Tuohey the keynote speaker at Scholar-Athlete Society ceremony
LEWISTON, Maine — Sean Tuohey, co-founder of Peace Players International, will deliver the keynote address at the third annual Bates College Scholar-Athlete Society ceremony and be inducted as an honorary member. The ceremony takes place in Alumni Gymnasium on Saturday, May 26, from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
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| Sean Tuohey (right, shown with children in Tulkarm, Palestine) has attracted media attention from a slew of major news outlets, including the Washington Post, BBC, CBS, HBO, CNN International and Al-Jazeera. (Institute for International Sport photo) |
The Bates Scholar-Athlete Society was created in 2005 to underscore the college’s commitment to the scholar-athlete ideal. The society includes seniors, nominated by their coaches, who have compiled a 3.5 grade point average or received a special nomination from faculty and staff for distinguished academic achievement in their junior and senior years. To be eligible for induction, student-athletes must participate in a varsity sport for at least three years.
In addition to honoring graduating students, the society also annually inducts alumni who distinguish themselves as scholars and athletes in their professional careers, as well as a faculty member or coach who has fostered the scholar-athlete ideal.
This year’s alumni inductees to the Society include Susan Doliner ’81, a former multi-sport standout who is now vice president for development at Maine Medical Center; Adrienne Shibles ’91, a former basketball player who is currently dean of co-curricular programs and head girls’ basketball coach at Gould Academy; Benjamin Robinson ’86, a former soccer and track athlete who is now a senior vice president at Bank of America Corporation; and William “Buddy” Schultz ’81, a former tennis and basketball player at Bates who went on to a successful pro tennis career and is currently the owner of the Cohasset (Mass.) Tennis Club. The faculty member inductee will be retired professor George Wigton, former coach of men’s basketball and tennis at Bates from 1965 to 1999.
Peace Players International uses basketball to unite children and develop leaders in conflict and post-conflict regions. PPI operates year-round programs in South Africa, the Middle East, Northern Ireland and Cyprus, involving more than 45,000 children.
Tuohey said Dan Doyle ’72, the founder and director of the Institute for International Sport, sent Tuohey and his brother Brendan to Ireland to work with young people through basketball, an experience that was the genesis for the founding of Peace Players International. He started the program in 2000 with $7,000 in seed money and has raised more than $4 million since, with a yearly budget presently exceeding $2 million. Tuohey is currently employed by ESPN as an associate producer and writer of a feature story on Northern Ireland, scheduled to be shown on the ESPY Awards on July 15. He has been publicly recognized for his work by former presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush and has received numerous awards, including the Al Nueharth Free Spirit Award in 2006 and Washingtonian of the Year in 2005 from Washingtonian Magazine.
“To be inducted into the Bates Scholar-Athlete Society is an incredible honor,” said Tuohey. “I was introduced to Bates through Bill Hart ’02 and Lisa Golobski ’03, both former student-athletes who, with great distinction, worked for Peace Players in its inaugural years in Northern Ireland. They both spoke proudly of their alma mater not only as a place of learning, but as a place that shaped their character.
“Over the past six years, as an adviser and close friend, Dan (Doyle) continues to create pathways and platforms to help us tell our story. He himself has dedicated his life to promoting the power of sport, and the world is a better place as a result. I am deeply humbled to accept this award for many reasons, including the involvement of Dan and the Doyle family.”
The Class of 2007 inductees to the Bates Scholar-Athlete Society are headed by Andrew W. Tibbetts and Emily L. Williams, the recipients of the 31st Lindholm Scholar-Athlete awards as the male and female multi-letterwinning athletes with the highest cumulative grade point averages. The Class of 2007 also includes Meredith L. Anderson, Martin V. Benes, Mary E. Bucci, Jennifer A. Caban, Laura H. Clarkson, Patrick F. Conway, Katherine A. Farmer, Griffin A. Finan, Katherine L. Forester, Katherine A. Franklin, Sara H. Gips, Laura J. Harris, James F. Hauschild, Lauren E. Jacobs, Gary C. Kan, Gregory B. Little, Ann E. Lovely, Jacob A. Mark, Peter L. Meisel, Hannah E. Meyer, Kathryn M. Moore, Megan L. Petry, Gabriel J. Plourde, Alissa C. Praggastis, Kyle T. Rushton, Julia A. Shelkey, Sarah C. Sprague, Gabrielle E. Voeller and Rebecca L. Westlake.