ORONO – The University of Maine Alumni Association has announced the 2007 Bernard Lown ’42 Alumni Humanitarian Award, presented to Pamela Murphy White, ’71.

The award recognizes University of Maine graduates who distinguish themselves in their service to humanity. It is named in honor of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr. Bernard Lown, who has devoted his life to world disarmament and the advancement of human health.

This year’s recipient is a native of Auburn, but her dedication to her fellow human beings has kept her far from her native state since her graduation from the University of Maine. For the past 29 years she has served in various positions for the U.S. government, both in Washington, D.C., and around the world.

In 1971, White joined the Peace Corps and served in Cameroon for two years. When she returned to the United States, she worked for several years in education and research before joining the U.S. Agency for International Development in 1978.

For two years she worked as the community liaison officer in Burkina Faso, West Africa, and from 1981 to 1988 she was USAID deputy executive officer in Senegal and Haiti. From 1989 until 1998, she served as the executive officer in Haitian, Egyptian and South African missions.

As deputy director for East Africa in Washington, D.C., from 1999 until 2001, White worked on coordinating the delivery of food to Ethiopia and Eritrea, helped to develop a six-year Ugandan strategy and oversaw the expansion of programs in the Sudan and Congo.

From 2001 until 2005 she was mission director in Mali. During her tenure, the number of girls in primary school tripled, the number of elected women leaders increased by 200 percent, the percentage of children receiving vaccinations more than doubled, and a $1.5 million canal was built improving Malians’ quality of life.

For her extraordinary work she was awarded the highest decoration give to foreigners – the Knight of the National Order of Merit. The only other American recipient of this honor was President Jimmy Carter.

Following her work in Mali, she was appointed mission director in Tanzania. The $130 million aid program that she now directs focuses on HIV/AIDs prevention, malaria control, primary education, conservation of natural resources and control of corruption. In her two years in Tanzania her most remarkable achievement has been an 85 percent reduction of confirmed cases of malaria on Zanzibar. She holds the title of minister counselor, a title held by less than 1 percent of women in USAID.

White is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Murphy of Auburn and she graduated from Edward Little High School in 1967.