BANGOR (AP) – A memorial service is scheduled for July 21 for Eugene Mawhinney, a former University of Maine political science professor and adviser to hundreds of students during his three decades at the Orono campus.

Mawhinney, who was 84, died during the weekend at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Bangor. Mawhinney taught political science and prelaw at UMaine and advised more than 800 students who went through the law program at the school.

Mawhinney joined UMaine’s History and Government Department in 1959 and became chairman of the Department of Political Science when it was established in 1966. A prelaw adviser for 17 years, he retired in 1990.

Gov. John Baldacci called Mawhinney “a real leader on legal issues” who “had a unique way of looking at problems and offering solutions.”

Mawhinney was given the Distinguished Maine Professor Award in 1982; in 1987 he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Maine Bar Association.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. July 21, at the Church of Universal Fellowship in Orono.