

Professor James Horan, 70, died Jan. 8 as the result of injuries suffered in a late December car accident.

Horan, who also taught political science, joined the Orono campus in 1965. He held several administrative posts, including vice president for planning and public affairs, and served as president of the faculty union and as a member of the faculty senate.

“Jim was the rare professor … who actually ventured into politics” both inside and outside the university, said history professor Howard Segal, who knew him well.

“Jim profoundly understood how political academia really is. Jim loved to tell stories of his and others’ political experiences and battles, and he was surely a most interesting professor. He will be missed,” Segal said Monday.

Thomas Taylor, chairman of the department of public administration, recalled Horan as a dynamic teacher with a good sense of humor who ignited the interest of students even in the larger introductory courses.

Horan will be remembered as the go-to person for students and staff who had problems, whether academic or personal, Taylor said. “He was like a built-in social worker. He’d help anyone who needed it.”

Gov. Baldacci said Horan also taught his brothers and sisters. “We were very lucky to have him as a professor and friend, and we’re sorry to see him pass. He was a great voice for the people of Maine,” the governor said.

Madeleine Freeman of Orono, who served on the Town Council with Horan, said he helped lead the community during a time of transition when Orono was moving from the selectman to the council form of government and UM students were being allowed to vote for the first time.

“With his background in political science he was very helpful and knowledgeable about what needed to be done,” she said. “He loved being involved in change. He was an activist.”

Funeral arrangements will be published in the Bangor Daily News obituaries later this week.