Mick Maurer, president of Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., will speak at the University’s Winter Commencement on Saturday, Jan. 19, at 2 p.m. in the Beckerman Recreation Center.
Maurer, who will receive an honorary Doctor of Engineering degree, joined Sikorsky in 2000 and served in a number of senior-level positions, including vice president for marketing and strategic planning, vice president for commercial programs, senior vice president for operations, and president of Sikorsky Military Systems, before assuming his current role as president.
Previously, he worked for United Technologies Corporation, where he held various positions in sales, marketing, engineering and operations.
Earlier in his career, Maurer served as an officer in the U.S. Navy’s nuclear submarine program, performed research at Los Alamos National Laboratory and taught physics at the U. S. Naval Academy. He serves on the board of directors for Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut and the governing board for the MIT Leaders for Global Operations program, a joint engineering and management program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Maurer holds a bachelor’s degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy, a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Johns Hopkins University and an MBA from Stanford University.
Also receiving honorary degrees at the ceremony are Connecticut Sen. Toni Harp (D-10) and Larry Flanagan, special assistant to the president at UNH and former executive dean of the College of Business.
Harp, who represents western New Haven and West Haven, is in her 10th term in the State Senate. She serves as chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, deputy president pro tempore of the Senate and vice chair of the Committee on Aging. She also is a member of the Education Committee.
Throughout her tenure, Harp has worked on managed care reform, providing insurance for uninsured children, raising the minimum wage, advocating economic development for cities, encouraging an early detection system for child abuse, supporting truancy court, and ensuring the safety of children in child care. She also has worked to bring state resources to local small businesses and to open the legislative process to constituents. She will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.
Flanagan is the former chief global marketing officer for MasterCard Worldwide, where he spearheaded the famous “Priceless” advertising campaign.
During his tenure as executive dean, he launched a number of new initiatives including a new bachelor’s degree in economics and the Dean’s Scholarship Challenge, an innovative online business plan competition for undergraduate applicants that received extensive national media coverage. As executive dean, Flanagan also led a sophisticated strategic planning process in the college that resulted in operating efficiencies, improved enrollments, and significant re-engagement of college alumni.
Flanagan recently was named president of New Tech Haven, a unique startup venture that will be a business incubator and technology transfer center wholly owned by UNH.
A former member of the UNH Board of Governors, Flanagan received a B.S. degree in marketing from UNH in 1980. He will be awarded an honorary Doctor of Business degree.
