ORONO – The University of Maine announced on Tuesday the largest donation in the institution’s history. The $12 million endowment was left to the UM School of Forest Resources by alumni George Houston.

Houston died March 9 at age 91 at his home at Sunbury Village in Bangor. He left the money to the university in his will.

“The new fund will allow UMaine to significantly advance its undergraduate and graduate forestry programs,” UM President Robert Kennedy said Tuesday at a press conference. “We’re pleased beyond words for George Houston’s foresight and generosity.”

Born in Bangor and raised in Brewer, Houston was a 1937 UM graduate. He played Black Bear football and was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho Fraternity and the Xi Sigma Pi honor society.

Houston worked for many years as an executive with the New York State Electric and Gas Co. and developed an engineering and surveying consulting business after retiring from that company.

The recent donation wasn’t the only gift Houston ever gave to the university. In 1995, he donated his 217-acre family farm in Hudson through the university’s Green Endowment Program.

“It’s a remarkable demonstration [of the] confidence that he had in the University of Maine and its School of Forestry,” said Edward Ashworth, dean of UM’s College of Natural Sciences, Forestry and Agriculture.

“It is remarkable not only for the level of generosity, but also for the investment in future generations of foresters,” he said.

He compared Houston’s fund to a sustainable forest – both require responsible management in order to prosper.

“It will benefit generations of students,” Ashworth said.

The money will be used primarily for scholarships and a national recruiting effort that will begin in the near future. While the forestry program has numerous scholarships already available, the majority of them are for students already enrolled in the program as they continue their education and not for recruiting purposes or for first-year students.

The range of scholarships, which will be renewable, will include full and partial tuition, stipends for books and fees, and money to offset the price of tuition for out-of-state students. Funds also will be used for students who want to study abroad and to support research and teaching apprenticeships.

“[Houston’s] love for Maine forests and their potential as a natural resource is impressive,” Ashworth said. “His dedication to his alma mater is humbling.”

The gift represents a “significant milestone” in the university’s six-year, $150 million private fundraising campaign, Kennedy said.

In August, Kennedy announced a $6 million donation from Richard and Anne Collins of Key Largo, Fla. The bulk of that gift will be used to renovate the Maine Center for the Arts, which will be renamed in honor of the donors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.