“A party without a cake is a meeting,” said Julia Child, who received an honorary degree from ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ in 1983.
When ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ turned 166 years old at mid-month, the cake that helped to transform a mere gathering into a party was decorated by Daisy Taylor, baking supervisor for Dining Services, with a creative flourish that’s become a trademark of the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ dining operation.
This year, ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ held its annual giving day, Great Day to Be a Bobcat, on ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½’ birthday, March 16, the day in 1855 when the charter for the Maine State Seminary, forerunner of ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ College, was signed into Maine law.
This year’s Great Day celebration, livestreamed between noon and 9 p.m. on the 16th, saw 2,664 alumni, parents, faculty, staff, students, and friends make gifts — shattering the goal of 1,855 donors — totaling $927,346.
And the cake? It was enjoyed by the entire Great Day livestream team when the birthday cat, the ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ Bobcat, stopped by to help celebrate a happy and successful day with friends.
